Book review: 25 of the Greatest Sermons Ever Preached

★★★★

I discovered this book on the shelf of a friend, and grew curious about which sermons Jerry Falwell would vote into his top 25. Then I wound up reading most of them, because I recognized so many of the names, and it was nice to put words to the names. Here’s a short sampling:

– Jonathan Edwards (Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God—a sermon to scare the hell out of anyone)

– John Wesley (God’s Love to Fallen Man)

– D.L. Moody (What Think Ye of Christ?)

– Sam Jones (Prepare for the Life to Come)

– Billy Sunday (Get on the Waterwagon—his famous prohibitionist tract)

These guys are heavyweights of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, converting thousands to Christianity through their preaching. All are protestant, most are Baptist, as is Jerry Falwell. My favorite of the 25 is R. G. Lee’s Pay Day—Some Day. Eloquent, creative and poignant, this is one sermon you will never forget. Well, right after that Angry God scarefest.

Falwell gives a short biographical introduction to each of the 25, and then lets them speak for themselves. For better or worse, we may never see the likes of men like these again.