The Descent of the Branch into the Waters of Sorrow, to Bring up the Election of Grace Being the Substance of a Sermon, Preached by J. Church, of the Surrey Tabernacle

"The Descent of the Branch into the Waters of Sorrow, to Bring up the Election of Grace" by J. Church is a sermon published in 1817, indicative of the early 19th century evangelical Christian movement. This text reflects theological insights related to salvation, the nature of Christ, and the challenges faced by ministers within the Christian faith. It presents a metaphorical exploration of spiritual struggles and divine grace, aimed at edifying its audience through scriptural references and preaching wisdom. In this sermon, Church focuses on the biblical narrative of a prophet whose axe head falls into the river, symbolizing the human condition of spiritual loss and the need for divine intervention. The preacher draws parallels between the loss of the axe head and the deeper spiritual struggles of sin and affliction within humanity. Through the metaphor of the axe head being miraculously retrieved by the prophet, he emphasizes the themes of reliance on God's grace and the redemptive work of Christ as crucial for the believer's restoration. The sermon ultimately invites readers to recognize their need for spiritual recovery through faith and highlights the importance of gospel ministry in guiding others toward this understanding. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

John Church was an Independent minister who was most famous for his involvement in the homosexual scandal of the Vere Street Coterie. He is claimed by some as the first openly ‘gay’ ordained Christian minister in England. Contemporary rumours about this are unproveable one way or the other, though circumstantial evidence may suggest that his "inordinate affections which led me into error" could be referring to homosexuality.