Charles Haddon Spurgeon is one of the first authors I read as a new Christian. Spurgeon, along with Jonathan Edwards, John Owen, John Bunyan, Thomas Watson, Francis Schaeffer, A.W. Tozer, and C.S. Lewis helped me get a good grounding during my first year out of atheism.
“The Treasury of David” three-volume set by Spurgeon is still one of my favorites after 40 years. His insights into Scripture and his writing skills were truly extraordinary.
That’s why I was so excited to hear about The Lost Sermons of C.H. Spurgeon published by B&H Academic. Volume I was released in 2016 and Volume II in 2017. Volume III is scheduled for release this summer (2018).
The Lost Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon Volume I
The first volume contains the earliest outlines and sermons, dated 1851-1854. Editor Christian T. George and his team did a wonderful job establishing the purpose of the Lost Sermons series. The Introduction contains a biographical sketch of Spurgeon’s life along with a timeline from 1800-1910. It also backgrounds the sources and methods of the project.
I didn’t expect the depth of detail included in the first volume. The Sermon Analysis of Notebook 1 looks at such things as –
- Distances from Cambridge Town Centre to villages where Spurgeon preached
- Percentage of sermons from Old and New Testaments
- Percentage of Old Testament sermons preached from each Book
- Percentage of New Testament sermons preached from each Book
- Word count per sermon
The editors also did a wonderful job including photographs of Spurgeon’s notebook pages along with a side-by-side printing of each page for easy readability. I found that helpful on multiple levels of interest and use. Here are the words of one of the greatest Christian preachers of the modern era when he was just a teenager (16 years old in 1851).
I especially enjoyed seeing Spurgeon’s first sermon from April 13, 1851. The sermon title is Adoption and the text is Ephesians 1:5. It uncovers Spurgeon’s depth of spiritual understanding at the beginning of his ministry.
I recommend your visiting the B&H Academic website to view several fascinating videos about the Spurgeon Lost Sermons series. Click here to watch. You can also download a sample chapter from Volume I.
Here is a description of Volume I from the Publishers along with some endorsements for the series –
Volume I Description
“In 1857, Charles Spurgeon—the most popular preacher in the Victorian world—promised his readers that he would publish his earliest sermons. For almost 160 years, these sermons were lost to history. Beginning with this inaugural volume, these rediscovered sermons can finally be read, studied, and enjoyed by the millions around the world who admire Spurgeon’s spiritual insights and literary grace.
This multi-volume set includes full-color facsimiles of Spurgeon’s original handwriting, transcriptions of his outlines and sermons, biographical introductions, and editorial commentary that further illuminate Spurgeon’s work. Taken together, The Lost Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon will add approximately 10 percent more material to Spurgeon’s total body of literature, making it a must-have for pastors and scholars as well as the multitude of Spurgeon enthusiasts around the world.
Volume 1 contains an introduction to the series, an overview of Spurgeon’s life and times, seventy-eight sermons he preached itinerantly and as pastor of Waterbeach Chapel, and an analysis of these sermons by editor and Spurgeon scholar Christian T. George.”
Endorsements
“The publication of this critical edition of the ‘lost’ sermons of C.H. Spurgeon—sermons preached between 1851 and 1854, and never before published—is a major triumph. This first of a projected twelve volumes includes excellent introductory essays, enough critical notes to satisfy the rigorous scholar, full—color facsimiles, and careful transcriptions that make the work accessible to the ordinary reader. Heartiest congratulations to Dr. Christian George, the curator of the impressive Spurgeon Library at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.” – D.A. Carson, research professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
“Christian George’s edition of The Lost Sermons of C.H. Spurgeon is not only a remarkable gift to admirers of Spurgeon, but it also provides an illuminating view into nineteenth-century evangelical through. I recommend it highly.” –Thomas S. Kidd, distinguished professor of history, Baylor University
“Charles Spurgeon has long been a beloved role model for pastors, but until recently he rarely grabbed the attention of scholars. The latter is beginning to change, in no small part because of the work of Christian George and The Spurgeon Library at Midwestern Seminary. As this inaugural volume demonstrates,The Lost Sermons of C.H. Spurgeon is a landmark work of scholarship and a tremendous resource for pastors and other Bible teachers. This series represents a coming together of the perennial pastoral interest in Spurgeon with the renewed scholarly attention to the Prince of Preachers—and I trust Spurgeon would have it no other way. I pray these volumes will be a boon to historians and a blessing to the church for generations to come.” – Nathan A. Finn, dean of the School of Theology and Missions, Union University
I highly recommend The Lost Sermons of C.H. Spurgeon.
B&H Academic, 2016-2018
