In this weighty episode of The Log Cabin Podcast, we explore a historic and sobering address to ministers of the Gospel. Drawing from nearly two decades of ministerial observation, the episode argues that revival and decline alike often begin in the pulpit.

We discuss:

• Why almost everything depends instrumentally on the preacher

• The danger of cold hearts in the ministry

• Spiritual pride and the subtle drift toward applause

• Choosing subjects with a single eye to God’s glory

• Guarding doctrine carefully

• The difference between eloquence and usefulness

• Why personal holiness is the foundation of powerful preaching

• The eternal weight of ordaining men to ministry

This episode is a call to pastors to examine their hearts, recover spiritual fervor, and aim unapologetically at the salvation of souls.

If you are a minister, this is a mirror.

If you are not, this is a guide for what kind of preaching to pray for.

Episode Title: Qualifications of a Gospel Minister — Religion First, Learning Second

What makes a preacher truly qualified?

In this episode of The Log Cabin Podcast, we explore the essential qualifications of a gospel minister. Is education required? Are languages necessary? What about theology, geography, and the sciences?

We begin with the foundational truth: without genuine, personal religion — without knowing Christ — all other qualifications are useless. A Christless minister is a tragedy.

But we also confront the opposite error: despising learning. Study and education are powerful tools when rightly used. The issue is not degrees, but usefulness. Not prestige, but faithfulness.

God calls some Pauls.

God calls some Peters.

And He remains sovereign over His church.

A thoughtful, historic reflection on ministry, calling, learning, and usefulness.

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.

In this episode, we explore a historic lecture on the perseverance of the saints—one marked by pastoral sensitivity, theological clarity, and deep respect for those who differ.

The lecture begins by acknowledging the intensity of the debate and the sincere convictions held by Christians on both sides. It then carefully examines common arguments against final perseverance, including biblical warnings, apparent cases of apostasy, and key passages such as Ezekiel 33, John 15, and Hebrews 6.

Rather than dismissing these texts, the lecture engages them directly, arguing that none conclusively prove that a truly regenerate person is finally lost. Instead, they address discipline, loss of assurance, judgment under the law, or those who were never truly born of God.

The positive case for perseverance rests on:

• The nature of union with Christ

• Christ’s role as Advocate and High Priest

• The permanence of the new birth

• God’s covenant promises

• Clear, unambiguous Scriptural declarations

The lecture concludes by affirming that no definitive example exists of a truly regenerated person perishing eternally, and it urges humility and charity in teaching this doctrine—reminding listeners that while the doctrine matters, it is not a test of salvation.

In this episode, we explore Lecture XIX on Practical Religion, a rich reflection on the inseparable link between true spiritual experience and a holy life. Drawing from historic Cumberland Presbyterian teaching, we consider:

• Why genuine regeneration always produces visible fruit

• The difference between working for life and working from life

• How the Holy Spirit produces love, obedience, and holiness

• Why outward acts of religion can never replace inward renewal

• What it means to carry your faith into every part of life — from prayer, to generosity, to business, to everyday relationships

This is a deeply convicting and deeply comforting look at what real Christianity looks like when lived out through the grace of God.

In this episode of The Log Cabin Podcast, Luke opens Finis Ewing’s Lecture XVIII: Experimental Religion and explores the heart-level, Spirit-wrought work that marks true Christianity. Ewing draws a sharp contrast between a merely practical religion and a merely emotional one — insisting instead on a genuine, sensible experience of conviction, repentance, faith, and joy.

This episode walks through Ewing’s warnings about “insensible religion,” his critique of ministers who preach what they’ve never experienced, and his biblical argument that true conversion is always known and always transformative. A timely, authentic reflection for a world hungry for something real.