Resources

In the last few months, the church I serve has been working through ‌the updated version of Eshcol, John Owen’s little treatment on church life now entitled Duties of Christian Fellowship: A Manual for Church Members. The volume is divided into two main sections. The first contains seven ‘Rules for walking in fellowship with respect […]

Today, May 24th, marks the 285th anniversary of John Wesley’s ‘Happy Day’. Bob Thomas explains the significance of this event. John Wesley was an Anglican clergyman who did his best to live an obedient life before God. He had an ardent faith, but without a real relationship with God. He had gone to America to […]

The following was preached by John Owen on 26 September, 1680. The sermon can be found in a new Puritan Paperback, Gospel Life, and in Volume 9 of The Works of John Owen (Sermons to the Church). ‘I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. —1 Cor. […]

The following is excerpted from The Incomparableness of God by George Swinnock, which the Banner publishes as a Puritan Paperback, and which appears in Volume 4 of Swinnock’s Works. The incomparableness of God in his being. It is from itself, for itself, and wholly independent. The incomparableness of the divine being will appear in several […]

A Sermon DELIVERED ON SABBATH MORNING, APRIL 22, 1855, BY THE REV. C. H. SPURGEON, AT EXETER HALL, STRAND. ‘The carnal mind is enmity against God.’—Rom. 8:7   THIS is a very solemn indictment which the apostle Paul here prefers against the carnal mind. He declares it to be enmity against God. When we consider […]

The child on the moss she laid And she stretched the cold limbs of the dead, And drew the eyelid’s shade, And bound the corpse’s shattered head, And shrouded the martyr in his plaid; And where the dead and living slept, Sat in the wilderness and wept. Henry Inglis, The Death of John Brown The […]

Remember Your Leaders On 4 March I lost my father-in-law, my friend, my mentor, my Pastor, my colleague in the ministry and seminary of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland—the man who under God has had more influence on me for good than any other: Ted Donnelly. Ted was a lifelong friend of the Banner […]

As God is an inexhaustible portion, so God is a soul-satisfying portion, Psa. 17:15. He is a portion that gives the soul full satisfaction and content: Psa. 16:5, 6, ‘The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, […]

The life of faith is rarely straightforward and uncomplicated. Every moment of every day we have to contend with ‘the world, the flesh and the devil.’ Added to this triumvirate of enemies, there is the reality that our circumstances often seem in opposition to God’s promises. These hard facts are one reason why Christians should […]

A Sermon DELIVERED ON SABBATH MORNING, APRIL 15, 1855, BY THE REV. C. H. SPURGEON, AT EXETER HALL, STRAND. ‘Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make […]

A Sermon DELIVERED ON SABBATH MORNING, APRIL 8, 1855, BY THE REV. C. H. SPURGEON, AT EXETER HALL, STRAND. ‘Come, see the place where the Lord lay.’—Matt. 28:6. EVERY circumstance connected with the life of Christ is deeply interesting to the Christian mind. Wherever we behold our Saviour, he is well worthy of our notice: […]

A Sermon DELIVERED ON SUNDAY MORNING, APRIL 1, 1855, BY THE REV. C. H. SPURGEON, AT EXETER HALL, STRAND. ‘The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him; but his bow abode in strength and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of […]

A Sermon DELIVERED ON SUNDAY MORNING, APRIL 1, 1855, BY THE REV. C. H. SPURGEON, AT EXETER HALL, STRAND. ‘The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him; but his bow abode in strength and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of […]

It seems as if a lot of people are heading to Asbury. I have not been to Asbury. At this point, I do not anticipate going to Asbury. Why are they going to Asbury? It is because, in the last few days, something has taken place in the chapel of Asbury University. If the reports […]

A Sermon DELIVERED ON SABBATH MORNING, MARCH 25, 1855, BY THE REV. C. H. SPURGEON, AT EXETER HALL, STRAND. ‘For, behold, he prayeth.’—Acts 9:11. GOD has many methods of quenching persecution. He will not suffer his church to be injured by its enemies, or overwhelmed by its foes; and he is not short of means […]

A Sermon   DELIVERED ON SABBATH EVENING, MARCH 18, 1855, BY THE   REV. C. H. SPURGEON,   AT EXETER HALL, STRAND.   ‘I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.’—Hosea 8:12.  THIS is God’s complaint against Ephraim. It is no mean proof of his goodness, that he […]

A Sermon DELIVERED ON SABBATH MORNING, MARCH 18, 1855, BY THE REV. C. H. SPURGEON, AT EXETER HALL, STRAND. ‘For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.’—1 John 5:4. THE epistles of John are perfumed with love. The word is continually occurring, […]

A Sermon DELIVERED ON SABBATH MORNING, MARCH 11, 1855, BY THE REV. C. H. SPURGEON, AT EXETER HALL, STRAND. ‘For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.’—2 Corinthians 1:5. SEEK ye rest from your distresses ye children of woe and sorrow? This is the place where ye […]

In Exodus 19:4 God says that he bore his people on eagles’ wings. What does that mean? It’s a picture he returns to in Deuteronomy 32:11, where he says he dealt with Israel Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on […]

I often make the same pastoral mistake. It is not deliberate, it is often well-intentioned, sometimes it is even hopeful. It is this: to presume upon the biblical knowledge of the people to whom I speak. I do not at all mean by this to deliver a backhanded insult, appearing to confess a shortcoming of […]

On 13 January 2023, Eric Alexander passed into the nearer presence of the Saviour he loved and loved to proclaim. Eric was one of the most gifted preachers of his generation, but more than his preaching, his life testified to the transforming grace of God. From 1959 to 1997, Eric ministered successively in three Church […]

A Sermon DELIVERED ON SABBATH MORNING, MARCH 4, 1855, BY THE REV. C. H. SPURGEON, AT EXETER HALL, STRAND. ‘For so he giveth to his beloved sleep.’—Psalm 127:2. THE sleep of the body is the gift of God. So said Homer of old, when he described it as descending from the clouds, and resting on […]

A Sermon DELIVERED ON SABBATH MORNING, FEBRUARY 25, 1855, BY THE REV. C. H. SPURGEON, AT EXETER HALL, STRAND. ‘I have exalted one chosen out of the people.’—Psalm 79:19. ORIGINALLY, I have no doubt, these words referred to David. He was chosen out of the people. His lineage was respectable, but not illustrious. His family […]

Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem? One answer is because it was prophesied in Micah 5:2 and Scripture had to be fulfilled. This just puts the question one stage further back though. Why did God ordain that his Son would be born in Bethlehem? Every detail of his mission was carefully planned–nothing was random, least […]

The story begins like this: on the night that Jesus was born certain shepherds were out in the field, keeping watch over their flock. It was to them first of all that the news of his birth was broken. And by an angel no less! “I bring you good news of great joy that will […]