Theolexica

Conference Details 2026 Equipping Conference: The Spurgeon Conference Speaker: Phil Johnson June 5-5, 2026 Session 1: Spurgeon the Soul Winner Converted on Jan 6 1850 when he was 15. Began preaching almost immediately. Preached his first sermon to the London congregation at 19. Never attended university or seminary. Many circumstances that led to maturity early. Father and grandfather were pastors. Especially gifted - devoured books and remembered them well did not take notes in his books - memory too good became a book collector Spurgeon library sould to William Jewel College shortly after his death sold to Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary best place to go see Spurgeon stuff books shaped Spurgeon very popular sermons made lots of money from selling them “Penny Pulpit” gave most of that money away to university he founded, orphanage he founded, widows, etc. Mary King - housekeeper at his boarding school Spurgeon - the greatest influence on my theology “I learned more from her than I would from any six doctors of theology we have nowadays.” strong calvinist who loved the doctrines of grace One of the elderly women Spurgeon supported her in her old age. Spurgeon joined the same church as Mary King relatively dead church pastor was not pastoral wanted to be baptized (even though Father and Grandfather taught infant baptism) convinced from reading Baptist theology as a 14yo (before conversion) found a pastor 8 miles away wrote to parents for approval granted, but a warning from his parents: don’t trust in your baptism. Baptized May 3, 1850 became a bold witness to Christ from this point forward. wrote that baptism loosened his tongue and he has not been quiet since. partook of the Lord’s Supper for the first time that next week committed to baptism but not to Baptist denomination began teaching young boys in SS This became a key influence on his teaching. Spurgeon - learning to teach to young boys made him a good preacher and helped him to keep an audience engaged. Spurgeon - a good illustration will stick in the mind and drive home the point long after the sermon is forgotten tricked into his first sermon Spurgeon - thankful to just get through the sermon Ppl - sermon was very good and beneficial to us Naturally gifted as a preacher voice was never recorded - technology existed, but was never recorded preaching was theologically rich Waterbeach Chapel 1851 preached/pastored there for 2 years first experience of preaching and pastoring first convert here Spurgeon - this is my most prized convert. God saved a soul through my ministry. Decided he needed to go to college President Angus of baptist college and cambridge met with Spurgeon both waited in another room for another but never saw each other due to miscommunication Spurgeon gave up thoughts of going to college and made plans to serve wherever God put him. Preaching fame spread New Park Street Chapel (Baptist Church) John Gill, famous pastor there before Spurgeon very good commentator but in theology a bit hyper-calvinist set some baptists down a wrong path with hyper calvinism pastor for 51 years there died 1771 (cf Spurgeon dates 1834-1892) Spurgeon - church building in a terrible location. This is an indictment on the wisdom and miserliness of the deacons who purchased the cheapest plot of land they could find. Industrial area - breweries, vinegar factories and no residential area close On other side of toll, so no cabs Low spot on Thames, so always stunk and occasionally flooded No public transport Rippon Pastor immediately before Spurgeon pastor for 63 years first to introduce a Baptist Hymnal - Rippon’s selections , key source of some of our modern hymns Church invited Spurgeon to come preach because they were looking for a pastor. Deacon at Waterbeach encouraged Spurgeon to move to London due to his gifts. Don’t bury them in Waterbeach. Asked to preach in the oldest and most venerable baptist church at 19 years old Had never been to London looked like a country bumpkin church put him up in a boarding house 2 miles from the church in a bad area. Spurgeon remembered the bad experience 25 years later London at this point was a bleak place the time of Dickens extreme poverty preached from James 1:17 - every good gift is from above deacons impressed - “church will be full in three months if Spurgeon stays people refused to leave the building until they promised Spurgeon would return promised that he would return three times on that final sunday asked him to stay as interim for 6 months, would be a probationary period Spurgeon countered with 3 months and they accepted Probationary period was not reached, offered and accepted before it was up. welcomed by the church, but not by the Baptist denomination nervousness over the youth of the young phenom First Q&A What was final outcome of legal issues with state of California after Covid? Better than expected Grace Church won every legal battle. Even the removal of renting of the parking lots was overturned as vindictive. County had to pay a settlement to Grace Church grew because they were constantly in the news and other churches were closed. MacArthur was surprisingly accurate throughout time. From Driscoll to wokeism. 9Marks guys outspoken critics of Macarthur on Covid cf Jonathan Leeman’s Article What is GTY and Grace like without John? GTY suprisingly similar. Everything the same. John was not essential to GTY. GTY going to be the same regarding speaker (a la Martin Lloyd Jones) Phil Johnson is 73. has been at GTY for 43 years. would like to make it to 45, but prob done then. If he gets pressed into retirement, fine. GCC Would take up to 2 years to find a replacement for John Macarthur. How is it going? Assumed ppl that are driving 80+ miles for MacArthur would go to other local churches. Should let things settle before calling new guy so he is not blamed for decline. Attendance has not declined. Have started convo after Shepherd’s Conference with who to find. Have had three 8 hour meetings All of the elders surprised at how easily and unified the convos have gone. Not far from deciding who the next pastor is. Should be announced in next few months. All elders submit nominees and work from there. What was John MacArthur like in private? John is great. Meet your heros is not true with this. How to survive as John’s coworker: do not do small talk. He doesn’t care. Talk ministry, theology, and important stuff. John not going to complain about physical ailments. Went into surgery without anyone but his wife knowing. PJ: You wouldn’t tell me if you had terminal cancer and were dying next week. JM: You are right. Similarities between John MacArthur and Charles Spurgeon Same birthday June 19 Both died of liver-related issues. Both very prolific in preaching and writing. Both very involved in surrounding ministries like college, seminary, and other institutions. John MacArthur had more support staff than Spurgeon. maybe JM a bit more prolific because of that John and Spurgeon both very hard workers. John MacArthur did not like modern technology and distrusted it. Spurgeon would have liked it and used it effectively. John had no social media. MacArthur scold PJ for being involved in it too much. MacArhur would be informed about online controversies, but it was generally second hand. Single greatest strength that the other did not have? Macarthur - verse by verse exposition Spurgeon not a verse by verse expositor Spurgeon - his ability to know who could be trusted and who could not John trusted everyone to a fault Could spurgeon and macarthur pastor a church together? no, they would have agreed that no one church needed two pastors like them. They should part ways and minister to more people. Spurgeon well known for extemporanous preaching. Could JM do that? John could have done that, but did not. Wrote out full manuscripts in felt-tip pens. Highlighted important points in red felt tip pen. Didn’t really look down at his notes. His wording was extemporaneous. When JP editing books, would look at the notes for pieces left out of the sermon. MacArthur dispensationalist. Spurgeon not. Early in dispensationalism was tangled up a lot of bad theology (lots that would lead to the non-Lordship view.) Spurgeon concerned about the hints to antinomianism. Spurgeon concerned about Larkin and the idea that God deals with people differently according to the different dispensations. Gospel According to Jesus Moody contract - dropped by Moody because it disagreed with Ryrie who was Moody’s best selling author Zondervan called the next day and took the contract for two months and made it the basis of a marketing push. Became a best selling book, only theological book to do that. Was Spurgeon a charismatic? prone to mysticism eg. Spurgeon make an illustration about someone’s conscience is pricked from stealing gloves. Turns out someone had stolen gloves. Spurgeon would call it a prophecy. JP would call it a profound providenceo. happened a few times in Spurgeons life. not a charismatic in the modern sense at all Session 2: Charles and Susannah Susannah Thompson Opposite of Spurgeon Upscale and stylish city girl Unbeliever at this time First impression of Spurgeon on his first Sunday evening - he was a country bumpkin and funny looking. 2 years older than Spurgeon Spurgeon’s country bumpkin-ness was something to work on Complaint/amusement by many - Suzzy, deacons, etc He dropped his blue polkadotted pocket square for white ones when the deacons purchased him a dozen white ones Deacon Olney pushed Spurgeon to success at New Park Street Chapel recruited Suzzy and others to come to the evening service on the first sunday. Spurgeon called him “the model deacon” introduced Suzzy and Spurgeon immediate attraction between them during Spurgeon’s interim period Spurgeon became the pastor on April 20. Spurgeon gave her a book the next day with a personal note the next day. Suzzy converted in his first month there. Relationship Opening of the Crystal Palace Spurgeon and Suzzy and many friends there for the opening. 40,000 people there. Queen there, etc. Spurgeon reading Tupper’s Proverbial Philosophy Passe at this point. section on marriage in it. Spurgeon asked her - what do you think about this section, “Pray for your spouse”? Suzzy blushed and could not think about the gala. Walked around the grounds together Engaged two months later, August 2nd Suzzy “dreary and unromantic place”, but now I consider it a sacred place. Spurgeon baptized her during the engagement. Regularly met at the Crystal Palace for walks together. Married 15 months later (Jan 8, 1856) Pregnant with twins in September 1857 Suzzy permanently injured after birth. Basically permanently homebound by 1868 Spurgeon had to travel to warmer climates due to his health, so they were often separated. She went with him on his final three month trip before his death. Recalled as her favorite period of life. Spurgeon died in France Suzzy gave a prayer of thanksgiving to the gift God had given her. Letters became a primary way for them to “be with” one another since he travelled so much his letters are full of affection and devotion wrote to her almost every day of his life Time together Favorite activity of Suzzy was sitting with Spurgeon while he worked since he was always working. silence but presence She was a help to him in the home and for his study Session 3: Afflicted, but not Crushed Session 4: Lectures to My Students Session 5: Spurgeon vs. Joseph Parker Session 6: Spurgeon’s Preaching Style Second Q&A Recommended Resources Spurgeon First Spurgeon Biography to read: William Young Fullerton Charles H. Spurgeon Autobiography , compiled from Spurgeons notes by his wife. Photos General Church History Long but best intro to Church history: 2000 Years of Christ’s Power

This is a work in progress. I am working and thinking through building a tool that will speed up research without getting in the way. I don’t want the AI to guide the research or think for me, but I do want to have a TA at my disposal to do the true drudge work and source things for me. I may use something like openclaw for the foundation of the system. ...

Text הַֽלְל֣וּ אֶת־יְ֭הוָה כָּל־גּוֹיִ֑ם שַׁ֝בְּח֗וּהוּ כָּל־הָאֻמִּֽים׃ כִּ֥י גָ֘בַ֤ר עָלֵ֨ינוּ׀ חַסְדּ֗וֹ וֶֽאֱמֶת־יְהוָ֥ה לְעוֹלָ֗ם הַֽלְלוּ־יָֽהּ׃ Textual Issues There are no real text issues here. Psalms 113, 115, 116, and 117 all end in “hallelujah” (הַֽלְלוּ־יָֽהּ). Psalms 111, 112, and 113 also begin with hallelujah. The Septuagint moves this phrase to the beginning of the following chapter. Psalm 117 begins with “hallelujah” instead of ending with “hallelujah”. This is an obvious mistake and should be rejected. The MT reading is preferred. ...

I use AI a lot. It’s hard to state how important AI is. It’s probably as important as the personal computer for general productivity. We’re currently living in Estonia, which is a western country with 95% English coverage. We can get by really easily. But there are always things that trip us up. Things that we just don’t know and that is second nature to everyone else. Being able to take a picture of something in the grocery store and get knowledge about what it is, how to cook it, and what would be similar in the US is a huge time saver. Something that would take 15 min with Google Translate and some searching around is done in 15 seconds. ...

Just heard about the Meggido Mosaic on “5 Minutes in Church History” Would make a great premise for a lecture on early church history. Pair with the excerp by Justin Martyr on an early church service. Lots of jumping off points and a good visual.

Memorizing the Bible is a key spiritual discipline. “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee,” is a passage that I have memorized from childhood. Memorizing and meditating on the word of God is commended in the Bible and important for our well being. Tips: Set aside a fixed time and place to memorize. When reciting, your aim is to be able to say the verse as smoothly and as accurately as if you were reading it off of a page to a group of people. If you have to hem and haw or pause for a long time and think, then it’s not solid enough in your brain. Keep reciting and practicing. For reviewing, take 30-60 seconds here and there without diverting from regular life, and insert recitation into the short passive moments, like in the bathroom, driving, etc. Put a screenshot of the verse on your phone lock screen. Try the Bible Memory App Journal on the passage you are memorizing. My personal process: Initial memorization with verse memorizor tool I made. Add to anki Review in anki. Family process: When we memorize with kids, it is all oral since half our kids can’t read yet. ...

How to Play: Minecraft: Heroes of the Village Game Objective Work together to defend the village from advancing Illagers by exploring the world, gathering blocks, fighting mobs, and constructing three buildings before the Illagers reach the village. Setup Instructions Game Components Wooden Blocks: 25 blocks (6 wood, 6 sand, 6 stone, 3 redstone, 4 darkness) World Tiles: 32 tiles (18 world tiles, player, pet, starting, and “Illagers Path” tiles) Mob Tokens: 12 tokens used when fighting mobs Dice: One black Fight die and one white Illagers die Cards: 16 cards (4 inventory cards, 6 player character cards, 6 special ability cards) Color Bases: 4 for players, plus building and Illagers bases Pouch: For drawing blocks Setup Steps Choose your player and pet tiles. (Two sets. Make sure the set that goes in the base and the set that attaches to the crafting board match.) Wolf: When fighting mobs, add +1 to the roll. Cat: When collecting blocks, Block, you’re protected from the first Darkness Block you draw. If you draw a second Darkness Block in the same turn, that one applies normally. Fox: When collecting blocks, keep one additional block of any material that doesn’t match the tile’s Collecting symbol, except for Redstone. Panda: When fighting mobs, you are protected from the first illager symbol you roll on the Fight die; any subsequent such symbol does take effect. Horse: When exploring the world, you may lay out two World Tiles instead of one, adding the blocks from both tiles into the pouch. Llama: You gain one extra Inventory slot, which can be used for any material—including Redstone. Setup the board. Place the plus-sign starting tile. Attach the Illager path. Place the Illager figure on spot 9 or 11. Divide the world tiles into three stacks of six (block side up) Insert one of each block (wood, sand, stone, darkness) into the pouch. Take three building cards from the nine available (based on desired difficulty); return the rest to the box. Place the three Darkness blocks on spaces 5, 6, and 7 of the Illagers Path. Game Play Turn Structure Each player performs 2 actions per turn: ...

Link to rules for the kids

London Baptist Confession Table of Contents Of God and the Holy Trinity Paragraph 3 In the modern evangelical world, this is probably one of the more controversial paragraphs. At issue is the relation of the persons within the single Being of God. The traditional orthodox understanding of begetting and procession are key trinitarian distinctions. I think we jettison this language at our peril. We should bring these terms back into our theological preaching. ...

London Baptist Confession Table of Contents Of Gods decrees Paragraph 2 Seems an uneccesary distinction. God knows all possible worlds but chose decreed this world unconditionally. This strikes me as hairsplitting. On the one hand, yes God knows all things and all potentialities. On the other hand, there are no other potentials. The world exists as God decreed it. Paragraph 3 The focus on angels here and in a few other places, strikes me as interesting. While angels are not outside the sovereignty of God, the Scriptures deal with the salvation and decrees of humanity, not of the angels. Biblically speaking, the Bible does not speak of the election to salvation of angels. Angels are not saved in the sense that humans are. ...