A large video collection of classic hymns, contemporary Praise and Worship songs, and the works (audio books, devotional readings, and sermons) of men greatly used of God, such as: Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, A.W. Tozer, A.W. Pink, John Owen, Oswald Chambers, Andrew Murray, E.M. Bounds, John Bunyan, George Whitefield, and many more, covering topics on many aspects of the Christian life. May your time spent here be blessed.
http://vid.io/x3F
Puritan John Owen – They Shall all Work Together for Good (Christian devotional)
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
John Owen playlist: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=8259C11DFFBFD174
This treatise by John Owen is founded on Romans 6:14. Owen, an English Congregationalist, assumes three facts are true before the writing of his piece. First, that sin dwells in believers; second, that it seeks to renew its dominion over them; and third, that it endeavors to accomplish its goal by deceit and force. He then explores the nature of sin’s power over humanity, explains how to tell when sin is in one’s life, and then assures believers that sin does not have the ultimate power in their lives. Owen’s work is a perfect blend of recognition of sin and the influence it has on all humans, and comforting assurance that it does not have the last word. It reiterates the basic knowledge Christians find in the Bible about sin, but Owen’s sharp mind is able to glean implied meanings and give more body to the information found in Scripture. Readers who want an honest yet hopeful account of sin need look no further than Owen’s Treatise.
Abby Zwart
CCEL Staff Writer
John Owen – (1616-1683), Congregational theologian
Born at Stadhampton, Oxfordshire, Owen was educated at Queen’s College, Oxford, where he studied classics and theology and was ordained. Because of the “high-church” innovations introduced by Archbishop William Laud, he left the university to be a chaplain to the family of a noble lord. His first parish was at Fordham in Essex, to which he went while the nation was involved in civil war. Here he became convinced that the Congregational way was the scriptural form of church government. In his next charge, the parish of Coggeshall. in Essex, he acted both as the pastor of a gathered church and as the minister of the parish. This was possible because the parliament, at war with the king, had removed bishops. In practice, this meant that the parishes could go their own way in worship and organization.
Oliver Cromwell liked Owen and took him as his chaplain on his expeditions both to Ireland and Scotland (1649-1651). Owen’s fame was at its height from 1651 to 1660 when he played a prominent part in the religious, political, and academic life of the nation. Appointed dean of Christ Church, Oxford, in 1651, he became also vice-chancellor of the university in 1652, a post he held for five years with great distinction and with a marked impartiality not often found in Puritan divines. This led him also to disagreement, even with Cromwell, over the latter’s assumption of the protectorship. Owen retained his deanery until 1659. Shortly after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, he moved to London, where he was active in preaching and writing until his death. He declined invitations to the ministry in Boston (1663) and the presidency of Harvard (1670) and chided New England Congregationalists for intolerance. He turned aside also from high preferment when his influence was acknowledged by governmental attempts to persuade him to relinquish Nonconformity in favor of the established church.
His numerous works include The Display of Arminianism (1642); Eshcol, or Rules of Direction for the Walking of the Saints in Fellowship (1648), an exposition of Congregational principles; Saius Electorum, Sanguis Jesu (1648), another anti-Arminian polemic; Diatriba de Divina Justitia (1658), an attack on Socinianism; Of the Divine Original Authority of the Scriptures (1659); Theologoumena Pantodapa (1661), a history from creation to Reformation; Animadversions to Fiat Lux (1662), replying to a Roman Catholic treatise; Doctrine of Justification by Faith (1677); and Exercitationes on the Epistle to the Hebrews (1668-1684).
A large video collection of classic hymns, contemporary Praise and Worship songs, and the works (audio books, devotional readings, and sermons) of men greatly used of God, such as: Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, A.W. Tozer, A.W. Pink, John Owen, Oswald Chambers, Andrew Murray, E.M. Bounds, John Bunyan, George Whitefield, and many more, covering topics on many aspects of the Christian life. May your time spent here be blessed.
http://vid.io/x3F
Puritan Thomas Manton – When God’s Word is Hidden in Your Heart (Christian devotional)
Psalm 119:
11 Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, O Lord!
Teach me Your statutes.
Thomas Manton – (1620-1677), Puritan clergyman
Born in Laurence Lydiard, Somerset, Manton was educated locally and then at Hart Hall, Oxford where he graduated BA in 1639. Joseph Hall, bishop of Norwich, ordained him deacon the following year. He never took priest’s orders, holding that he was properly ordained to the ministerial office. He was then appointed town lecturer of Collumpton in Devon. After a profitable few years, he was called to the parish of Stoke Newington in Middlesex in the winter of 1644-1645, and began to build a reputation as a forthright and popular defender of Reformed principles. This led to his participation in several key events, such as the Westminster Assembly and confession publication, and his being asked to preach before Parliament on several occasions.
After ten years in Middlesex, he was appointed to the living of St. Paul’s in Covent Garden. Again he became very popular and continued to exercise a wide influence on public affairs, calling for the restoration of Charles II in 1660. For his part in this he was offered the Deanery of Rochester by the new monarch, but he refused on conscience grounds. He had disapproved of the execution of Charles I. In 1658, he had assisted Richard Baxter to draw up the Fundamentals of Religion. He was one of Oliver Cromwell’s chaplains and a trier.
The Act of Uniformity 1662 saw Manton resign his living with many other Puritans in protest at this attack on their Reformed principles. Despite his lack of patronage, he continued to preach and write even when imprisoned for refusing to cooperate.
Although Manton is little known now, in his day he was held in as much esteem as men like John Owen. He was best known for his skilled expository preaching. His finest work is probably his Exposition of James.
“I do not regard him as a writer of striking power and brilliancy, compared to some of his cotemporaries. He never carries you by storm, and excites enthusiasm by passages of profound thought expressed in majestic language, such as you will find frequently in Charnock, and occasionally in Howe. He never rouses your inmost feelings, thrills your conscience, or stirs your heart of hearts, like Baxter. Such rhetoric as this was not Manton’s gift, and the reader who expects to find it in his writings will be disappointed.
As a writer, I consider that Manton holds a somewhat peculiar place among the Puritan divines. He has pre-eminently a style of his own, and a style very unlike that of most of his school. I will try to explain what I mean.
Manton’s chief excellence as a writer, in my judgment, consists in the ease, perspicuousness, and clearness of his style. He sees his subject clearly, expresses himself clearly, and seldom fails in making you see clearly what he means. He has a happy faculty of simplifying the point he handles. He never worries you with acres of long, ponderous, involved sentences, like Goodwin or Owen. His books, if not striking, are generally easy and pleasant reading, and destitute of anything harsh, cramped, obscure, and requiring a second glance to be understood. For my own part, I find it easier to read fifty pages of Manton’s than ten of some of his brethren’s; and after reading, I feel that I carry more away.
Manton was a Calvinist in his theology. He held the very doctrine which is so admirably set forth in the seventeenth Article of the Church of England. He held the same views which were held by nine-tenths of the English Reformers, and four-fifths of all the leading divines of the Church of England down to the accession of James I. He maintained and taught personal election, the perseverance of the saints, the absolute necessity of a regeneration evidenced by its fruits, as well as salvation by free grace, justification by faith alone, and the uselessness of ceremonial observances without true and vital religion. As an expositor of Scripture, I regard Manton with unmingled admiration. Here, at any rate, he is ‘facile princeps’ among the divines of the Puritan school.”
-J.C. Ryle
A large video collection of classic hymns, contemporary Praise and Worship songs, and the works (audio books, devotional readings, and sermons) of men greatly used of God, such as: Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, A.W. Tozer, A.W. Pink, John Owen, Oswald Chambers, Andrew Murray, E.M. Bounds, John Bunyan, George Whitefield, and many more, covering topics on many aspects of the Christian life. May your time spent here be blessed.
http://vid.io/x3F
Charles Spurgeon – The Dog Howled At Them (Christian devotional)
Charles Spurgeon Sermon Playlist 2: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAFB98CCADC2677AF
Link to my “Christian Devotional Readings” Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christian-Devotional-Readings/196846270398160?ref=hl
http://www.sermonaudio.com/main.asp
Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Charles Haddon (C.H.) Spurgeon (June 19, 1834 January 31, 1892) was a British Reformed Baptist preacher who remains highly influential among Christians of different denominations, among whom he is still known as the “Prince of Preachers.” In his lifetime, Spurgeon preached to around 10,000,000 people, often up to 10 times a week at different places. His sermons have been translated into many languages. Spurgeon was the pastor of the New Park Street Chapel in London for 38 years. In 1857, he started a charity organization called Spurgeon’s which now works globally. He also founded Spurgeon’s College, which was named after him after his death.
Spurgeon was a prolific author of many types of works including sermons, an autobiography, a commentary, books on prayer, a devotional, a magazine, and more. Many sermons were transcribed as he spoke and were translated into many languages during his lifetime. Arguably, no other author, Christian or otherwise, has more material in print than C.H. Spurgeon.
A large video collection of classic hymns, contemporary Praise and Worship songs, and the works (audio books, devotional readings, and sermons) of men greatly used of God, such as: Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, A.W. Tozer, A.W. Pink, John Owen, Oswald Chambers, Andrew Murray, E.M. Bounds, John Bunyan, George Whitefield, and many more, covering topics on many aspects of the Christian life. May your time spent here be blessed.
http://vid.io/x3F
Christian Love Song / Lyrics – You’re Altogether Beautiful (Praise Him) / Rich Moore
I am a singer, guitarist, and songwriter. This is a new original contemporary Christian song I recently wrote for my wonderful wife, with whom God has blessed me beyond measure. May those who listen find it a great blessing, to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ…praise God. (Music and video owned and copyrighted by Rich Moore Christian Music…photos in video from our wedding).
The links to my recently released new album, “A Message of Hope.” The album is available on iTunes and Amazon:
https://itunes.apple.com/album/a-message-of-hope/id731510259
My Original Contemporary Christian Songs (playlist): http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzOwqed_gET0JkRfjd1-xm_BGrCYaJqVR
Christian Praise and Worship Songs playlist: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=4D0533BC00E40EA4
Lyrics:
Girl, you are a part of my
heart, for you I’d die, babe
My love grows more and more for you,
with each passing day, its true, ohhh
You’re a blessing from above,
Through you, God’s shown His love, (praise Him)
The two have become one,
in Christ it has been done, (praise Him)
Sometimes when I look at you,
Oh, I can’t believe you’re mine
and when I look in your eyes
I know that you love me
Oh, it’s so amazing
You belong to me
How beautiful is your love,
my sister, my bride! (praise Him)
You’re altogether beautiful,
my darling, yes its true (praise Him)
Some words are from Song of Solomon 4
A large video collection of classic hymns, contemporary Praise and Worship songs, and the works (audio books, devotional readings, and sermons) of men greatly used of God, such as: Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, A.W. Tozer, A.W. Pink, John Owen, Oswald Chambers, Andrew Murray, E.M. Bounds, John Bunyan, George Whitefield, and many more, covering topics on many aspects of the Christian life. May your time spent here be blessed.
http://vid.io/x3F
Puritan Thomas Watson – In Times of Affliction (Christian devotional)
2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Thomas Watson playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9B58A93B5F60F495
Link to my “Christian Devotional Readings” Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChristianDevotionalReadings
Thomas Watson – (ca. 1620-1686), English non-conformist Puritan preacher and author
Watson was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he was noted for remarkably intense study. In 1646 he commenced a sixteen year pastorate at St. Stephen’s, Walbrook. He showed strong Presbyterian views during the civil war, with, however, an attachment to the king, and in 1651 he was imprisoned briefly with some other ministers for his share in Christopher Love’s plot to recall Charles II of England. He was released on June 30, 1652, and was formally reinstated as vicar of St. Stephen’s Walbrook.
Watson obtained great fame and popularity as a preacher until the Restoration, when he was ejected for nonconformity. Notwithstanding the rigor of the acts against dissenters, Watson continued to exercise his ministry privately as he found opportunity. Upon the Declaration of Indulgence in 1672 he obtained a license to preach at the great hall in Crosby House. After preaching there for several years, his health gave way, and he retired to Barnston, Essex, where he died suddenly while praying in secret. He was buried on 28 July 1686.
A large video collection of classic hymns, contemporary Praise and Worship songs, and the works (audio books, devotional readings, and sermons) of men greatly used of God, such as: Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, A.W. Tozer, A.W. Pink, John Owen, Oswald Chambers, Andrew Murray, E.M. Bounds, John Bunyan, George Whitefield, and many more, covering topics on many aspects of the Christian life. May your time spent here be blessed.
http://vid.io/x3F
Puritan Thomas Brooks – A Whole Christ with a Whole Heart / Christian devotional
Link to my “Christian Devotional Readings” Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christian-Devotional-Readings/196846270398160?ref=hl
A Treasury of Ageless,
Sovereign Grace,
Devotional Writings http://www.gracegems.org/
Thomas Brooks play list: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=BAF41AECFA38A4CE
Thomas Brooks (1608-1680), Nonconformist Puritan preacher and author.
Luke 19:27 But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.
Thomas Brooks was born in 1608. He entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge, in 1625, where such New England Puritans as Thomas Hooker, John Cotton, and Thomas Shepard were also educated, but he appears to have left before graduating. Brooks was ordained as a preacher of the gospel in 1640 and became a chaplain to the parliamentary fleet, serving for some years at sea. That ministry is mentioned in some of his “sea-devotions” as well as his statement: “I have been some years at sea and through grace I can say that I would not exchange my sea experiences for England’s riches.”
After the Civil War, Brooks became minister at the church of St. Thomas the Apostle, Queen Street, London (1648-1651). He was often called to preach before Parliament. In 1652, he became rector of St. Margaret’s, New Fish Street Hill, which was the first church that burned to the ground in the Great Fire of London (1666). Like Thomas Goodwin and John Owen, Brooks preferred the Congregational view of church government. In 1662, he fell victim to the notorious Act of Uniformity.
After being ejected from his living, Brooks continued to preach in London, where he apparently suffered little persecution. He became minister of a congregation at Moorfields, near St. Margaret’s. Unlike many ministers, he stayed in London during the Great Plague of 1665, faithfully tending his flock. In 1672, he was licensed to preach according to the terms of the Declaration of Indulgence, but that license was revoked in 1676.
Brooks lost his first wife, Martha Burgess, a godly woman whom he greatly treasured, in 1676. He wrote of her, “She was always best when she was most with God in a corner. She has many a whole day been pouring out her soul before God for the nation, for Zion, and the great concerns of her own soul.” He later married a young God-fearing woman named Patience Cartwright (Alexander Grosart puts it succinctly: “she spring-young, he winter-old” [Works of Brooks, 1:xxxv]), who proved a most worthy companion.
Brooks died in 1680 and was buried in Bunhill Fields, London’s famous nonconformist cemetery. John Reeve, who preached at the funeral, said Brooks had “a sweet nature, great gravity, large charity, wonderful patience, and strong faith.”
A large video collection of classic hymns, contemporary Praise and Worship songs, and the works (audio books, devotional readings, and sermons) of men greatly used of God, such as: Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, A.W. Tozer, A.W. Pink, John Owen, Oswald Chambers, Andrew Murray, E.M. Bounds, John Bunyan, George Whitefield, and many more, covering topics on many aspects of the Christian life. May your time spent here be blessed.
http://vid.io/x3F
Quiet Talks on Prayer Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA3695D7F277F0B2F
“An open life, an open hand, open upward, is the pipe line of communication between the heart of God and this poor befooled old world. Our prayer is God’s opportunity to get into the world that would shut Him out.”
In the early 1900s, S.D. Gordon was a widely traveled speaker in high demand. A prolific author, he wrote more than 25 devotional books, most with the phrase “Quiet Talks” in the title. His first book sold half a million copies over 40 years! He died in 1936.
E.W. Kenyon said that “S.D. Gordon is a sporadic outburst of divine grace. He is unusual, as are all of God’s rare tools… he is perfectly balanced in the Word and in the Spirit. He represents that rare but vanishing class of spiritually minded men of the last generation.”
“The Treasury of Quiet Talks Selections from S.D. Gordon” (1951) by John W. Bradbury gives this brief biography (adapted): “Samuel Dickey Gordon ministered the deep things of God, he was not an ordained minister, He could boast no academic degrees, he was never doctored [he never received an earned or honorary doctorate]. Theological concepts he obtained from his Bible. A plain man, controlled by a deep desire to edify God’s people, he won the respect of the learned and at the same time the affection of the simple.
“Gordon lived a long and useful life. He was born in Philadelphia August 12, 1859 and died June 1936. A public school education was all the academic training he had. But, as a young man, he was hard working , consecrated and sought the best God had for him. He served as assistant secretary of the Philadelphia Young Men’s Christian Association in 1884-86 so efficiently that he became state secretary for the YMCA in Ohio, serving from 1886 to 1895. In this period he developed a quiet style of devotional speaking which was quite the opposite of the powerful forensics which dominated the pulpit style of that period.
“Gordon then took four years to visit the mission fields of the Orient and to tour Europe on speaking missions. His quiet manner, simplicity, illustrative quality and gentle spirit won for him a great following wherever he went. “Quiet Talks on Power” was his first book, published by Fleming H. Revell in 1901. Gordon was then forty-two. His “Quiet Talks on Prayer” followed in 1904, “Quiet Talks on Service” and “Quiet Talks about Jesus”, in 1906. The demand for his books had grown so great that he could produce two in a year and follow thereafter with one series of Quiet Talks each year until 1915 when the first World War disrupted everything. After the war he resumed his Quiet Talks in books but not at the same speed. Altogether he produced twenty-five books, twenty-two of which belonged to the Quiet Talks series.
“An incessant and tireless itinerant, Gordon never lacked for opportunities to preach. He never called himself a preacher, preferring the title of lecturer. In a real sense he was unique. His manner of speaking, never dull, always illustrated by parabolic stories, had gripping power to hold the attention and stir the heart.”
His brother, James Logan Gordon, was an ordained minister, and served three pastorates in Canada and then at the First Congregational Church in San Francisco.
A large video collection of classic hymns, contemporary Praise and Worship songs, and the works (audio books, devotional readings, and sermons) of men greatly used of God, such as: Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, A.W. Tozer, A.W. Pink, John Owen, Oswald Chambers, Andrew Murray, E.M. Bounds, John Bunyan, George Whitefield, and many more, covering topics on many aspects of the Christian life. May your time spent here be blessed.
http://vid.io/x3F
The Inspired Scriptures – Dr. Peter Masters Sermon
Dr. Peter Masters Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAFD02E799BA29AA6
2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness
The Metropolitan Tabernacle is a large Reformed Baptist church in the Elephant and Castle in London. It was the largest non-conformist church edifice of its day in 1861. The Tabernacle Fellowship have been worshipping together since 1650, soon after the sailing of the Pilgrim Fathers. Its first pastor was William Rider, and many notable others have filled the position since, including Benjamin Keach, Dr. John Gill, Dr. John Rippon, and C. H. Spurgeon. The Tabernacle still worships and holds to its historical principles under its present pastor, Dr. Peter Masters.
The Tabernacle fellowship dates back to 1650, when the English Parliament banned independent Christian organisations from meeting together. This congregation braved persecution until 1688, when the Baptists were once again allowed to worship in freedom. At this point, the group built their first chapel, in the Tower Bridge area.
In 1720, Dr. John Gill became pastor and served for 51 years. In 1771, Dr. John Rippon became pastor and served for 63 years. During these times, the church experienced great growth and became one of the largest congregations in the country. Afterwards decline set in and by 1850 the congregation was small.
In 1854, the most famous of all the pastors at the Metropolitan Tabernacle started serving at the youthful age of 20. His name was Charles Haddon Spurgeon, and he quickly became the most popular British preacher of his day. The church at the beginning of Spurgeon’s pastorate was situated at New Park Street Chapel, but this soon became so full that services had to be held in hired halls such as the Surrey Gardens Music Hall.
During Spurgeon’s ministry, it was decided that the church should move permanently to larger premises. The location chosen was the Elephant and Castle, a prominent location near the River Thames in South London, partly because it was thought to be the site of the burning of the Southwark Martyrs. The building, designed by William Wilmer Pocock, was finished in 1861 and dedicated on March 18. Spurgeon also founded a college for preachers (now Spurgeon’s College) and church workers and orphanages for girls and boys, and wrote many Christian books which are still in print today.
In 1887, the church left the Baptist Union because of the widening influence of theological liberalism within the Union. Spurgeon was adamant that the church would not “down-grade” the faith as many other churches were doing. (See also the “Downgrade Controversy” section in the article on Charles Haddon Spurgeon.)
At the end of 1891, membership was given as 5,311 (Tabernacle capacity: 6,000 people, with 5,500 seated, 500 standing room; Tabernacle dimensions: 146′ long, 81′ wide, 68′ high). Spurgeon died in 1892.
The original building was burned down in 1898, leaving just the front portico and basement intact, before the rebuilt church was destroyed again in 1941 during the German bombing of London in World War II. Once again, the portico and basement survived and in 1957, the Tabernacle was rebuilt to a new but much smaller design accommodating surviving original features.
The church numbers were considerably reduced following the wars, as many of the old congregation could not return to London. In 1970, Dr. Peter Masters became the pastor of the small congregation, and the church started to grow again. It is now able to support an annual School of Theology and part-time Seminary for pastors.
