Our lives are filled with axioms. These truisms, even if overstated, make a helpful point that’s easy to remember.

In the world of sports, we hear, “Your best ability is availability.” I love this axiom. A great player who is always injured hurts his team’s chances to win it all. (Insert name of player you are thinking of, and I agree!) But when we hear this axiom, we also instinctively know that every other ability (talent, work ethic, and competitive drive) must be there, too.

Axioms are like portable parables. Quick, memorable, and unpackable. There’s always more to say, explain, and caveat. But the point is to grab the point and go.

I recently wrote about three elements we could all imitate from Spurgeon’s spiritual leadership. But in this article, I want to extract four axioms from Spurgeon’s teaching on leadership. If we boil down his profound insights on leadership, we can create four simple axioms or truisms that apply to church planting and all of pastoral ministry.

1. Leaders Leap First

Leadership includes showing and showing up.

Spurgeon shows a simple lesson of leadership: show the way forward. When the church, staff, and pastors are wondering, “Where are we going? What are we doing? What’s the plan?” Leaders leap forward. Leaders propose a direction. Leaders bring ideas. Leaders don’t sit on their hands and wait. Leaders call for prayer. Leaders lead the team to brainstorm. Leaders call for collaboration. Real leaders show, model, and demonstrate what it means to be a leader.

It is easy to be the kind of leader who only shows up for vision-casting, preaching, and the other fun aspects of ministry. But the “best dog” shows up for the danger, too. Show up for hard conversations, difficult tasks, and those painful moments. The kind of leader who always delegates or evades the hard stuff is a pretender.

Leaders leap first.

2. Leaders Reach Past Their Reach

Leaders do more than the bare minimum. Leadership isn’t simply meeting expectations. Leaders have ambition for what’s next. They look beyond the horizon and imagine what could be done.

This part from Spurgeon is critical—leaders love to push their capacity. This is about having a vision/idea that’s bigger than we can currently handle. Why is this a part of leadership? Because it means I’ll need to grow, I’ll need a team, we’ll need to work together, grow together, and most importantly, we’ll need God to get us to the other side.

3. Leaders Love Deep Work

If you haven’t read Cal Newport’s Deep Work, I highly recommend it to you. He basically says that if you want to get ahead, do great work, and stand out, you need to do deep work—extended blocks of time (2–4 hours) where you only work on one thing, undistracted, not multitasking. Spurgeon knew this principle, too.

There’s an element of self-leadership, or self-control, required for leadership. You need the ability to focus, concentrate, and devote your full self to the task.

Leaders are not perpetually scrolling on their phones. They are not summoned by pings and memes. They flow onward.

4. Leaders Love Excellence

The best leaders engage in deep work so they don’t waste their time and energy and fail to do what King Solomon said, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). Spurgeon, who was insanely productive and fruitful, put it like this:

As a pastor/planter or ministry leader, the work is too precious and meaningful to do halfway. Teaching God’s word requires a stewardship of our calendars, meetings, brains, hearts, souls, and margin so we can study and rightly handle the word of truth. Don’t settle for good enough. Counseling and care can’t be set to cruise control.

Let’s leave it all out on the field for Jesus. Make no apologies for your zeal. The lukewarm, immature, and lazy are not our guides. We serve one Master. He’s our Leader. Let’s follow his example and serve with the energy he gives us.

This post originally appeared in my column, The Planter’s College, at New Churches.

“There is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved, but Jesus Christ and him crucified. There were not two arks, but one ark: so there are not two Saviors, but one Savior. There was no other means of salvation except the ark: so there is no plan of deliverance except by Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners. In vain you climb the lofty top of Sinai. In vain you climb to the highest pinnacles of your self-conceit and your worldly merit: ye shall be drowned—for “other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid—Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

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If you’ve been a reader for a bit, you may recognize the story of Spurgeon that I share.

Leadership is influence toward a goal.

This simple definition applies to NFL teams chasing the Super Bowl, businesses seeking to increase sales, and church planters and church-planting teams.

Planter, you are a spiritual leader. Spiritual leadership is influence toward the biblical goal of glorifying God, of growing in Christlikeness, of making disciples and making much of Jesus.

Spurgeon was, without a doubt, a great spiritual leader. And there’s a lot we can learn from him.

Spurgeon’s Influence

Everywhere he went, Spurgeon’s leadership and influence were felt. First, it was experienced in a small countryside church that, under Spurgeon’s leadership, saw more conversions, church growth, and changed lives in the community. When Spurgeon arrived at a declining church in London, his leadership resulted in greater growth, more conversions, the training of 900 pastors, and the planting of additional churches in England and around the world.

Spurgeon’s influence reached beyond London, too.

Spurgeon’s wife, Susie Spurgeon, said in the Autobiography that it is impossible to know the exact number of her husband’s sermons that were sold, dispersed, and translated around the world. She could only assume that “many millions of copies” were sold. One biography on Spurgeon estimated that the weekly sales of Spurgeon’s sermons, in total, rose over one hundred million copies around the world. What began as words preached to a church in London would eventually be read in the United States, the Bahamas, New Zealand, and translated into German, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, French, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Syriac, and Arabic. His influence was incredible. Three stories illustrate how famous Spurgeon was.

In the United States, a young boy was asked on a test to name the Prime Minister of England, and he answered “C. H. Spurgeon.” In Mentone, France, as Spurgeon walked down the street, a carriage passed him, and the coachman confidently pointed out to his passenger that they had just passed the “Pope of England.” Back in England, Queen Victoria was aware of Spurgeon’s influence as well. The Queen called for a day of fasting as Great Britain faced a mutiny in India, and she asked Spurgeon, at a mere twenty-three years old, to preach a fast-day service at the Crystal Palace, with nearly 24,000 in attendance. And here we are, nearly 200 years later, still reading Spurgeon, benefiting from his sermons and his ministry. His influence is still at work among us.

So what is it about Spurgeon’s spiritual leadership that made him so effective, fruitful, and enduring? What can be imitated from his leadership?

I’ve written about his strong commitment and call to prayer. And we know he has tons of wisdom on preaching. Here are three additional points of Spurgeon’s leadership we should pursue.

1) Christ-Centered Leadership

One of the most obvious things about Spurgeon’s leadership and life is that he was focused on Christ being exalted. When the church moved into its new facility, the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Spurgeon stated the subject of his ministry:

Every sermon, every book, prayer meeting, and all that he did was for Jesus and about Jesus.

One time, Spurgeon was preaching a communion address in France, and he made it very plain what he was all about. “I have but one sole subject for my ministry—the love and loveliness of my Lord.” Christ was Spurgeon’s central and all-consuming message and motivation in ministry.

Brothers, make every sermon about Jesus. Fill the entire worship service with the gospel. When you counsel people, point them to Jesus. Evangelize for Jesus. Remind everyone of his death and resurrection. He is the hope of everyone you talk to, and the point of everything you do.

Spurgeon helps us remember that everything we do in ministry belongs to Christ, too.

When you plant a church, it’s Christ’s church. When you see a new convert, they belong to Christ. When disciples and leaders are made, they are Christ’s sheep, and they are in His pasture. This is all Christ’s. We have our moment of service, and then we fade off into the heavenly horizon.

Christ-centered leaders are Christlike leaders. Spurgeon echoed Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s remark, “It is not so much great talents that God blesses, as great likeness to Christ.” The applications here are legion, but let’s look at one: humility.

2) Humble Leadership

Since this is all Christ’s ministry and kingdom—and He humbled himself to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2)—humility ought to define our spiritual leadership.

There was one event in Spurgeon’s life that I think really marked his ministry. As he was seeing great growth and fruit in his first pastorate, he had the opportunity and desire to apply for college, and as he was walking and thinking about it, he was struck by God’s word.

These words from Jeremiah 45:5 convinced Spurgeon to rethink his desires for ministry. “All was given up; everything was renounced, the finest prospects seemed to melt into thin air, merely on the strength of that text.” He realized he would be happy to serve in this little village and preach the gospel for the rest of his life. But God had other plans for Spurgeon. And that’s the point. Humility rests in God’s plans, not ours.

Humble leadership is grounded in the reality that we are servants of Christ:

We don’t plant churches so we have somewhere to preach. Sheep don’t exist for the shepherd. We exist for them. And we will likely be walked over, have dirt put on us, and be looked down on—but we do it for the cause of Christ. No task is too small for the church planter. What does it tell volunteers when the pastor of 27 people won’t show up for the setup team? And if he does show, that it’s only for the show of social media?

Church planter, Spurgeon reminds us not to seek great things for ourselves, but to do it all for the glory of God. And inside of this deep humility, we find a supernatural joy.

3) Happy Leadership

Spurgeon was a happy leader. He had a good time. He was serious about the gospel and the ministry, but he didn’t take himself too seriously. Spurgeon was a hilarious man. Only a happy leader can say things like:

• “There is hardship in everything except in eating pancakes.”

• “Call me what you like, but don’t call me too late for dinner.”

The joy of Christ, of salvation, of resting in the sovereignty of God, really marked his style of leadership, too. One biography said that Spurgeon’s face was “brightened by eyes overflowing with humour and softened by a most gracious and sympathetic smile.” He was a happy man because of Christ. Spurgeon said this about the kinds of leaders he loves to see:

What story does your face tell? What does your attitude reveal? It is a great privilege to serve Christ and his church. Rejoice in your calling!

As a church planter/pastor, you are a messenger of grace to people who are enslaved to sin, the world, and the devil. You have the greatest news in the world—let your face show it! Let your preaching and leadership be seasoned with the joy of knowing Christ. Our lives should reflect the supernatural joy we know in the gospel. Because of Jesus, we have an undefeatable joy. And the joy of the Lord is our strength.

Leadership is influence. Influence others toward Christ. Be humble because of Christ. And be happy because of Christ. That kind of leader is easy to follow.

This post originally appeared at New Churches.

On this Good Friday, an excerpt from The Risen King - Day 38 - is over at Spurgeon.org, the official site of The Spurgeon Library.

“Let the day unfold in your minds. Christ is brought to the cross; he is nailed fast to the cruel wood. The sun burns him. His brutal wounds increase the fever....

At last, he cries, ‘It is finished!’ Christ dies.

Hear it, Christians. Hear this shout of triumph as it rings today with all the freshness and force which it had years ago! Hear it from the sacred Word and from the Savior’s lips, and may the Spirit of God open your ears that you may understand what you hear!

What did the Savior mean by ‘It is finished’? First, that all the emblems, promises, prophecies, and Old Testament sacrifices were now fully realized in him. All the Scripture was now fulfilled. When he said, ‘It is finished,’ the whole book—from the first to the last, in both the law and the prophets—was finished in him. There is not a single jewel of promise or prophecy, from that first emerald which fell on the threshold of Eden to that last sapphire stone of Malachi, which was not set in the breastplate of the true High Priest.”

Continue to Spurgeon.org

“It was a day of bitter defeat for the enemy when our Lord rose from the dead. The old serpent had watched the pale corpse; but when he saw it live, and when the angel rolled away the stone, and Jesus, the Christ, came forth to die no more, I warrant you the serpent ate the dust that day.”

“I have always considered, with Luther and Calvin, that the sum and substance of the gospel lies in that word Substitution—Christ standing in the stead of man.

If I understand the gospel, it is this: I deserve to be lost forever; the only reason why I should not be damned is that Christ was punished in my stead, and there is no need to execute a sentence twice for sin.

On the other hand, I know I cannot enter Heaven unless I have a perfect righteousness; I am absolutely certain I shall never have one of my own, for I find I sin every day; but then Christ had a perfect righteousness, and He said, ‘There, poor sinner, take My garment, and put it on; you shall stand before God as if you were Christ, and I will stand before God as if I had been the sinner; I will suffer in the sinner’s stead, and you shall be rewarded for works which you did not do, but which I did for you.’

I find it very convenient every day to come to Christ as a sinner, as I came at first. ‘You are no saint,’ says the devil. Well, if I am not, I am a sinner, and Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. Sink or swim, I go to Him; other hope I have none. By looking to Him, I received all the faith which inspired me with confidence in His grace; and the word that first drew my soul—‘Look unto Me’—still rings its clarion note in my ears. There I once found conversion, and there I shall ever find refreshing and renewal.”

See For Yourself: How To Study Your Bible with Confidence and Joy by Jimmy and Kelly Needham | Editions for MEN and WOMEN

Learning how to study the Bible can change your life. The core principles of observation, interpretation, and application will help you taste and see like you always hoped was possible. You can study the Bible! Really happy to see these new studies from my friends, the Needhams. Jimmy wrote a study for men, and Kelly wrote for women.

When God Seems Distant: Surprising Ways God Deepens Our Faith and Draws Us Near by Kyle Strobel and John Coe

“Most Christians experience zeal early in their Christian life, but when that fades to a season of dryness, it's tempting to assume one of two things: We have failed or God is absent. So we throw ourselves into ministry, spiritual disciplines, and study in order to break through to the other side of this dry season, not realizing that willpower and habit modification cannot "fix" our spiritual lives or kick-start a new season of spiritual growth. Why? Because we've missed the point of the wilderness. If you have found yourself in the desert, desperately longing for the living waters Jesus promises, this book will assure you that God is not absent--and you may be on the cusp of experiencing a deeper faith.”

Essentials of Reformed Systematic Theology by Joel Beeke and Paul Smalley

“Theology is not just an academic subject. It’s a spiritual practice for every believer, even those who feel too busy for rigorous study or aren’t advanced readers. To make theology accessible to a wider audience, Joel R. Beeke and Paul M. Smalley have combined content from Reformed Systematic Theology into one abridged book. Richly biblical, faithfully doctrinal, warmly experiential, and consistently practical, Essentials of Reformed Systematic Theology ministers to the whole person―head, heart, and hands.”

The Dragon Slayer and His Super Special Suit by Kyle Worley

“The Dragon Slayer and His Super Special Suit not only retells the gospel story but also introduces kids to the armor of God. Like the dragon slayer defeats the dragon, Jesus defeats Satan. In the same way that the dragon slayer gave the people a suit to help fight before his return, God’s people receive His armor to join in the fight against Satan until Jesus comes back. From beautiful illustrations to memorable rhyme, this story is sure to get kids excited about Jesus, the armor of God, and the hope God’s people have for the future.”

Meet the Puritans: A Guide to Their Lives and Books, 2nd Edition by Joel R. Beeke, Randall J. Pederson, Fraser E. Jones

“If your impression of the Puritans comes from grim portraits, high collars, and joyless sermons, Meet the Puritans will surprise you in the best way. Behind those caricatures lies a warm, Christ-centered spiritual tradition shaped by people who loved Scripture, treasured grace, and sought to glorify God in every part of life. If you hunger for depth, for holiness, for real communion with God, open these pages. Let these lives challenge you and these writings nourish you. Take the time to meet the Puritans—you’ll find in them deep truths, godly examples, and an exalted Christ.”

A very popular book on prayer made a statement that immediately made me stop listening.

“Prayer is not for the faint of heart.”

When I heard him say this in the audiobook, my eyes widened, and my head recoiled back from the whiplash of this statement.

I remember saying outloud on the perpetual stairs machine at the gym, “Then who is it for!?” I’m sorry, but this might be one of the dumbest things I’ve heard about prayer. I know what he’s trying to say—he’s still wrong. It’s a carelessly crushing sentence. Definitely the most frustrating thing I’ve heard about prayer. Why? Because some of the sweetest moments in prayer and communion with God are when we are faint of heart.

Friends, prayer is for the faint of heart.

Psalm 61 has entered the chat.

David said this was the exact condition of his heart when he prayed! Faint, feeble, weak, strengthless. The Psalms are like a spiritual protein powder for us faint-hearted followers. David, Asaph, Moses, Solomon, and all the Psalmists show us what and how to pray when we are spiritually weak, scared, and upside down by the storms of life. Here’s an example.

A Spiritual Exercise

When I go to the gym, I’m so glad I have an app that tells me what to do, how much weight to use, and even a guide on the exercise. It keeps me from doing things way wrong, from injuring myself, and from wasting my time. The Psalms are a guide in prayer.

Psalm 20 is a powerful example of what to pray, how to pray, and how to respond as we wait on God.

In Psalm 20, there are eight things to ask God for.

1. Answer (v1) - “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!”

2. Protection (v1) - “May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!”

3. Help (v2) - “May he send you help from the sanctuary”

4. Support (v2) - “And give you support from Zion!”

5. Remember (v3) - “May he remember all your offerings

6. Regard (v3) - “And regard with favor your burnt sacrifices!”

7. Grant ____ (v4) - “May he grant you your heart’s desire”

8. Fulfill ____ (v4) - “And fulfill all your plans!”

These eight categories give us examples of the kinds of things to ask for and bring to God in prayer. We should not be bashful or timid in asking for any of these. But we also should not ignore the rest of the Psalm.

Psalm 20 closes with 3 postures we should exhibit in prayer and the rest of our lives.

1. Express joy in salvation (v5) - “May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners!”

2. Trust in his name above all else, no matter what (v7) - “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”

3. Keep calling on him (v9) - “May he answer us when we call.”

We should have reactive joy over the fact that we are saved. We don’t have to wait for answered prayers to be joyful. We already possess the chief reason to be joyful—Jesus.

Trust God in your waiting. Remember his track record. Remember his attributes. Trust him with your requests, and trust him above your requests. He knows what’s best.

Keep asking. Keep calling. God is never annoyed with our prayers.

Prayer doesn’t have to be tricky. It’s not as complicated and daunting as we make it seem. Prayer is for the faint of heart. It is for the total weaklings—but who have the faith of a sesame seed to say, “Father…”

“You may think of a doctrine forever, and get no good from it, if you are not already saved. But think of the person of Christ, and that will give you faith.

Take him everywhere, wherever you go, and try to meditate on him in your leisure moments, and then he will reveal himself to you and give you peace.

Read the Bible carefully, and then meditate and meditate and meditate. Meditation chews the cud and extracts the real nutriment from the mental food gathered elsewhere.”

“Prayer is the natural outgushing of a soul in communion with Jesus.

Just as the leaf and the fruit will come out of the vine-branch without any conscious effort on the part of the branch, but simply because of its living union with the stem, so prayer buds, and blossoms, and fruits out of souls abiding in Jesus.

As stars shine, so do abiders pray; hearts abiding in Christ send forth supplications as fires send out flames and sparks. Habitual asking comes out of abiding in Christ. You will not need urging to pray when you are abiding with Jesus.”

While my regular writing is slowing down here while I work on a new book, I thought a new segment where I feature things I’m loving could be fun.

A Book

I was thrilled to see that the Easter devotional I edited from Spurgeon’s sermons, The Risen King, skyrocketed on Amazon this past week. At one point, it rose to number 880 of all Amazon books—that’s outrageous. This means a lot of folks will be looking through Spurgeon to behold the glory of Christ.

If you haven’t bought a copy yet, it’s not too late. If you start reading on February 25 and read one every day, you will finish the book on Easter Sunday (that’s my preferred reading schedule, too).

Buy at WTS Books and use code MEDDERS for an extra 5% off.

A Video

I really loved this conversation between John Piper and CJ Mahaney. Edifying, insightful, practical, and funny.

An Article

Sean DeMars wrote a nice piece at TGC on communion and struggling Christians. Have you been told to abstain from the Lord’s Supper if you are struggling with a sin? I’ve heard that before, too. Sean has the right take here.

A Podcast

Check out the new season of the New Churches Podcast on “How Do I Plant?” In this season, we tackle a lot of questions around church planting and ministry. This episode with my buddy Matt Smethurst was outstanding. Follow us on Instagram, too. (Spotify link)

Another Podcast

I loved hopping on the Local Theologians podcast from MBTS's Global Campus to talk about church planting and NAMB. (Spotify link)

Coffee Stuff

I’m a coffee junkie. But I’m a fancy junky. I will not debase my taste buds. The Aiden Precision Coffee Maker by Fellow is insanely good. The cup quality I get at 5 am, waiting for me as I stumble into the kitchen, is outstanding. It helps me get up and get going.

I’m not exaggerating when I say I use my Aiden every day. Sometimes multiple times a day. And it makes a big batch of cold brew that my wife and daughter love. My parents got this for me when I turned 40 (thank you!). It costs more than a typical coffee pot, but that’s because it does so much more. Custom brew recipes for different roasts, and recipes from specialty roasters for how they recommend drinking their coffee. It’s got a sweet app for scheduling. It’s just too good, y’all. It’s been a coffee game-changer.

I even renamed my coffee maker to “Drago”—the so-called patron saint of coffee. I’m a happy Baptist, which means I reject the Roman Catholic theology of saints, and happily enjoy my sainthood in Christ as I sip a nice single-origin brew made by Drago. Ah, the smell of grace in the morning!

Till next time, friends.

Watch out for legalists,

jam

“As the magnet seeks the steel, so does my Master, in his magnetic and magnificent mercy, search out those who most need him.

Not you healthy ones, does the great Physician seek, but it is the sick whom he invites to come unto him.

Not you good people, who hope to enter heaven by your own works, does he call, but you sinful ones. “In due time Christ died for the ungodly.”

It is sinners whom he calls to come unto him; ay, and those sinners who fail in all their attempts at improvement; those who labour to get better, yet who are not better, but are burdened more and more with the despairing fear that they must ultimately be lost—it is such as these whom Jesus invites to come unto him.

Oh, hear this, ye labouring ones, and ye who are heavy laden! The Lord of glory cries to sinful worms of the dust, and beseeches them to come unto him that he may give them rest.”

“Avoid a sugared gospel as you would shun sugar of lead.

Seek that gospel which rips up, and tears, and cuts, and wounds, and hacks, and even kills, for that is the gospel that makes alive again; and when you have found it, give good heed to it.

Let it enter into your inmost being. As the rain soaks into the ground, so pray the Lord to let his gospel soak into your soul. Open the windows of your heart; God help you to do so, by devout attention and prayerful meditation, that the blessed, perfumed gospel may come floating through, and penetrate into the deepest recesses of your soul.”

“The hill of comfort is the hill of Calvary. The house of consolation is built with the wood of the cross. No scene in sacred history ever gladdens the soul like the scene on Calvary.

Nowhere does the soul ever find such consolation as on that very spot where misery reigned, where woe triumphed, where agony reached its climax. There grace hath dug a fountain, which ever gushes with waters pure as crystal, each drop capable of alleviating the woes and the agonies of mankind. The bitter herbs of Gethsemane have often taken away the bitters of your life; the scourge of Gabbatha1 hath often scourged away your cares, and the groans of Calvary have put all other groans to flight.”

We pray for all kinds of things in our lives—healing, strength in temptation, help with children—but have you ever asked God to help you not be stupid?

When the Bible talks about stupidity, it’s not merely addressing book-smarts or street-smarts, I.Q., or knowing lots of information about a lot of things. According to Scripture, you can be really smart and still be super stupid. Knowing the superfluidity factors of quantum mechanics pales in comparison to knowing how to live wisely before the Lord.

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“Many are lovely, but no one except Jesus is ‘altogether lovely.’ We see something that is lovely in one, and another point is lovely in another; but all loveliness meets in Him. Our soul knows nothing that can rival Him. He is the gathering up of all sorts of loveliness to make up one perfect loveliness. He is the climax of beauty; the crown of glory; the uttermost of excellence.

Think of his name. It is Jesus, the Saviour. Isn’t that lovely? Think of his work. He has come to seek and to save that which was lost. This is his occupation. Isn’t that lovely? Think of what he has done. He hath redeemed our souls with blood. Isn’t that lovely? Think of what he is doing. He is pleading before the throne of God for sinners. Think of what he is giving at this moment—he is exalted on high to give repentance and remission of sins. Isn’t this lovely? Under every aspect, Christ Jesus is attractive to sinners who need him.”

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Nothing gives the believer so much joy as fellowship with Christ. He has enjoyment as others have in the common mercies of life, he can be glad both in God’s gifts and God’s works; but in all these separately, yea, and in all of them added together, he doth not find such substantial delight as in the matchless person of his Lord Jesus. He has wine which no vineyard on earth ever yielded. Where can such sweetness be found as we have tasted in communion with our Beloved?

In our esteem, the joys of earth are little better than husks for swine compared with Jesus, the heavenly manna. We would rather have one mouthful of Christ’s love, and a sip of his fellowship, than a whole world full of carnal delights. What is the chaff to the wheat? What is the sparkling paste to the true diamond? What is a dream to the glorious reality? For nourishment, consolation, exhilaration, and refreshment, no wine can rival the love of Jesus.

You can listen wherever you get your podcasts (Spotify | Apple). And you can watch on YouTube.

If you are a new subscriber, here’s some writing I’ve done on the spiritual, Christ-centered interpretation of the Song of Solomon.

• 8 Reasons to Rethink the Song of Songs

• Your Soul Needs the Song of Solomon - TGC

• First installment in these meditations

• Second post on loving Jesus

• Third post on meditation on the love of Jesus

• Fourth post on a prayer for communion with Christ

• You may also enjoy a sermon I gave at Midwestern Seminary from Song 2:4