THOSE who were privileged to listen to the preaching of H. P. Barker, will always associate with that ministry the apt illustration, the luminous pen-picture, and the bon mot—features that made his messages at once arresting, impressive, and retentive.
In his closing days, Mr. Barker indicated his desire that this illustrative material, collected over the long years of Christian service, should be given permanent form. The contents of this present volume, therefore, are a first selection of some five hundred anecdotes taken from three closely-written loose-leaf notebooks. The anecdotes are not all original, but all are those which Mr. Barker found to be of most use throughout an extensive Christian ministry in many lands.
For convenient reference, each of the stories quoted has been given a title, and all have been arranged in alphabetical order. These may or may not have been the settings in which the illustrations were originally placed, but, conscious that they are not of private interpretation, the reader will find herein adaptable material that may be widely used to the furtherance of the message and the glory of God.
This is more than a book of anecdotes. It is a tribute, a fitting tribute, to one who excelled in the difficult art of sermon illustration. Doubtless Harold P. Barker will live again in the minds and hearts of many who read these pages. May they challenge all who use or hear to clearer thinking, simpler testimony, and more devotional living. Nothing better would please the author as his works do follow him.
HAMILTON, J. HISLOP SCOTLAND, October, 1953.