The Sermons of George Whitefield

by George Whitefield

George Whitefield was the leading evangelical clergyman of the eighteenth century and one of the driving forces, humanly speaking, of revivals on both sides of the Atlantic. Yet until now, his sermons have been left as an untapped resource for today's church. Editor Lee Gatiss has thus reproduced 57 sermons that were originally authorized to be published by Whitefield himself in the late 1700s, in addition to two sermons edited by Gillies for Whitefield's Works , and two more that are of great importance. Gatiss includes careful and extensive footnotes detailing the historical and theological background to Whitefield's preaching, which puts the man and his messages into context for a new generation of readers. The text has also been updated for the twenty-first century with modern grammar, spelling, and punctuation—revised in a manner that leaves Whitefield's distinct voice intact and coherent for today’s reader. Finally, the powerful and passionate preaching that set the world on fire in the Great Awakening is available to all.

Genres: Theology

976 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 15, 2012

About the author

George Whitefield, also known as George Whitfield, was an English Anglican priest who helped spread the Great Awakening in Britain and, especially, in the British North American colonies. He was one of the founders of Methodism and of the evangelical movement generally. He became perhaps the best-known preacher in Britain and America in the 18th century, and because he travelled through all of the American colonies and drew great crowds and media coverage, he was one of the most widely recognized public figures in colonial America.

Reviews

[James Horgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

First volume completed 25 October 2025.

I read these for my devotions in preparation for reading Dallimore's biography. This edition, modernised, newly typeset and with headings, is available from The Church Society. This certainly helped ease of reading.

Almost all of Whitefield's 60 or so published sermons date from the early years of his ministry. One must therefore be careful assuming nothing changed or developed in his preaching style. Nonetheless one can appreciate his regular efforts to awaken those who attended church, as many did in Anglicanism, and yet relied on their own morality for salvation. That doesn't change.

It is good to read the preaching of faithful ministers of the past and be thankful for the unchanging gospel. There is a strong emphasis on the deadness and inability of the human will and the power of God to bring new life, working through his word, so that sinners rest fully on Christ for the whole of their salvation, as the quote from Sermon 20 below shows:

'By the word religion, I do not mean any set of moral virtues, any partial amendment of ourselves, or formal attendance on any outward duties whatsoever. But an application of Christ's whole and personal righteousness, made by faith to our hearts, a thorough and real change of nature wrought in us by the invisible, yet powerful operation of the Holy Ghost, preserved and nourished in our souls by a constant use of all the means of grace, evidenced by a good life and bringing forth the fruits of the Holy Spirit'.

[Travis Daggett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hero of the faith