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The Life and Ministry of “The Prince of Preachers”: Part 3, The Faithful Veteran

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by Jeremy Walker | Pastor, Maidenbower Baptist Church

The Faithful Veteran

See first Part 1 and Part 2.

As the years passed, and Spurgeon continued to mature as a preacher, membership at the Tabernacle reached over five thousand. As his health allowed, Spurgeon preached faithfully to the church who gathered in the centre of London, as well as undertaking numerous preaching and other responsibilities during the week. Despite the many typical trials of life and labour as a Christian in the world, together with the profoundly atypical pressures that he faced on account of his peculiar gifts and calling, Spurgeon enjoyed the rich blessing of the Lord and sweet fellowship with many of God’s people.

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The Life and Ministry of “The Prince of Preachers”: Part 2, The Valiant Warrior

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by Jeremy Walker | Pastor, Maidenbower Baptist Church

The Valiant Warrior

Rapidly, rapidly, the gospel spread, and crowds flocked to hear this unorthodox and “unschooled” preacher. This country boy, who had learned vigorous and full-orbed evangelical Calvinism – as if true Calvinism were anything else! – from his parents and grandparents, from libraries of Puritan authors, and from an old cook, soon saw multitudes being converted, and his fame spreading. As Spurgeon often remarked, Calvinism was merely a nickname for the gospel of Jesus Christ, and how that gospel was effectual as he preached! His prodigious intellectual ability, consecrated to the service of his Saviour and in constant dependence on the grace of God, enabled him to maintain a constantly fresh and vigorous ministry.

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The Life and Ministry of “The Prince of Preachers”: Part 1, The Young Recruit

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by Jeremy Walker | Pastor, Maidenbower Baptist Church

The Young Recruit

The life of Charles Spurgeon was so full of grace, gifts and labour, and so much has been written by and about him, that we must leave out much that is of interest and usefulness in reviewing his life and ministry.

He was born in Kelvedon, a village in the county of Essex in the east of England, on 19th June 1834. For the first few years of his life he lived with his grandparents in a town called Stambourne, returning to his parents’ home when about five years old (his grandfather, James, was a Congregational [Independent] minister of the gospel, as was Charles’ father, John). Even in youth, his earnestness, boldness, and intelligence became rapidly apparent. From the earliest years of his life young Charles would plunder his grandfather’s shelves of their Puritan treasures, if only initially to look at pictures in, for example, Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress and Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. Still, he learned to read and practiced the art from an early age. As the years progressed, his schooling continued to reveal a precocious intellect and a ready tongue.

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How to Choose a Publisher

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David McNutt | IVP Academic

This summer, our family got a pet. We had held off for a long time—much longer than our kids wanted us to—but we finally thought that the time was right. Before we made a choice, though, we did some research about what kind of pet would be the best fit for our family in terms of our schedule, the pet’s habits, costs, and more. 

Choosing a publisher is a bit like choosing a pet. You’re going to be living together, so you should try to find out in advance if you’ll be a good fit. 

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Spurgeon’s Hard Life and Hopeful Preaching

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by Dr. Jonathan Stricklin | Grace Bible Church of Cedar Ridge

Introduction

“The Prince of Preachers” is the title bestowed upon the great English expositor, Charles Haddon Spurgeon. As Spurgeon’s weekly sermons were being transcribed and published throughout the world, the American novelist, Mark Twain, published The Prince and the Pauper in 1862. Twain’s historical fiction, set in 1537 England, is about two boys that look identical, but one is the prince and the other a pauper. The two boys switch places and experience firsthand the realities of the other’s environment. While the pauper learned his way around the palace, the prince is thrust into the anguish of poverty, abuse, and a host of sufferings. In the end, the boys resumed their rightful stations, but the prince was favorably changed by the suffering he endured. While most would assume that suffering would be the last thing a successful prince would endure, the reality of his trials proved to be the key ingredient to guide his perspective as a newly crowned king.

When preachers today hear of the successful ministry of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, they may assume the lot of the “Prince of Preachers” is to be envied. Yet when one looks at his life a bit closer it becomes obvious that he was a man who experienced great suffering.  He bore scars that were etched deeper than merely the surface of his skin, down into his psyche, permeating his emotions. However, rather than his effectiveness being destroyed by the bitter burdens he bore, his preaching exuded greater grace and higher hope than imaginable, leading others to bestow on him the honorable title of “Prince.” 

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The Pastors’ College: Spurgeon’s Vision for Church-Based Training

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by Dr. Geoff Chang | Assistant Professor of Church History and Historical Theology and the Curator of the Spurgeon Library.1

Since the early days of his pastorate, C.H. Spurgeon tutored and trained up gifted young men for the ministry. Over the first seven years of his ministry, Spurgeon would send out seven ministers, and yet more men were approaching him for training. By the spring of 1861, with sixteen men under his care, the financial cost of training these men was becoming too much. So at a special meeting on May 19, 1861, Spurgeon shared with his congregation his vision for pastoral training and took up a special offering to support the work.

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How to Say ‘But’ in Biblical Hebrew: A Translator Looks at Genesis

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Image: ©Tavis Bohlinger

by Joshua Jensen

Here’s something you probably never thought to count: The ESV uses the word ‘but’ 4,205 times. That’s nearly once for every 7 verses. That’s a lot. (The NASB has ‘but’ slightly more times, the NIV slightly fewer. But they’re all in the same range.)

So what are translators looking at in the Hebrew when they say ‘but’ in English? To help my own work as a Bible translator, and hopefully the work of other translators, I did an exploratory study in the Hebrew of Genesis to find out. Here I present some of the results from that study.1

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What to do with a PhD? Part 6: Nonprofit Work and Parachurch Ministry

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Photo by Fakurian Design on Unsplash

A PhD in biblical and theological studies provides skills that could be used in a variety of nonprofit or parachurch organizations that engage in activities like political activism or pastoral support. Since one of the great challenges for many scholars is facing the gap between scholarly work and “real life,” nonprofit work and parachurch ministry allow scholars to use their biblical training to address real needs on the ground.

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5 Days of Pre-Pub! Day 4: Reformed Expository Commentary and What the Bible Teaches Commentary

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On this final week leading up to Christmas, the Academic Blog is featuring a select number of pre-publication resources from Logos. Pre-pub deals are a great deal, with books often discounted significantly from retail pricing. You can purchase these for yourself, or even better, give the gift of reading and research this Christmas to friends and family.

Today is Day Four, and we’re delighted to feature two solid commentary sets; the Reformed Expository Commentary and What the Bible Teaches Commentary Collection:

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5 Days of Pre-Pub! Day 3: Crossway NT Theology Series and Short Studies in Biblical Theology

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On this final week leading up to Christmas, the Academic Blog is featuring a select number of pre-publication resources from Logos. Pre-pub deals are a great deal, with books often discounted significantly from retail pricing. You can purchase these for yourself, or even better, give the gift of reading and research this Christmas to friends and family.

Today is Day Three, and we’re delighted to feature two excellent theology resources; the Crossway New Testament Theology Series and Short Studies in Biblical Theology:

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