Delivered by C. H. Spurgeon, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, on Lord’s-Day Evening, February 7, 1864. (Sermon 3252)

“This is He that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ-not by water only, but by water and blood.” (1 John 5:6)

By the terms “water” and “blood” we understand the purifying and the pardoning effects of Christ’s work for His people. He came to purify them from the power of sin, that they might no longer live in it. This is indicated by the declaration that He “came by water.” He also came to put away the guilt of their sin, that they might not be condemned for it. This is set forth by the intimation that He also came “by blood.”

“… ‘a lover of good,’ a man who takes delight in the things that delight the heart of God, a man who is not known primarily for the evils he despises but for the good he loves (Titus 1:8).” - Challies

“Misconception #1: People leave primarily because of negative experiences with the church….Misconception #2: Young people are leaving the church after attending secular universities.” - TGC

Moral Injury: Senior Army Chaplain Chris Melvin

More information: https://centralseminary.edu/about-central/fall-conference/

“Everyone knows reading the Harry Potter saga is infinitely better than watching the films. So also the Gospels of the Lord Jesus Christ. As a medium of communication, the show falls short of its goal….TV is not more influential than the written or spoken word.” - DBTS Blog

“Montgomery County Councilmember Kristin Mink met with a few Muslim protestors to hear their objections to the ‘LGBTQ+ inclusive texts’ that school teachers would be using with their children.” - GetReligion

“Because any user who scrolls past a video, even if they do not watch it, counts as a view on X, the 263 million view count referenced by Trump greatly inflates the actual number of users who watched the video.” - The Dispatch

James on civility: “Offline, if you open the door to someone else’s house, enter her living room, and start yelling at her, you may be arrested, and few people would feel sorry for you. But on the internet, starting arguments with total strangers, for no apparent reason, is normal. In fact, we almost expect it.” - By Faith We Understand

“I have heard recently the fear of God watered down to the idea of respect or reverence alone, which is simply inaccurate. Others characterize the fear of God as a constant and overwhelming terror, which also is not accurate.” - P&D

“Using his normal means of research, the pastor of Madison Baptist Church…had trouble narrowing down the ways the 12 apostles died. So he opened ChatGPT and asked the artificial intelligence (AI) application.” - Lifeway

Read the series.

We’ve looked at several New Testament passages that speak directly of leaders in the church, and how the members of the church should behave toward them. I think there’s material there for all of us to attend to.

I’d like to close the series by going to a passage that doesn’t mention pastors at all, but that points us to a significant step we can take for the days ahead.

The Hartford Institute for Religion Research study found that “approximately one-third of the 4,809 churches in the study say their attendance has increased since the pandemic…more than half say they have suffered a slight or severe decline in attendance.” - CPost

A Renewed Focus

Over the past few years, there has been a renewed focus in many churches on the importance of developing and teaching a theology of work. This emphasis on vocation has been long overdue. According to one study, the average person will spend 90,000 hours at work during their lifetime. That’s a mind-boggling amount of time! Needless to say, what happens during those 90,000 hours is no trivial matter.

In preparation for beginning to teach a 16-week Fall Sunday School series tomorrow, I posted an article on my blog that presents 12 keys to profiting fully from what is written in Scripture:

"12 Keys to Profiting Fully from What Is Written in Scripture"



1. Read the book repeatedly.

“get a secular degree and a job first….Does God call some straight from high school to a Bible college and then to a church? Sure. Is it better to obtain a secular degree and begin honing relational skills in the workforce? I believe so for most people.” - Sam Rainer

“The bad news is that the thought patterns of the web are so embedded into modern life that we cannot effectively avoid them. The good news is that the same responsiveness to the power of habit that makes online addiction so powerful also makes analog resistance effective.” - Desiring God

“All told, 35% of parents of K-12 students are ‘completely satisfied’ with their child’s education, 41% are ‘somewhat satisfied,’ 12% are ‘somewhat dissatisfied’ and 9% ‘completely dissatisfied.’” - Gallup

“Many Chinese adults practice religion or hold religious beliefs, but only 1 in 10 formally identify with a religion.” - Pew

“The decision to repeal the ordinance came in response to a complaint letter from the Liberty Counsel, a national law firm dedicated to First Amendment rights. The legal group contacted the city after residents notified them of the ban.” - CPost

“That vetting process is ‘presently limited…to determining eligibility … on the basis of prior criminal convictions or civil judgements rendered against accused individuals for sex-based offenses.’” - BPNews

Read the series.

Being a guest speaker in a local church congregation is a great honor, but there can also be some very real complexities that accompany such an opportunity. How should we as preachers handle these challenges?

I shared in the first installment that I always try to ask the following questions before I go into a church to speak:

“Psaki’s claim, therefore, that ‘nobody supports abortion up until birth’ is misleading and dependent on a very narrow interpretation of what constitutes ‘support’ for a policy.” - The Dispatch

“42% now identify as Protestants (a large majority being evangelical Christians) while 39.9% identify as Roman Catholics, according to the results of a survey conducted by M&R Consultores.” - Evangelical Focus

“Offending woke sensibilities can be exciting, and it can gain you plaudits from your own tribe. Of course, the question is how far you will go in this endeavor, and how honestly you engage the issues.” - World

Read the series.

The Transformation of Our Bodies

The mention of the transformation of our bodies calls to mind the mystery of 1 Corinthians 15:50-52:

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

“Vivek Ramaswamy stole the spotlight the night of the debate — but it’s Nikki Haley who seems to have made the most of her time on the stage.” - National Review

“The percentage of U.S. Protestant pastors age 18-44 has increased from 23% to 26%. Additionally, the number of pastors who are 65 and older has jumped from 19% to 23%.” - Lifeway

“I argue that computer technology has already birthed a new, online techno-religion: a modern-day revival of Gnosticism.” - Public Discourse

“Based on 1,009 interviews of American adults who attend church services at least once a month, the study was conducted in June 2023 by Center for Biblical Worldview and prominent Evangelical pollster George Barna.” - CPost

“His contrast is between the cunning, crafty, and deceitful words of false teachers and the honest, straightforward, loving words Christians should speak to each other.” - Mark Ward