What does it mean to be truly called by God to preach the gospel?

In this episode of the Log Cabin Podcast, we read and reflect on Lecture XXIII: “A Call to the Gospel Ministry”—a sobering, pastoral meditation on divine calling, spiritual authority, and the danger of ministry undertaken without God’s sending.

This lecture argues that no amount of education, ecclesiastical approval, or institutional endorsement can substitute for the special, internal call of God. It explores the burden of the Word, the slow and trembling obedience of those truly called, and the tragic fruitlessness of ministry performed without divine commission.

This episode is especially relevant for:

• Those discerning a call to ministry

• Pastors and elders examining their authority and fruit

• Churches navigating training, ordination, and oversight

• Christians wrestling with obedience and vocation

A quiet but searching episode—best listened to slowly.

Lecture XXII – On Revivals of Religion

What is a revival of religion—and why do they begin, flourish, or decline?

In this episode, we walk through a classic lecture that defines revival not as emotional excess or manufactured excitement, but as “times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.” The lecture explores:

• How revivals begin—often with the preacher, but sometimes with praying saints hidden from view

• The role of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility working together

• Why prayer, fasting, humility, and faithful preaching are essential

• Common reasons revivals decline—including pride, passivity, and fear of disorder

• A biblical defense of visible emotion in revival, drawn from both Old and New Testaments

• A warning against quenching the Spirit in the name of “order”

• A call for humility, faith, and perseverance until the knowledge of God fills the earth

This is a pastoral, searching, and Scripture-heavy reflection that challenges modern assumptions about revival, church growth, and spiritual vitality.

In this episode, we explore Lecture XII: On Prayer, a deeply pastoral and searching meditation on the nature, kinds, and spirit of true prayer.

The lecture defines prayer not as polished words or religious form, but as the sincere offering of the heart’s desires to God through Christ. It warns against prayer without thought or spirit, against mixing exhortation with worship, and against treating prayer as performance rather than communion.

Listeners are guided through the various kinds of prayer—ejaculatory, secret, family, social, and public—and reminded that each is both a duty and a privilege. Particular emphasis is placed on the necessity of secret and family prayer, the danger of pride in social prayer, and the importance of brevity and reverence in public prayer.

Above all, the lecture presses home the inseparable connection between the spirit of prayer and faith. God answers prayer—not formal prayer, but effectual, fervent prayer offered in faith. The episode closes with a stirring call for the Church to pray earnestly for the conversion of the world, trusting that God delights to answer the prayers of His people.