The Secret of Whitefield's Success

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Whitefield Head

The Secret of George Whitefield's Success, five points (via)...

1. Natural eloquence -- a gift from God - used by the power of God's Holy Spirit.
2. Fellowship with God -- Whitefield gives us a glimpse in his Journal of his walk with God. 'Early in the morning, at noonday, evening and midnight, nay, all day long, did the blessed Jesus visit and refresh my soul. At other times I would be overpowered with a sense of God's Infinite Majesty'.
3. Godliness -- 'Above all he was a great saint, and Wesley and others bore tribute to this during his life and his death. This was the ultimate secret of his preaching power' (Lloyd-Jones).
4. Concern for the lost and the conviction that sinners are in danger of an everlasting hell
5. Wholehearted commitment to God -- 'If ever a man burnt himself out in the service of God, it was Whitefield. He was tireless and relentless in his efforts to win souls. Throughout his life he enjoyed the presence of God in his preaching. Even on his last day in this world he preached, though he was very ill. He was a man whose sole desire was to preach Christ crucified' (Nigel Clifford, Christian Preachers, Bryntirion Press).

Read the rest of the article/short bio at Banner of Truth. Check out my George Whitefield Resources page.

Attempted Chicago Terror Attack - Yesterday

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Wow. A snippet... (via)

About 7:15 p.m. yesterday, Daoud met the undercover agent in Villa Park and they drove to downtown Chicago.

During the drive, Daoud led the undercover agent in a prayer that Daoud and the agent succeed in their attack, kill many people, and cause destruction.

They entered a parking lot where a Jeep containing the purported explosive device was parked.

Daoud then drove the Jeep out of the parking lot and parked the vehicle in front of a bar in downtown Chicago, which was the target that he had previously selected.

According to the affidavit, Daoud exited the vehicle and walked to an alley approximately a block away, and in the presence of the undercover agent, attempted to detonate the device by pressing the triggering mechanism.

He was then arrested.

Date Your Wife

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Date-your-wifeDating my wife has taken a more creative turn over the last few years, after my wife had two brain surgeries, after she started wanting to sleep before the sun goes down (which she didn't struggle with before Chiari). We've had to be creative, and we haven't kept at it as we used to. It's not easy. Kids getting older, life keeps getting busier. But we realize how important it is to keep dating.

With that in mind, I'm glad to have Date Your Wife by Justin Buzzard to keep me focused on my beautiful bride. I want to encourage everyone to grab yourself a copy!

Crosetto: What Evangelists Do

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Beau

From "Empowering Evangelists: InterVarsity's Ignite Conference," Beau Crosetto taught a seminar about turning everyday conversations into spiritual ones. He discussed five things evangelists do (using Philip in Acts 8)...

  1. They listen to the Holy Spirit and follow Him no matter the cost
  2. They are willing to be put in awkward situations for the Lord
  3. They are good listeners and find places of conversation
  4. They are bold and speak up inside that awkward moment
  5. People come to faith when they get involved.

Go read the rest of the post for more.

New *George Whitefield Resources* Page

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I just launched a George Whitefield Resources page. As I searched the internet I found various, helpful resources in various places. I hope this page will serve you well by trying to bring all the links and books and journals and letters to one place. Check it out and let me know what you think.

George whitefield post header Resources 2

The Sermons of George Whitefield

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Whitefield sermons 2 vol

Lee Gatiss has edited George Whitefield's original 57 published sermons into two large volumes (976 pgs, Crossway). You can get the hardcover set for $40+ from WTS or $33+ from Amazon...OR $9.99 FOR KINDLE! That's a deal! From Crossway...

Gatiss includes careful and extensive footnotes detailing the historical and theological background to Whitefield’s preaching, which puts the man and his messages into context for a new generation of readers. The text has also been updated for the twenty-first century with modern grammar, spelling, and punctuation - revised in a manner that leaves Whitefield’s distinct voice intact and coherent for today’s reader. 

A Hymn to the Holy Ghost

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From George Whitefield's A Collection of Hymns for Social Worship...

A Hymn to the Holy Ghost

(Extracted from the Ordination-Office.)

COME HOLY GHOST, our Souls inspire,
And lighten with Celestial Fire.
Thou the anointing Spirit art,
Who dost the sev’nfold Gifts impart.
Thy blessed Unction from above
Is Comfort, Life, and Fire of Love,
Enable with perpetual Light
The Dullness of our blinded Sight.
Anoint and cheer our soiled Face,
With the Abundance of thy Grace.
Keep far our Foes, give Peace at Home!
Where thou art Guide no Ill can come.
Teach us to know the FATHER, SON,
And thee, of both to be, but One;
That through the Ages all along
This, this may be our endless Song;

Praise GOD, from whom all Blessings flow,
Praise Him all Creatures here below;
Praise Him above ye heavenly host,
Praise FATHER, SON, and HOLY GHOST.

George Whitefield Resources

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George whitefield post header Resources 2Martyn Lloyd-Jones said that George Whitefield was "the most neglected man in the whole of church history. The ignorance concerning him is appalling" (pg 105 here). He's one of the great dead guys that I am spending some time studying. This page exists to bring together various Whitefield Resources: journals, sermons, letters, biographies, websites, etc. My hope is to create a resource page of every known good Whitefield resource for my readers. Thank you for sharing it through social media, linking to it on your website or blog, etc. If you find resources I'm missing, please email them to me so I can add them.

UPDATE 9.12.12 | Not sure for how long, but The Sermons of George Whitefield (2 Vols, 976 pages, ed. Lee Gattis, footnoted, modern grammar) is $9.99 for Kindle.

START HERE

SERMONS

In Print...

NEVER REPRINTED: Sermons of George Whitefield (via Quinta Press)

JOURNALS

LETTERS

Whitefield/Wesley Exchange...

PUBLISHED BIOGRAPHIES

FREE ONLINE BIOGRAPHIES

VARIOUS MEDIA | on WHITEFIELD

BOOKS | ON WHITEFIELD

BOOKS | THE GREAT AWAKENING

Not my recommendations, but a listing of the books I have had recommended (to some degree) to me. Please let me know other books worth listing here.

PICTURES, PLACES, THINGS

Tons of photos, sketches, artwork, locations, etc., from Quinta Press...

Avett Brothers | Two Songs On Kimmel

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I lot of music stuff on the blog this week. Can't help it. It's all too good. Two more music posts today. First, The Avett Brothers play Kimmel with two new songs from The Carpenter (released today). Love getting quality live recordings from the Kimmel stage. First, "Live & Die," then "Febraury Seven."

$2 Tuesdays | Good Book Company

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2 dollar Tues

More great $2 Tuesday deals from The Good Book Company this week. A couple gems...

New Music Tuesday 9.11.12

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New Releases 470

Some fantastic bands have new albums out today. I've already picked up the first two. Here are some I think you should think about checking out & picking up...

The Story Volume 2 | FREE from Soma

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One of the great discoveries from my time just prior to and during Soma School was the Story of God, or Story-Formed Way, that Soma teaches. It was, for me, life-changing. It's something we are working through at Doxa starting in a few weeks.

Set to themes and teachings in the Story-Formed Way, Soma has offered for some time now The Story Volume 1 at "name your price" rates, meaning donation or free. I'm excited to share with my readers that The Story Volume 2 is now out, and is also for donation or free! I've just started listening to it and I'm already loving this album and the way it triggers in me a love for God's Story.

I embedded it below so you can listen to it here and click to download and/or share it. Would love to see many others embed this on their blogs so this gospel-saturated Story can be in the hands of many others.

Music Monday 9.10.12 | Streaming FREE

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New music

A whole bunch of good albums are streaming free at the moment. May I suggest you try out The Dandelion War. I'm quite interested in that one. You should know that I consider Grizzly, Avett, XX to be must-listens. But try out some of the new names you see. I've listened in part or in whole to all of these and they are worth checking out...

Who Cares About Creationists? They Don't Know Anything

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Another attempt at mass internet evangelism toward atheism via CNN & Richard Dawkins. We need to be aware...it's game on with this stuff. We need to beware not to react as mere culture warriors, but have answers for the hope that's within us. If you missed the Bill Nye video, it's worth checking out too.

Emotions That Correspond With the Weight of Reality

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George whitefield post header

John Piper on George Whitefield again, on the acting of preaching as "real acting" (bold is mine)...

If a woman has a role in a movie, say, the mother of child in a burning house, and as the cameras are focused on her, she is screaming to the firemen and pointing to the window in the second floor, we all say she is acting. But if a house is on fire in your neighborhood, and you see a mother screaming to the firemen and pointing to the window in the second floor, nobody says she’s acting. Why not? They look exactly the same.

It’s because there really is a child up there in the fire. This woman really is the child’s mother. There is real danger that the child could die. Everything is real. And that’s the way it was for Whitefield. The new birth had opened his eyes to what was real, and to the magnitude of what was real: God, creation, humanity, sin, Satan, divine justice and wrath, heaven, hell, incarnation, the perfections of Christ, his death, atonement, redemption, propitiation, resurrection, the Holy Spirit, saving grace, forgiveness, justification, reconciliation with God, peace, sanctification, love, the second coming of Christ, the new heavens and the new earth, everlasting joy. These were real. Overwhelmingly real to him. He had been born again. He had eyes to see.

When he warned of wrath, and pleaded for people to escape, and lifted up Christ, he wasn’t play-acting. He was calling down the kind of emotions and actions that correspond with such realities. That’s what preaching does. It seeks to exalt Christ, and describe sin, and offer salvation, and persuade sinners with emotions and words and actions that correspond to the weight of these realities.

If you see these realities with the eyes of your heart, and if you feel the weight of them, you will know that such preaching is not play-acting. The house is burning. There are people trapped on the second floor. We love them. And there is a way of escape.

Read or listen to the rest of Piper's powerful talk on Whitefield. A great example and explanation of what preaching should be like. I don't think we do this well, not nearly well enough. Maybe this kind of preaching would change the face of Christianity in America and the western world today. Maybe it's not just the *how* of preaching but the *where* that would enact this change.

What do you think?