Category: Shepherding with Spurgeon

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ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PASTORS (BY SPURGEON)

Recollect, as ministers, that your whole life, your whole pastoral life especially, will be affected by the vigor of your piety. If your zeal grows dull, you will not pray well in the pulpit; you will pray worse in the family, and worst in the study alone. When your soul becomes lean, your hearers, without knowing how or why, will find that your prayers in public have little savor for them; they will feel your barrenness, perhaps, before you perceive it yourself. Then your discourses will next betray your declension. You may utter as well-chosen words, and as fitly-ordered sentences, as before; but there will be a perceptible loss of spiritual force.

You will shake yourselves as at other times, even as Samson did, but you will find that your great strength has departed. In your daily communion with your people, they will not be slow to mark the all-pervading decline of your graces. Sharp eyes will see the grey hairs here and there long before you do. Let a man be afflicted with a disease of the heart, and all evils are wrapped up in that one—stomach, lungs, viscera, muscles, and nerves will all suffer; and so, let a man have his heart weakened in spiritual things, and very soon his entire life will feel the withering influence. 

SERMON ILLUSTRATION (BY SPURGEON)

Spurgeon was a master illustrator. You can use this illustration in your own preaching to describe living distinct from the world.

“Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed.” (1 Peter 4:13)

Dogs do not usually bark at those who live in the same neighborhood with them but only at strangers. When obscene tongues are lifted up against us, we have reason to hope that we are strangers and foreigners to the citizens of this world.

FREE DOWNLOAD FOR PREACHERS

Recently while reading Lectures for My Students, I was very greatly helped by a list of attributes that every sermon needs, according to Spurgeon.

I compiled this list into a simple checklist that you can use to evaluate your own sermons.

Download Spurgeon’s Preaching Checklist here.

THANKS FOR READING

Brothers,

We must not neglect prayer, fasting, and the private reading of the Word. We know the great benefit these spiritual disciplines can have in our lives, but we often don’t think about the great cost that comes with neglecting them. Let us be constant in prayer.

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Blessings to your ministry,

Doug H.
Creator of SpurgeonBooks

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ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PASTORS (BY SPURGEON)

“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

This is a metaphor taken from the action of the priest at the sacrifice. The priest cut up the bullock, and then laid it in its different pieces according to order. Or, as some think, it is taken from the part of the father at the table, when he carves the meat and gives to every child its portion. Old Master Trapp says that “there are some ministers who are only fit to be Gibeonites, and certainly not to be Levites, for they hardly understand the cutting of wood, much less the art of cutting up the sacrifice of God.”

Brethren, it is well so to handle the word as to be able to give rebuke when rebuke is wanted, exhortation when it is needed, and comfort when consolation is required, for otherwise we do mischief. As it is said in the old fable of the simpleton, that he gave to the ass a bone and to the dog hay, so there are some who give wrong exhortations, not because they are wrong in themselves, but because they are wrong in their application.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION (BY SPURGEON)

Spurgeon was a master illustrator. You can use this illustration in your own preaching to describe the wonderful diversity and unity of the church.

Diamonds are not all of one shape; in a natural state the crystals are of various forms, and are further altered in the process of cutting: their colors, too, vary greatly. Each stone has its own peculiar character and consequent value: some are more precious, others less so. So is it with the people of God: they are not all alike; but each has his or her particular character, as diamonds have their color, form, and value.

THANKS FOR READING

Brothers,

We rightly divide the Word by bringing the right tone to every counseling situation. I use 1 Thessalonians 5:14 as a pastoral triage when walking into a difficult situation: “warn those who are idle, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” Keeping that verse in mind reminds me to give warnings to sinners, not comfort; help to the weak, not rebuke; comfort to the discouraged, not just practical help (as if I could solve all of their problems).

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Blessings to your ministry,

Doug H.
Creator of SpurgeonBooks

Get wisdom encouragement for Spurgeon in your inbox every week. Subscribe to the The Pastor’s Note newsletter for free.

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PASTORS (BY SPURGEON)

Too many preachers forget to serve God when they are out of the pulpit, their lives are negatively inconsistent. Abhor, dear brethren, the thought of being clockwork ministers who are not alive by abiding grace within, but are wound up by temporary influences; men who are only ministers for the time being, under the stress of the hour of ministering, but cease to be ministers when they descend the pulpit stairs.

True ministers are always ministers. Too many preachers are like those sand-toys we buy for our children; you turn the box upside down, and the little acrobat revolves and revolves till the sand is all run down, and then he hangs motionless; so there are some who persevere in the ministrations of truth as long as there is an official necessity for their work, but after that, no pay, no paternoster; no salary, no sermon.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION (BY SPURGEON)

Spurgeon was a master illustrator. You can use this illustration in your own preaching to describe Christian contentment.

I have heard of some good old woman in a cottage, who had nothing but a piece of bread and a little water, and lifting up her hands, she said, as a blessing, “What! all this, and Christ too?” It is “all this,” compared with what we deserve.

THANKS FOR READING

Brothers,

It’s only God’s grace — not a paycheck or human approval, that can sustain us in ministry. Cling to him, brothers! Hold fast to God’s Word — it is not merely content for our sermons, it is sustenance for our lives.

If this newsletter is encouraging, please share it with another pastor. You can forward this email to a pastor you know.

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Blessings to your ministry,

Doug H.
Creator of SpurgeonBooks

Get wisdom encouragement for Spurgeon in your inbox every week. Subscribe to the The Pastor’s Note newsletter for free.

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PASTORS (BY SPURGEON)

That a teacher of the gospel should first be a partaker of it is a simple truth, but at the same time a rule of the most weighty importance. We are not among those who accept the apostolical succession of young men simply because they assume it; if their college experience has been rather vivacious than spiritual, if their honors have been connected rather with athletic exercises than with labors for Christ, we demand evidence of another kind than they are able to present to us. No amount of fees paid to learned doctors, and no amount of classics received in return, appear to us to be evidences of a call from above. True and genuine piety is necessary as the first indispensable requisite; whatever “call” a man may pretend to have, if he has not been called to holiness, he certainly has not been called to the ministry.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION (BY SPURGEON)

Spurgeon was a master illustrator. You can use this illustration in your own preaching to describe the adopting love of God.

Recollect again, you are just as much a child of God as the greatest saint. Some of you have five or six children. There is one child of yours, perhaps, who is very tall and handsome, and has, moreover, gifts of mind; and you have another child who is the smallest of the family, perhaps has but little intellect and understanding. But which is the most your child? “The most!” you say; “both alike are my children, certainly, one as much as the other.”⠀

And so, dear friends, you may have very little learning, you may be very dark about divine things, you may but “see men as trees walking,” but you are as much the children of God as those who have grown to the stature of men in Christ Jesus. Then remember, poor tried saint, that you are just as much justified as any other child of God.⠀

THANKS FOR READING

Brothers,

Neither our seminary education, our ministry experience, or our gifts as speakers finally qualifies us to be pastors — what we need first and foremost is to know God and to be holy as he is holy.

If this newsletter is encouraging, please share it with another pastor. You can forward this email to a pastor you know.

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Blessings to your ministry,

Doug H.
Creator of SpurgeonBooks

Get wisdom encouragement for Spurgeon in your inbox every week. Subscribe to the The Pastor’s Note newsletter for free.

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PASTORS (BY SPURGEON)

The new birth is the mysterious point in all religion. If you preach anything else except the new birth you will always get on well with your hearers; but if you insist that in order to enter heaven there must be a radical change, though this is the doctrine of the Scripture, it is so unpalatable to mankind in general that you will scarcely get them to listen.

Ah! Now ye turn away if I begin to tell you, that “except ye be born of water and of the Spirit, ye cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.” If I tell you that there must be a regenerating influence exerted upon your minds by the power of the Holy Ghost, then I know ye will say “it is enthusiasm.” Ah! but it is the enthusiasm of the Bible. There I stand; by this I will be judged. If the Bible does not say we must be born again, then I give it up; but if it does then, sirs, do not distrust that truth on which your salvation hangs.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION (BY SPURGEON)

Spurgeon was a master illustrator. You can use this illustration in your own preaching to describe God’s love for sinners.

Do not attempt to touch yourself up and make yourself something other than you really are; but come as you are to him who justifies the ungodly. A great artist some short time ago had painted a part of the corporation of the city in which he lived, and he wanted, for historic purposes, to include in his picture certain characters well known in the town. A crossing-sweeper, unkempt, ragged, filthy, was known to everybody, and there was a suitable place for him in the picture. The artist said to this ragged and rugged individual, “I will pay you well if you will come down to my studio and let me take your likeness.” He came round in the morning, but he was soon sent about his business; for he had washed his face, and combed his hair, and donned a respectable suit of clothes. He was needed as a beggar, and was not invited in any other capacity. Even so, the gospel will receive you into its halls if you come as a sinner, not otherwise. Wait not for reformation, but come at once for salvation. God justifies the ungodly, and that takes you up where you now are: it meets you in your worst estate.

THANKS FOR READING

Brothers,

Thank you for taking the time to read this note on a busy Easter week. This Easter, we’ll celebrate that Jesus is alive. And because Jesus is alive, he can raise others to life as well. I believe that this can happen in your church this weekend, by grace.

If this newsletter is encouraging, please share it with another pastor. You can forward this email to a pastor you know.

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Blessings to your ministry,

Doug H.
Creator of SpurgeonBooks

Get wisdom encouragement for Spurgeon in your inbox every week. Subscribe to the The Pastor’s Note newsletter for free.

After an unexpected break, Spurgeon’s Pastor’s Note is back. I apologize for not being able to send this newsletter out over the last few months. I hope and pray this newsletter will continue to be a blessing to your ministry.

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PASTORS (BY SPURGEON)

Brothers, we shall never preach the Savior of sinners better than when we feel ourselves to be the sinners whom he came to save. A penitent mourning for sin fits us to preach repentance. “I preached,” says John Bunyan, “sometimes, as a man in chains to men in chains, hearing the clanking of my own fetters while I preached to those who were bound in affliction and iron.” Sermons wrung out of broken hearts are often the means of consolation to despairing souls. It is well to go to the pulpit, at times, with “God be merciful to me a sinner” as our uppermost prayer. Some mourners will never be cheered till they see the preacher smite upon his own breast, and hear him confess his personal sense of unworthiness.

It would not be right, however, for us to stay upon such low ground, for we preach the gospel, and not the law; we are bound, therefore, to rejoice because we feel the power of the blood of Jesus upon our own consciences, giving us peace and pardon in him. Our joy will give life to our message.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION (BY SPURGEON)

Spurgeon was a master illustrator. You can use this illustration in your own preaching to describe the importance of forgiving others.

It is nobler to forgive and let the offense pass. To let an injury rankle in your bosom and to meditate revenge is to keep old wounds open and to make new ones. Better forget and forgive.

THANKS FOR READING

Brothers,

We are saved by the gospel! What an incredible glory we share in! And even more astounding, we get to preach it to others. Oh, may we never forget to treasure and trust in the grace that we preach.

If this newsletter is encouraging, please share it with another pastor. You can forward this email to a pastor you know.

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Blessings to your ministry,

Doug H.
Creator of SpurgeonBooks

Get wisdom encouragement for Spurgeon in your inbox every week. Subscribe to the The Pastor’s Note newsletter for free.

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PASTORS (BY SPURGEON)

If we obtain conformity to Christ, we shall have a wondrous power upon our ministry; and without that, what is a ministry worth? In a word, we must labor for holiness of character. What is holiness? Is it not wholeness of character? A balanced condition in which there is neither lack nor redundance. It is not morality, that is a cold, lifeless statue; holiness is life.

You must have holiness; and, dear brethren, if you should fail in mental qualifications (though I hope you will not), and if you should have a slender measure of the oratorical faculty (though I trust you will not), yet, depend upon it, a holy life is, in itself, a wonderful power, and will make up for many deficiencies; it is, in fact, the best sermon the best man can ever deliver. Let us resolve that all the purity which can be had we will have, that all the sanctity which can be reached we will obtain, and that all the likeness to Christ that is possible in this world of sin shall certainly be in us through the effectual working of the Spirit of God. 

SERMON ILLUSTRATION (BY SPURGEON)

Spurgeon was a master illustrator. You can use this illustration in your own preaching to describe not associating with evildoers.

So far from being himself an open offender against the laws of God, the Psalmist had not even associated with the lovers of evil. He had kept aloof from the men of Belial. A man is known by his company, and if we have kept ourselves apart from the wicked, it will always be evidence in our favor should our character be impugned. He who was never in the parish is not likely to have stolen the corn. He who never went to sea is clearly not the man who scuttled the ship.

THANKS FOR READING

Brothers,

I hope and pray that today’s newsletter encourages you to cultivate private godliness more than public gifting. Our ministry really is worthless if we are not men of character. But if we are holy, our ministry will stay faithful and fruitful.

Keep your eyes the Word, slay sin, and devote yourself to prayer.

If this newsletter is encouraging, please share it with another pastor. You can forward this email to a pastor you know.

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Blessings to your ministry,

Doug H.
Creator of SpurgeonBooks

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ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PASTORS (BY SPURGEON)

We must cultivate a cogent as well as a clear style in preaching; we must be forceful. Some imagine that this consists in speaking loudly, but I can assure them they are in error. Nonsense does not improve by being bellowed. God does not require us to shout as if we were speaking to three millions when we are only addressing three hundred. Let us be forcible by reason of the excellence of our matter, and the energy of spirit which we throw into the delivery of it. In a word, let our speaking be natural and living.

I hope we have forsworn the tricks of professional orators, the strain after effect, the studied climax, the prearranged pause, the theatrical strut, the mouthing of words, and I know not what besides, which you may see in certain pompous divines who still survive upon the face of the earth. May such preachers become extinct animals before long, and may a living, natural, simple way of talking out the gospel be learned by us all; for I am persuaded that such a style is one which God is likely to bless.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION (BY SPURGEON)

Spurgeon was a master illustrator. You can use this illustration in your own preaching to describe the power of sharing your testimony.

The Samaritans believed because of what the woman told them concerning Jesus. Many of our beliefs arise out of the testimony of others. I believe that there is such a country as Japan; I never saw it, and yet I believe that there is such a place because others have been there. I believe that I shall die; I have never died, but a great many have done so whom I once knew, and therefore I have a conviction that I shall die also.

The testimony of many convinces me of that fact. Listen, then, to those who tell you how they were saved, how they were pardoned, how they were changed in character. If you will look into the matter you will find that somebody just like yourself has been saved.

THANKS FOR READING

Brothers,

It is so tempting to attempt to impress in our preaching. Friends, this is not a performance — it is a sacred trust from God himself. May God humble us and exalt himself in our pulpits this weekend.

If this newsletter is encouraging, please share it with another pastor. You can forward this email to a pastor you know.

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Blessings to your ministry,

Doug H.
Creator of SpurgeonBooks

Get wisdom encouragement for Spurgeon in your inbox every week. Subscribe to the The Pastor’s Note newsletter for free.

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PASTORS (BY SPURGEON)

Oh, the delight of preaching the gospel! I often say to young men who apply for admission to the College, “Don’t you become a minister if you can help it.” And I say to everybody,—Do not become a minister if you can help it; but if you cannot help it, if a divine destiny drives you on, thank God that it is so! You are a happier man, if you are able to preach the gospel, than if you had been elected to a throne. There is no business like it under heaven.

I have heard some say that our professional study of the Word of God may be a hindrance to our growth in the divine life. I know what they mean, and there is some truth in their words; but to me, the preaching of the gospel has been a continual means of grace, and I can say with the Apostle Paul, “This grace was given to me—the least of all the saints—to proclaim to the Gentiles the incalculable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8).

SERMON ILLUSTRATION (BY SPURGEON)

Spurgeon was a master illustrator. You can use this illustration in your own preaching to describe true faith (not self-confidence).

I am told that years ago a boat was upset above the falls of Niagara, and two men were being carried down the current, when persons on the shore managed to float a rope out to them, which rope was seized by them both. One of them held fast to it and was safely drawn to the bank; but the other, seeing a great log come floating by, unwisely let go the rope and clung to the log, for it was the bigger thing of the two, and apparently better to cling to. Alas! the log with the man on it went right over the vast abyss, because there was no union between the log and the shore.

The size of the log was no benefit to him who grasped it; it needed a connection with the shore to produce safety. So when a man trusts to his works, or to sacraments, or to anything of that sort, he will not be saved, because there is no junction between him and Christ; but faith, though it may seem to be like a slender cord, is in the hands of the great God on the shore side; infinite power pulls in the connecting line, and thus draws the man from destruction. Oh the blessedness of faith, because it unites us to God!

THANKS FOR READING

Brothers,

Ministry is hard, but, oh, what a privilege we have to study and teach the Bible! Keep your calling in mind as you persevere through the harder days: we get to teach the Bible!

If this newsletter is encouraging, please share it with another pastor. You can forward this email to a pastor you know.

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Blessings to your ministry,

Doug H.
Creator of SpurgeonBooks

Get wisdom encouragement for Spurgeon in your inbox every week. Subscribe to the The Pastor’s Note newsletter for free.

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PASTORS (BY SPURGEON)

At times I have thought, when I have done preaching, that I have laid down the gospel so clearly, that the nose on one’s face could not be more plain; and yet I perceive that even intelligent hearers have failed to understand what was meant by “Look unto me and be ye saved” (Isaiah 45:22).

Converts usually say that they did not know the gospel until such and such a day; and yet they had heard it for years. The gospel is unknown, not from want of explanation, but from absence of personal revelation. This the Holy Ghost is ready to give, and will give to those who ask him. Yet when given, the sum total of the truth revealed all lies within these words: “Christ died for the ungodly.”

SERMON ILLUSTRATION (BY SPURGEON)

Spurgeon was a master illustrator. You can use this illustration in your own preaching to describe the wages of sin (Romans 6:23).

When we read of anything being a wage, what does it mean? It means that it is a reward for labor. Death is sin’s due reward, and it must be paid. A master employs a man, and it is due to that man that he should receive his wages. If his master did not pay him his wages, it would be an act of gross injustice. Now, if sin did not bring upon man death and misery, it would be an injustice. It is necessary for the very standing of one universe that sin should be punished. It must be so. They that sow must reap. The sin which hires you must pay you. Wrong cannot produce right. Iniquity, transgression and sin must, in the nature of things, become darkness, sorrow, misery, death. Every transgression and disobedience must receive its just recompense of reward. There is no use in attempting to alter it so long as God and justice reign: those who do sin’s work must receive sin’s wage, and “the wages of sin is death.”

THANKS FOR READING

Brothers,

The truth that God the Holy Spirit has to save and grow his people is liberating and humbling. Humbling, because we can’t do it on our own. Liberating, because it’s not up to us. We are not the Savior (Praise God!), but we can point to the One who is.

If this newsletter is encouraging, please share it with another pastor. You can forward this email to a pastor you know.

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Blessings to your ministry,

Doug H.
Creator of SpurgeonBooks