Encouragement for Today’s Pastors: Help from the Puritans

The Scriptures advise us to learn from examples of faithful ministers (Heb. 13:7). The Puritans were a group of such ministers whose teaching and living can be particularly encouraging to troubled and discouraged pastors today. They were steadfast in adhering to Scripture as the Word of God, in confessing the great truths of the Reformed faith, and in applying sound doctrine to the problems of life in an age and culture nearly as challenging as our own.

In Encouragement for Today’s Pastors, Joel R. Beeke and Terry D. Slachter examine the writings of these pastors of a bygone era consider how they can help struggling pastors today. Here pastors will find a helping hand, reminding them of the importance of cultivating personal piety, resting in God’s sovereignty recovering clarity in their calling, discovering means of support God provided, recognizing the dignity of their office, and taking comfort in grace and glory to come.

Table of Contents:

Part One: Piety

1. Zeal for the Ministry of the Word
   
2. ‘In Sweet Communion, Lord, with Thee’
   

3. Encouraged by God’s Promises
   Part Two: Sovereignty

4. God Gives the Increase

5. Submission to God’s Will
   Part Three: Clarity

6. Taking Heed to Doctrine

7. Practicing What Is Preached

8. The Calling of the Shepherd
   Part Four: Creativity and Community

9. History and Science

10. The Communion of Saints

11. A Cloud of Witness
    Part Five: Dignity

12. ‘One among a Thousand’

13. Doing the Work of Angels

14. The Urgency and Importance of Preaching the Word
    Part Six: Eternity

15. The Reward of Grace

16. The Glories of Heaven