Dead Presbyterians Society
This podcast is built on a very simple conviction: in order to be faithful in the present, we must be rooted in the past. The old paths of Presbyterianism in the 18th and 19th century have much to teach us about the path we walk today. In weekly 30 minute episodes, we will reflect on the lives and works of figures such as Archibald Alexander, B.M. Palmer, and Charles Hodge. We will consider enduring themes–prayer, Christian experience, and the church–matters of eternal significance for the people of God until Christ returns.
Episodes
In this episode of the Dead Presbyterians Society Podcast, we take up Archibald Alexander’s Missionary Sermon, preached in 1814 from Mark 16:15. Alexander presses the church’s duty to feed the flocks already gathered and still carry the gospel to the nations. A searching word for any congregation tempted to grow comfortable while the world remains in darkness.
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In this episode of the Dead Presbyterians Society Podcast, Jonathan Master walks through the opening chapter of John Witherspoon’s A Practical Treatise on Regeneration. From John 3:3, Witherspoon presses the necessity of a true new birth; great, universal, inward, and the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. A searching pastoral word for anyone tempted to rest in outward religion rather than a heart made new.
In this episode of the Dead Presbyterians Society Podcast, we explore William B. Sprague’s sermon The Danger of Being Overwise. Drawing from Ecclesiastes 7:16, Sprague warns against the subtle temptation to refine, improve, or go beyond what God has revealed in His Word. True wisdom, he insists, is not found in human innovation or good intentions, but in humble submission to Scripture—believing neither too little nor to...
In this episode of the Dead Presbyterians Society Podcast, we turn to J. W. Alexander’s classic Thoughts on Family Worship. Writing in 1847, Alexander shows that the worship of God begins in the home—through the simple, daily gathering of a household around Scripture and prayer. Faithful family worship quietly shapes parents, forms children who love the Lord, and strengthens the church for generations. A warm, pastoral ...
In this episode we explore the life and ministry of Benjamin Morgan Palmer, a leading 19th-century Southern Presbyterian.
Grounded in Reformed theology and the promises of Romans 11, Palmer combined unwavering commitment to Christ with sincere compassion for the Jewish people. Through his writings, pastoral care in times of epidemic, and public solidarity with suffering Jews, he modeled faithful gospel witness joined with genuine lo...
In this episode, we explore William B. Sprague’s 1827 sermon on the meaning of American Independence. Delivered on the Fourth of July, Sprague calls Christians to celebrate the day with gratitude, reverence, and a clear recognition of God’s providence in the founding of the nation.
A timely reflection on liberty, remembrance, and faithful stewardship of freedom.
In this episode we explore John Witherspoon’s famous sermon, The Dominion of Providence Over the Passions of Men. Preached in 1776 amid the growing struggle for American independence, Witherspoon reflects on God's sovereign rule over human affairs, showing how even conflict, suffering, and the ambitions of men ultimately serve His purposes. Along the way, he calls Christians to trust God's providence, pursue personal holiness...
In this episode, we explore the life of Louisa A. Lowrie — a young missionary wife whose brief but radiant faith burned brightly for Christ. Through her own journals and letters, we see a woman of deep devotion, tender conscience, and unwavering surrender, who gave everything to the cause of the gospel even unto death.
A moving testimony of holiness, missionary zeal, and wholehearted love for Christ.
In this episode of the Dead Presbyterians Society, we explore J.J. Janeway’s classic work Meditations on the Lord’s Supper. Drawing from Scripture and the Westminster Larger Catechism, Janeway guides believers in reverent self-examination, joyful communion with Christ, and renewed obedience after coming to the Table. A rich, pastoral resource for anyone seeking to approach the Lord’s Supper with greater faith and ...
Francis J. Grimké believed the preacher’s task was simple: faithfully proclaim the Word of God in dependence upon the Spirit of God. In this episode of the Dead Presbyterians Society, we explore Grimké’s remarkable life and enduring reflections on preaching, pastoral faithfulness, and the power of the Holy Spirit at work through the ministry of the Word.
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In this episode, we explore The Mission of Parenting by Thomas Smyth, a powerful call for Christian parents to see the home as the first mission field. Smyth challenges families to raise children not merely in knowledge, but in a living zeal for Christ’s kingdom and the spread of the gospel.
Learn more at confessional.org
Pastor, Greenville Seminary invites you to the 2026 Summer Seminar: Apologetics and Evangelism for the Past...
This episode explores On the Emotional Life of Our Lord by B. B. Warfield, showing that Christ’s compassion, love, anger, joy, and sorrow were true and sinless expressions of His full humanity. As confessed in the Westminster Confession of Faith, He is fully God and fully man, “yet without sin,” and His affections were perfectly ordered in accordance with His holy nature. In this way, the emotional life of Christ ...
Geerhardus Vos is often called the father of Reformed biblical theology. In this special crossover episode with Reformed Forum, Dr. Camden Bucey joins Dr. Jonathan Master on the Dead Presbyterians Society to discuss the life, work, and lasting influence of Geerhardus Vos. The conversation explores Vos’s contribution to Reformed biblical theology and reflects briefly on his place with the American Presbyterians.
In this episode we revisit James Henley Thornwell’s powerful warning against Antinomianism — the ancient error that turns grace into license. Thornwell reminds us that the gospel is “always crucified between two thieves”: legalism and lawlessness.
The Doctrine of Predestination explores Samuel Blair’s 1742 defense of God’s sovereign grace — a work praised by Archibald Alexander as the hand of a master. Writing during the era of the Log College and the Great Awakening, Blair answered objections to election not with speculation, but with Scripture — grounding the doctrine in Romans 9, Ephesians 1, and the justice and mercy of God.
In this episode, we exa...
A Letter to Rome examines Charles Hodge’s 1869 response to Pope Pius IX and the First Vatican Council, a rare moment when American Presbyterianism spoke directly to Rome. With clarity and charity, Hodge explains why the core issues of the Reformation—Scripture alone, the sufficiency of Christ, and the nature of church authority—made unity impossible. This episode revisits that letter and asks what modern Prot...
Behind every faithful sermon is a hidden place. In this episode, we explore Thomas Murphy’s insistence that a pastor’s most essential work happens in the prayer closet, where private devotion shapes public ministry. Drawing on Murphy—and echoing Baxter, Miller, and Warfield—we’re reminded that the strength and character of the pulpit are formed in secret communion with God.
What hope does the covenant of grace offer when a baptized child dies? In this episode Jonathan Master explores T.D. Witherspoon’s Children of the Covenant (1873), written in the wake of profound loss and grounded in God’s promises rather than sentiment. Through the lives of three covenant children, Witherspoon points grieving parents and churches to Christ, the ordinary means of grace, and the sure consolatio...
In an age that treats the Lord’s Day as expendable, Samuel Miller calls the church to remember what God has promised through the Sabbath. Drawing from his introductory essay to Agnew’s Manual on the Christian Sabbath, this episode explores why the Fourth Commandment still matters—and why recovering the Lord’s Day may be essential to the church’s spiritual health.
What does it mean to be a faithful minister of the gospel? In his 1809 sermon The Duties of a Gospel Minister, John Holt Rice outlined the sacred charge of those called to shepherd Christ’s church — to preach the whole counsel of God, guard the flock, teach by example, train the young, and labor with an eye to eternity. In this episode, we explore Rice’s enduring vision for pastoral ministry and why his words stil...
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