REVIEWS
47
Sermons on great prayers of the Bible
C H Spurgeon, Hendrickson Press( 2015)
10 Second Sermons
Milton Jones, Darton, Longman & Todd( 2011)
It is likely that any preachers out there – among whom I count myself – will have heard of Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Affectionately known as the‘ Prince of Preachers’, he was one of England’ s best known preachers in the second half of the nineteenth century( 1834 – 1892).
It seems almost unbelievable now, with so many of our churches facing dwindling congregations and a sermon that you might have spent a few days sweating over and preparing being finally delivered to less than thirty, that Spurgeon routinely preached to 6,000 in London’ s Metropolitan Tabernacle( a stone’ s throw from Elephant and Castle tube station). It beggars belief that he also did this in an age before microphones and any amplification systems. The fact that books like these, comprising a selection of his best sermons, are still being published is testimony to the quality, power and message of those original sermons.
In this volume we have thirteen of Spurgeon’ s sermons that are all based on great prayers that have been prayed at different times throughout the Bible, ranging from Moses on Mount Sinai with God( Exodus) to John in exile on Patmos( Revelation). The others include the Psalms, Judges, 1 Chronicles, Nehemiah, Isaiah, Daniel and all four Gospels. My own particular favourite is that which focuses on the‘ preparatory prayers of Christ’ in which Spurgeon examines the many occasions when Jesus resorted to prayer. Spurgeon makes the obvious point that Jesus‘ was a man of much prayer’ and compares his skills as a preacher with those of prayer, concluding that‘ he appears to have been even mightier in prayer.’
It is in this sermon, also, that Spurgeon alludes to the length of
RAY TAYLOR
his address:‘ I must hasten on, lest time should fail us before I have finished.’ By my reckoning each of these sermons must have lasted at least an hour. If you try reading one out loud and account for natural pauses and so on it is difficult to get it under the hour and make it sensible. One has got to admire the levels of concentration and stamina of the Victorian congregations. Nowadays the usual advice is not to make your sermon much longer than about fifteen minutes!
The success of Spurgeon as a preacher was not down to any secret formula. His principles were quite simple. First and foremost he preached the gospel and the good news – his message was always firmly grounded in Scripture and in the Lord Jesus Christ. But he preached it in a simple, straightforward way that everyone could understand and, crucially, he made it relevant and meaningful to their everyday lives.
Preachers today would do well to follow the same guidelines. Meanwhile Spurgeon’ s sermons( this is only a small selection of his vast output) still serve as a source of inspiration and are timeless in their appeal
I must confess I had not heard of Milton Jones but it is good to know he is a successful comedian as well as a Christian.
This is a pocket-sized book which I think many people will enjoy. It contains 78 short, pithy comments on Christianity and the church, which are thought-provoking as well as bringing a smile to your face. At first I was not sure what to make of them. I enjoyed most but did not fully understand others. Let me give you an example:
‘ The Holy Spirit is a real person you can invite in. But watch out, sooner or later he will go over to the fridge, pull it out and say“ what’ s all this mess under here?”... but at least he helps clear up.’
Some could certainly enrich a sermon, for example;‘ Faith is like standing still in the noise, knowing that the bus is coming, and occasionally through the fog and the traffic, catching a glimpse of something big and red.’
I enjoyed this book for myself and can think of many people to whom I would like to give it
JEAN BALL