Sermons and Biblical Studies

By the time he [A. B. Simpson] was ten he already had a secret yearning to become a minister, and while still short of his teens he was struggling with the idea, desiring to be a minister, but unwilling to pay the price. The preachers he knew in those days must have been a dour … Continue reading “PASTORS:
COMMITMENT; A.B. SIMPSON”

The true minister is one, not by his own choice, but by the sovereign commission of God. From the study of the Scriptures, one might conclude that the man God calls seldom or never surrenders to the call without considerable reluctance. The young man who rushes too eagerly into the pulpit at first glance seems … Continue reading “PASTORS:
CALL OF GOD; PASTORAL MINISTRY: CHALLENGE”

We cannot close our minds to everything that is happening around us. We dare not rest at ease in Zion when the church is so desperately in need of spiritually sensitive men and women who can see her faults and try to call her back to the path of righteousness. The prophets and apostles of … Continue reading “PASTORS:
BURDEN FOR PEOPLE”

To speak to God on behalf of men is probably the highest service any of us can render. The next is to speak to men in the name of God. Either is a privilege possible to us only through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Samuel 12:23; Acts 9:15–16; 1 Timothy 1:12–15 Born … Continue reading “PASTORAL
MINISTRY: SPIRITUAL IMPACT; PREACHING: AWESOME TASK; PRAYER: INTERCESSION”

All else being equal it is desirable that Christians, especially ministers of the gospel, should be widely read. It is a disagreeable experience to present oneself before a teacher for religious instruction and discover in less than three minutes that the said teacher should have changed places with his listeners and learned from them rather … Continue reading “PASTORAL
MINISTRY: SHALLOWNESS; READING: WIDELY”

There is today no lack of Bible teachers to set forth correctly the principles of the doctrines of Christ, but too many of these seem satisfied to teach the fundamentals of the faith year after year, strangely unaware that there is in their ministry no manifest Presence, nor anything unusual in their personal lives. They … Continue reading “PASTORAL
MINISTRY: SHALLOWNESS; PREACHING: AWESOME TASK”

Some young preacher will study until he has to get thick glasses to take care of his failing eyesight because he has an idea he wants to become a famous preacher. He wants to use Jesus Christ to make him a famous preacher. He’s just a huckster buying and selling and getting gain. They will … Continue reading “PASTORAL
MINISTRY: PRIDE; PASTORS: HUMILITY”

Briefly, the way to escape religion as a front is to make it a fount. See to it that we pray more than we preach and we will never preach ourselves out. Stay with God in the secret place longer than we are with men in the public place and the fountain of our wisdom … Continue reading “PASTORAL
MINISTRY: PRAYER; PRAYER: NECESSITY OF”

To pray successfully is the first lesson the preacher must learn if he is to preach fruitfully; yet prayer is the hardest thing he will ever be called upon to do and, being human, it is the one act he will be tempted to do less frequently than any other. He must set his heart … Continue reading “PASTORAL
MINISTRY: PRAYER; PRAYER: HINDRANCES”

Almost anything associated with the ministry may be learned with an average amount of intelligent application. It is not hard to preach or manage church affairs or pay a social call; weddings and funerals may be conducted smoothly with a little help from Emily Post and the Minister’s Manual. Sermon making can be learned as … Continue reading “PASTORAL
MINISTRY: PRAYER”