Dwight Lyman Moody 1837 - 1899 was a preacher, evangelist, and a publisher. He has an interesting history and if you are interested, Wiki has information on his life and accomplishments. Having recently read about Charles Spurgeon, I thought it might be interesting to compare the two, being on two sides of the ocean and both from the 19th century.
"Men of the Bible" is a free download from the kindle store. It is a series of sermons on a number of men of the Bible who all, by their actions and histories, portrayed something that DL Moody thought sermon worthy. The men are, in order, Abraham, Moses, Naaman, Nehemiah, Herod and John the Baptist, the man born blind and Joseph of Arimathea, and the penitent thief. I found the last chapter on the penitent thief particularly good.
Moody, similar to Spurgeon, must have been a great orator because I found his sermons to be a bit dull. Not that I did not learn something from each of them, but by today's standards were simplistic. I get the sense that neither men were Biblical scholars but rather used simple ideas together with powerful word pictures and oratory to sway many people to turn their hearts to God. Moody was really big on repentance and turning from sin. He preached in an era when most believed in God and most gave the Bible serious credence. There is a certain assumption in his sermons that his audience knows full well the gospel message, but his job is to create a sense of urgency to 'get right with God' and the sooner the better.
It is obvious that different tactics are needed in each age and I find it interesting to see how the message has changed over the years, yet stayed the same. It is very possible to be culturally relevant without watering down the message.
This book is easy to read and not very lengthy. If you want some insight to the times and the man, this may be helpful.
3 stars
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