The Westminster Assembly is celebrated for its doctrinal standards and debates on church polity. But how often is the assembly noted for its extraordinary intervention in the pulpit ministry of the Church of England? In God’s Ambassadors , Chad Van Dixhoorn recounts the Puritan quest for a reformation in preachers and preaching and how the Westminster Assembly fit into that movement. He examines the assembly’s reform efforts, tracing debates and exploring key documents about preaching in a way that both highlights disagreements within the assembly’s ranks and showcases their collective plan for the church going forward. Moreover, Van Dixhoorn reveals the rationale behind the assembly’s writings and reforms, both in terms of biblical exegesis and practical theology. Unlike any other book, God’s Ambassadors draws attention to the lengths to which the Westminster Assembly would go in promoting godly preachers and improved preaching. Table of Contents: Part I: Blind Guides and Scandalous Ministers 1. The Call to Reform 2. The Road to Reform 3. "Democratick Annarchie" Part II: A Reforming Assembly 4. Purifying Pulpits: Assembly Examinations 5. The Pastor's Office: Assembly Debates 6. Ordaining Preachers: The Directory for Ordination 7. Directions for Preaching: The Directory for Public Worship Part III: In Theory 8. On Preachers: Godly, Trained, and Ordained 9. On Preaching: The Word of God as the Ordinary Means of Grace 10. On Preaching: Audible and Visible Words 11. On Preaching: Christ-Centered Sermons 12. On Preaching: Christ-Centered Exegesis 13. On Study and Style: "The Spirit's Working" Appendix A: The Duties of a Minister Appendix B: The Directory for Ordination Appendix C: The Subdirectory for Preaching

This volume is a compilation of Newcomen’s most rare sermons. The sermons reflect a life dedicated to experiencing and understanding the bible, spiritual truth, and experimental Christianity. His preaching is eminently biblical, energetic and powerful. They clearly display the peculiar ability Newcomen had to capture the attention of a church congregation in order to teach them the great truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His first sermon covers, “The All-Seeing Unseen Eye Of God” which is a fantastic exhortation to holiness taken from Hebrews 4:13, “But all things are naked and open unto the eyes of him, with whom we have to do.” God knows every person who ever was or will be, all their works, all their speeches, and all their thoughts, and such things are always present in the mind of God. This should prompt us to fear and revere God. This sermon alone is worth the cost of the volume. It is best exhortation on this subject matter in print. “The Craft and Cruelty of the Church’s Adversaries” is a powerful polemic against Roman Catholicism, Arminianism and Libertinism which deters Christians to the true faith found in Jesus Christ alone. He explains Nehemiah 4:11, “And our adversaries said, They shall not know nor see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.” He shows how the church is at war with the wicked designs of men who would tear down the work of Jesus Christ. Also included is “Jerusalem’s Watchman,” “Walking Worthy of the Gospel,” and a funeral sermon on Acts 13:36. This work is not a scan or facsimile and has been made easy to read with an active table of contents for electronic versions.

This work is a treatise on how to have a true relationship with Jesus Christ. Newcomen bases this discourse on Job 22:21, “Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.” He demonstrates what it means to have “converse” with God, or simply, to have a relationship with Him. There are reasons why men must have a true acquaintance with God, and that God has kindly allowed men to come into relationship with Him. Then Newcomen lays out motives to this acquaintance, the need to labor after it, how to keep it, and how to recover it if it becomes hindered or the sweetness of it is lost. This work is not a scan or facsimile, has been carefully transcribed by hand being made easy to read in modern English, and has an active table of contents for electronic versions.