THE NECESSITY OF DEEP EARNESTNESS IN PREACHING - REV. DR. THOMAS MURPHY THOMAS MURPHY (1823-1900) The manner of preaching should be one of earnestness. There is no other kind of preaching other than being earnest and zealous. Murphy says, “How is it possible to preach of the awful realities of heaven and hell, of the soul and the everlasting ages, and of the death of Christ for the salvation of the lost, without the deepest emotion?” Preaching in this way demonstrates the heart. He mimics Richard Baxter in saying, “In each sermon we ought to deliver the message of God as if it were the last time we were to preach.” At the same time preaching should be earnest, it should also be tender. God chose men to be heralds to fellow-men, not angels. The minister should put himself in the place of those to whom he preaches and get his heart to beat in unison with theirs, and thus influence them by the motives of the gospel. Murphy says, “If ministers cared more for their people and less for their own sermons, they would be more useful.” The minister should be thinking, How shall I reach and overcome the great difficulties that stand in the way of perishing souls? How shall I make the truth so clear that those who need it most must see it? How shall I place the offers of salvation in such a form that they will be accepted by those who must receive them now or be lost for ever? Among the duties of the minister publicly is prayer. Public prayer should receive its tone and spirit from a sense of the divine presence, should be comprehensive, should be as specific as possible, should be direct in aim and simple in language, brief as needed, thoroughly saturated with scriptural thought and expression, and should be an echo of the deep earnestness which he has learned in the closet. www.puritanaudiobooks.net ▶️SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/user/stack45ny ▶️After subscribing, click on NOTIFICATION BELL to be notified of new uploads. ▶️SUPPORT CHANNEL: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=RB72ANM8DJL2S&lc=US&item_name=stack45ny¤cy_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF%3abtn_donateCC_LG%2egif%3aNonHosted