Berean Crossroads

Generally, we do not post on Saturday except for our Hearing the Word segments. However, for the next twenty-four Saturdays, we will set apart for an amazing study on Spiritual Depression by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. This has helped a great many people battling depression and we believe it will help others too. You may purchase his book, Spiritual Depression Its Causes and Cures, in ebook or paperback format here. He is considered to be one of the greatest expository preachers of the 20th century. 

In 1954, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached on a subject that few other preachers cover: sermons on depression. This essential collection of 24 sermons on depression was the result. Delivered in a post-war world of unrest and grief, this extremely helpful collection of sermons on depression by Martyn Lloyd-Jones are both as timeless as its topic and the trust we can place in Jesus to renew our spirits. Included in this collection are the 14 sermons Dr. Lloyd-Jones used to create his book, Spiritual Depression — a book which has become a Christian classic — as well as 10 unique sermons on depression that can only be found here. Listen as Martyn Lloyd-Jones divulges both the true root of depression from the biblical worldview, and the true solution to all ailments of mind, body, and spirit in these 24 sermons on depression.

Here is a link to the sermon on Spiritual Depression. You can listen to the audio there or download the file and listen. 

I would recommend reading the Scripture you see below and meditate or think on it. Listen to the sermon...just listen. Then, if time permits, listen to it again and take notes. It will enrich your life as you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God our Father!

For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.” (ESV) - Matthew 20:1-16

If Christians tend to grumble, commiserate, and feel sorry for themselves, is it because they’ve forgotten grace? Murmuring stems from a belief that one deserves something more. As a result, they’re never happy and become a complaining people. In this sermon on the parable of the workers in the vineyard from Matthew 20:1–16, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that the murmuring person has forgotten that everything is grace. To illustrate this point, Jesus gives us the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. This sermon highlights the grumbling of those who have been in the faith for a long time. They are complainers; they feel they deserve more than the others. They started out well, but got into trouble later on. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones applies this parable to the human condition today. Christians have the gospel of Jesus Christ, but if they do not continue in it, they get into the same trouble. They become entitled and believe they deserve more. What they forget is this: it’s all grace. It’s always been grace. In the Christian life, all is grace, from the beginning to the end. Christians are called to do all things without murmuring. What a tragedy when Christian people become miserable. What a tragedy when they murmur. The same grace that saved them keeps them. Listen and rejoice––it is all of grace.

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.