This week our Systematic Theology series transitioned from Theology Proper to the study of human beings — our creation, lives, and purpose. And, as always, here are the notes:
The video is available on YouTube right here.
Last night I was talking with a pastor friend. We were discussing the technology we have at our disposal and how the Internet has changed the way we communicate.
Preachers have always looked for ways to disseminate their message: hand-written letters, dictated epistles, printing-press flyers, books, magazines, newspapers, radio, television, cassettes, CD, DVD, and now the worldwide web. Who knows what’s around the corner?
I asked my friend why his messages — good, solid sovereign grace sermons — weren’t more readily available. He replied that he does occasionally allow himself to be recorded, but the copies are distributed via CD to local members and friends. “Why not on the web?” I asked.
“Well,” he replied, “I worry because I don’t speak perfectly — I don’t cite every source, I might misquote a verse, I get something jumbled and have to correct myself. So, I’m insecure about my messages.”
That’s the concern of every self-aware preacher. We know we’re handling God’s word and we want to get it right. But, we are faulty, frail humans and we make very natural, common mistakes. What’s the solution? Well, in my case, digital editing.
I reminded my friend that I listen to every message I preach and make sure to remove or fix obvious errors before they become part of the “permanent record” on our website. I make no secret of that fact. I consider it part of my job as a teacher of the gospel. I want to do it to the best of my ability and my responsibility does not end at the point of saying something out loud. If I can make it better before our listeners hear it, then I do that.
That admission led to a conversation about great preachers of the past and how meticulous they had to be since they only had one shot at their sermons and could not edit their words after the fact …
Except that they did.
I was recently given a wonderful gift. It was a black binder containing a page of hand-written notes from Charles Hadden Spurgeon. I am a Spurgeon fan. It’s not for nothing that he’s referred to as “the prince of preachers.” His way with words was magnificent and his ability to find the perfect turn of a phrase is something to behold. Add to that the fact that he spoke in an extemporaneous fashion from mere bullet points and his verbal dexterity is nearly miraculous …
Except that it isn’t.
It turns out that Spurgeon edited his sermons before they were sent to the printer for publication in local newspapers and his magazine, “The Sword and Trowel.” As he was speaking, his secretaries transcribed his spoken words and presented their handwritten copies to him each Sunday evening. Spurgeon went through these handwritten copies and made corrections with his purple pen. Spurgeon said that the purple ink commemorated the royalty of Christ.
The copies of Spurgeon’s sermons we have today are the edited, re-worked, cleaned-up versions of what he actually said. Pauses, stammers, missed points, etc. were fixed in the editing … rather like I do when I run my sermons through my digital audio editor.
The explanation of “Spurgeon’s Sermon Publication Process” from Spurgeon College in London (who also certified and validated the authenticity of the transcript) explains, “This was no mere correction of minor detail, but involved extensive amendment. Thus, not only words are replaced, but sentences, paragraphs, and even pages. His wife characterized it as ‘always a labour of love, yet… a labour.'”
Anyway, I now have in my possession a page of notes, written by one of Spurgeon’s secretaries, hand-corrected by the preacher himself. It’s a reminder that none of us is perfect. And we all, as preachers, have a responsibility to do our jobs and communicate God’s truths to the best of our ability.
The page is from the sermon “God’s Thoughts of Peace, and Our Expected End.” It was delivered at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in Newington on May 29, 1887. It is based on Jeremiah 19:11 – “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
I am ever-so-grateful for the gift. I’m humbled that anyone thought to find, purchase, and present such a thing to me. And I’ll cherish it not only because it’s a touchstone from a great preacher of God’s sovereign grace 126 years ago, but it’s a reminder that Spurgeon and I treat our sermons the same way. We just use different tools.
Now, how do I learn to edit in purple?
We must have hit a nerve. The audio from this week’s lesson has already inspired folk to ask about the notes. The video uploaded to YouTube but then it languished in the conversion queue, a not-all-that-uncommon-for-YouTube problem. So, it’s uploading again and a link will be added to this post when the video is actually available for viewing.
But, in the meantime, here are the notes, available as a free, downloadable pdf:
Well, the 30th session of the Sovereign Grace Bible Conference has come to a close. It was a most enjoyable week. Over my years of attending this conference, I have formed friendships and bonds of fellowship that will last for the balance of my lifetime. And their willingness to continue putting me in the pulpit is nothing less than grace, grace, grace.
Here is the audio from my message this year. I called it “Our God Reigns” in keeping with the theme of this year’s conference. The sound is passible, but you will hear occasional audio glitches. Somewhere between the wireless mic and the soundboard, syllables disappeared. But, nothing that will keep you from understanding what’s being said.
And thanks to James Guyo for these two photos:
Messages from the entire conference will be available in the days to come, via the main conference website: Sovereign Grace Bible Conference
Last week I had the distinct pleasure of teaching at the Sovereign Grace Bible Conference in Mesquite, TX. The conference was hosted by Saints Chapel, where Gregg Wren is the pastor. It was a very enjoyable week. And, since I promised to come home with audio, the teaching portions of the conference are now posted on the GCA website. You can link directly to them here:
Both my series and the daytime sessions by David Morris are posted in that folder. We were both addressing the topics of prophecy and eschatology. David’s emphasis was on the relationship between Israel and the church, whereas mine was on the kingdom and Revelation 20. Our messages and approach dovetailed into each other quite nicely … you know, almost like there was a sovereign hand of providence at work.
Also, here are PDF files of the handouts I made available in Mesquite. And, for those who are curious, I’ve also posted my notes — all of them. You can follow along and see how often I depended on them and how often I went rabbit-chasing. I hope they’re some help.
1 – Introduction to Prophecy handout
You can download a pdf of the notes from this week’s lesson here: Systematic Theology Week 10
Anyone who listens to our podcasts has heard me mention Elder D.J. Ward. He’s one of the men who ordained me and I openly admit that he, more than anyone, demonstrated to me what it means to be a pastor. I recently mentioned on a Sunday morning podcast that I had been listening to some old audio of Elder preaching and several folk asked if I would share some of that.
I’m happy to oblige.
The two segments I’m sharing today harken back to January 5, 1992. It was an evening service at Main Street Baptist Church in Lexington, KY. That evening there was a baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The whole recording ran about two hours and had a terrible hum and buzz throughout. So, I did some digital noise suppression to it in an attempt to make it less annoying. But, because the noise was so loud, that process also suppressed some fo the ambient noise and congregation response. Still, the end result if quite listenable.
These segmenets are edited, obviously. Elder occasionally engaged in long pauses. I shortened some of them for listenability’s sake. And I removed some of the references and comments that only fit that occasion and timeframe. But, the essential message — and the power with which he delivered it — is intact.
On the last occasion that I saw Elder alive, we were gathered in Chattanooga for the annual men’s conference. Elder taught the preachers during the day, seated in a chair, breathing oxygen from a tank, his voice barely above a whisper. But sometimes he’d forget himself and start preaching with a surprising vigor. He moved us to tears. He cajoled us. He instructed us. And he made us laugh, forgetting for the moment that our friend and mutual pastor was in his last days.
After he was done, we gathered downstairs at New Home Baptist Church for a fish dinner. Not supper, mind you. Dinner. Elder always made that distinction. I was seated at his table. But, before I sat down, I stopped and kissed his head, saying, “You can throw cancer on the man, strap him to an oxygen machine, and make him sit down, but he’ll still out-preach me on my best day.” He threw his back and laughed.
But, it’s true.
Enjoy.
Outside the Camp — Communion Teaching
And the notes from this week’s lesson can be found here: Week 9 notes.
You can download the pdf of my notes from this week right here.