Crossway Short Classics Series
DETAILS: Publisher: Crossway Books Format: Paperback Read Date: July 2022
Some Thoughts on the Series as a Whole
The point of this series is to take classic short works—sermons, tracts, articles—package them attractively, edit a bit (modernize language, eliminate footnotes, tweak grammar, etc.) and make them widely available. Each is given a short introduction to help the reader get the context and a bit of information about the author.
I think this is a great idea, and I don’t know how I didn’t hear about this until a few weeks ago. I do hope they put out new books in the series (at least one of the books on the original list isn’t out yet, but they did publish one not on that list, so maybe they exchanged the titles).
I wonder a bit about the cover design—I wonder if the floral theme is a bit off-putting (Evangelical publishers usually reserve that for books marketed for women, and I don’t get the impression that this series is designed for that).
I don’t want to try to cover the whole series in one post, so I’m going to do this in chunks. This is the second in the series of posts I’ll be doing.
The Lord’s Work in the Lord’s Way and No Little People
by Francis Schaeffer, Ray Ortlund (Foreward)
DETAILS:
Publication Date: May 30, 2022
Length: 90 pg.
Read Date: July 31, 2022
I’ve never read a sermon (in this case, two) by Schaeffer before, so I was pretty curious. I’ve read a couple of books by him, but there’s a big difference in genres.
I appreciated the content and found it helpful. But for a man who is capable of pretty profound thought, I thought these were a little shallow.
Encouragement for the Depressed
by Charles H. Spurgeon, Randy Alcorn (Foreward)
DETAILS:
Publication Date: October 12, 2020
Length: 100 pg.
Read Date: July 31, 2022
It’s well documented that Spurgeon battled depression through much of his career, so if there’s someone who can speak to the topic with authority, it’s him. These two sermons are pretty helpful.
The first, which bears the name of this slim volume is far superior and is well-named. Not only is it encouraging for the depressed, but there’s plenty of encouragement for those with weak and struggling faith.
The second sermon, “The Minister’s Fainting Fits,” is directed primarily (obviously) toward ministers and preachers. It’s not bad, but it’s hard to relate to or find a lot that’s applicable to most readers of a series like this.
The Expulsive Power of a New Affection
by Thomas Chalmers, John Piper (Foreward)
DETAILS:
Publication Date: October 12, 2020
Length: 72 pg.
Read Date: July 31, 2022
I was a little disappointed by this one—Chalmers is regularly held up as a model of the best of Presbyterianism, and this sermon is regularly talked about as his best.
Now, I liked every bit of the sermon, I loved the argument and Chalmer’s perspective. I thought the language was a little stilted and the sermon left me a little cold. (those sentences seem contradictory when I read them, but they work in my mind). The central premise of this—that the love of God, in Christ, overpowers and pushes out the sinful inclinations and affections we’re born with. It’s an important emphasis, and one we would all do well to focus on.
This is one of those reads that in retrospect, I think I might not have been in the right headspace for—I’d also read a lot that day, and by the time I got to it, my mind might have been done. I expect when I revisit it, I’ll get more from it and think better of it.
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase from them, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
