( CHRISTIAN LEADERS OF THE 18TH CENTURY ) - { PT. 6 }


 { PT.  6 } - THEY PREACHED EVERYWHERE. - If the pulpit of a parish church was open to them, they gladly preached from it. If it could not be obtained, they were just as ready to preach in a barn. No place was unsuitable for them. In the field or by the roadside, on the village green or in a marketplace, in lanes or in alleys, in cellars or in lofts, on a stand or on a table, on a bench or on a step--wherever hearers could be gathered, the spiritual reformers of the eighteenth century were ready to speak to them about their souls. They were instant in season and out of season ( 2  TIMOTHY  4:2 ) in doing the fisherman's work, and they compassed sea and land in carrying forward their Father's business. This was all something new. Can we be surprised that it produced a great impact?                                          THEY PREACHED SIMPLY. They rightly concluded that the very first requirement for a sermon is that it should be understood. They saw clearly that thousands of able and well-composed sermons are utterly useless if they are above the heads of the hearers. They strove to come down to the level of the people and to speak what the poor and simple could understand. To attain this, they were not ashamed to crucify their style and to sacrifice their reputation for learning.            _______________________________________________________   

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