Joseph Parker Books: A Guide to All 12 and Where to Start
PreachingBiographyHoly SpiritSermons
Joseph Parker (1830–1902) preached at the City Temple in London for more than thirty years and published more than sixty books. His largest work, The People's Bible, ran to twenty-five volumes of sermons on the whole of Scripture. TheWay Library has twelve of his books, all free to read: his autobiography, the three volumes of The Inner Life of Christ, a preacher's analysis of Matthew, two books of sermons and outlines, a book of counsel for young preachers, a defense of the Bible, studies of the Holy Spirit and the work of Christ, and a handbook for young men in business. For his life story, see who was Joseph Parker.
This guide tells you what's in each one and which to read first.
Where to start
- To meet the man: start with A Preacher's Life, his own story, written near the end.
- To hear him preach: The Inner Life of Christ, Volume 1, his City Temple sermons on Matthew.
- If you preach or teach: Ad Clerum is the most practical of his books, and the most fun. Then Pulpit Notes and A Homiletic Analysis of Matthew for sermon ideas.
- For doctrine: The Priesthood of Christ on the cross, then The Paraclete on the Holy Spirit.
- If doubts about the Bible trouble you or your church: None Like It.
- For a young person starting work: Well Begun.
Every quotation below is checked against the book it comes from. For many more, see our collection of Joseph Parker quotes.
His life
A Preacher's Life: An Autobiography and an Album (1899)
Parker wrote this in his last years at the City Temple. He starts with his boyhood in Hexham, his schoolmasters and the traveling lecturers who stirred him, then tells how his path turned toward London. There's a chapter on his inner life and another on his brushes with doubt and controversy. He covers his pastorates in Banbury and Manchester and his London ministry, where he resolved to preach salvation by Jesus Christ alone.
The chapter called "An Irreparable Loss" tells of the death of his wife Emma in January 1899. It's raw and honest, and it's one reason grieving pastors still read the book. Later chapters are about authorship, his critics, odd letters he received, and sketches of Gladstone, Henry Ward Beecher, Thomas Binney and other preachers.
Creed is weather, faith is climate; creed is geographical, faith is astronomical.
A Preacher's Life, Heresies and Heretics
The text was restored from a scan, and the first words of some chapters are garbled. Read A Preacher's Life.
Sermons on Matthew
The Inner Life of Christ, Volumes 1 to 3 (1883)
Parker's City Temple sermons on the whole Gospel of Matthew, taken down as he preached them and printed for his Thursday morning service. Each sermon opens with one of his pulpit prayers. This is the best place to hear his preaching voice.
- Volume 1: Matthew 1 to 7, from the genealogy and birth through the baptism and temptation to the Sermon on the Mount, with six closing sermons on Christ as a preacher. An introduction sketches Parker's career.
- Volume 2: Matthew 8 to 16: the miracles, the calling and charge of the twelve, the invitation to the weary, the Sabbath, the parables of the kingdom and the faith of the Canaanite woman.
- Volume 3: Matthew 16 to 28, from Peter's confession and the transfiguration through the parables of judgment to Bethany, Gethsemane, the cross and the resurrection, with a review of the whole Gospel. The passion sermons are among his strongest.
The rule is, Christ first — the young child mentioned at the top of every list.
The Inner Life of Christ, Volume 1, Chapter IV: Life Larger Than Logic
A Homiletic Analysis of the Gospel by Matthew (1870)
An earlier tool for preachers on the same Gospel. Each chapter prints a chapter of Matthew and then numbered notes on its verses, meant to suggest lines for sermons rather than to give finished ones. A long opening essay argues that the life of Christ, judged simply as a piece of writing, is too complete to be fiction. Read A Homiletic Analysis of Matthew.
Sermons and outlines
Hidden Springs (1864)
An early book from his Manchester years: thirteen sermons on contentment, Peter's attempt to turn Christ from the cross, the withered fig tree, secret things, the letters to Ephesus and Smyrna, the woman taken in adultery and the theology of money, with outlines and pulpit prayers. The sermon on contentment, from Paul in prison, is a good one to start with.
The chain binds him rather to the cross of Jesus than to the dungeon of the emperor.
Hidden Springs, Sermon I: Contentment
Pulpit Notes (1873)
More than fifty short sermons and outlines, opened by an essay arguing that the power of Christ's preaching lay in its compassion. Many take small Old Testament texts, such as sparing fruit trees in a siege or leaving birds' nests alone, and draw from them lessons on God's care for detail. Others sketch Ehud and Shamgar, the secret prayers of Jesus and moral cowardice. Read Pulpit Notes.
On preaching and the ministry
Ad Clerum: Advices to a Young Preacher (1871)
Twenty frank letters to a young man starting out in the ministry. Parker writes about the discipline of mind and body the work takes, about earnestness and naturalness, and about delivery. He has chapters on sensational preaching, on sermon divisions, on published sermons, and on the temptations of a comfortable suburban church. He gives pen-portraits of preachers he admired, including a long and affectionate one of his first mentor, Dr. John Campbell. One chapter asks why some ministers fail; another sets out the guarantees of a successful ministry; another teaches the use of figures, parables and stories. He closes by warning against the drudgery of the mere letter.
Is Jesus Christ merely a theme to be talked about or is He the strength of our heart and our portion for ever?
Ad Clerum, Earnestness
It's a good book to read alongside Spurgeon's Lectures to My Students (see Spurgeon's advice to preachers). Read Ad Clerum.
None Like It: A Plea for the Old Sword (1893)
Parker wrote this during the fight over higher criticism, when many in British churches had begun to say the Bible only contains the word of God. He writes as a preacher. A sermon without an authoritative text, he says, starts with an invalid certificate. He answers those who see the Bible as full of error, describes the "permanent quantity" in Scripture that the church has always agreed on, weighs the popular claims of criticism, and argues from the living Christ. A chapter called "Fundamentals" states his own faith. The book ends with counsel to ministers and a confident epilogue: the Bible will survive this inquiry as it has survived every other.
Science is for experts; the cross is for sinners.
None Like It, The Living Word
If you've read The Fundamentals, this is the same battle from a London pulpit. See our guide to The Fundamentals on higher criticism. Read None Like It.
On doctrine
The Priesthood of Christ (1876)
Parker writes to an earnest inquirer who doubts. His question: what did Jesus do for men that they could not do for themselves? He argues that sin is not a private misunderstanding that God could quietly overlook, so a mediator is needed. Then he looks at Christ's perfect person, His loneliness in suffering, and Gethsemane and Calvary. Two chapters gather what Paul and the other apostles say about the meaning of Christ's death. He weighs the competing theories of the atonement, finds a point of rest in what Christ actually does for the soul, and closes on the forgiveness of sins and Christ's lasting priesthood. An essay on the spiritual life is added at the end.
It is evident, therefore, that we are to be saved by a Fact and not by a Speculation; by Christ, and not by any theological construction of His work.
The Priesthood of Christ, The Point of Rest
This is the clearest of his doctrinal books. For more on the subject, see our guide to the best books on the atonement. Read The Priesthood of Christ.
The Paraclete (1875)
A study of the Holy Spirit's person and work, joined to a defense of spiritual religion against the materialism of the 1870s. Parker shows that the Bible always treats the Holy Ghost as a Person. He traces a movement in God's revelation from the outward to the inward: in Christ, truth was visible; in the Spirit, it lives inside us. He writes on inspiration, on the Spirit as interpreter of Scripture, on the Comforter, conviction, regeneration, Pentecost, the witness of the Spirit and holiness. The last part answers Huxley, Tyndall, Spencer and other writers of the day who denied that man has a spiritual nature.
In the person of Jesus Christ truth was outward, visible, and most beautiful: In the person of the Holy Ghost truth is inward, spiritual, all-transfiguring.
The Paraclete, The Historic Movement Towards Spirituality
The first half will help most readers; the second half is for those interested in the science debates of the age. The scanned text has scattered errors. See also our guide to the best books on the Holy Spirit. Read The Paraclete.
For young men in business
Well Begun (1894)
A practical handbook for young men starting out in work, written from Parker's own hard start in life. The first half gives plain counsel on health, choosing a wife, answering letters, keeping books, not wasting time and staying honest, with humorous sketches of business types and a "Commercial Decalogue." The second half gathers sermons on religion in business and short lives of two Christian merchants, John Rylands and George Moore.
The first requisite is integrity, and the second is order.
Well Begun, Section II, Chapter III: Waste of Industry—Waste of Time, Etc.
Why read Parker today
Parker writes like he preached: with big feeling, sudden humor and short lines that land hard. He loved the Bible, he loved preaching, and he wanted every sermon to end at the cross. Start with A Preacher's Life if you want his story, The Inner Life of Christ if you want his sermons, or Ad Clerum if you want his counsel. All twelve books are on the Joseph Parker author page.