Sermons & Devotionals by Classic Christian Writings

In His prayer recorded in John 17, the Lord prayed for the believers in every age. He had been praying specifically for His disciples, and then He said, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word" (v. 20). Today the Lord Jesus Christ is at the rig... Read More

Shortly before His crucifixion and in anticipation of His resurrection and ascension, the Lord Jesus said to the disciples, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a plac... Read More

For the ingathering of the harvest Christ needs reapers; for the worldwide proclamation of the Gospel He needs missionaries. Christ needs you and me, because He chooses to employ means to ends. He does not will to do everything Himself, but to work in, and then through people whom He qualifies. It i... Read More

The second coming of Christ and the end of the age are not subjects for idle curiosity. The hope of Christ’s return is no escapist clause. It’s not an excuse for Christian complacency, not an alibi for non-involvement. To the contrary, it’s a spur to holiness, to evangelism and to obedience. It’s a ... Read More

In Jonathan Edwards’ day, the powerful presence of Christ represented by the Holy Spirit brought new life, purity, and love to the church in New England. This is only one of many such occurrences. They are usually called revivals, spiritual awakenings, or renewals. In any case, a powerful work of th... Read More

God Is A Giving God We often limit our ideas about Christian giving to that money placed in the offering plate passed on Sunday mornings. But have you discovered that giving is a picture of the character of God? Our God is a giving God! "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us al... Read More

What makes a Christian home? The mere fact that Christians live there? No indeed. There must be Christian family life. Christian ideals and aims must be brought to bear upon the shared family life and interests, molding and motivating the conduct of its affairs. The home is a specialized society whe... Read More

Prevailing prayer for revival must be persevering prayer. Prayer is not effectual unless offered in an agony of desire to God. I will mention some things that a person must do in order to prevail in prayer. He must pray for a definite object. He must have an object distinctly before his mind. Instea... Read More

Oh, how little meek we are, how arrogant in our right opinions, how severe in our requirements, how harsh in our godly judgments! We not only judge, but we judge savagely and openly. We insist on our "must" for others, as to what we believe, we think or do.... Christly meekness makes sweet allowance... Read More

The return of the Lord was an event anxiously awaited by the early church. But this anxious waiting for His return was not just because they thought He would return in their lifetime. Nor was it just a desire to escape the difficulties of life. There was a deeper motive and desire accompanying this ... Read More

Edited from a message delivered at the "Heart-Cry for Revival" Conference in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, May 26-29, 1998. Reading: Matthew, chapters 5, 6, & 7. If I were asked what the Lord Jesus Christ would say to His Church in America, without any hesitation I would say these words, "Ye are the salt... Read More

"Self is the root, the branches, the tree of all the evil of our fallen state. All the evils of fallen angels and men have their birth in the pride of self. "On the other hand, all the virtues of the heavenly life are the virtues of humility. It is humility alone that makes the unpassable gulf betwe... Read More

A real prayer meeting is the business meeting of the Board of Directors of the “House of God.” It is the one period in the week when the spiritual members of the church come together, face to face with God. In all the other meetings of the church they deal mostly with people and earthly affairs. The... Read More

William Culbertson wrote, "I recall reading a sentence from George Henderson: ‘The Bible is unlike any other book, in that one must personally know its Author before one can really understand its contents; it resembles other books in that to be understood it must be read, to be known it must be stud... Read More

Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove, With all Thy quickening powers; Kindle a flame of sacred love In these cold hearts of ours. Look how we grovel here below, Fond of these earthly toys; Our souls, how heavily they go To reach eternal joys. In vain we tune our formal songs, In vain we strive to rise; ... Read More

Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove, In vain we tune our formal songs, In vain we strive to rise; Hosannas languish on our tongues, And our devotion dies. Dear Lord, and shall we ever live At this poor dying rate? Our love so faint, so cold to Thee, And Thine to us so great! Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly... Read More

Of all the rich treasures of truth given to God’s people in the holy Scriptures few can be compared with the writings of Isaiah, the prince of prophets. Isaiah’s "Book of Comfort" (chapters 40-66) is one of the clearest and the most detailed declarations of God’s purpose for His people to be found a... Read More

Every honest heart is earnestly desiring to know the deeper things of God and to walk in deep consecration and obedience, willing at any cost to have God reveal the truth to him, in any way He sees fit. He is willing to have the Word of God and the Spirit reveal to him the true condition of his soul... Read More

There is a Christian life which, in comparison with that experienced by the majority of Christians, is as summer to winter, or as the mature fruitfulness of a golden autumn to the struggling promise of a cold and late spring. The blessedness of this Blessed Life lies in this: that we trust the Lord ... Read More

My sin cost Jesus His blood. Has it cost me tears? The Father forsook His Son when He became sin for me, sin that broke Him. Is it leaving me whole? Sin caused Him to bow His head. Am I still unbowed? My sin covered His face with shame and blood. Does it cover mine with shame? My sin caused Him agon... Read More