Spurgeon on Livestreaming Church

Livestreaming church services was an unexpected blessing in the heat of the pandemic. But now that we are in the cool of the day again, how should we think about people opting for the livestream when they could attend the service? Spurgeon has a word.

I ran across a quote from Spurgeon where he addresses this head-on. Now, he doesn't address YouTube, but the printing press and the ability to read sermons from the comfort of your couch. It's not hard to imagine him saying these exact words about online "church."

"There are some who even make a bad use of what ought to be a great blessing, namely, the printing-press, and the printed sermon, by staying at home to read a sermon because they say it is better than going out to hear one.

Well, dear friend, if I could not hear profitably, I would still make one of the assembly gathered together for the worship of God. It is a bad example for a professing Christian to absent himself from the assembly of the friends of Christ.

There was a dear sister, whom many of you knew, who used to attend here with great regularity, although she could not hear a word that was said. But she said it did her good to join in the hymns and to know that she was worshipping God with the rest of his people.

I wish that some, who stay away for the most frivolous excuses, would think of this verse: 'Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is' (Heb 10:25)."