Past Masters

Like Joseph Parker, Dinsdale T. Young was a Northumbrian, having been born in 1861 at Corbridge-on-Tyne, where his father was a physician.In early life he decided to become a Methodist preacher and began to pre... Continue Reading...

W. E. Sangster was born in 1900 into a humble home in Shoreditch, London, the son of Anglican parents. In a fragment of autobiography he wrote: "I believe that I was born to be a minister. I cannot recall a tim... Continue Reading...

When Alexander Maclaren retired from his pastorate, Robertson Nicoll said that he had altered the whole manner of British preaching."It may be doubted whether any preacher of the last fifty years has had a more... Continue Reading...

What were the elements of John Wesley's power as a preacher? One can discover some of them in his printed sermons, of which he said: "I design plain truth for plain people. I labor to avoid all words which are ... Continue Reading...

It was a century ago -- February 27, 1887-that Henry Ward Beecher stepped into the pulpit of Brooklyn's Plymouth Church for the final time. By mid-week, the 73-year-old pastor had fallen seriously ill; the foll... Continue Reading...

When Jowett preached in the sermon class at Airedale College, Dr. Fairbairn said to his students: "Gentlemen, I will tell you what I have observed this morning: behind that sermon there was a man."That man grew... Continue Reading...

He was born in London on October 14, 1893. When he first began to preach, at the age of 17, he was so nervous that he twisted off the cord around the cushion on the pulpit desk. His text was: "Come unto me, all... Continue Reading...

One writer said of Horace Bushnell: "The preaching of most men is fashioned by the theology of the day; Bushnell's preaching helped fashion the theology of his day."1Born in 1802 on a farm near Litchfield, Conn... Continue Reading...

Alexander Whyte was the greatest preacher of his day in Scotland. Few preachers have done so much to heighten the ideals of the pulpit, and the instruction and inspiration to be derived from his life-story are ... Continue Reading...

It was a study in contrasts as the frail-looking preacher stood before the congregation. Weak, thin and suffering from failing eyesight, he held his manuscript close to his face and spoke calmly, seemingly with... Continue Reading...