I would like to direct you to a good talk by Sinclair Ferguson (1948 – ).  He is a Scottish preacher from Glasgow, but now serves in South Carolina.  He’s a very good preacher.  I have listened to his series on Ephesians, James and 2 Timothy numerous times (they’re available at firstprescolumbia.org and sermonaudio.com).  John Piper, when asked who is the preacher he’d sit under, if he were not a church pastor himself, mentioned Sinclair Ferguson at once.  And Hughes Oliphant Old in his monumental 7-volume work wrote the following about Sinclair Ferguson:

“As I have said several times, I am not in the business of handing out the senior preaching prize, but there is no denying it—the preaching of Sinclair Ferguson is exemplary no matter on which side of the Atlantic one considers the question.”

In my experience, Sinclair Ferguson is not a rock-star preacher like John Piper at all.  He’s got a lovely Scottish accent, he is not loud, but is full of worship in preaching, and very serious.  He also wrote a number of good books published by Banner of Truth Trust and other publishing houses (most recent titles are “In Christ Alone” and “By Grace Alone”).

I first came to love this preacher because of the talk I’d like to point you to (and an interview with him by C.J. Mahaney).  And I also have a personal request for English-speaking brothers and sisters who could possibly help me transcribe these audios (2.5 hrs long, two parts) into text format.  Then I will translate them to Russian, for the edification of Russian ministers, too (not just in UBF).

Here is the link to the audios (please note that they were delivered in 2008, when Sinclair Ferguson became sixty):

“Preaching The Word. Reflections At Sixty – Part 1” by Sinclair B. Ferguson.

“Preaching The Word. Reflections At Sixty – Part 2” by Sinclair B. Ferguson.

If the links above don’t work, here is the master page:

Sinclair Ferguson audio master page

Even if you have no time to help with the transcript, please listen to this talk – it’s very good.  It’s not a mere autobiography, because you learn from a number of other good ministers, through Sinclair Ferguson’s spiritual lens.