A few weeks ago I posted that I thought it would be helpful if someone updated sermons from the Great Awakening.
Then, I thought, "If it would be helpful, why not do it yourself?"
THEN, I thought, "Nobody cares what I have to say, that's why. And, besides, who am I to update the things spoken or written by men like Edwards and Wesley, etc.?"
Christmas 2014 my wife bought me a paperback version of one man's update of Jonathon Edwards' greatest sermons, including Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God. I read over it then but didn't really think of it as "updated". It was good mind you, but it was updated for a really good readers -- it was not updated for the average contemporary listener.
I undertook and did what I termed a "restatement" of Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God. It took me a few tries and I'm still uncomfortable with it; I don't know if I can improve on the work I've done because -- well -- I'm limited. (Think lipstick on a pig -- the pig being me trying it at all, the lipstick being me trying to fine tune it.)
My wife read it and loved it. That encouraged me to try another. So, I did. I found Asahel Nettleton's "The Destruction of Hardened Sinners". It was simpler language than Edwards' had used "Sinners In The Hands...". It was easier to "restate".
I want to try more. So, I thought I'd ask everyone here what you think to be the most powerful Great Awakening sermons that you are familiar with. Perhaps you're not overly familiar with many -- and I admit that I'm a kindergartner on reading those great sermons. SI has tons of them (and, thanks to bro Greg I did use SI's "Sinners In The Hands" transcript to work from).
My premise is this: The things that were preached in the two "awakenings" (I include the Second Great Awakening, i.e., Nettleton's era, in this effort) are sorely lacking today. I honestly believe -- and forgive me with grace if you disagree -- that those messages to actual EARS in our time can be extremely useful.
What I am trying is not anything so formal as a line by line "updating" of language. I tried that first go round with Edwards' sermon and it flowed like swamp water. It was stilted and would not be helpful to anybody. Our forbears were much more verbose than we are. So, I carefully did my best effort to synthesize substance with fewer words. If I ever share it, you can judge it for yourself if I did well.
As much as anything, it is forcing me to step into where God was speaking to these men and try to restate the message faithfully even if the phrasing differs a lot and sometimes the order of presentation of thought differs a little. (They were so formal and thoughtfully rigid compared to us. How we listen and how people then listened is almost incomparable. We can hardly read on the level that they merely heard things explained.)
So, please share. I want to do at least 1-2 more and I think if you all have any thoughts on those sermons and how they impact you it would be super helpful to me to narrow my scope. I will say this -- I have been specifically seeking evangelistic sermons that aim not only at unabashed unbelievers, but also those that "afflict the comfortable", i.e., false converts, people who profess Christ and are active in church but are carnal, etc.