(PREACHERS LISTED IN BACKWARD ORDER OF BIRTH)
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HYMAN
APPELMAN
(1902-1983) |
Hyman Appelman
was born in Russia to orthodox Jewish parents who moved to America in 1914.
Appelman became a trial lawyer in Chicago. At age twenty-eight he was converted
to Christianity, causing his parents to disown him. His father said to
him, "When your sides come together from hunger and you come crawling to
my door, I will throw you a crust of bread as I would any other dog."
Feeling a definite call to preach, he attended Southwestern Baptist Theological
Seminary and became one of the greatest evangelists of his generation.
Dr. Appelman made eight or nine trips around the world and several trips
to Russia as an evangelist. It was hard to find a day in his long ministry
of fifty-three years that he was not preaching somewhere. He was the author
of some forty books. |
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B.R.
LAKIN
(1901-1984) |
Bascom Ray Lakin
was a Baptist pastor and evangelist. He was born in the hill country
of West Virginia, the son of a farmer and distant relative of Devil Anse
Hatfield, of the fueding Hatfields and McCoys. He was saved at age
18 and ordained to preach in 1921. He attended and graduated from Moody
Bible Institute and began pastoring in his home region. In 1939, he was
called to assist E. Howard Cadle at the Cadle Tabernacle in Indianapolis,
Indiana, a church tof over ten thousand and home of a daily radio program,
“Nation’s Family Prayer Period." In 1942, Cadle died and Lakin became
the senior pastor and continued the broadcast. Heard on the powerful
WLW AM radio station in Cincinnati, Lakin preached to virtually the whole
country each night. It has been said that B.R. Lakin was the first
'mega-church' pastor 50 years before the term was even coined. He
pastored the Tabernacle for 13 years before entering full-time evangelism
in 1952. Until his death in 1984, Lakin preached all over the world
and saw over 100,000 conversions to Christ. In his later years, he
was a member of Jerry Falwell's Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg,
VA. |
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W.E.
SANGSTER
(1900-1960) |
William E. Sangster
was one of the great British Methodist preachers of the 20th century.
He did all he could to hold the Methodist denomination to its Biblical
roots during the tumultuous times of religious compromise. He ascended
to the pulpit of London's Westminister Central Hall in 1939, just in time
to lead his congregants through the terrors of World War II. His great
sermon, What If Calamity Comes? deals with those times. His sermons
were regularly halted by bombings in the city. Sometimes he preached
through them, telling hearers, "Those of a nervous disposition may leave
now." During the five years of German bombing, Sangster virtually
lived in the great bomb shelter below the church building. In 1949,
he was elected leader of the Methodist Conference of Great Britian, ephasizing
evangelism and spiritual growth. He was a great student of homeletics,
authoring several books on preaching, including The Craft of Sermon
Construction. He died in 1960 of progressive muscular atrophy, an incurable
neurological disease. |
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D.
MARTYN LLOYD-JONES
(1898-1981) |
Dr. D. Martyn
Lloyd-Jones was born in Wales and at the age of 13 moved to London
in 1914. It was here that he as trained for a medical career and was associated
with the famous Doctor Thomas Horder. During his medical years he was a
much sought after physician and was well respected in his field. He abandoned
his medical career for the Gospel ministry, and served a pastor at the
Presbyterian Church at Sandfields from 1927 to 1938. His teachings were
respected by many including G. Campbell Morgan. He was offered and accepted
the post as associate pastor under Dr. Morgan in 1938. In 1943 when Dr.
Morgan retired he succeeded him as Pastor of Westminster Chapel. His teaching
attracted many and his lectures on Friday night where attended by a wide
range of the populous. He was loved and admired for his dedication to the
scriptures. He retired in 1968, but was much sought after as a special
speaker until his death. |
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WALTER
A. MAIER
(1893-1950) |
Walter Maier held
a doctorate in philosophy from Harvard and taught at Concordia Seminary
in St. Louis, but is best known for his worldwide radio broadcast,
Bringing
Christ To the Nations. He was heard in over 120 nations and by over
twenty million souls. He was a Lutheran at a time when his denomination
was denying the old time religion. He stood true, extolling the reliability
of Scripture and man's need for the sacrifice of Christ. His preaching
was inspiring and direct. Early in his ministry he won the Billings
Prize in Oratory and used all of the rhetorical tools of the good communicator.
Billy Graham called him the greatest evangelist of the 20th century.
In the face of harsh opposition, he never dipped his colors or compromised
his principles. |
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R.G.
LEE
(1886-1974) |
R.G. Lee was the
longtime pastor of the Bellevue Baptist Church of Memphis TN. He
was a great orator and his sermons never failed to show his skill.
He pastored at Bellevue from 1927-1960. During his pastorate there, over
24,000 people joined the church, over 7,600 of these for baptism.
Lee is best known for his sermon, Payday Someday, which he preached
over 1000 times. He was born in South Carolina and educated at Furman University
in Greenville, SC. His first pastorate was at First Baptist Church
of Edgefield, SC where Senator Strom Thurmond and his family were members.
It was there that he first preached his Payday Someday message.
His style was literary but not deep biblically. He 'painted pictures' with
words and his preaching was eloquent and imaginative. |
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J.
STUART HOLDEN
(1874-1934) |
One of the great
'Keswick' preachers of England was John Stuart Holden. He was a contemporary
of F.B. Meyer and G. Campbell Morgan, but was more popular in many circles
of his day. He studied under H.G.C. Moule at Cambridge and became
an Anglican preacher. He succeeded William H. Griffith-Thomas at
St. and ministered there for 30 years. He was a very popular preacher
in North America and made many trips to the U.S. and Canada. He and
his wife were booked on the maiden voyage of the Titanic, but were providentially
hindered from making the trip. Holden was active in missionary causes
like the China Inland Mission. His preaching was vibrant and imaginative.
His sermon titles were especially well thought out. In 1914, he preached
a message on Daniel 3:18 entitled "But If Not..." which was described as
profound and prophectic concerning England's place in the upcoming World
War I. |
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GEORGE
W. TRUETT
(1867-1944) |
The "devout dogmatist,"
George W. Truett pastored the famous First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas
for 44 years. When he took the pastorate there were 715 members;
when he left there were over 7,000. His preaching was powerful, but
seldom expository. He preached extemporaneously, following a very limited
outline written on the backs of envelopes. His application and illustrations
were especially strong, and his delivery was powerful. He was adroit
at evangelistic preaching and revivals. In a hunting accident, he
killed his best friend and the sheriff of Dallas County. The pain
of this event almost drove him from the ministry. It is said that
his preaching was "like a cavalry charge." One biographer said, "He
was gifted with access to the human heart." |
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G.
CAMPBELL MORGAN
(1863-1945) |
G. Campbell Morgan
was born in Tetbury, England, the son of a Baptist minister. When
he was 10 years old, he heard D.L. Moody preach, which made such an impression
that he began preaching himself at the age of 13. Two years later, he was
preaching regularly in country chapels during his Sundays and holidays.
In 1886, at the age of 23, he left the teaching profession, for which he
had been trained, and began devoting his full time to the ministry of the
Word of God. He was ordained as a Congregationalist in 1890, having been
rejected by the Wesleyan Methodists two years before. His reputation as
preacher and Bible expositor soon encompassed England and spread to the
United States. He crossed the Atlantic 54 times preaching for many great
stawarts of the faith. He preached for his hero Moody many times
and, upon Moody's death, assumed the position of director of the Northfield
Bible Conference. In 1904, Campbell became pastor of the great Westminster
Chapel of London. His preaching was attended by thousands. He went to be
with the Lord on May 16, 1945, at the age of 81. His paramount contribution
to the Christian faith lay in teaching the Bible and showing people how
to study it for themselves. |
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A.T.
ROBERTSON
(1863-1934) |
Archibald T. Robertson
was a scholar and an expositor. As the author of more than 40 books
and a professor at Southern Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY, he
influenced hundreds of thousands in their Christian life and service.
His books are still on the shelves of preachers and teachers today, especially
the great Word Pictures of the New Testament and his commentaries.
He was sometimes severe in his preaching style as he was blunt and direct,
but he also possessed a good sense of humor and delighted audiences with
references to Deacon Skinflint, Sister Sharptounge, and Dr. Dry-as-dust.
The Greek language was his specialty; he preached with a Greek New Testament
in his hands. He was born in Virginia and grew up in North Carolina.
As a youth, he had a speech impediment, which he overcame by preaching. |
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JOHN
HENRY JOWETT
(1863-1923) |
John Henry Jowett
was an English preacher who became known as the "greatest practitioner
of the homiletic art of his time." He grew up in a Christian home
and always gave credit to his parents for what he became. He also
credited his childhood Sunday School teacher as a great influence.
His teacher's vivid lessons made a great impression. He pastored
numerous great churches in England and crossed the Atlantic to preach in
America many times. He was a stylist of preachers who cared greatly
for words, so much so that he studied the dictionary as a textbook.
His sermons were well studied, but not bookish, always committed to the
grand themes of the Christian faith. He was a voluminous writer,
with many of his works still in print today. |
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BILLY
SUNDAY
(1862-1935) |
Billy Sunday was
a colorful and powerful preacher who preached to hundreds of thousands
at the turn of the 20th century. He got his start in preaching by
helping J. Wilbur Chapman (see his bio below) in his revival campaigns.
Chapman schooled him in doctrine and homiletics. In 1898, he set out on
his own to preach. His crusades became regional events, with thousands
turning out to hear him. He became as well known as any man in America,
including the president. He had been a baseball player before his
conversion, and was known in his early ministry as "the baseball evangelist."
His preaching against "booze" was one of the main influences for prohibition.
He was a conservative and a fundamentalist. Because he was direct
in his style and often uncouth, he was accused of being somewhat of a buffoon.
Though he used homey illustrations and backyard metaphors, his preaching
was filled with the Bible. Many old line preachers despised his aggressiveness
and his know-it-all demeanor. It was easy to take shots at a man
like Sunday, but no one could gainsay the thousands who accepted Christ
after his preaching. |
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SAMUEL
LOGAN BRENGLE
(1860-1936) |
Samuel Logan Brengle
was born in Fredericksburg, Indiana, of William and Rebecca Brengle,
June 1, 1860. When the lad was two years of age, his schoolteacher
father joined the Confederacy as a soldier in the Civil War. Wounded
in the siege of Vicksburg, he returned home to die. His widowed mother
faithfully instructed him in the things of God. She married again
and the family was constantly on the move, but church attendance never
lagged. Throughout his youth, Samuel was sensitive to God's dealings
and settled his salvation as a teen. When his mother died unexpectedly,
he threw himself into his studies and became an excellent student.
He attended DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, and later Boston
Theological Seminary. He received offers to pastor a number of large
Methodist churches but joined the Salvation Army and began by shining the
shoes of other cadets. He proved himself as a godly and humble young
preacher and received a commission to preach in Boston. Thus began
a prolific ministry of over 40 years that included authoring many books
and pamplets. He believed in a "second blessing" for believers and
the doctrine nearest his heart was the holiness of God. He was once
asked for his secret of holiness to which he replied: Keep in the will
of God, obey Him, seek Him daily, waiting at His gates. Read the Bible
regularly. Never neglect secret prayer. Keep testifying to the grace bestowed
upon you. Help others. |
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CHARLES
E. JEFFERSON
(1860-1937) |
Charles Jefferson
was a gifted preacher and scholar from Ohio who taught at Ohio Wesleyan
and Ohio State University. He pastored the Broadway Tabernacle in
Manhattan for more than 30 years, where Charles Finney had labored before
him. He was called the "greatest American preacher" by some and was
profoundly influenced by Phillips Brooks. He was simple and direct in his
style and was penetratingly serious about the ministry and the craft of
preaching. His sermons lasted around an hour and were extemporaneous.
As the theological wars raged between liberalism and the historic Christian
faith, Jefferson found himself in the middle and tried to be a peacemaker.
As he aged, his compromise became more and more evident. He began
with a sentimental attachment to the old paths, but gradually drifted from
complete orthodoxy. |
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J.
WILBUR CHAPMAN
(1859-1917) |
John Wilbur Chapman
was born in Richmond, Indiana, on June 17, 1859 to Christian parents who
raised him in preparation for the ministry. He publicly professed
Christ at seventeen and entered college and then the seminary. He
pastored several Presbyterian churches before entering evangelism in 1893.
He preached with D. L. Moody, acting as an "advance man" for him in his
crusades. When he later began his own evangelistic meetings, he hired
a young man named billy Sunday as his own advance man. From 1904-1909 Chapman
began to develop and promote a new method of urban evangelism. His idea
was to hold several meetings throughout a city simultaneously, thereby
reaching more people and stirring more hearts to enter into Christian service.
He began in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, and included cities in Australia,
New Zealand, Japan, China, Philippines, Ireland, Scotland and India in
his world-wide itinerary. What became known as "mass evangelism"
came from his techniques. His sermons were put in book form and even
still can be found today. We was a writer of hymns, the three most
popular being, "One Day," "Tis Jesus," and "One Great Day." Chapman
was a theological conservative who believed in the imminent return of Christ
and the inerrancy of Scripture. He once advocated that his denomination
recall all foreign missionaries from the field who did not hold to inerrancy.
He possessed a deep and musical voice in the pulpit and a good sense of
humor. His sermons were well illustrated and fully applied, and serve
as excellent models for today's preacher. "I
cannot ever recall any hesitation as to being a minister," he said. "It
just had to be." |
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LOUIS
ALBERT BANKS
(1855-1933) |
Louis Albert Banks
was a Methodist preacher from the state of Oregon. He pastored churches
in Boston, Kansas City, Denver and Cleveland. He was widely known
and published in his time, but, until now, few of his sermons can be found
online. He was a dynamic speaker, eloquent and illustrative.
Like all great preachers, he took the common truths of scripture and dressed
them in direct and vibrant language. The First Methodist Church of
Cleveland, Ohio was the scene of his greatest ministry as real revival
was seen there for a time. He was a reform minded minister in all of his
pastorates. He protested against the saloon keepers and was shot
and severely wounded in Seattle. He took the side of the aliens in
the Anti-Chinese riots. In Massachusetts, he called for the eight-hour
labor law and protested the sweatshops in the cities.While pastoring in
Boston, he ran for governor of Massachusetts on the Prohibition Party ticket.
He was a child prodigy who entered college at the age of eleven. The Methodist
denomination has declined dramatically in the years since this great man
preached, but Banks was true to the Scripture and his Savior. |
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F.B.
MEYER
(1847-1929) |
Fredrick Brotherton
Meyer was one of the greatly loved preachers of his day. Meyer was a pastor,
author, Bible teacher and evangelist. He was born in London in 1847 and
grew up in a Christian home. He graduated from London University in 1869
and began pastoring in 1870, and in 1872 he went to Priory Street Baptist
Chapel. There he met D. L. Moody, who made a lasting impression upon his
life and taught him valuable spiritual lessons. In 1895 he went to Christ
Church in London, with only 100 attending regularly. Within two years,
attendance grew to over 2,000. After leaving the pastorate, he began
a ministry of conference preaching and evangelism, traveling all over the
world. Meyer was a frequent visitor to the United States and Canada and
at the age of 80, he conducted his twelfth American preaching campaign,
traveling more than 15,000 miles and addressing over 300 meetings. It is
said that he preached more than 16,000 sermons in his lifetime. Meyer
had a great influence on many of the great peachers of his generation.
J. Wilbur Chapman and Charles Spurgeon loved to hear him preach.
Spurgeon was quoted as saying: "Meyer preaches as a man who has seen
God face to face." He authored over 40 books, many still in print and
enjoyed by Christians today. Meyer died in 1929 in his eighty-second year. |
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DAVID
JAMES BURRELL
(1844-1926) |
David James Burrell
was born at Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, in 1849. He graduated from Yale
College in 1867. He was saved as a young preacher trying to comfort an
old Scottish backslider at death. The old man interrogated Burrell
until he had to admit his lost condition. He came to Christ beside
the dying man's bed. In 1891, he became pastor of the Marble Collegiate
Church in New York City. The church, still active, is the oldest
continuing congregation of Protestants in the USA. Of the Dutch Reformed
denomination, later Presbyterian, the church started in 1628.
Burrell was pastor, professor and preacher to many of New York's highest
citizens. His delivery was said to be clear-cut and vigorous, rising to
dramatic heights of eloquence. Burrell was a prolific writer and
many of his sermons still exist. He is so unknown today that his
church does not even mention him in its online history, instead extolling
Norman Vincent Peale, who pastored there a generation later. Burrell
delivered original, highly entertaining sermons that are still beneficial
for us today. |
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B.H.
CARROLL
(1843-1914) |
Benajah Harvey
Carroll was born in Mississippi and raised in Texas. He was a soldier
for the Confederate army. In 1865, at the age of twenty two, he converted
to Christianity at a Methodist camp meeting after taking up a preacher's
challenge to experiment with Christianity. After the war, he was
pastor of the First Baptist Church of Waco and later the founder of the
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, still the largest seminary in
the world. He was a powerful leader of the Southern Baptist Convention
and was a formidable foe in the political controversies that often arose.
He almost always found himself on the conservative side of such issues.
He was mildly Calvinistic and a postmillieniallst. He stood strongly
against Modernism and Catholicism. He believed that preaching was the essence
of the pastor's duty; he was an expositor in the truest sense. He
believed in the authority and the inspiration of the Bible first and foremost.
He criticized and chided the "Higher Criticism" teachers as being false
brethren. Carroll published 33 volumes of works, and is best known for
his 17-volume commentary, An Interpretation of the English Bible.
Benajah Harvey Carroll died November 11, 1914, and is buried at the Oakwood
Cemetery in Waco, Texas. |
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C.I.
SCOFIELD
(1842-1921) |
Cyrus Ingersoll
Scofield will forever be known as the editor of The Scofield Reference
Bible, a study Bible still being used by conservative Christians to this
day. But many do not know that he was a soldier for Robert E. Lee
in the Civil War, and later a lawyer. Born in Michigan and raised
in Tennessee, he was active in politcs after the war in the state of Kansas.
Saved at 36 years old, he left behind a life of drunkeness and debauchary.
He successfully pastored churches and preached as an evangelist.
A serious Bible student, he wrote study courses, phamplets and books.
His study Bible was his crowning acheivement. His preaching was practical
and memorable. Many of the great preachers of his day gravitated
to him such as Moody and Torrey. Scofield's life was a testament
to the grace and power of God. |
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ALEXANDER
WHYTE
(1836-1921) |
Alexander Whyte
rose from humble beginnings to become one of Scotland's greatest preachers.
His mother and father were unmarried at his birth. His father was
unsaved and his Christian mother refused to compound her sin by marrying
an unbeliever. Later his father would be saved as a soldier for the
Union army in the American Civil War. He was killed at Bull Run.
His mother took him to many church meetings as a child and as a young man
he was a shoemaker's apprentice. Always a careful student, he seemingly
came out of nowhere by preaching in revival meetings of 1859. His
preaching caught the eye of educators and he was taught theology by Robert
Candlish and others. A shy person by nature, he was like a lion in
the pulpit. He preached hard on the depravity of man and the need
of salvation. His messages are described as "imaginative, arresting,
and awakening." He was very knowledgeable on a variety of subjects
and used that knowledge in his sermons. It is said that he studied
with Roget's Thesaurus at his elbow. His written sermons stand the
test of time and are valuable for the Christian to study today. |
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PHILLIPS
BROOKS
(1835-1893) |
By the end of
the 19th century there was an undertow of unbelief and liberalism in some
church movements and preachers. Phillips Brooks was on the edge of
this phenomenon. He was from the old Puritan stock and educated at
Harvard. His preaching often centered more on self-help than on the
fundamental truths of doctrine. Though not a denier of those truths,
his preaching had a humanistic and idealistic flavor. Brooks is a
forerunner of new-evangelicals like Joel Osteen and Billy Graham,
men whose sermons are somewhat Biblical, but emasculated. We include some
of his sermons here because of his oratorical skill, the artistry of his
words and as an example of the period in which he lived. He was also
the author of the Christmas hymn, O Little Town of Bethlehem. |
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CHARLES
H. SPURGEON
(1834-1892) |
Spurgeon was a
one-of-a-kind preacher. There was never a preacher like him before
or since. His story is truly unique in the history of preaching.
He started preaching at sixteen and had preached over 1000 times by the
time he was 21 years old. Almost immediately, he was a master
with word pictures and illustrations. His delivery was like music
or poetry and his written word remains as powerful today as it was during
his life. Unbelieveably, Spurgeon had no formal education, but he
was very well-read in Puritan theology, natural history, and Latin and
Victorian literature. His lack of a college degree proved to be no hindrance
to his remarkable preaching career. Spurgeon began publishing shortly after
he started preaching. In January 1855, the "Penny Pulpit" began,
publishing one sermon every week; the series continued until 1917, a quarter-century
after Spurgeon's death. Every year these sermons were reissued in book
form, first as The New Park Street Pulpit (6 volumes, 1855-1860) and later
as The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit (57 volumes, 1861-1917). Spurgeon
published scores of religious books in addition to his sermons...During
his ministry, he edited a periodical, The Sword and the Trowel, in which
he dealt with both theology and politics. Three hundred million copies
of his printed works have been in circulation, mostly his sermons.
His book on preaching, Lectures to My Students, has had over 500,000
copies printed. His two-volume commentary on Psalms, the Treasury
of David, is sitting on the shelves of over 150,000 libraries. His
sermons are still being printed today and sell as well or better than any
contemporary preacher. Though not an expositor in the style of Maclaren,
he was thoroughly Biblical in his messages. His thought process was
deep, but his preaching was understandable to even the most simple minds.
It has been said that his hearers listened as one who was hearing a will
read or hearing his sentence given by a judge. Many of his sermons
are available at www.spurgeon.org and other good sites.
Here at NewsForChristians.com, we try to feature sermons by Spurgeon that
are not available at the other sites. |
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T.
DEWITT TALMAGE
(1832-1902) |
Thomas DeWitt
Talmage, clergyman and lecturer, was born near Boundbrook, New Jersey,
January 7, 1832, the son of David Talmage, a farmer, and his wife Catharine
Van Nest. He was educated at the University of the City of New York where
he studied law, but changed to theology and was graduated from the New
Brunswick Theological Seminary in 1856. He preached in the Dutch Reformed
Church in Belleville, New Jersey, in Syracuse, and in Philadelphia. In
1869 he went to the Central Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, where he drew
immense crowds because of his eloquence and his showmanship. His sermons
were published weekly by a syndicate in over 3,000 newspapers. He became
editor of the Christian Herald in 1890, and after 1899 devoted all of his
time to it. Known as the American Spurgeon, Talmage was an emotional and
passionate preacher. When warned that his gospel message might deny him
the best pulpits, he said, "If I cannot preach in America, I will go to
the heathen lands and preach." He was aggressive, not concerned with
the feelings of his hearers. His central message was the Christ,
His love and sacrifice. He once said, "I shall take all of the Bible,
or none." Many criticized his theatrical pulpit style, but not his
results. He was not a true expositor, as many on this page, but he
was full of zeal and passion, and thousands responded. He was orthodox
in his doctrine, never wavering from historic Christianity, and his sermons
still touch people today. |
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JOSEPH
PARKER
(1830-1902) |
Joseph Parker
was a pastor, preacher and author from England. Saved at the age
of twelve, he preached his first sermon at eighteen. He pastored
in London for over 30 years and saw many converted. Parker’s early
pastoral ministry took him to places such as Banbury in Oxfordshire and
Manchester, and earned him a reputation as a dedicated and gifted preacher.
He was a Congregationalist, which was a non-conformist demonination, stressing
evangelism and revival. His abilities and gifts led him to the greatest
venue in England---London. He became pastor of the once great Poultry Chapel,
which had fallen on hard times. For the next 33 years, he would lead
the congregation through a building program and anchange of names---to
City Temple. Parker was a contemperary of Charles Spurgeon---their
churches only miles apart. Many were critical of Parker throughout
his ministry. They called him a 'egotist' and 'vain.' His preaching
had a flair for the dramatic, and was passionate in the pulpit. He
was a strong personaility that seemed larger than life, and seemed to enjoy
people's negative reactions. Parker was committed to the importance of
preaching, defining it as "dignified converstation." He was once
asked by a reporter what his hobbies were, and explained simply, "preaching."
Parker's creativity sparkled in his sermons, along with a dramatic flair.
He was somewht ecumenical, but stood firmly with the conservatives in the
great controversy over higher criticism. Parker's great work, The People's
Bible, was a collection of sermons on the entire Bible. Some
of those messages will be featured here. |
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HENRY
P. LIDDON
(1829-1890) |
Henry Parry Liddon
was a contemporary of Charles Spurgeon and Joseph Parker, and was heard
gladly by thousands every week at St. Paul's Church in London. An
able scholar, he served on the faculty of Oxford and other schools throughout
his life. Liddon's sermons and writings corrected the errors of his
day like the higher criticism and Unitarianism. He stood against
compromising ministers and exposed them, refusing to preach in their churches.
He never married and considered the ministry his 'wife.' He loved
preaching from the Old Testament and extolled its trustworthiness for Christian
doctrine. Those who heard him preach described his style as "striking,
penetrating and magnetic." Those who knew him personally said that
his personal devotion to Christ was what made his preaching so powerful.
His sermon manuscripts are unique and still worthy of study. |
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JOHN
A. BROADUS
(1827-1895) |
John A. Broadus
is called by some the father of American expository preaching. Charles
Spurgeon deemed Broadus the “greatest of living preachers.” Church historian
Albert Henry Newman said “perhaps the greatest man the Baptists have produced.”
He became a Christian at sixteen years old in a revival meeting and studied
the classics at the University of Virginia. After graduation, he
preached in local churches in Charlottesville and taught at the college.
He was instrumental in the formation of Southern Theological Seminary now
in Louisville, Kentucky. He was a great scholar and academic, fluent
in eleven languages, and versed in the classics and in Greek. Broadus
was a personal friend of both Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee, and
ministered to the Southern troops in the War Between the States.
His wartime sermons were carried in many newspapers across the south. He
was totally committed to the inspiration of the Scriptures, denying the
Higher Criticism of many in that day. His book on preaching,
On the
Preparation and Delivery of Sermons, is still in print over 100 years
after his death. His pulpit style was direct and conversational.
Broadus believed in a classical style of oratory, always expounding on
a text and preached extemporaneously. He preached conversationally
with few gestures, but was piercing and impressive in tone. Broadus
was a very popular preacher and highly respected in his time and after. |
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ALEXANDER
MACLAREN
(1826-1910) |
This Scottish
preacher was known as the 'Prince of Expositors' and "the supreme example
of the Protestant expository preacher." He was born in Glasgow, Scotland,
the son of a merchant and lay preacher. The family moved to Edinburgh,
where as a 12 year old, MacLaren accepted Christ and was publicly baptized.
He was educated at Glasgow University and Stepney College, a Baptist college
in London. He became thoroughly grounded in Greek and Hebrew and learned
to study the Bible in the original languages. This laid the foundation
for his distinctive work as an expositor and for the biblical content of
his preaching. He became a much sought after preacher and accepted the
pastorate at Union Chapel in Manchester in 1858. He was the pastor
there for 45 years until 1903. His emphasis on exegeting the text was a
lifelong hallmark. He refused many preaching engagements in order
to further his studies in the Word and was fundamental is his doctrine,
never veering off the path of the historic truths. He usually preached
about 40 minutes, his voice strong and diction clear, his Scottish brogue
making his words musical and penetrating. Almost always dividing his text
into three parts, Robertson Nicoll said he served the Bread of Life "on
a three pronged fork." He was a preacher who loved his craft, saying,
"I cannot ever recall any hesitation as to being a minister. It just
had to be." Along with Spurgeon, his sermons are the most read of
the 19th century. He was truly a man that today's preacher would
do well to study and emulate. |
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THEODORE
CUYLER
(1822-1909) |
Theodore L. Cuyler
was a leading Presbyterian minister and religious writer in the United
States. Born at Aurora, New York, Cuyler's father died before Cuyler was
five years old. Cuyler graduated from Princeton University in 1841 and
from the Princeton Theological Seminary in 1846, then became a pastor in
Burlington, New Jersey. He was successful in reviving the flagging
institution under his pastorship, and in 1853 he realized similar success
as pastor of the Market Street Dutch Reformed Church in New York City.
These successes led to Cuyler's installation in 1860 as the pastor of the
Park Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, from which he oversaw the construction
of the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church a block away, completed in
1862. The newly constructed church, under Cuyler's leadership, became the
largest Presbyterian Church in the United States. His circle of acquaintances
included other noted preachers of the day, including Horatius Bonar, Charles
Spurgeon, Benjamin M. Palmer, D. L. Moody, and Charles G. Finney. His ministry
was greatly affected by the death of one of his children and the agonies
of the Civil War. He was a prolific writer and many of his sermons
remain to this day. The reader will find them full of imagery and
vivid illustrations. |
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CHARLES
KINGSLEY
(1819-1875) |
England's Charles
Kingsley preached his first sermon at four years old. The son of a preacher
himself, he was a prodigy. He was robust in his studies and his preaching.
He was a writer of poetry, drama and novels; his novel Westward Ho
is still considered a classic even today. He once wrote that false
religion was "the opiate of the people." Karl Marx seized upon the
phrase and famously labeled all religion by the title. Kingsley ministered
in poor areas and identified with his people's needs. He was a champion
for social change in England. Kingsley had a love for the Bible and
loved to expound it. He fought against the compromise and error of
the day, but did embrace Darwin's theory of evolution and corresponded
with Darwin regularly. His success in writing led him to friendships
with with great authors of the day, like Whittier, Harriet Beecher Stowe
and William Cullen Bryant. He was considered a good and godly father
and husband, traits not as plentiful among preachers as they should be.
Kingsley is not well known in our day, but deserves to be read. |
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J.C.
RYLE
(1816-1900) |
John Charles Ryle
was born in Macclesfield, England in 1816 to a wealthy and socially elite
family. He grew into a good athlete and an excellent student. He
was destined for a life in politics until God intervened. At 21,
Ryle suffered a protracted lung infection. During his confinement, he began
to read the Bible, something that, according to his own admission, he had
not done for 14 years. As he read in Ephesians Chapter Two, God convicted
his soul and he accepted Him. When he was 25 years old, his father's
bank failed and his family lost all its wealth overnight. He later
wrote, “We got up one summer’s morning with all the world before us as
usual, and went to bed that same night completely and entirely ruined.
The immediate consequences were bitter and painful in the extreme, and
humiliating to the utmost degree.” Ryle would never again be blessed with
wealth. He married and lost three wives to early deaths. At times
he was left with small children to care for alone. As a pastor and
revival speaker, he began writing extensively. He wrote sermons in
longhand and had them published in phamplets and tracts. He wrote
commentaries and books in a simple and logical style that is still readable
today. Ryle's writings have enjoyed a renewal in the last 75 years,
as his books and writings continue to be published for Christians of this
generation. |
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ROBERT
MURRAY MCCHEYNE
(1813-1843) |
McCheyne was another
Scottish divine who soared high in the spiritual realm of preaching in
only 30 years of living. He was a gifted child, learning the Greek
alphabet at four years old and graduating from University of Edinburgh
at fourteen. He pastored over 1000 people at St. Peter's of Dundee
and preached in many extended meetings. His ministry stressed missions,
and it was on a mission trip to Palestine that he became extremely sick.
His health was frail all his life. One of his nuggets of wisdom,
"Live so as to be missed" is an appropriate description of his life, as
his preaching is still blessing others to this day. |
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HORATIUS
BONAR
(1808-1889) |
Descended from
a line of godly Scottish ministers, Horatius Bonar was born in Edinburgh,
Dec. 19th. 1808, being the sixth son of James & Marjory Bonar. Losing
his father when 12, Horatius was molded by the influence of a saintly mother
and brothers. As an student at Edinburgh University, he came under the
beneficial influence of Dr. Thomas Chalmers. Horatius had two brothers,
John James, and Andrew, who also became ministers and were all closely
involved with Chalmers, William C. Burns and Robert Murray M'Cheyne
in the important spiritual movements in Scotland in the 1830s and 1840s.
He had a passionate heart for revival and was a friend and supporter of
revivalists, and defended D. L. Moody's evangelistic ministry in Scotland.
He authored many excellent works and many of his sermons remain today.
He wrote many hymns that have been used in churches up to the present.
Later in life, he became pastor of Chalmers' church and continued there
for over 20 years. He was a powerful soul winner, preacher and writer
whose works are still renowned. |
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GEORGE
MULLER
(1805-1898) |
George Müller,
English preacher and philanthropist, was born near Halberstadt, Germany,
on the 27th of September 1805, the son of an exciseman [formerly, a government
agent who collects excise tax on goods and prevents smuggling]. He subsequently
became a naturalized British subject. Educated in Germany, he resolved
in 1826 to devote himself to missionary work, and in 1828 went to London
to prepare for an appointment offered him by the Society for promoting
Christianity among the Jews. In 1830, however, he gave up the idea of missionary
work, and became minister of a small congregation at Teignmouth, Devonshire.
He contended that the temporal as well as the spiritual needs of life could
be supplied by prayer, and on this principle abolished pew rents and refused
to take a fixed salary. After two years at Teignmouth, Müller removed
to Bristol, where he spent the rest of his life. He devoted himself particularly
to the care of orphan children. He began by taking a few under his charge,
but in course of time their number increased to 2000, settled in five large
houses erected for the purpose at Ashley Down, near Bristol. The money
required for the carrying on of this work was voluntarily contributed,
mainly as a result of the wide circulation of Müller's narrative The
Lord's Dealings with George Müller. When he was over seventy he started
on a preaching mission, which lasted nearly seventeen years and included
Europe, America, India, Australia and China. He died at Bristol on the
10th of March 1898. [Bio from Wholesome
Words.] |
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THOMAS
CHALMERS
(1780-1847) |
From Fifeshire,
Scotland, this great preacher was know as the 'solar man.' In the pulpit
he was like the sun in prominence and power. He led over 400 fellow
preachers out of the state church and formed the Free Church in 1843.
He was friends with Sir Walter Scott, William Gladstone and Thomas Carlyle,
among others. He was thoroughly a Puritan preacher, stressing man's
sin and God's grace. He was convinced of the authority of scripture,
always honoring the Word. His vocabulary is from a different age
and difficult for some to follow, but blessings await the reader who tackles
his sermons. |
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CHRISTMAS
EVANS
(1766-1838) |
Christmas Evans
was born of Christmas Day in 1766. His father was a poor cobbler
in South Wales. Christmas had a tough childhood, as his father died
when he was nine years old. As a teen, he ran with the rough crowd
and barely escaped death several times. In 1783, unlearned and unable
to read and write, Christmas Evans accepted Christ. He taught himself
to read and write and became, according to Spurgeon, "the John Bunyan of
Wales." In 1787, he was attacked by some of his former friends and
lost one of his eyes. At first, he preached itinerately, walking
as much as 20 miles on a Sunday to reach his preaching engagements.
Evans taught himself Greek and Hebrew and preached in his native Welsh
and in English. He became immersed in theology and took sound Biblical
positions on the questions of his day. His sermons stand as some
of the greatest ever. They are organized and structured, doctrinal
and Christilogical. It was said that his sermons evoked uproarous
laughter and convulsive tears. Evans was truly a giant in the pulpit and
led thousands to a knowledge of Christ. |
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GEORGE
WHITEFIELD
(1714-1770) |
George Whitefield
was one of the most original preachers in the history of the church.
With a powerful and dramatic style, this Englishman has been called
the greatest preacher since the Apostle Paul and the Demosthenes of the
pulpit. His preaching in the US was a main cause of the Great Awakening.
A master of imagination, metaphor, and drama, it is said that his delivery
was like that of a a great actor. He was a protégé of the
Wesleys and Methodism, but moved away from their theology toward a more
Calvinist position. Though he died at 56 years old, the world is
still feeling the impact of his life. His sermons are available on
many internet sites and all are worthy. The fourteen messages to
the right are representitive of his ministry. |
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JONATHAN
EDWARDS (1703-1758) |
Some say that
Jonathan Edwards was the most powerful and most effective preacher ever
heard on the American continent. He is generally regarded as America's
first "great mind." He was a scientist, philosopher, author, educator,
and preacher. Edwards embodies puritanism to most people today and
his sermons are still published and read widely. His belief in the
holiness of God and the depravity of man caused many to abhor his preaching.
Oliver Wendell Holmes described his sermons as "barbaric." Mark Twain called
him "a drunken lunatic." D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones contended that "Puritanism
reached its fullest bloom" in Edwards, saying, "He preached sermons...he
did not deliver lectures." Search the internet for many more
of Edward's sermons online. |
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