Dr. Alan Cairns served for 25 years as pastor of Faith Free Presbyterian Church, Greenville, SC, before retiring and being named Pastor Emeritus in 2007. Prior to coming to the United States, he pastored Free Presbyterian churches in Dunmurry and Ballymoney, in Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland. Dr. Cairns also held the position Professor of Theology in the Whitefield College of the Bible in Northern Ireland and lectured in what is now Geneva Reformed Seminary in Greenville. As both an author and expositor, Dr. Cairns is revered for his Christ-centered focus and gifts of scriptural insight.
John Newton – (1725-1807), Evangelical divine and hymn writer
Newton was born in London July 24, 1725, the son of a commander of a merchant ship which sailed the Mediterranean. When John was eleven, he went to sea with his father and made six voyages with him before the elder Newton retired. In 1744 John was impressed into service on a man-of-war, the H. M. S. Harwich. Finding conditions on board intolerable, he deserted but was soon recaptured and publicly flogged and demoted from midshipman to common seaman.
Although he had had some early religious instruction from his mother, who had died when he was a child, he had long since given up any religious convictions. However, on a homeward voyage, while he was attempting to steer the ship through a violent storm, he experienced what he was to refer to later as his “great deliverance.” He recorded in his journal that when all seemed lost and the ship would surely sink, he exclaimed, “Lord, have mercy upon us.” Later in his cabin he reflected on what he had said and began to believe that God had addressed him through the storm and that grace had begun to work for him.
For the rest of his life he observed the anniversary of May 10, 1748 as the day of his conversion, a day of humiliation in which he subjected his will to a higher power. “Thro’ many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; ’tis grace has bro’t me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.” He continued in the slave trade for a time after his conversion; however, he saw to it that the slaves under his care were treated humanely.
In 1750 he married Mary Catlett, with whom he had been in love for many years. By 1755, after a serious illness, he had given up seafaring forever. During his days as a sailor he had begun to educate himself, teaching himself Latin, among other subjects. From 1755 to 1760 Newton was surveyor of tides at Liverpool, where he came to know George Whitefield, deacon in the Church of England, evangelistic preacher, and leader of the Calvinistic Methodist Church. Newton became Whitefield’s enthusiastic disciple. During this period Newton also met and came to admire John Wesley, founder of Methodism. Newton’s self-education continued, and he learned Greek and Hebrew.
He decided to become a minister and applied to the Archbishop of York for ordination. The Archbishop refused his request, but Newton persisted in his goal, and he was subsequently ordained by the Bishop of Lincoln and accepted the curacy of Olney, Buckinghamshire. Newton’s church became so crowded during services that it had to be enlarged. He preached not only in Olney but in other parts of the country. In 1767 the poet William Cowper settled at Olney, and he and Newton became friends.
Cowper helped Newton with his religious services and on his tours to other places. They held not only a regular weekly church service but also began a series of weekly prayer meetings, for which their goal was to write a new hymn for each one. They collaborated on several editions of Olney Hymns, which achieved lasting popularity. The first edition, published in 1779, contained 68 pieces by Cowper and 280 by Newton.
Among Newton’s contributions which are still loved and sung today are “How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds” and “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken,” as well as “Amazing Grace.” Composed probably between 1760 and 1770 in Olney, “Amazing Grace” was possibly one of the hymns written for a weekly service. The origin of the melody is unknown. Most hymnals attribute it to an early American folk melody. The Bill Moyers special on “Amazing Grace” speculated that it may have originated as the tune of a song the slaves sang.
Newton was not only a prolific hymn writer but also kept extensive journals and wrote many letters. Historians accredit his journals and letters for much of what is known today about the eighteenth century slave trade. In Cardiphonia, or the Utterance of the Heart, a series of devotional letters, he aligned himself with the Evangelical revival, reflecting the sentiments of his friend John Wesley and Methodism.
In 1780 Newton left Olney to become rector of St. Mary Woolnoth, St. Mary Woolchurch, in London. There he drew large congregations and influenced many, among them William Wilberforce, who would one day become a leader in the campaign for the abolition of slavery. Newton continued to preach until the last year of life, although he was blind by that time. He died in London December 21, 1807. Infidel and libertine turned minister in the Church of England, he was secure in his faith that amazing grace would lead him home.
“Get up, go away! For this is not your resting place—because it is defiled, it is ruined, beyond all remedy!” Micah 2:10
Faith endures as seeing Him who is invisible (Heb. 11:27); endures the disappointments, the hardships, and the heart-aches of life, by recognizing that all comes from the hand of Him who is too wise to err and too loving to be unkind. But so long as we are occupied with any other object than God Himself, there will be neither rest for the heart nor peace for the mind.
But when we receive all that enters our lives as from His hand, then, no matter what may be our circumstances or surroundings—whether in a hovel or prison-dungeon, or at a martyr’s stake—we shall be enabled to say, ” The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places” (Ps. 16:6). But that is the language of faith, not of sight nor of sense.
John Flavel (1628-1691)
Excerpt from Meet the Puritans
by Dr. Joel Beeke and Randall J. Pederson
John Flavel (or Flavell) was born in 1628 in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. He was the son of Richard Flavel, a minister who died of the plague in 1665 while in prison for nonconformity. John Flavel was educated by his father in the ways of religion, then “plied his studies hard” as a commoner at University College, Oxford. In 1650, he was ordained by the presbytery at Salisbury. He settled in Diptford, where he honed his numerous gifts.
He married Joan Randall, a godly woman, who died while giving birth to their first child in 1655. The baby died as well. After a year of mourning, Flavel married Elizabeth Stapell and was again blessed with a close, God-fearing marriage, as well as children.
In 1656, Flavel accepted a call to be minister in the thriving seaport of Dartmouth. He earned a smaller income there, but his work was more profitable; many were converted. One of his parishioners wrote of Flavel, “I could say much, though not enough of the excellency of his preaching; of his seasonable, suitable, and spiritual matter; of his plain expositions of Scripture; his talking method, his genuine and natural deductions, his convincing arguments, his clear and powerful demonstrations, his heart-searching applications, and his comfortable supports to those that were afflicted in conscience. In short, that person must have a very soft head, or a very hard heart, or both, that could sit under his ministry unaffected” (Erasmus Middleton, Evangelical Biography, 4:50-51).
Flavel was ejected from the pulpit in 1662 for nonconformity, but he continued to meet secretly with his parishioners in conventicles. On occasion, he would preach for them in the woods, especially on days of fasting and humiliation. Once he even disguised himself as a woman on horseback in order to reach a secret meeting place where he preached and administered baptism. At another time, when pursued by authorities, he plunged his horse into the sea and managed to escape arrest by swimming through a rocky area to reach Slapton Sands.
In 1672, King Charles II issued the Declaration of Indulgence, giving Nonconformists freedom to worship. Flavel returned to Dartmouth, licensed as a Congregationalist. When the indulgence was canceled the following year, Flavel once more resorted to preaching secretly in private homes, secluded neighborhoods, or remote forests. Flavel’s second wife died during this time and he married Ann Downe, a minister’s daughter. They were happily married for eleven years, and had two sons.
In the late 1670s and early 1680s, Flavel carried on his ministry mainly by writing. He published at least nine books in this period. In the summer of 1682, he was forced to seek safety in London, where he joined the congregation of his friend, William Jenkyn, known today for his commentary on Jude. In 1684, soldiers interrupted a prayer service Flavel was conducting with Jenkyn. Flavel narrowly escaped arrest. During his stay in London, Flavel’s third wife died. He married Dorothy, a widowed daughter of George Jefferies, minister of Kingsbridge; she survived him.
Flavel was humble, godly, and learned. He spent much time in study and prayer. One of his children wrote, “He was always full and copious in prayer, seemed constantly to exceed himself, and rarely made use twice of the same expressions.” He was well versed in church discipline, infant baptism, and a number of Oriental languages.
Flavel’s power as a preacher came out of his depth of spiritual experience. He spent many hours in meditation and self-examination. As Middleton writes, “He [Flavel] attained to a well-grounded assurance, the ravishing comforts of which were many times shed abroad in his soul; this made him a powerful and successful preacher, as one who spoke from his own heart to those of others. He preached what he felt, and what he had handled, what he had seen and tasted of the word of life and they felt it also” (ibid., p. 58).
While meditating on heaven on one occasion, Flavel was so overcome with heavenly joy that he lost sight of this world. Stopping his horse by a spring, he viewed death as the most amiable face he had ever seen, except that of Christ’s, who made it so. When he finally arrived at an inn, the innkeeper said to him, “Sir, what is the matter with you? You look like a dead man.” “Friend,” Flavel replied, “I was never better in my life.” Years later, Flavel said that he understood more of heaven from that experience than from all the books he had ever read and all the sermons he had ever heard on the subject.
Julie Bernstein’s story of music began in Illinois at a very early age. Her family’s house in the country sat on the corner of a crossroads, with the little country church she attended through childhood at one end. The crossroads between church and the opposite path would be a theme she’d revisit in her life many times…
Impossible to Renew Them Again to Repentance – Hebrews 6:1-8
Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God…
A reading I did a couple of years ago. I personally found comfort in these words of James Smith, and consider it a blessing to be able to share them here with you this day. May all who might listen find this reading a great blessing…to the glory of God.
James Smith was a predecessor of Charles Spurgeon at New Park Street Chapel in London from 1841 until 1850. Early on, Smith’s readings were even more popular than Spurgeon’s!
1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
Christian Praise and Worship in Songs, Sermons, and Audio Books
SOME of the current playlists you will find on my YouTube channel:
A.W. Pink – The Sovereignty of God
Aids to the Divine Life – Thomas Sherman
Alarm to the Unconverted – Joseph Alleine
Alexander Henderson
All of Grace – Charles Spurgeon
Andrew Bonar
Andrew Murray – The True Vine: Meditations on John 15:1-16
Archibald Alexander
Asahel Nettleton
Attributes of God – A.W. Pink
Audio Bible / New Testament
Audio Bible / Old Testament
Augustine of Hippo
B.B. Warfield
Battle for God and for His Truth
Biblical Psychology
Biographies
Biography of George Whitefield – J.C. Ryle
Book of Hebrews
Book of Job
Book of Psalms
Book of Revelation
Book of Romans (Sermons and Commentaries)
Brother Lawrence – The Practice of the Presence of God
Brownlow North
Cases of Conscience Resolved – John Owen
Charles Orr
Charles Spurgeon – According to Promise
Charles Spurgeon Devotional – Morning and Evening (Audio)
Charles Spurgeon Sermon Playlist
Charles Wesley Hymns
Christ Crucified
Christ’s Cross and the Human Race
Christian Audio Readings by stack45ny
Christian Quotes
Christian Songs a Capella
Christian Songs with Lyrics Playlist
Christian View of Death
Christianity and Liberalism – J. Gresham Machen
Christmas Videos
Christopher Love
Christ’s Sympathy to Weary Pilgrims – Octavius Winslow
Comfort for Christians – A.W. Pink
Commentaries on Scripture
Confessions – Augustine of Hippo
Critical / Contentious / Judgmental: Is this You?
Discipleship
Dr Carl R. Trueman
Dr. Alan Cairns
Dr. Peter Masters
Dr. Sinclair B. Ferguson
Early Church History
Easter Hymns, Sermons, Praise and Worship Songs Playlist
Eternal Security – A .W. Pink
Eusebius’ History of the Christian Church
Faith’s Checkbook – Charles Spurgeon Devotional
Follow the Lamb – Horatius Bonar
Foxe’s Book of Martyrs
Geerhardus Vos
George Müller
George Whitefield
God’s Sovereignty in the Salvation of Men – Jonathan Edwards
God’s Way of Holiness – Horatius Bonar
God’s Will and Man’s Will – Spurgeon Sermons
Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners – John Bunyan
Heart Purity – Thomas Watson
Henry Law
Henry Scougal
Holiness – J.C. Ryle
Horatius Bonar
Hudson Taylor
Hymns with Lyrics
Ichabod Spencer
Ignatius of Antioch
Importance of Knowledge of Divine Truth – Jonathan Edwards
J. Gresham Machen
J.C. Ryle – Expository Thoughts on St. Matthew
J.R. Miller
James Meikle
James Smith
JC Ryle – John Wesley and His Ministry
Jesus of Nazareth
Jim Newheiser
John Angell James
John Berridge
John Calvin / Calvinism
John Fawcett
John Flavel
John MacArthur
John MacDuff
John Newton
John Wesley
Jonathan Edwards – Pressing Into the Kingdom of God
Joseph Alleine
Joseph Philpot
Judgment Day
Justin Martyr
Last Days / End Times
Living Life in the Spirit
Love Not The World
Love one Another
Love Your Enemies
Martin Luther
Matthew Henry
Meditations for the Sick – Lewis Bayly
Michael Maura
Missionary Heroism
Notes on Jeremiah
Octavius Winslow
On Antichrist
On Brokenness
On Christ
On Covetousness
On Creeds and Doctrines
On Death
On Depravity
On Election and Predestination
On Encouragement
On Evil: Manifestations / Remedies / Consequences
On False Teachers and Prophets
On Fear
On God’s Wrath
On Happiness
On Hell and Damnation
On Justification
On Loneliness
On Perseverance of the Saints
On Preaching
On Redemption
On Regeneration
On Salvation
On Sanctification
On Self / Self-Denial
On Sickness
On Speaking in Tongues
On Temptation and Sin
On The Bible
On The Holy Spirit
On The Trinity
Original Christian Worship Songs by stack45ny
Oswald Chambers
Paul the Dauntless
Philip Melanchthon
Prayer: Will Pray with the Spirit and Understanding – Bunyan
Predestination and Calling – Charles Spurgeon Sermon
Pressing Into the Kingdom of God – Jonathan Edwards
Puritans
Quiet Talks on Prayer – S.D. Gordon
ReformedAudio
Regeneration by Faith; Of Repentance – John Calvin
Revive Us Again – A sermon by Duncan Campbell
Richard Baxter
Richard Sibbes
Samuel Davies
Samuel Rutherford – Letters
Scripture
Separation from the Ungodly World
The Art of Divine Contentment – Thomas Watson
The Bible in Its Making
The Bible, the Book of Mankind – B.B. Warfield
The Blood of the Cross / Horatius Bonar
The Bruised Reed – Richard Sibbes
The City of God – Augustine of Hippo
The Difficult Way to Life / The Broad Way to Destruction
The Enchiridion / Handbook on Faith, Hope, Love – Augustine
The Excellencies of Christ – A.W. Pink
The Harvest Past / The Dying Universalist – Ichabod Spencer
The Holiness of God
The Mortification of Sin in Believers – John Owen
The Narrow Gate and the Broad Way – John MacArthur Sermon
The Path to Power and Usefulness – A.W. Tozer Sermon
The Pursuit of God – AW Tozer
The Total Depravity of Man
The Way of Holiness – Jonathan Edwards
The World of Self / Self-Denial
The World: In It/Of It/In It But Not Of It – Oswald Chambers
Theodore Cuyler
Thomas Boston
Thomas Chalmers
Thomas Cooper – Bridge of History Over Gulf of Time
Thomas Reade
Thomas Sherman
Torrey’s Topical Bible Study
Treasury of David: Commentary on Psalms – C.H. Spurgeon
Treatise on Christ and Antichrist – Hippolytus of Rome
Universalism
Videos for Preachers
Videos for the Christian Worker
Videos Under 5 Minutes
Warnings to the Churches
William Dyer
William P. Nicholson
William Perkins
William Secker
Women’s Role in the Church
You Must Be Born Again
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.
Christian Sermons and Audio Books 