Gladstone - The Kind of Preaching Men Need Most

The great 19th century British statesman and prime minister, William Gladstone, once said, “The class of sermons which I think are most needed, are of the class which once offended Lord Melbourne. He was seen coming from church in the country in a great fume. Finding a friend, he exclaimed, “It is too bad I have always been a supporter of the church, and I have always upheld the clergy, but it is really too bad to have to listen to a sermon like that we have heard this morning. Why, the preacher actually insisted upon applying religion to a man’s personal life!” Gladstone concluded, “That is the kind of preaching I like best, the kind of preaching which men need most, but it is, also, the kind of which they get the least.” (Morning Glory, Sept./Oct., 1997, p. 34)