Happy Birthday, Robert Murray M'Cheyne

300 years ago today, Robert Murray M'Cheyne was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. M'Cheyne is most famous for the Bible-reading program he developed and for his applicatory preaching. Eric J. Alexander writes of him in What is Biblical Preaching?, 'He seemed, as his preaching progressed, to advance upon you until he was standing inside your heart, applying the Word of God to all your life.'

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote of him in his wonderful book, Preachers & Preaching,

You remember what was said of the saintly Robert Murray McCheyne of Scotland in the last century. It is said that when he appeared in the pulpit, even before he had uttered a single word, people would begin to weep silently. Why? Because of this very element of seriousness. The very sight of the man gave the impression that he had come from the presence of God and that he was to deliver a message from God to them. That is what had such an effect upon the people even before he had opened his mouth. We forget this at our peril, and at great cost to our listener.  

Below is a talk that John Piper gave on M'Cheyne at the 2011 Desiring God Pastor's Conference. Check it out if you get the chance, and thank God for the presence and example of such ministers as Robert Murray M'Cheyne.

A Word for Preachers...Alexander on the Key to Applicatory Preaching

"I am told that someone said of Robert Murray McCheyne of Dundee, 'He seemed, as his preaching progressed, to advance upon you until he was standing inside your heart, applying the Word of God to all your life.'

"My own increasing conviction is that this application begins at our own door. I think the secret of applicatory preaching is that we must apply to ourselves the Word of God while we are meditating upon it, while we are studying it. We must do this before we ever begin to think about applying it to other people.

"John Owen wrote, 'A man preacheth that sermon well unto others which preacheth itself in his own soul. If the Word do not dwell with power in us, it will not pass with power from us.' And again, 'He who doth not feed on and digest and thrive by what he preaches and prepares for his people, may give them poison as far as he knows,   for unless he finds the power of it in his own heart, he cannot have any ground of confidence that it will have power in the hearts of others.'"

Eric J. Alexander
What is Biblical Preaching?

Desiring God Pastors' Conference Audio

One of the great blessings of living in the 21st century is the vast array of wonderful biblical teachers alive today. Another one of the great blessings is the fact that with the advent of the internet, much of this great teaching is readily available to us at any given time.

This week, Desiring God Ministries held their annual pastors' conference, and while I was not able to attend, I am able to listen to each one of the messages, as DG has made them available online.  I've already commented briefly on Francis Chan's message which I took in Tuesday.  The Speaker Panel Q&A was good throughout, with moments of brutal honesty and profound brilliance.  I look forward to hearing the rest of the messages.  Here are the links to them all:

Session One: Joel Beeke, "Cultivating Private Prayer as a Pastor"

Session Two: Paul Miller, "Helping Your People Discover the Praying Life"

Session Three: Francis Chan, "Prayer as a Way of Walking in Love: A Personal Journey"

Session Four: John Piper, "Robert Murray M'Cheyne"

Session Five: Joel Beeke, "Leading Family Worship"

Session Six: Jerry Rankin, "Unreached Peoples and the Power of Prayer"

Session Seven: Speaker Panel Q and A

How Will I Use This Day?

Robert Murray M'Cheyne's diary entry for February 2, 1832 read as follows:

"Not a trait worth remembering and yet these 4 & 20 hours must be accounted for."

How often could it be said of my days that there was "not a trait worth remembering," and even so, how often do I fail to recognize that each day is entrusted to me by the Lord and I am accountable to him as to how I have used it?  May this and all my days be lived fully to his glory!