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J. Stuart Holden
John Stuart Holden (1874–1934) was an English preacher and Anglican minister whose vibrant sermons and leadership in evangelical circles made him a prominent figure in the early 20th century. Born in Liverpool, England, he was educated at Liverpool College and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, earning a BA in 1899 and an MA in 1902. Ordained in 1899 as curate of Walcot, he served as a mission preacher with the Parochial Missionary Society from 1901 to 1905 before becoming vicar of St. Paul’s, Portman Square, London, in 1905, a position he held for nearly 30 years until his death. Married to Georgina “Ina” Searle, Holden was a key figure at the Keswick Convention, chairing it from 1925 to 1929, and traveled to China in 1904 with the China Inland Mission, reflecting his missionary zeal. Holden’s preaching ministry was renowned for its imaginative power and spiritual depth, drawing comparisons to contemporaries like F.B. Meyer and G. Campbell Morgan, though he often surpassed them in popularity. His sermons, such as “But If Not…” preached in 1914 on Daniel 3:18, were prophetic and widely circulated, especially during World War I, and his creative sermon titles captivated North American audiences during frequent visits. Author of works like Redeeming Vision (1908) and The Preeminent Lord (1932), he narrowly escaped disaster when he and Ina canceled their booking on the Titanic’s 1912 maiden voyage due to her illness. Holden died on August 10, 1934, at Malvern, Worcestershire, leaving a legacy as a preacher whose Keswick-inspired messages and missionary advocacy inspired generations, commemorated by his surviving Titanic ticket, now a museum artifact.
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J. Stuart Holden delves into the profound demands the New Testament places on believers, emphasizing the inseparable link between divine truths and human actions. The sermon highlights the call to not only receive God's grace and truth but also to actively respond by living out the implications of faith in daily life. It underscores the necessity of aligning our beliefs with our behaviors, acknowledging God's transformative work in us while taking responsibility for our spiritual growth and character development.
We Must Do the Work
"My soul is continually in my hand" (Ps. 119:109). See how entirely unanswerable is the logic of those demands which the New Testament makes upon us. It lays foundations, and then says "Build!" It declares truth, and then says "Act!" It unveils fountains, and then says "Drink, and be renewed!" It reveals a pathway, and then says "Walk!" It discloses an enemy's dispositions, and then says "Fight!" It says "You have been transplanted; now grow!" In short, it couples the Divine and the human in indispensable association. It proclaims what God has done and is ever doing for His children, and then it lays down what they, in consequence, must also do. It makes known what He is, and then announces what they must become--and why. It unveils the faith of God, and then indicates what must be the responsive and active quality of their faith. It publishes the fact that "it is He that hath made us," and then it goes on to insist that we fashion ourselves. Its unqualified assurances lift us to the very heavens. And then its inescapable imperatives bring us back to earth, to work out here the implicates of our belief and the obligations of our moral and spiritual insights into the concrete realities of Christian character.
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John Stuart Holden (1874–1934) was an English preacher and Anglican minister whose vibrant sermons and leadership in evangelical circles made him a prominent figure in the early 20th century. Born in Liverpool, England, he was educated at Liverpool College and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, earning a BA in 1899 and an MA in 1902. Ordained in 1899 as curate of Walcot, he served as a mission preacher with the Parochial Missionary Society from 1901 to 1905 before becoming vicar of St. Paul’s, Portman Square, London, in 1905, a position he held for nearly 30 years until his death. Married to Georgina “Ina” Searle, Holden was a key figure at the Keswick Convention, chairing it from 1925 to 1929, and traveled to China in 1904 with the China Inland Mission, reflecting his missionary zeal. Holden’s preaching ministry was renowned for its imaginative power and spiritual depth, drawing comparisons to contemporaries like F.B. Meyer and G. Campbell Morgan, though he often surpassed them in popularity. His sermons, such as “But If Not…” preached in 1914 on Daniel 3:18, were prophetic and widely circulated, especially during World War I, and his creative sermon titles captivated North American audiences during frequent visits. Author of works like Redeeming Vision (1908) and The Preeminent Lord (1932), he narrowly escaped disaster when he and Ina canceled their booking on the Titanic’s 1912 maiden voyage due to her illness. Holden died on August 10, 1934, at Malvern, Worcestershire, leaving a legacy as a preacher whose Keswick-inspired messages and missionary advocacy inspired generations, commemorated by his surviving Titanic ticket, now a museum artifact.