Maidenbower Baptist Church

Here is Spurgeon at the heart of his ministerial and pastoral calling: glorying in the cross of a crucified Christ. Here is the essential power of all his preaching, and here is the delight of his own soul. Unpacking the sermon methodically, and finding his time running out as he expands upon this theme, Spurgeon begins with the cross itself, and what the apostle meant when he thought of it and sp...

It is all too easy to despise the needy, especially when they intrude upon us. Christ and his disciples were seeking privacy and peace in the face of their own weariness and trouble, but when they came out of the boat in which they had travelled, they found a crowd waiting. What did the Lord Jesus see? He saw a great multitude, a mighty mass of needy people all seeking help. How did the Lord Jesus...

The Lord Christ should be ever more glorious to us, his blood ever more precious, his salvation ever more wondrous. The simplest truths should delight our hearts. In Hebrews 1:3 we are told that the Son of God incarnate "He had by Himself purged our sins." We must take note of the Actor who does the work, his separation to the work, the essence of the work, the beneficiaries of the work, and the c...

This sermon sounds a note of concern. The Second Letter to Timothy has a consistent awareness of certain threats to the gospel and its ministers, a series of troublesome individuals who assault the truth of Christ and oppose the servants of Christ. Nevertheless, Paul's "gracious anxiety" does not disturb "the serenity of his faith." He remains confident that the foundation will stand, because of t...

The first verse of Psalm 34 gives us a catechism of praise, telling us the who, and the what, and the whom, and the when, and the how of our glorifying God, and the whole psalm provides a catalogue which tells us why we can and should do so: because the child of God can say he heard me, he delivered me, he encouraged me, he protects me, he gladdens me, he provides for me, he inspires me, he judges...

Why does the church need deacons? To answer this question we consider carefully a division of labour established in Acts 6:1–7. The church needs deacons so that the first things might be pursued without distraction—prayer and the ministry of the Word, carried out by servants of the pulpit. The church also needs deacons so that the next things might be maintained without compromise—works of mercy a...

A simple sermon, and yet one that hits home. The texts is James 1:21–22, and Spurgeon does little more than run through the text, taking each portion as an instruction as to how we prepare for a sermon, engage with a sermon, and respond to a sermon. But to say that he runs through the text is not to suggest that he just rehearses its words. Rather, the point of hearing is doing, a real heeding of...

Sometimes people ask a hard question: "Has God forgotten to be gracious?" It is not hard to answer, in one sense, but it shows a certain hardness in their soul to suggest that the unchanging God of grace has somehow altered in himself or ceased to be himself. So Spurgeon demands that we give that question all its weight, drag it into the light, and interrogate the question. By the end of the sermo...

Paul compacts the experience of salvation into one terse declaration. He tells the Galatian Christians what we were (slaves), what we became (sons), what we are now (heirs because sons), and how we entered into this new state: through Christ Jesus. How, then, do we define ourselves? If we are sons, then we should be joyful and obedient because of what Christ has secured for us. If we are still sla...

Having drawn the portrait of a persecutor from Herod's history in Acts 12, we turn now to Simon Peter and those around him. Tracing Peter's experience, we see his threatening imprisonment, his peaceful night, his angelic deliverance, his happy housecall, his eventual report, and his quiet departure. Along the way we learn various lessons, not least about the preservation, peace, and prayers of the...

Elijah's plea was simple: "Let it be known that I have done all these things at your word." Spurgeon turns it in two directions. First, to obedient saints, it is a firm ground for prayer. He considers the labouring minister, a whole church, an individual Christian, and—departing slightly from his main heading—he asks how it would be used by a seeking sinner. Second, to those who cannot say that th...

If you are setting off across the desert, you need water. If you are caught in the desert, you need water. If you have or will have a real thirst, you need water. If you have thirst of soul, you need living water—you need the God of grace to shower forgiveness, peace, joy, and strength upon you. That is the condition to which Christ speaks. To all such he offers a solution: "Come to me, and drink....

This psalm weaves together God's high character and man's deep need, not as contrasts but as counterpoints. We do not lose sight of Christ, we do not disconnect from Christ's people. Here, then, is a man who has grasped God's faithful love, God's ready grace, and God's tender mercies. The plea to be heard, for God to turn to the needy man, fits the suffering Son, a seeking sinner, a struggling sai...

Our Lord Jesus, insists Spurgeon, was not only a man of sorrows, but a man of joys. He knew joys in his humiliation, and he knows joys in his exaltation. He has distinct gladness as the Mediator. Bubbling over with delight, Spurgeon spreads himself in his introduction, delighting to think of the delight which characterises our Lord in glory. Only then does he turn, with particular concentration, t...

Here is a song for the wilderness, delight for the desert pilgrim. The song has a strong foundation, for it is a song of God reconciled, of peace established. It is a song of endless resources, for to those in fellowship with God the wells of salvation have been opened—gospel truths, gospel promises, gospel ordinances, and gospel experiences. This leads to joyful labour, for we are to draw from th...

A brief devotion in preparation for a season of thanksgiving, considering Habakkuk's resolution to rejoice in the face of the loss not just of the mere delights of life but the very supports of life. However, when all is gone, God is not, and God is still good. Habakkuk therefore, facing the worst of all possible futures in this world, looks up to the God of salvation and resolves to rejoice and s...

What may seem to be a slightly twee title contains a very sweet truth: "My God will hear me." With such a brief phrase, Spurgeon simply unpacks it, weaving together doctrine, experience, and practice. Here is a title to relish, "my God," with all it means. Then there is an argument to grasp, that because he is God and my God, he will hear me. Then there is the favour involved, that all-hearing, sy...

We are working through a book of systematic theology called "Daily Doctrine" by Kevin DeYoung (Crossway). We hope that you will join us and engage with the book as we seek to learn more about the God of heaven, and what the knowledge of him means for his pilgrim people upon earth. The whole video series can be found here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLydzd6kZnPWdDUP1Dj9CIV_hSp42WEeMb&si=ACvR...

Simeon was a godly man—just and devout, patient and holy. He was waiting for the Consolation of Israel. Here we consider what Simeon saw in the temple one day, unremarkable by human standards. We also need to know who he identified, the salvation of God and the hope of men. How did Simeon know? He was instructed by the Word of God and guided by the Spirit of God. So what did Simeon do? He embraced...

Many of us look forward to gifts, but none leave us speechless. God's gift, though, is indescribable—it exceeds our capacity for speech. So what is this gift? Why can you not describe it? And, what should you do with it? Here we explore the wonder of the Son of God, the Saviour, given to sinners for salvation. He is inexpressible and inexhaustible, and we declare his glory even as we acknowledge t...

"The Philadelphian church was not great, but it was good; it was not powerful, but it was faithful." Does that describe the congregation to which you belong? Drawing from Christ's words to the church of Philadelphia in Revelation 3, Spurgeon identifies the word of praise which Christ offers, the word of prospect, and the word of promise. As ever, the preacher uses this congregation to hold up a mi...

We are working through a book of systematic theology called "Daily Doctrine" by Kevin DeYoung (Crossway). We hope that you will join us and engage with the book as we seek to learn more about the God of heaven, and what the knowledge of him means for his pilgrim people upon earth. The whole video series can be found here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLydzd6kZnPWdDUP1Dj9CIV_hSp42WEeMb&si=ACvR...

Isaiah speaks to a people sunk in darkness, and brings the promise of light. That promise, delivered with sweet certainty, comes to fulfilment in the arrival of Immanuel, the Christ, Jesus of Nazareth. That language of darkness is equally applicable to all men who are living without and apart from Christ Jesus, which is why we need to understand the lack of light (walking and living in deep and de...