20 GREAT PREACHERS

(From Jesus to David Martyn Lloyd Jones)

Ezekiel Adewale Ajibade, PhD

The Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomoso

© 2017
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 JESUS

Jesus Christ is the preacher per excellence. He had teaching and preaching as his

major task and with these two tools (often used interchangeably), he saved the lost

and touched the world. The Sermon on the Mount was a good example of his

sermons.1 His message had authority and was always rooted in the Old Testament. He

developed a body of teaching that was essentially the fulfilment of the Old Testament

in his own person, life, deeds, sacrificial death and resurrection. This was the content

of the kerygma, which also shaped the preaching of the apostles. It implies that from

the beginning, preaching has never been words of humans about God but God’s word

to humanity.2

Jesus used metaphor, simile, hyperbole, questions, parables, allegories, visual

object lessons and epigrams to teach and to preach. There were assertions, arguments,

illustrations and applications. Although biblical preaching is always a blend of

inductive and deductive elements, Jesus’ teachings often began with the deductive,

moving from the familiar to the unfamiliar. He began where the listeners were and led

them to the principles. His messages are so powerful that it engages the minds and

hearts of the young and old, rich and poor, educated an uneducated. With his

dependence on the Father, he demonstrated such unparalleled supernatural

endowment.3

Jesus’ sermon in the synagogue in Luke 4:16-21 is a great key to the history of

Christian preaching through the ages. It is the bridge between Christian sermon and

synagogue proclamation. The use of oral lecture during a service is a way of uniting

the trait of Judaism and Christianity. It postulates a relationship between Old

Testament communication and the church, indicating that there is a degree in which

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the synagogue tradition left an imprint on the words of Jesus and other gospel stories. 4

The sermon shows three vital elements.

The first is the liturgical element. The sermon was delivered within a service.

While it is not obligatory, it was an accepted, traditional and prescribed part of it. The

second is the exegetical element. Jesus spoke from a text. Sermon, even when it is not

a direct commentary on a text, continues to have the scripture as its basis or nucleus.

The synagogue proclamation also had some pastoral care in it, relating the scripture to

the hearers. The third is the prophetic element. The preaching was summed up in the

prophetic declaration, “today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” A

Christian preacher, therefore, stands in a prophetic succession and upon such is placed

a responsibility of being more than a commentator of a text. Their task is to interpret

the scripture in such a way that Jesus, the Lord of the Scripture and fulfiller of

prophecy manifests as the contemporary teacher and Lord.5

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 PAUL

Paul demonstrated that preaching was his life and calling and that every other thing

was subordinated to it. The preaching of Paul reflected a single thought which was

Jesus Christ and the redemption he brought for humanity. The Old Testament

promised Christ and the preacher proclaims its fulfilment. Paul’s sermon was

therefore, rooted in the Old Testament but focused on the Good news. Paul preached

the cross, the resurrection, the lordship of Christ and did it with a feeling of

compulsion. He preached in Rome, Spain and beyond. He was indeed never ashamed

of preaching.6

The ministry in Corinth set the stage for the discussion on the relationship

between preaching and the rhetoric style. Rhetoric is essentially how ideas are

packaged for communication. So it is not in the generally derogatory sense in which it

is used today. The Corinthians seems to judge Paul based on standards of secondary

or decorative (showcase declamation) rhetoric. The Corinthians were unimpressed by

the power and wisdom of God. They were not contesting the content of Paul’s

preaching but the form. They would have preferred Apollos, the Greek orator. Paul

also did not reject rhetoric nor despise the importance of form. He rather warned

against placing undue emphasis on form that could make the proclamation of the

gospel vulnerable to distortion and distraction.7

For Paul, preaching is a powerful medium of releasing divine power and

creative energy. It takes place in the context of fierce spiritual battle with victory

assured. It therefore must not be done for profit nor must is be distorted. He also

stressed the importance of communication of content and intelligibility when he

stressed the preference of the gift of prophecy above flamboyant glossolalia.

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 Paul’s address at the Aeropagus in Acts 17 showcased a relationship with the

religious address of ancient times created during the syncretistic reign of the Caesars.

It possesses a form mediated by Hellenistic Judaism and Stoicism. The addresses in

Acts are not usually presented as sermons to a congregation. Prophecy as used of

preaching are usually rational exposition of the Old Testament writings with some

exegetical orientation. What could rival it as at that time was “ecstatic speaking.” But

whether prophecy or textual exposition, there is an indication that the addresses are

used in the context of worship. Examples are the doxologies in the epistles. Many

sections, especially of the pastoral epistles must have had counterparts in the oral

proclamation. They all form the oldest evidences of expository and catechetical

preaching.8

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 ORIGEN (185-254)

He was born to Christian parents around AD185 in Alexandria. His father trained him

grammar, mathematics, logic and rhetoric, but most importantly, the Scriptures. At an

older age, he attended the cathechical school of Alexandria where he studied under

Clement. At 16, a persecution that erupted against Christians landed his father

Leonides in the prison. He was eventually beheaded and all his properties confiscated.

Origen who encouraged him until death took care of his mother and six younger

brothers through teaching and aids he received from few wealthy individuals in

Alexandria.9

Persecution made Clement his teacher to abandon the leadership of the

catechical school and Origen eventually had to fill the position. The persecution

continued and a number of his friends and pupils were consumed. But his fame spread

as a knowledgeable teacher in Hebrew, Greek, Philosophy and the Bible. He was

eventually summoned to Antioch by Emperor Alexander Severus to be the teacher of

his mother, Julia Mammaea. When he came back to Alexandria, he had to flee to

Caesarea in Palestine because of another persecution. He became a celebrated teacher

among the bishops but had to return to Alexandria because Demetrius, his own bishop

would not accept a layman teaching in the presence of bishops. 10

At about 219, Ambrosus, a wealthy benefactor of his, sponsored his personal

needs and supplied him with clerks and shorthand experts as he settled down to full

time exposition. He was later ordained as presbyter. More persecutions weakened his

health and he eventually died at 69. His life was marked by courage, dedication,

scholarship and humility. He directed his attention towards theological issues and the

exegesis of scriptures. He also related the faith to culture and secular learning. 11

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 Origen was a master of allegory but he did not invent it. He became the

foremost expositor of the Scripture in the early church. Before he gets into his

figurative, allegorical interpretation, he first carries out a complete and careful

exegesis of the literal meaning of his text. He dedicated long hours to discovering the

original significance and historical background of his text. But his use of allegory was

so wild and two reasons are adduced for this. First, it was a common method in his

days. He agreed with his contemporaries that there was a higher and lower meaning in

scripture and that just as a man is made up of body, soul and spirit, so does the

scripture possess a threefold sense of the grammatical, the moral and the spiritual.

Secondly, he was faced with the difficult task of reconciling the laws and regulations

of the Old Testament with the faith and ethics of the gospel. When the literal meaning

of the text does not give enough nourishment for an edifying meditation, the

allegorical had to take over.12

However, Origen made two great contributions to the history of Christian

preaching which should not be overshadowed by the defect of fanciful allegorizing.

First, he was the first preacher to establish the form of the sermon as a discourse on

specific biblical text. Unlike what obtained before him, where sermon was just a

collection of unrelated thoughts either to one another or to a given text, he took a text

and commented on each verse as they appear, making the unity of his sermon same as

unity of the text. Second, he was the firsts to lay great emphasis on the value of a

carful exegesis of the historical and grammatical significance of any given text. Third,

he was also the first preacher to compose a series of homilies on entire books of the

Bible.13

In his early career, preaching was informal, looking simply like a Christian

testimony rather than a formal address. Origen believed every Christian preacher must

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study the Bible well because of the nature of the environment Christianity found itself

in his time – intellectual and paganistic. Allegory has died out as a method, but

Origen will be remembered for the form of the sermon as a biblical exposition. 14

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 BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX (1090-1153)

Bernard was born in Burgundi in 1090 into a noble family. His life was influenced by

his mother who was so pious that she wanted to enter into one of the religious orders.

But she found herself married. Running her home as a monastic order developed a

strong devotional life in Bernard. Though sickly and his activity confined to the

monastery at Clairvaux for the first ten years of his life, he thoroughly mastered the

scriptures and the Church Fathers. His impeccable character, deep devotion and

recognised sincerity are evident in the hymns he gave the world which are still sung

today such as “O Sacred Head Now Wounded,” “Jesus, The Very Thought of Thee,”

and “My God I love Thee.”15

The challenges in his days included the corruption caused by the wealth within

the church and a clash between the conservative and the liberal elements within

Europe such as Abelard whom he had to confront headlong in his frailty. There were

also several heretics in his days. His preaching brought many of them back to the

Catholic Church. His preaching, therefore, blended social concerns with evangelistic

zeal. Both the poor and the schools of Philosophy in Paris listened to him with

respect. He was courageous and pungent. He had an appealing pious mysticism.16

He could not be less than what is seen above because of the peculiarity of his

life season. First, he had to challenge and defeat heresy orally since printing was not

invented at that time. He had to deliberately travel to communities infested with

heresies and preach against those he found there, using his two great themes of “the

nature of the church” and “the mystery of Christ.” Secondly, he had to enlist men for

the Second Crusade as he was selected for this task after Pope Eugenius approved it.

He traversed Germany and France enlisting men to rescue the Holy City. It is stated

that “At no time did his preaching to the masses gain popularity as it did when he

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called for the enlistment to fight the Moslems. During this recruitment campaigns, his

preaching whipped the crowds into fanatical fervour. They would cry out again and

again, “Give us the crosses!”17

At other times his sermons were regular and prosaic, following the

Ecclesiastical calendar, and characterised by fanciful allegorizing. There are

indications that some of his sermons were preached to the monks both during mass

and whenever other common life order presented the opportunity.18 His custom was to

meditate on his sermon in his cell, work from a structure but preach

extemporaneously. Yet his freedom in delivery appealed to the common man. His

sermons in written form looked carless and loosed but it seem to improve with age. In

his days, to preach in series was more of the culture than to preach a single sermon.

As at then, time was of little significance and when he cannot exhaust an idea in one

sermon, he does so in another. His method may appear dull and repetitive to a modern

hearer and while his sermon seems often lost in fanciful allegory, “he emerges with

specific ideas about specific problems for a specific time.” That is a lesson for all.

Brilioth stated that “In Bernard, brilliant gifts eventually broke through the mediocre

pattern of plagiarism in order to make a creative contribution to preaching.”19

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 MARTIN LUTHER (1438-1546)

Martin Luther was born in Eisleben, Germany on November 10, 1483. He had great

influence from his peasant parents who were devoted Christians. He went on from

elementary education in the schools at Mansfeld until he graduated from the

University of Erfurt as a distinguished scholar. Parental influence made him to study

law but after a narrow escape from death through thunderstorm, he made a vow to

become a monk if God would spare him. In 1501 he was consecrated a monk in the

Augustinian order and in 1507 ordained a priest.20

Some factors led to his latter transformation in life and the history of

Christianity. The first was his visit in 1510 to Rome, a supposed centre of Christian

religion, but where surprisingly he met a corrupt city with a religious life dominated

by superstition and where the priests ridiculed the church and the Mass. The second

was his lack of inner peace and satisfaction in spite of his rigorous pursuit of the

discipline of his order. But he kept studying the Bible, especially Romans and

Galatians which greatly impressed him. He came up with three points, which were the

basic framework of Protestant theology: A man is justified by faith alone and not by

works; each believer has access to God directly apart from any human intermediaries;

and the Bible is the supreme source of authority for both faith and life.21

With his Doctor of Theology in Erfurt in 1512 and his teaching and preaching,

he became famous around Wittenberg. He was offended by the Catholic’s emphasis

on salvation by sacrament and works, and sales of indulgence, which was then

targeted at building St. Peter’s. This led him to pasting his Ninety Five thesis on the

front door of the church in Wittenberg. He earned the wrath of the Catholic authorities

and was charged with heresies. What saved him from being executed was the support

he had from his own local prince, Frederic the Wise and his own people. He appealed

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to German pride and nationalism and the pope was reluctant to use extreme measures

against him.22

Luther was eventually summoned to defend his position and since he

maintained his stand, he was put under ban by the emperor. For his protection,

Frederic arranged for him to be kept secure at Wartburg Castle where he had so much

opportunity to translate the New Testament into Germany. By the time he came out of

hiding, he continued with the Reformation and organised a new church. He married

Kate Bora and raised a godly home. He spoke and wrote so much on theological and

social issues because of his affiliation with German princes.

His preaching was vigorous, blunt and creative. Yet he confessed to trembling

each time he mounted the pulpit. There are about 2,300 of his sermons still in

existence.23 His study through the Book of Romans made him preach more on

justification through faith. He saw preaching as a central part of public worship and

placed it above reading of the scripture. The great subject of preaching, for him, is

glory of God in Jesus Christ. With Christ as his central concern, most of his sermons

came from the Gospels. His expositions ranged from great detailed studies of highly

generalised essays but he never indulge in allegory. Context of passage and original

intent of the author were his concern. He kept his sermon as simple as making it

meaningful to the young, the children and servants, and not the masters and doctors in

his church. His recommendation for a good sermon is one which you distinguish,

define and describe what it is, prove and strengthen with the scripture, explain by

example, beautify with similitude and use to admonish, correct and reprove. His

sermon seldom have introduction or conclusion. It was characterised by neglect of

form and lack of discipline in arrangement which could be understood as a product of

“its spontaneous impetuosity which calls to mind a rushing torrent and which gives

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Luther’s preaching its epochal significance.”24 Though impetuous, rough and

sometimes crude, he left a lasting legacy of Reformation for the Christian church .

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 HULDRICH ZWINGLI (1484-1531)

Though the least famous of the Reformers, some historians regard him even higher

than Luther, Calvin or Knox. He was born in the village of Wildhaus, Switzerland on

January 1, 1484, the third of the family of ten children. The family was quite

comfortable and as Zwingli was sent to school, he proved to be an exceptional student

from elementary level to university. He had his Bachelor and Masters of Art in 1504

and 1506 respectively. He studied under such humanists as Heinrich Wolflin and

Thomas Wyttenbach. Humanism as propounded by Erasmus was very popularly

accepted in Switzerland. A combination of Swiss independence, the corrupt condition

of the Roman Catholic church and the mercenary system run by the pope, all had a

strong influence on the life and ministry of Zwingli.25

Zwingli was aware of the need to return to the earlier sources of Christian

belief and he was out to rid the church of practices which he considered superstitious.

He joined the priesthood but continued his scholarly work. He learned Greek, read

patristic literature widely and “probably knew the church fathers better than either

Luther or Calvin did.”26 He broke his Celibacy vow during his ministry in Einsieden.

He moved to Zurich in 1519 as “people’s priest” at Great Minister and there he began

his reform movement in earnest. From the beginning, his preaching was electrifying

and demonstrated a solid foundation of disciplined study and a carefully planned

schedule.27

He preached from the gospel with the Greek text of the New Testament before

him. But like the other Reformers too, he loved the Old Testament. Like Calvin, he

often abandon the pericope texts in favour of book exposition (lectico continua).

More of his sermons came from the Old Testament than the New, preaching 134

sermons on the Book of Deuteronomy alone.28 Not many of his sermons are available

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because he delivered them extemporaneously and had no stenographers to put them

down. But his exegetical works and a careful analysis of his scriptural citations shows

he preaches a highly biblical sermon.

He begins his sermons with the reading of the text, wrestles with its meaning

and adapts it to his hearers and their situation. His illustrations are gotten from the

classics, but he loves the use of farm illustrations and a clever use of humour. His

preaching lacked gesture and his style unembellished. He had a weak voice and some

complain they could not hear him. While he was not as explosive as Luther and did

not demonstrate such extraordinary brilliance like Calvin, “he preached the Word with

power for the changing of human hearts.”29

Several of Zwingli’s commentaries are a result of a peculiar form of worship

called die Prophezei (prophesying). It is not anything like prophesying in the original

sense of it but rather, a gathering of preachers and theological students for exegetical

Bible studies, where one of the preachers deliver a devotional lecture in the church

“using the conversation from the gathering as a basis for his address.”30

One weak point in Zwingli’s sermons is that he did not divide his text for

expository purpose as was the custom of other Reformers. So they were somewhat

without form in their compositions. He also had so many scriptural examples and he

tried to exegete many passages that were unrelated directly to the main theme of the

text.31

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 HENRY SMITH (1560-1609)

Born into a wealthy family in Leicestershire, he was regarded as the most popular

Puritan preacher of the Elizabethan era. He had his MA at Oxford in 1583. There he

was highly rated for his exceptional memory, fluent, eloquent and practical way of

preaching God’s word. He was anti-episcopal and rather got interested in the Puritan

ways. He became a lecturer at St. Clement Danes in London in 1587. He was

dismissed after a year by Archbishop Whitgift but it was not long he was reinstated

and he continued for a longer period of time.32

When Henry Smith preaches, the church was always full. People even stood at

passages outside in order to hear him. His sermons were so valued that that they were

often pirated. He was able to collect fifty-six by himself and put them in a volume

which is still available till today.33

Smith was not too healthy. He stands in the moderate position in the church of

England compared with separatists like Brownists and Barrowists. Sermon, for him,

was central in worship and they are not to be read. In fact he called those who do so,

“dumb dogges.”34 He eschewed the idea of preachers departing from the themes of the

scripture and turning into ecclesiastical politics and worldly gimmicks. Compromise

in any form with the world was not welcome by him. The preacher is supposed to

rebuke the evil and excesses of the world and not in any way be a part of their

behaviour.

In Smith’s conviction, when the Bible is faithfully preached, the audience are

automatically drawn. To engage his audience therefore, he uses variety of forms. He

could engage the ancient homily form while avoiding the New Puritan form that was

evolving then. He preferred the modified modern form as promoted by Andrew

Hyperius. His style was plain, but at times blended with some embellishments or

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ornate style, right within the same sermon. He actually formed a bridge between the

plain and the ornate.35

His imageries were rich, he was a master in the use of similes and the

employment of classical references. He preached such great and famous sermons as

“Dialogue between Paul and King Agrippa,” “The Trumpet of the Soul Sounding to

Judgment,” The Sinful Man’s Search,” “The Sweet Song of Old Father Simeon,”

“The True Trial of Spirits,” and “The Art of Hearing.”36

Smith believed preachers must be trained and equipped before ever embarking

on the venture of preaching. Like Hannah did not offer Samuel until he was weaned,

so should a preacher not go out there until they can speak. Preachers should not be

sent to fight the Lord’s battle when they have no one stone to sling at Goliath –

representing one scripture to resist the tempter. Henry Smith demonstrated giftedness

and spiritual endowment. He was good at the adaptation of forms and was dynamic in

utilising variety as he set forth and formed scriptural texts for use in preaching. These

are wisdom he would be remembered for.37

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 RICHARD BAXTER (1615-1691)

He was born on November 12 at Rowton, near Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. He

got converted in 1630, decided to enter ministry in 1634 and was ordained in

Worcester Cathedral in 1637. He became pastor at Kidderminster in 1640 where he

equally returned to six years later after serving as chaplain in Cromwell’s army. 38

His lifetime was characterised by a fragmented England due to its religious

and political life. James Stewart (James VI of Scotland and James I of England) got

committed to the establishment of an absolute government and his first act was to

announce his policy of opposition to Puritanism. The Puritans were committed to

completely getting rid of anything like Catholic rituals and practice in the Church of

England. Yet there was the high church Anglicans who tended towards formality and

rituals. All these eventually led to the lost of monarchy in England after series of civil

wars. Oliver Cromwell stabilised the situation, though the intrigues and the struggle

for domination between the Roman Catholics and Protestants will continue long

afterwards.39

Baxter was a successful preacher and soul winner and he is regarded as the

most voluminous theological writer in the English language.40 His ministry at

Kidderminster was a great success. This was a town of four thousand living in

depravity and terrible ignorance of truth, with a vicar who was a heavy drinker and

who preaches once in a quarter. Baxter visited and catechized 800 families every year

and raised the parish to a national and almost world-wide fame. With a frail body and

poor health, he was consumed with a passion to preach. He preached in Westminster

Abbey, before the king and parliament and Kidderminster was his favourite venue for

touching life though his sermons. He never lived in the vicarage and he returned most

of his salary to the poor.41

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 He was remarkably earnest in his sermons. He did not labour much on his

manuscript because he did not have too formal education. Yet his sermons were

highly priced. “A Call to the Unconverted” sold 20,000 copies in the first year. He

believed a preacher must be skilled in making the truth plain. He should convince the

hearers, let in the light into their conscience and keep it there. He should actually

“screw” the truth into their minds. He had a burning desire for Christian unity and did

not buy into “Calvinistic extremism.” He was greatly appreciated for his pastoral

theology, imagery in preaching and his application skill. He developed interest in

apocalyptic and Bible prophecy in later years. He fought the particular Baptists,

denounced Bunyan and craved a consensus on what he called “mere Christianity.” 42

Baxter was one of the first to emphasise an oral style of preaching. He was

very plain and his preaching contains and evangelistic flavour not surpassed by

Whitefield or Wesley in its quality. He possessed such flexibility of thought that did

not tie him to yesterday.43 About him, Brillioth wrote,

The greatest name among the Presbyterians – and Anglicanism’s greatest loss,
even in the history of preaching – is Richard Baxter (1615-1691), who through
his treatise of 1656, The Reformed Pastor, influenced the free church clergy
for centuries, even as his meditations on The Saints Everlasting Rest (1650)
became one of the classical devotional books in English literature.”44

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 JOHN BUNYAN (1628-1688)

John was born from a poor family of a father who was a tinker. He was taught how to

repair pots and pans. He joined the army later, fighting in the Parliament force against

Charles I. But like others in the troop, he was greatly influenced by the religious

fervour experienced by the Puritan zeal of Cromwell’s army. After so much struggle,

he surrendered his life to Christ, was baptised and became a member of the Baptist

Church at Bedford in 1653. He was so poor he took only two books into his marriage

but the wife also had great influence on him and on his final conversion. He lost her to

death in 1655.45

Though he continued with his work as a tinker, he preached from house to

house, village to village and did it enthusiastically. He lived in a period of political

and religious revolution. His love to preach landed him in jail for 12 years, because

whenever he is released, he preached again. He finally became the Pastor of Bedford

Baptist Church and from there he reached out to surrounding territories including

some trips to London.46 The church will soon be pulled down for a larger one to be

built due to growth. While some pastors are remembered most for their preaching,

Bunyan is remembered for the way he dealt with the issues of his revolutionary period

and for his inspiring writing, Pilgrim’s Progress, which became part of the great

heritage of English literature. 47 Of the book, Brilioth wrote,

It is better to place Pilgrim’s Progress in the context of a literary pattern

which leads back to the visionary poems and biblical allegories of the Middle
Ages. We may also place it in the context of homiletical illustrations from the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. It is remarkable that the allegorical
method, used so often to conceal the literal meaning of the word of the Bible,
is here given the task of illuminating the Christian way of salvation. The freely
constructed fable becomes an allegory. Both the imaginative character and the
ideational content of the book have become a gold mine for later preachers in
all denominations. 48

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 When one reads his book, his sermon becomes disappointing as it lacks the

same imaginative style, dramatic flair, and the use of description. Such only manifest

occasionally in his sermon. Yet if he had never written the Pilgrim Progress, he might

still be remembered as “one of the greatest preachers of the Christian church.”

Though his sermons are characterised by extreme length, digression, tedious

divisions, which were like the sermons of his days, they were still praised for their

being charming and lively even when not as colourful as Pilgrim’s Progress. They are

thorough in explanation of the text, simple, had vigorous language and showed a

masterful use of dialogue when answering objections or supporting arguments. They

also contain earnest conviction and personal appeal. 49

John Bunyan was a Puritan preacher but not a typical one. His preaching in

London attracted great crowds. He appealed to both the uneducated masses in

England and yet ministered to the nobles and scholars. He was quite ecumenical in his

approach as he exchanged his pulpit with Presbyterians and Independents. His words

were simple and well chosen, his sentences were brief and he condemned himself by

his own words but never thought of his own sin to weaken his sermons. His sermons

were filled with scriptural allusions and his illustrations came from biblical themes.

John Bunyan “represents that great number of uneducated men whose dedicated

talents and simple trust in the Bible have made them effective preachers of the Word

of God.”50

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 JOHN WESLEY (1703-1791)

He was born at Epworth Rectory, Lincolnshire, on June 17, 1703. He was fifteenth of

nineteen children. Their father was an Anglican priest who remained in his parish at

Epworth for forty years. He led his family into constant poverty because of his poor

management of money, in spite of his being learned and highly devoted. John’s

mother, Susannah Annesley Wesley greatly influenced his life. Coming herself from a

large family of 25, she was able to create order and discipline in her home. She

educated her children in language, the Bible and Christian Theology. 51

John continued his studies until he had a BA in 1724 and MA in 1727. He was

learned in Latin, Greek, Theology and Logic. He preferred an academic life to

pastoral vocation in spite of pressure from his father. Though still nursing an

emptiness within, he went with his brother Charles to Georgia in America as a

missionary in 1735. (Charles had earlier established a group nicknamed “Methodist”

at Oxford). He had to return to England in 1737 due to the failure and deep religious

doubt he had. He finally met and accepted Christ trough a Moravian devotional

meeting in 1738.52

He later joined George Whitefield who was already engaged in open-air

preaching but did not like the experience. He was rejected on many fronts for his

radical approach and a plea for heart religion. Preferring to be an Arminian than

Calvinist, he parted with the Moravians and Whitefield and began organising his

Methodist societies. He changed his mind on celibacy and married Mary Vazeille who

later divorced him after making life and ministry so difficult for him.53

Wesley directed his message against the evil of his days such as empty

religion, slavery and moral evils like alcohol. He wanted preachers to stay out of

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politics though he was a conservative who sided with the monarchy and was against

American struggle for independence. He preached about 800 sermons a year making

about 15 per week. He preached for 60 years all over the British Isle and drew

immense crowds. He rode on horseback 20,000 miles per year. As he laboured, he

covered 250,000 miles preaching more than 42,000 sermons and producing more than

200 works. He was blessed with such a good health he regretted in his eighties that he

could only preach two sermons everyday instead of four to five time he did earlier.54

He loved to share his personal testimony as he preached. He loved to preach at

5am before people went to work. He had such a strong and clear voice he still spoke

to 33,000 people in his eighties. He was a calm preacher who never liked Whitefield’s

verbose style and flamboyant gestures. He rarely lifted his hands, lacked humour and

pathos – yet his sermons had this moral earnestness and intensity that made it

credible. He made good use of pauses. He was more textual than expository. He was

lucid, logical and gave clear propositions.55

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 GEORGE WHITEFIELD (1714-1770)

He was born in Gloucester, England on December 16, 1714 to a wine merchant.

George was two years old when his father died. He lived a rough life of pranks and

mischief, profanity and drunkenness, stealing and fighting. But Christ met him and

transformed his life. In school he got interested in rhetoric and drama which became

useful to his ministry. At Oxford he met John and Charles Wesley and joined the Holy

Club devoted to methodically carrying out religious duties. He was ordained a deacon

in 1736 and that same year, he got his BA from Oxford. He had a compulsive desire

to see men saved and that drove his passion for preaching.56

His pulpit excesses made many ministers of England churches to shut him out

but he used the fields. He sailed for America in 1737 and his preaching stimulated the

religious revival known as the Great Awakening. He built an orphanage in Georgia,

established the Kingswood School, wrote many journals and printed numerous

sermons. He had great influence on Benjamin Franklin and they were good friends.

Though an ordained priest of the church of England, he lived most of his life under

the Methodist label and was buried in a Presbyterian church. He was completely

nondenominational in his approach to ministry. 57

He preached 18,000 sermons, an average of 500 per year or ten in a week. He

was also an extensive letter writer and traveller. He was not good in administration

like Whitefield and left his converts without organisation, making the result of his

work short-lived. He broke ties with Wesley because of theological differences and

established Calvinistic Methodist Society in 1743.58 His marriage was unfulfilling and

he lost his only child at four months. He was afflicted with frequent illness and often

got sick before going to preach.59

25
 One of the greatest assets of George Whitefield was his voice – acknowledged

to be one of the greatest speaking voice the world has ever known. He was called the

Demosthenes of the pulpit. Someone said his voice resembles an organ, a flute, a

harp, all in one. He could be heard from a mile. 25,000 people at one gathering all

heard him speak clearly but it is estimated by his friend Benjamin Franklin and others

that 40,000 people or more would hear him. He preached with great pathos and wept

in very sermon. Yet his humour and drama are in a class of their own. He was vivid in

description and his preaching abounded with anecdotes. He possessed the peculiar art

of speaking to someone in a congregation of thousands of people. He could sway

people like a reed as they go from laughter to moaning.60

He used a three point homiletic with amazing voice. He preached without

manuscripts and spent long hours in his study preparing sermons. His sermons had

clear development of ideas and smooth transitions. He used vivid imageries and

metaphors. His interpretation of Scripture could be strained at times and he could

digress from his theme but this could be a product of his theology rather than

carelessness in handling the Bible.61 He died in his bed on September 30 in Newbury

Port, Massachusetts after a strenuous sermon.62

26
 JONATHAN EDWARDS (1703-1758)

He was born in 1703 at Windsor Farms in Connecticut and was educated at Yale. His

father was a pastor and his mother was the daughter of a pastor. He got a good home

training from his parents leading to providing an environment of spiritual

development, discipline, education and excellence. Before 13, he had a working

knowledge of Latin, Greek and Hebrew and at 12 he was already a student of Yale.

He graduated with the highest honours and remained in the school for further studies.

It was during his year of graduation he had a divine encounter with the Lord. 63

His first pastoral opportunity came up in New York between 1722-1723 in a

Presbyterian church. He returned to Yale in 1724 to take up the job of a tutor. He

enjoyed a happy marriage with Sarah Pierpont and that was blessed by 8 daughters

and three sons. He co-pastored the Congregational Church at Northampton in 1727

and when Stoddard died, he solely pastured the church. He did excellently and his

preaching gave him a wide reputation throughout New England. He was also a

philosopher and writer. He participated in the two Great Awakenings in 1734/35 and

1740/1741. Though accompanied with many emotional manifestations, it was a

revival that transformed many social conditions for good. He became the President of

Princeton College in 1758 but soon died in a small pox epidemic at the age of 54. 64

By the time he preached his most celebrated sermon, Edward had become

emaciated, short-sighted and he held his message close to his eyes with one hand and

the candle with the other. With a weak monotone voice and the Holy Spirit energising

his preaching to touch lives, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” was preached in

Enfield on July 8, 1741. As he preached, people cried out so loud that their voices

overshadowed the message. Some chewed on carpet, some clung to the pillar of the

church as if to avoid falling into hell and lives were touched by the revival.65

27
 Edward used a plain, simple and direct Puritan style in his preaching, making

reference often to Scripture. In a set of fifteen sermons, he used 374 biblical

quotations, which is an average of twenty-five per sermon.66 Edward was never

popular with his contemporary, George Whitfield. His sermons were “too carefully

worked out, too logical, too meticulous in their expression, too intellectually superior.

But this profoundly logical thinker, who frequently wept while he delivered his great

sermons, made an unforgettable impression upon American Preaching.”67

28
 ROBERT MURRAY McCHEYNE (1813-1843)

He was born in 1813 into a Scotland of many churches but low fire of Christian

devotion. In his brief life, however, he was a factor in the revival that brought

Scotland into limelight in the history of Christianity. He came from a Christian home

and the death of his loved older brother made him to think deeply over his own life

and helped him commit it to Christ. He entered University of Edinburgh in 1827 and

the Divinity Hall of the University in 1831. After graduation he began full ministry

work and was licensed to preach in 1835. After preaching in various places for several

months, John Bonar invited him to become his assistant at Larbert and Duniplace.

After ten months, he took on the pastorate of a new church in St Peter’s in Dundee

with his congregation numbering about 1,100 persons. He was ordained a full minister

of the Church of Scotland in 1836.68

He developed his devotional life by reading 3 chapters of his Bible daily and

worked to improve his sermons. In 1838, he had to lay aside his pastoral work

because of ill health. While recuperating, he travelled to Europe and the Holy Land to

gather information on Jewish evangelism. He was passionate about evangelism and

especially converting the Jews. He laboured to convince the people of Scotland on the

need to evangelise the Jews. He preached to adults and to children asking them to “fly

to Christ” with such urgency arising from his experience with his brother’s death and

concern for his own early death. He was also interested in social issues. He died on

March 1843 after catching a fever from those he visited, just at the age of 29. 69

It is obvious from his sermons that he desired nothing than to preach Christ

crucified. He wanted no applause. His preaching attracted a great crowd and

excitement attended his services. He was a combination of scholarship and

evangelistic fervour. He was a charismatic preacher with a zeal for holiness. He

29
considered the life of a preacher more influential than his words. His sermons were

carefully prepared to make impact upon the unconverted. After considering the

homiletic class of David Welch tiresome, he personally became convinced that he

must use the lessons learned from him. He began to make a logical arrangement of his

sermons. His illustrations most often come from the scriptures. His introductions are

often weak or non-existent. He often used an exposition of certain phrase in the text.

He was highly poetic and his descriptive passages almost lyrical in nature, but he will

not let that obscure his scriptural interest. He did not read his sermons but spoke

extemporaneously after keeping the substance of his sermon in his memory. His voice

and pulpit manners were attractive.70

The weak point in his sermons are occasional allegorical interpretation,

scripture lost in poetic daydream, narrow area of coverage, few emotionally appealing

but illogical remarks and a damaged voice from misuse.71 Quoting Blaikie, Larsen

wrote that,

McCheyne brought into the pulpit all the reverence for Scripture of the
Reformation period; all the honor for the headship of Christ of the Covenanter
struggle; all the freeness of the Gospel offer of the Marrow theology; all the
right imagery of Samuel Rutherford; all the delight of the Erskines in the
fullness of Christ. In McCheyne the effect of a cultured taste was apparent in
the chastened beauty and simplicity of his style, if you can call it a style – in a
sense he has no style, or rather it was the perfection of style, for it was
transparent as glass. The new element he brought to the pulpit, or rather which
he revived and used so much that it appeared new, was winsomeness...72

30
 HENRY WARD BEECHER (1813-1887)

He was born on June 24, 1813 in Litchfield, Connecticut. He was one of the thirteen

children of his father, Lyman Beecher, who himself was a famous preacher,

theologian and educator. His father imparted into him a courageous spirit, robust

nature and a sense of devotion to duty. Henry was also greatly influenced by a Negro

servant of the family, Charles Smith from whom he first heard the Bible ‘truly read.’

He was further influenced by his New England countryside which he was very fond

of, and which frequently reflected in his sermons. As a little boy he suffered from

throat infection which affected his speech. But he recovered from this and his voice

became an asset to him during his ministry.73

He graduated from Amherst College in 1834 and entered Lane Theological

Seminary. After that, he pastored a Presbyterian church in Lawrenceburgh Indiana,

later moved to Indianapolis and finally Plymouth Congregational Church where he

remained for the rest of his life. The last church grew from 20 members to almost

2,500. But more than 3,000 could crowd themselves on Sunday mornings to listen to

him. On Sunday evenings, at least 5,000 would gather who are not his regular church

members. He led the church in building mission stations, schools, benevolent

services, prayer meetings and other enriching and invaluable activities. He was also

involved in social concerns, championing voting rights for women, addressing

poverty and opposing alcoholic beverages and slavery. 74

Henry Beecher was very innovative in his sermon delivery, had a powerful

voice and such an effective use of humour that made many to come to hear him. His

40 years at Plymouth made him to be regarded as “the Shakespeare of the modern

pulpit.”75 He preached God as love and did away with the stern justice of God and

such things as hell and conversion, making him a prophet to a nation who wanted to

31
be loved and love itself. He expressed himself in great dramatic gifts, concreteness of

illustration and was very good in phrasing. He prepared his morning sermon one hour

before service and his evening sermons in the afternoon. He preached

extemporaneously. He had a good verbal memory. 76

Beecher, however, lived through many scandals. He was accused of adultery

by a close associate and had some debt hanging on his neck. This led to several court

cases, investigation by ecclesiastical bodies and general airing through the press.77

Though he was cleared of all charges as they surfaced, his ministry and health had

been greatly affected. According to Larsen, this was a demonstration of “how

dangerous the gospel of love and its theme of freedom can be.”78 One of his last

books, Evolution and Religion emphasised his tend towards modified Socinian,

belittling of the Bible, ridiculing of conversion and denial of atonement. He omitted

the authority of the Scriptures in his doctrinal statement and took on the side of

erosion of traditional authority.79

32
 CHARLES SPURGEON (1834-1892)

He was born in 1834 in Essex and was the first out of 17 children his parents had. He

spent a greater part of his childhood with the grandparents who were Congregation

minsters of Flemish decent like his father. He was very exposed to Puritan writers like

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs and John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress because he read them

through at least twice a year. He attended several schools and was very brilliant. With

a soul searching for freedom from what he called the “evil of sin,” he visited a

Methodist church in Colchester where he had a salvation encounter. There he began to

teach Sunday School, was baptised as a Baptist and joined Street Baptist Church in

Cambridge to the disappointment of his mother.80

He preached for two years at the Baptist Church in Water beach and his

preaching gift became obvious to all. There he also began his lifelong habit of

smoking. He was never ordained and had no formal training but he listened to such

preachers as John Ray and John Angell James. At 19, he began his ministry at New

Park Street Baptist Church in London. He experienced a great outpouring through

prayers and passionate preaching powered by sound doctrine and loving invitation. He

never gave an outward invitation, yet balanced between divine sovereignty and human

responsibility.81 The church grew from about 80 attendees in a 1,200-seater hall to

Exeter Hall seating 5,000 and then to a new Metropolitan Tabernacle that seated

6,000. It was packed full all his ministry days. According to Brilioth, “for him every

meeting place became too small.82

He knew his Bible well. He had a personal library of 12,000 volumes. Though

he prepared his sermon on Saturday nights and the evening sermon on Sunday

afternoons, much study, compulsive reading and fervent prayer made him always

ready. He used a lot of humour, drama and catchy titles for his sermons. He was a

33
good illustrator and one with a natural voice who connected with the people’s need.

Whitfield was his model. He was accused of some showmanship and he indeed

believed in advertising and promotion. But he defended this with the fact that he

could preach standing on his head if he could only convert a soul.83

Spurgeon was not a classical expositor. He loved to break a text and was

textual-topical occasionally. His posthumously published commentary on Matthew

was what came very close of him to expounding natural thought unit. He preached

extemporaneously often using only few lines in a notebook. After his preaching, the

sermon was recorded in shorthand and published after editing.84 300million copies of

his printed works has been in circulation and they are composed mainly of his

sermons. Five hundred thousands of his Lectures to My Students, a product of his

Friday afternoon lectures and visits to his Pastors’ College are out in print. 150,000

sets of Treasury of David are accessible on student shelves.85

Charles Spurgeon was happily married to Susannah Thompson, who became

invalid at 33. They had twins – Thomas who succeeded him in the Tabernacle and

Charles Jr. who managed the orphanage. He lectured ten times in a week and as a fast

speaker spoke 140 words per minute for forty minutes at a time. He experienced a lot

of tragedies, suffered from fainting fits and depression and became virtually invalid in

1871. He suffered from chronic kidney problems and rheumatic gout and died in a

hospital in France at the age of 57.86 Concerning him Brilioth stated, “Spurgeon can

surely claim a place in the procession of evangelical prophetic preachers. He did,

however, prophesy for the individual and not for the community. He was not the

herald of a new era; rather, we may say, that a great era was buried together with

him.”87

34
 DWIGHT LYMAN MOODY (1837-1899)

He was born in Northfield, Massachusetts in 1837 and was the fifth of nine children.

His heavy-drinking and brickmason father died while he was just 4, leaving his

impoverished family behind to be taken care of by the Unitarian Congregational

Church. At 17, he was in Boston selling shoes for his uncle and there, his Sunday

School teacher led him to Christ in 1855. In 1856, he moved to Chicago to sell shoes

where he met his wife, Emma Revell. In the midst of the revival in the city, his soul

winning gift began to manifest. He soon built an attendance of 1,500 boys and girls in

his North Market Sabbath School.88

He was greatly supported by John Farwell as he raised these children. The

resources Farwell invested ultimately led into the raising of the Moody Church. In

1867, he visited Britain to understudy Charles Spurgeon and George Muller. Others

who influenced him in England and Scotland were the Bonars, R. W. Dale and Henry

Varley. His tabernacle and home were destroyed by the great Chicago fire of 1871

and he had to move around raising funds to rebuild it. He had a touch of the anointing

on him as he carried this assignment out. Around this time, Ira D. Sankey joined him

in travelling and they went millions of miles preaching to more than a million people

and winning converts in their thousands.89

Moody’s theology was simply captured in the phrase “ruined by the fall,

redeemed by the blood, regenerated by the Spirit.” He had a famous sermon on the

new birth that was recorded preached 183 times from 1881-1899. He was very

sensitive to his audience. He delivered his sermons without any much emotional

volatility. At times he used the wordless book to preach. His sermons were more

topical than textual. He preached about 220 words per minutes but did not always

have a clear outline. He often preached on the blood of Christ.90 His voice perhaps

35
reached father than any other American.91 One of his converts, John R Mott wrote that

he has never visited a country in Europe, Asia or Africa where the words of Moody

are not bearing fruit.92

36
 JOHN ALBERT BROADUS (1827-1895)

He was born on January 24, 1827 in Culpeper County, Virginia. His father was a

popular Christian politician and advocate of missions, temperance and ministerial

education. But he was devoted to his family and they were all Baptist church

members. As a Southerner, he lived in a culture of farming and black slavery, played

with Negro children and attended small schools because they were scarce. At 16, he

became a professing Christian during a revival meeting. After baptism, he joined

Mount Poney Baptist Church. His first convert was a mentally retarded woman,

Sandy, who was always grateful to him. 93

He started teaching at 17 to gather fund for college. He explored several

vocations before being convicted he would be a preacher. He entered University of

Virginia in 1846 and there he developed his speaking skill. After graduating in 1850,

he was ordained, married Marie Harrison and in 1852 became the pastor of

Charlottesville Baptist Church. That same year, he was appointed an assistant

professor. In three years, he became the university chaplain and for many years,

Broadus would be a professor in a school and a pastor of a church. He became a

professor of Baptist Seminary in Greenville and when it was relocated to Louisville,

Kentucky after the Civil War, he became the president until his death in 1895. He was

a preacher much sought after and was popular both with lay audiences and with

ministers.94

Broadus is said to have lived in a time filled with such disrupting events as

conflict on the question of slavery, political turmoil that led into civil war, occupation

of the South by federal troops, the rigours of reconstruction and poverty in the south.

These all affected his life. He published his famous book, On the Preparation and

37
Delivery of Sermons in 1870. This has become the best known “and the most widely

used book on homiletics written by an American.”95

Broadus was one of the best hands to deliver the Leeman Beecher’s lectures at

Yale. This is just one of the series of lecture he delivered at home and abroad. As a

brilliant thinker, he was offered the leadership of the Universities of Chicago, Brown

University and Crozer Theological Seminary. But his dedication to Southern Baptist

Theological Seminary would not let him go. So much attention were given to his

devotion as a homiletic lecturer than to his sermons. But he was a real gifted preacher

whose preaching alone would have lunched him into international fame. While he

lectured he preached at various places. He had a remarkable ability to capture his

audience. He was a man of deep sympathy and understanding. He was good at

historical description and biographical analysis.96

The beauty of his sermon did not lie in “embroidered elegance” or rhetorical

tricks. They rather lie in a careful workmanship. Because of his extemporaneous style,

there are no much manuscripts to his credit. He dealt more with personal problems

and salvation messages with little prophetic overtone. He did not lay too much

emphasis on social issues even though he was involved in it.97

38
 GEORGE CAMPBELL MORGAN (1863-1945)

He was born in Gloucestershire, England on December 9, 1863. Raised by a Baptist

preacher-father, he had a good religious training from home which prepared him for

his later preaching and teaching ministry. He preached his fist sermon at 13. At 15

and not yet ordained, he was already preaching regularly. He got married at 25 and

applied for ordination to the Methodist Church. He was rejected because they said his

trial sermon did not show him as a promising preacher. He became a

Congregationalist, pasturing some churches in America before moving to the New

Court Chapel in London where he distinguished himself.98

A friend to Dwight L. Moody, he joined him in his mission preaching tours to

England and honoured his invitation to lecture in the Northfield Bible Conference.

This helped him in starting a ministry in the United States, which lasted for three

years. At 41, he returned to Westminster Congregational Chapel in London. He

rebuilt the church to become one of England’s most active churches after twelve years

of ministry. Yet he had time to teach and preach in America until he went full time

into itinerant ministry covering America, England and Canada. He has been variously

described as an organiser, powerful preacher, prince among evangelists, eminent

teacher, leader among ministers, student of Holy Scripture and scholar. But he could

be more than these. He authored 66 books and dozens booklets. He authored and

edited large commentaries, sermons and books on theology. In the midst of a world

where the theological storms of liberals and modernist were raging, he remained

conservative in theology and biblical in approach. He was a pacifist and though he did

not dwell much on current issues of his days, he was not less concerned.99

Campbell Morgan is actually regarded as the “Prince of Expositors” who held

masses of people spellbound by his preaching for 60 years.100 He had a deep

39
resonating voice and spoke with authority. He did not like preachers using the

scripture out of context. He loved to use new and modern translations as Weymouth’s.

He rarely used illustrations and believed application is the work of the Holy Spirit.

But he was good at painting word pictures. He prepared carefully for his sermons, and

carefully chose his hymns though he preferred the new genre of gospel songs. He

employed various patterns for his sermon division but always made sure the

progression was natural and logical. He held the text as supreme.101

His secret was hard work. He was an impeccable dresser, accused of being

extravagant. But he was generous, kind and humble. All his four sons also became

preachers.102

40
 BILLY GRAHAM (1918-)

Billy Graham was born November 7, 1918 in Charlotte, North Carolina. He had

Christian parents and therefore grew in a Christian home. His father was a prosperous

dairy farmer. Billy gave his life to Christ at High School, in a revival conducted by

Mordecai Ham and thought he would go straight into ministry. He spent a summer as

a Fuller brush salesman after which he entered Bob Jones college, then proceeded to

Florida Bible College in Tampa. There he got a full conviction to preach and

informed his parents. Due to lack of confidence, he began to improve himself by

visiting the swamps around and preaching to stumps, alligators and darkness. Soon,

he began to receive invitations from churches. Initially a Presbyterian, he received

invitation to preach from many Southern Baptist churches and after his baptism in

Silver Lake, Palatka in 1938, he became a Baptist minister and was ordained in

1939.103

Billy Graham entered Wheaton College in 1940 after finishing from Florida

Bible Institute. The quality of this school helped him to combine excellence in

scholarship and ministry and develop an ecumenical spirit. There he also met Ruth

Bell whom he married in 1943. They had five children and Ruth stayed at home most

time to nurture them. He pastored a small Baptist Church in Western Spring, Illinois,

which soon swelled with membership. His participation in the radio programme

“Songs in the Night” connected him with George Beverly Shea who became the

soloist for his crusades and radio ministry. Restlessness in pastoral ministry led him

into chaplaincy with the U.S Army in 1944 but he would not report because of a

severe case of mumps. He was later offered a travelling evangelist position with

Youth for Christ, which took him round the United Sates and the British Isle and

exposed him to preaching to large crowds.104

41
 After a short stay as the president of Northwestern Schools in Minneapolis,

Minnesota, he finally realised his call to be an evangelist rather than a teacher or

pastor. His first crusade in 1949 at Los Angeles, California, was a great success and

from there he became nationally and internationally known.105

Graham’s preaching has been criticised as lacking discernible structure with

little or no logical progression. Illustrations are rare. He himself confessed he is not a

great preacher. Yet people turn out in their thousands to hear him and converts were

made for Christ in their thousands at his crusades. His sermons are often either

criticised or praised.106 Whatever text he chose, he preached one sermon and this

might be summarily titled “Come unto Christ.” His real text is often John 3:16 even

when he uses another as introductory scripture to gain attention of the audience. He

spends little time explaining or developing the text he announced.107

He preached with confidence and authority. Virtually all his sermons had four

outlines and was planned to last for 45 minutes. He had a rapid rate of delivery which

caused him embarrassment on few occasions. His style changed over the years and his

rapid delivery slowed. Yet he continued to preach with energy and dynamism. His

style of delivery may also be a function of the audience. He had several hundreds of

sermon outlines. In study, he enjoys reading devotional sermons by preachers across

centuries and few biographies. He listens to news, and he cites current events. His

introductions could consist of remarks or formal references to people, places or

events, using such to connect with the people. He is good in his introduction and

projects his theme simply and forcefully. He concluded well with illustrations,

summary of his point and repetition of theme. As he matured, he went from apparent

“manipulating” to letting individuals make their decision without further pleading

42
when doing his invitation. He had a good voice that can adjust to the size of a hall,

articulated and penetrating.108

43
 DAVID MARTYN LLOYD JONES (1899-1981)

He was born in Cardif to Henry and Maggie Lloyd Jones, the middle son of three. He

narrowly escaped death as a young boy when his father’s general store was burned

down. The resultant bankruptcy of his father led them to move to London where they

attended Welsh chapel. He studied medicine at Bart’s Hospital Medical School and

got married to Bethan Phillips who was also a medical student. He practiced medicine

after graduation in 1921 but did not feel satisfied as he began to feel God’s call to

preach. The first church they pastored was Bethlehem Forward Movement Church in

Sandfields and the church grew in their eleven years of being there from 93 to 850 in

regular attendance with most of the members made up of converts. Though he did not

have a theological training, he was invited as associate to Campbell Morgan at

Westminster. They pastured the church together until Morgan retired in 1943 and he

carried on until he retired in 1968.109

Lloyd Jones did not always follow consecutive book expositions but he

developed series. He was a staunch Calvinist and admirer of the Puritans. He was the

president of Inter-Varsity in Britain and was instrumental in leading the way back to

classical Christianity in his time. He had a burden for revival and believed in God’s

agenda for the Jews. He established the Westminster Library and Westminster’s

Fraternal, which was of great impact. He believed in more than one believer’s

baptism. He did not support Graham’s crusade, broke with Stott, insisted that

Anglican evangelicals leave the Church of England and probably misunderstood the

Keswick movement. He critiqued S. D. Gordon’s preaching.110

Lloyd Jones loved to preach and he wrote volumes. His sermons were textual-

topical because he exposed small pieces of text. He moved from small pieces of text

to examining the position of the Scripture as a whole on the subject, elucidating the

44
theological implication. He does not follow the natural thought unit of a passage as it

is often done in expository preaching. He could pray for 35 minutes at a time in

public. He occasionally allegorized as was seen in his famous sermon on Peter healing

Aeneas. He does not go much for illustration, quotations in sermons, choir or special

music. Yet he was a passionate preacher of revival and grace who captured the heart

of many.111

His sermons were so powerful as to convince J. I. Packer to forsake liberalism.

He held evangelistic services at Sunday nights and talked to seekers afterwards.112

45
 ENDNOTES

1
David L. Larsen, The Company of Preachers: A History of Biblical Preaching from Old
Testament to the Modern Era. Vol. 1. (Grand Rapids: Michigan: Kregel Publication, 1998), 41
2
Ibid, 42
3
Ibid, 44-45
4
Yngve Brilioth, A Brief History of Christian Preaching. Translated by Karl E. Mattson.
Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1965), 6-7.
5
Ibid, 8-10
6
Larsen, 55
7
Ibid, 59
8
Brilioth, 16-17
9
Clyde E. Fant, Jr. and William M. Pinson, Jr., ed. 20 Centuries of Great Preaching: An
Encyclopedia of Preaching. Vol. 1. 13 vols. (Waco: Texas: Word, Incorporated, 1971) .
10
Ibid
11
Ibid
12
Ibid
13
Ibid,
14
Ibid
15
Fant and Pinson
16
Ibid
17
Ibid
18
Brilioth, 76
19
Ibid, 75
20
Fant and Pinson
21
Ibid
22
Ibid
23
Brilioth, 103
24
Ibid, 112
25
Fant and Pinson, 77-78
26
Ibid, 79
27
Ibid, 81
28
Larsen, 174
29
Ibid., 174.
30
Brilioth, 153
31
Larsen, 174
32
Fant and Pinson
33
Ibid
34
Larsen, 204
35
Fant and Pinson
36
Larsen, 205
37
Fant and Pinson
38
Ibid, 232
39
Ibid, 231-236
40
Larsen, 282
41
Ibid, 283
42
Ibid, 283-284
43
Fant and Pinson, 237-240
44
Brillioth, 163
45
Fant and Pinson, 311-312
46
Ibid, 313
47
Ibid, 313
48
Brilioth, 164.
49
Fant and Pinson, 313-314
50
Ibid, 314-316
51
Fant and Pinson, Vol 3, 3-4
52
Ibid, 5
53
Ibid 8

46
54
Ibid, 8
55
Larsen, 365
56
Fant and Pinson, 107-108
57
Ibid, 109-110
58
Ibid, 110
59
Larsen, 370
60
Ibid, 371
61
Fant and Pinson,112. Vol 3
62
Ibid, 110
63
Ibid, 46
64
Ibid, 46-47
65
Larsen, 376
66
Ibid
67
Fant and Pinson 55.
68
Ibid, 261-263
69
Ibid, 264
70
Ibid, 264-268
71
Ibid, 269-270
72
Larsen, Vol 2, 422
73
Fant and Pinson, 294
74
Ibid, 295-296.
75
Larsen, 531
76
Ibid, 531-532
77
Fant and Pinson, 298
78
Larsen, 532
79
Ibid,
80
Ibid, 583-584
81
Ibid, 584
82
Brilioth, 169
83
Larson, 585
84
Brilioth, 169
85
Larsen, 285-286
86
Ibid, 586
87
Briloth, 170.
88
Larsen, 510.
89
Larsen 511
90
Ibid, 512
91
Brilioth, 172
92
Larsen, 512.
93
Fant and Pinson, 44
94
Ibid, 45-46.
95
Ibid, 47-49
96
Ibid, 53-55
97
Ibid, 57
98
Fant and Pinson, Vol 5. 4
99
Ibid, 5-7
100
Larsen Vol II, 631
101
Ibid, 633-634
102
Ibid, 634
103
Fant and Pinson, Vol XII, 282-283
104
Ibid, 283-284
105
Ibid, 285
106
Ibid, 290-293
107
Ibid, 296
108
Ibid, 300-302
109
Larsen Vol II, 775-776
110
Ibid, 776
111
Ibid, 177
112
Ibid

47