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
A Missionary's Wife: Ashbel Green Fairchild on the Life of Louisa Lowrie
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 Chris
At the Table of the Lord: Jacob J. Janeway's Meditations on the Lord's Supper
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 g
A Voice in the Pulpit: Francis J. Grimké's Meditations on Preaching
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.Learn more at confessional.orgGreenville Se
The First Mission Field: Thomas Smyth on Christian Parenting
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.orgPastor, Greenville Seminary invites you to the 2026 Summer Seminar: Apologetic
The Heart of Christ: B.B. Warfield on the Emotional Life of Our Lord
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 emotiona
Geerhardus Vos: Life, Legacy, and Biblical Theology (with Reformed Forum)
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
Between Two Thieves: James Henley Thornwell on Antinomianism
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.
No Room for Boasting: Samuel Blair on Predestination
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 epis
A Letter to Rome: Charles Hodge and the Protestant Response to Rome
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
The Pastor in the Closet: Thomas Murphy on the Minister's Secret Duties
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.
Hope for Grieving Parents: T.D. Witherspoon on Covenant Children
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 su
Remember the Sabbath: Samuel Miller on the Forgotten Commandment
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.
The Ambassadors of Jesus Christ: John Holt Rice, "The Duties of a Gospel Minister"
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 w
The Sacrifices of the Missionary Life: John B. Adger, "My Life and Times"
This episode tells the story of John Bailey Adger, a 19th-century missionary who served Christ both overseas and at home through translation work, preaching, and sacrificial ministry. His life challenges us to consider where Christ is calling us to pour out our own.
The Pastor in the Pulpit: Thomas Murphy on the Pastor's Duties
Thomas Murphy calls pastors back to the pulpit—the place where heaven meets earth each Lord’s Day. Preaching and prayer, he says, are the pastor’s highest duties and the church’s greatest need.
The Beauty of Presbyterianism: T.D. Witherspoon on Church Government
In this episode, we explore T.D. Witherspoon’s compelling case for the beauty and order of Presbyterian church government—rooted not in human hierarchy, but in Christ’s rule over His people through the courts of the church. Discover how these biblical principles safeguard unity, protect liberty, and strengthen the church’s witness today.
The Melancholy Missionary: David Brainerd and the Power of a Weak Life
David Brainerd's short, sorrowful life became one of the most powerful missionary testimonies in church history. In this episode, we trace his struggle with depression, illness, and weakness - and how Jonathan Edwards saw in him true religion in practice: holiness, dependence, and redeeming the time for Christ's kingdom.
Christ All in All: The Right Temper for a Theologian
In his inaugural addresses, William Swan Plumer urged Christians to approach Scripture with humility, reverence, and prayer, keeping Christ at the very center of all study. Collected as Christ All in All: The Right Temper for a Theologian, his counsel remains vital—not just for seminarians, but for every believer seeking to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ.
Dead Presbyterians Society - Season 2 Trailer
Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.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
Counterfeit Miracles
B.B. Warfield never made peace with error—and neither should we. In his 1918 book Counterfeit Miracles (lectures originally delivered at Columbia Theological Seminary), he takes aim at false wonders that have distracted the church from the early centuries to modern “faith-healers,” and calls us to measure every claim by the all-sufficient Word of God.
Bringing Children into God's Family
In a tender and urgent sermon from 1758, Little Children Invited to Jesus Christ, Samuel Davies pleads with young hearers not to delay, but to come to Christ by faith. Preaching from Mark 10:14—“Suffer the little children to come unto me…”—Davies shows with remarkable clarity what it truly means to come to Christ. Though preached over 250 years ago, the message remains timeless and is especially i
The Cross-Shaped Missionary
What does true evangelism look like? In a powerful 1856 sermon on John 10:17–18, James Henley Thornwell calls the church to a missions model shaped by the cross. For Thornwell, Christ’s self-giving sacrifice is both the message and method of evangelism.“The spirit of missions is the spirit of the gospel,” he declares—bold words we still need to hear today.
The Life and Ministry of C.W. Grafton
What does pastoral faithfulness look like—without fame or platform?Cornelius Washington Grafton served one small church in rural Mississippi for over 60 years. In 1916, after 43 years in that same pulpit, he was elected Moderator of the General Assembly.In his address, A Forty-Three Year Pastorate in a Country Church, Grafton shares a moving account of quiet perseverance, hardship, and joy in the
Daniel Baker's Views on Baptism
Join us this week as we revisit Presbyterian minister Daniel Baker’s A Plain and Scriptural View of Baptism (1853). In this concise, winsome exposition—rooted in both adult and infant covenantal theology—Baker distills biblical teaching on the mode and significance of baptism. Based on an earlier Washington, D.C. sermon (A Scriptural View of Baptism, 1827), and later condensed into Baptism in a Nu
John Leighton Wilson's "Thoughts on Foreign Missions"
John Leighton Wilson (1809-1886), missionary to West Africa and Presbyterian pastor, offers a timeless and theologically rich call to gospel proclamation in his writing, particularly in his essay Thoughts on Foreign Missions. Here Wilson presents biblical reasons why the church must take missions seriously. Over a century later, his words still stir the church ot action in a day when missionary ze
Samuel Miller's Thoughts on Public Prayer
Thoughts on Public Prayer, authored by Samuel Miller, is a comprehensive treatise on the nature, history, and importance of public prayer, particularly within the Presbyterian tradition. Addressed to younger ministers and candidates for ministry, it explores the biblical foundations and historical practices of public prayer, contrasts extemporaneous prayer with liturgical forms, and emphasizes
Worship in Everyday Life - B.B. Warfield
In this address, Religious Life of Theological Students, B.B. Warfield challenged theological students to cultivate a vibrant, disciplined spiritual life centered on both personal devotion and the communal worship of the seminary community. He argued that theological education should not only engage the intellect but also nurture the spiritual vitality essential for ministry. Warfield underscored
Lessons in Sorrow - Benjamin M. Palmer
When sorrow enters the home, what does a pastor say—first to himself, then to his flock? In The Broken Home, B.M. Palmer doesn’t offer theory, but theology tested by personal grief. With tenderness and fidelity to Christ, Palmer gives us a model of how a shepherd suffers—quietly, scripturally, and with hope. It provides help for the grieving, and also for those who minister to the grieving. This e
The Sinless Character of Jesus Christ - William Plumer
Impeccable by William Swan Plumer is a pastoral work written to encourage believers unsettled by rising theological error in post-Civil War America. Plumer defends the biblical truth that Christ, as the incarnate Son of God, was not only sinless but incapable of sinning. This doctrine affirms the absolute sufficiency of Christ’s obedience and the unshakable certainty of our salvation. In a time wh
The Authority of Scripture - Charles Hodge
Systematic Theology (1872-1873)Hodge in his Systematic Theology defends the orthodox position that the Scriptures – given by divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit – are both infallible (not capable of error) and inerrant (without error). The implications of this doctrine are very significant in regards to the authority by which Christians are to be governed in matters of faith and practice.
Life as a Christian - Archibald Alexander
Archibald Alexander’s Thoughts on Religious Experience stands as a classic in Reformed pastoral theology, offering a penetrating exploration of the inner dynamics of Christian life. Drawing from decades of ministerial experience, Alexander traces the spiritual journey from early convictions and conversion to the trials and consolations of aged believers. With careful attention to the work of the H
Dead Presbyterians Society - Trailer
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 endurin
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