Listen to History’s Greatest Sermons

We have history’s greatest sermons at our fingertips. I have recently discovered a new edifying podcast called Revived Thoughts. I was able to connect with Troy Frasier, one of the men who produce the content, and I asked him if he would be willing to write a guest post to let us know what Revived Thoughts is all about, and he graciously agreed.

Most people serious about their faith are familiar with some of the great theologians of the past. It’s not uncommon to hear a quote by Charles Spurgeon dropped in a sermon. Or maybe you have seen a quote go by on your social media of Jonathan Edwards or Martin Luther. These men continue to inspire us, and their books continue to be read by those seeking insights into their faith.

One thing we often forget is that before they were famous theologians they were preachers. To their congregants, they were often tender-hearted pastors who preached a passionate and accessible Gospel on how to live out the theology that they expressed in their books. It was there that their thoughts met real world-application.

Today it is not uncommon for Christians to listen to sermons from preachers all over the country. Sermons by pastors that have made names for themselves such as John Piper, Francis Chan, or John MacArthur. Before the age of podcasting and live streaming, preachers could be heard on the radio. Famous names like Leonard Ravenhill and Billy Sunday could be heard by tuning the dial. Through technology, these radio evangelists had replaced the original way of finding out what was preached: reading the sermon.

We have sermons going all the way back to the doorstep of the Apostles, with 2 Clement possibly preached within just a few years of John the Apostle’s death, all the way up to the mid-1900’s that were written down. Yet all these sermons, filled with magnificent truth, have been forgotten. They have been left on bookshelves to collect dust, and with them, the stories of the amazing preachers that delivered them.

When I was a teacher at a Christian school, I asked the middle school students to name any famous Christians they could think of. They named “Martin Luther King,” “Malcolm X,” “Mother Theresa,” and “Ghandi.” Now, besides the fact that half of that list is not even Christian, it shows a complete lack of awareness of Christian history. Of course, I may have had a bad survey sample, but I think it is also true that most Christians in the west hardly know how they got here. They may have a distorted memory from High School about the Reformation and Martin Luther nailing theses. They may know of some Puritan names, but they usually have little understanding of the lives of each of these men and how many of them interacted with each other. What were they up against? How was their family life? What great historical events did they experience, and how did that change their perspectives?

We are missing incredible testimonies and assurances of our faith! Thomas Watson, Richard Baxter, John Bunyan, Andrew Gray, and so many other Puritans spent time in prison for their faith. They were told not to gather, yet they did it in secret and in barns in the woods. They show us a church that can grow and flourish despite cruel persecution and that can still be well-read through it all.

John Wycliffe lived through the Black Death. When he watched 60% of his village, people who looked healthy but were the sickest they had ever been drop dead a day later, he turned to God’s Word. When Hudson Taylor arrived in Shanghai during the start of the Taiping Rebellion, the fourth bloodiest event in human history, and saw the city on fire he stayed and created one of the biggest missionary organizations in Christian history.

These men were more than just scholars. They were people with lives that shine the glory of God. Even with their flaws, we see the amazing glory of God using broken individuals to accomplish incredible purposes.

These men were pastors. They preached and loved their congregations and labored week after week on sermons. Sermons that we have put aside, but technology is bringing them back to life! Their biographies and the best research on who these men were is now readily available online. Internet libraries have placed all their old catalogues within reach again, including books which contain these old sermons. Speakers from around the world can record these sermons and send them out to be published alongside the biographies of these great people of God.

You can download all of these sermons and biographies with the simple click of a button. Technology, the very thing that buried these incredible preachers of the past, is now bringing them back. Revived Thoughts is a podcast that exists to bring history’s greatest sermons back to life! Each Thursday, we publish a new sermon by a different preacher, and we also give you their back-story. We have released over 60 sermons by men ranging all across history. Not just those that you have heard of, but probably some that you’re unfamiliar with. We hope these sermons will all encourage you in your walk with God.

Check us out by subscribing to us on any podcast player or by going to our website, “Revived Thoughts.” We also run a sister podcast Revived Devos that takes devotionals from 7 great men of God and deliver them to you in 2-3 minute bite sized listens every single day.

-Troy Frasier