Main Street Baptist Church

A new series I have been working on is starting in this issue of our newsletter. It is called "Lessons from History." Each article will be about (actually BY) an important person in church history. I have researched these men to role-play in church and for our home schooling group (our monthly Friday Bible Study as well as at our retreat at Camp Sankanac ).

I want our children to be exposed to godly, positive role models. I want them to see how church history is an integral part of world history with God controlling both. Actually, you must understand church history to really understand what is going on in the church (and false teachings that oppose the church) today. Seeing how God worked through men in times past is an encouragement and example as we are the ones who live for Him in this generation.

When you study church history you study real, struggling, searching people - just like us. At the same time you learn some theology. You gain wisdom and get a better perspective of where we are today. You learn from other's mistakes. You learn about God: Who and What He is, how He always has been and always will be in control of this world of His, and what He wants and expects of His people.

I want to introduce you to some of the key men in church history so you have a general understanding of them. Hopefully this will whet your appetite to study certain men or time periods more. From this you can find books to read, projects to research, history to learn, culture to understand, beliefs & philosophies to analyze, and art projects to develop. All this can really enrich your children's education. At the same time your children are learning important spiritual truths in a way that will always stay with them. Read these stories out loud to your children and see if there is anything they'd like to study further. I have video-tapes of each of these men as well as handouts about each one and the time he lived. Let me know if you are interested (Jerry Schmoyer 348-8086). Please let me know how you use these.

PETER

"Hello! My name is Peter, I'm sure you heard of me. You probably first heard of me as the loudmouth leader of the disciples as we traveled with Jesus. I seemed to be all talk and no show. Later you probably learned I was the leader of the Jerusalem church after Jesus went into heaven. I spoke fearlessly before kings. I preached and healed by God's power. What you may not know, however, is what changed me from the way I was with Jesus to how I was after him. I'd like to tell you about that now for there is a lot you can learn from my mistakes.

"Now I had no intention of changing, in fact I didn't realize I had anything that needed changing! I could talk my way out of anything, smooth over any difficulty with my personality, and always got what I set out for. That is, until April 2, 33 AD . That's the day that changed me.

"It was the day we celebrated the Passover. The day started off good with Jesus asking me to help get things ready for us, but it was all downhill from there. First, I put my foot in my mouth when Jesus wanted to wash my feet, then really got in trouble trying to convince Him I would never deny Him no matter what the other jokers in the room did! That was the root of my problem. I was (1) SELF-CONFIDENT, trusting in my own ability. I didn't see any need to heed His warning, so I slept when we got to Gethsemane after the celebration. Jesus especially warned me, but (2) PRAYERLESSNESS was my next step away from Jesus. Then when Jesus was arrested I acted in the (3) ENERGY OF THE FLESH by attacking Malchus with my butter knife. I was afraid, confused and not thinking. I guess if I had prayed and listened to Jesus that wouldn't have happened. That wasn't the end, though, for when they took Jesus away I followed but I (4) DRAGGED MY FEET and followed from a distance. I wasn't as close to Jesus as I should have been and by not following closely I set myself up for the rest. Then I (5) HUNG AROUND WITH JESUS' ENEMIES at the fire, compromising. That led to my (6) DENIAL of Jesus 3 times. The last time He saw me deny Him and I could tell that hurt Him more than anything anyone else had done.

"It was partly my failure to be able to run my life as I always had and partly the pain I caused Him that caused me to flee in tears. I don't even remember the next couple days. Something died in me that night, though. The old Simon died. I could no longer trust in myself. I was a total failure. I hit bottom. In fact, I started really being 'Peter the Rock' for the first time. I learned then I couldn't depend on myself, my personality or conviction. I could only follow Jesus in HIS strength. Self-confidence, prayerlessness, acting in the energy of the flesh, all led to my downfall. From then on I served in His strength and power for I was never able to trust my own again after that letdown. I don't know how it is with you, but if you have ups and down like I always did, the solution is to live by Jesus' power and not your own. Try it! You'll never want to go back to the old way!

PAUL

"Hello! My name is Paul. I know you've heard about me and how I used to kill Christians, then about my conversion on the road to Damascus , my missionary journeys, and the books in the New Testament I wrote. I won't go over all those facts with you again, but I do want to tell you what I learned from it all. No matter what you try, only Jesus satisfies!

"That's right. Before Jesus got a hold of me I had everything a person in the world could want but I was empty. I had a rich, important, loving family behind me 100%. I had the finest education possible in both Greek and Hebrew, and I was very gifted intellectually. I had two solid careers, one as a tent-maker and the other as a rabbi. Being on the Sanhedrin (the top 70 men who had absolute rule over Jews the world over) gave me power and prestige unheard of in a man as young as I was. Outwardly I was perfect in following my religious beliefs. I had everything going for me, but I wasn't satisfied. Something inside was missing. When Stephen and others had peace and joy I lacked I took my bitterness out on them, but that didn't help. My own religious life consisted of keeping laws and the harder I tried to find God in that the further I seemed to be from Him. Traditions just didn't satisfy, either. Only Jesus did!

"After meeting Jesus and giving Him my life I found what I had been looking for. God used me to do great things for Him: start churches, witness to people, train others, write letters and books, and start many churches. I was popular and well-known. I saw God use me to change many, many lives. As nice as that was, when I looked to it for satisfaction it, too, left me empty. I had to keep looking to Jesus for my satisfaction.

"I had lots of excitement. I traveled and saw the world. Life was full of adventure and challenge. I even spoke to kings and queens. Still, I could only find satisfaction in Jesus.

"Don't think life, or I myself, were perfect. I was a sinner just like everyone else. I battled with my pride and ego. I wrestled with thoughts of lust. I could easily be critical and cutting with my tongue, as with Mark and Barnabas. I was a perfectionist who expected too much of myself and others. Despite my failures I found satisfaction in Jesus.

"Many unglamorous things happened to me. The death of my wife and son, my father alienating and disowning me, the beatings and physical punishments I received, much time in prison, the large amount of unjust criticism about me, enemies who hated me and followed me everywhere to cause trouble, being deserted by several close friends, and my discouraging eye problem all were hard. No matter how bad things were coming against me, though, I could always turn to Jesus and He would make it all right inside me. I could always find satisfaction in Jesus.

"That's the message of my life: only Jesus satisfies. Whatever you are trying, if it isn't Jesus you won't find real, true, deep, lasting satisfaction in it. Try Jesus, He'll satisfy!"

An Unnamed Zealot

"Hello! I won't even tell you my name for you never heard of me, you probably haven't heard much about what I was involved in, either, but it affects your life today so I want to tell you about it. I was an underground Jewish patriot (at least we called ourselves that, even if others called us terrorists). We were zealots*, like Simon, one of Jesus' disciples -- only he deserted us, he was a traitor! We were called "Sicarri," which literally means "dagger men" for we carried concealed daggers and assassinated Roman soldiers or citizens whenever we could get away with it. Even our own Jewish leaders feared us, and rightly so for if they didn't do what we wanted we weren't against burning their homes or killing them, too.

"Our hot-headedness forced war with Rome in 66 AD. Florus* was the Roman governor but was unable to put down our uprising. His soldiers surrendered peaceable but we murdered them anyway. Gallus*, a well-known Roman general came in the summer of 66 AD with 40,000 soldiers. The people would have welcomed them into the city but they fled in fear before they got close. Those cowardly, traitorous Christians left, too, saying their Jesus told them to take off when they saw these signs. They were forever looked on as rejects from Israel from then on.

"Anyway, Nero* sent Vespasian*, the greatest general in Rome , in the spring of 67. Slowly but surely he kept making progress, always trying to get us to make peace. We knew he was really afraid of us and these constant peace overtures were a sign of weakness so we ignored them. Besides, we were too busy fighting among ourselves. There were 3 leaders with followers fighting for control of Jerusalem and we almost destroyed each other along with just about all the food and weapons in Jerusalem . The people really wanted the Romans to come rescue them for they said we were worse than the Romans. They had to scrape the sewers to find things to eat to stay alive. All our guard duty was to keep Jews in, not Romans out. We murdered anyone we thought might even be thinking of escape. Still, many snuck out and each day the Romans crucified about 500 Jews outside Jerusalem .

"God sent many signs and even some prophets warning us but we were too full of hate to listen. We knew the Romans or the Jews would kill us if they could, so we couldn't change our course. Titus* took over for his father Vespasian when he became the new emperor. Galilee fell quickly under the traitor Josephus*. Finally Jerusalem fell on September 7, 70 AD . One million Jews died during those days. The whole city was leveled. Some fighting continued at Macherus and Herodium for a little time, and at Masada * for 3 more years, but the revolt was over. For almost 2,000 virtually no Jews lived there anymore.

"I don't know why God let us lose. I've heard Christians say He was done with the Old Testament sacrificial system since Jesus was the final sacrifice. They say God was judging His people for rejecting His Son. 'Judgment begins in the house of God,' they quote. Still, God didn't utterly destroy the Jews and is now regathering them back to Israel as He promised. He does judge sin, but He also keeps His promises to His children. I was on the judgment side for I wasn't one of His children. I hope you are, for that is the only winning side!"

* = Look up these for more information. By Jerry Schmoyer

IGNATIUS

"Hello! My name is Ignatius*! That may sound like a strange name to you but it wasn't in my day. (Would you believe it if I said your name sounds strange to me?) I was a church leader right after the death of Peter and Paul. The church was young in those times, but it was growing and advancing. That's why it's pictured like a baby crawling upward. We were all growing in Christ and trying to discover what He wanted from us Christians.

"First, let me tell you a little about myself. I am from Syria , which is just above where Jesus lived. I was born in 50 AD. I came to know Jesus as my Saviour when I was quite young and developed a deep love for Him. I was known as a careful leader and devoted Christian. The disciple John taught me for many years and I wrote down much of what I learned. I was a close friend of the well-known leader Polycarp*, too. I became the leader (bishop*) of all the local house-churches in Antioch *, Syria . That is where Paul's home church was, the one that supported him on his missionary journeys. That is where believers in Jesus were first called 'Christians,' too.

" Antioch became the center for the early church when Jerusalem rejected Christ and the Christians there got bogged down in legalism. The center later passed to Ephesus * and then Rome.* The "Church in Antioch " was actually composed of lots of groups from small on up who met in various homes around the city. There were men who led and taught teach one. I oversaw all of them in that area, helping and encouraging where needed.

"When Jesus died there were about 120 believers. In less than 300 years there were 75 million (12% to 25& of the Roman Empire ). Like a baby really grows fast when first born, so did the church. People were open and searching for something real to believe, and those who were believers were very faithful and committed in their witness. Despite times of persecution starting with Nero*, we grew. It seems the persecution just fanned the flames of faith and made the Christians more committed.

"As real as the danger was from persecution from without, there was a greater danger to the early church from within. False teaching abounded in those early days when the New Testament was just being written (inspiration*) and collected (canon*). Until the basic truths of the faith were firmly developed it was touch-and-go for awhile. Judaizers* and Ebonites* (both legalists), Gnostics* (elevated knowledge above all else), Neo-platonism* (New-Age existentialism), Montanism* (emotional & charismatic excesses), Manichaenism*, as well as Monarchianism* and Arianism* (like Unitarianism* today) abounded. Basically they all denied salvation by grace, the sin nature of man and the deity of Jesus.

"To counter these false teachings three groups of leaders arose. First were the church Fathers (96-150 AD) who taught the new Christians. Polycarp and myself were part of this group. Then were the Apologists (125-190 AD) who defended the faith against the excuses to bring persecution. Tertullian* and Justin Martyr* were apologists. The final group is known as the Polemics (190-150 AD) and they fought the false doctrines. Some of these men were Irenaeus*, Clement* and Origin*.

"I opposed the Gnostic heresy myself. I also helped develop the hierarchy of church leadership, especially the office of bishop. It was exciting to serve Jesus in those days for we were truly living in the shadow of the cross. I was captured in Antioch and taken in chains to Rome to die. On the way many churches showed me fine hospitality. I wrote to them thanking them. You can still read those letters today. I asked Christians everywhere to allow me to die as a martyr for Jesus. I saw myself as God's wheat, ground by the teeth of wild beasts. I was killed and eaten by lions in the Coliseum* in Rome during the reign of Trajan*, 117 AD."

-By Jerry Schmoyer

* These subjects are good to pursue for further study.

You can look them up in a library, encyclopedia or reference book.

CONSTANTINE

"Hello! My name is Constantine *. I am credited with taking Christianity from a persecuted minority and moving it far along the way to being the state church of Rome . But before I get ahead of my story let me go back and start at the beginning.

"I was born in what you would call Yugoslavia in 272 AD. My father, Constantinus I*, was a Roman general and emperor of the western portion of the Roman Empire for several years. He was open to Christianity although he never publicly committed himself to Jesus. My mother, Helena*, was a beautiful, humble Christian woman. My father divorced her to advance his political career but she always loved him.

"After a fine education I went into the military myself. I had a son named Crispus born about this time. I became a pawn between the top leaders of Rome as they jockeyed for position to become the next emperor. To save my own life I escaped to my father in Britain and worked with him until he died. His men proclaimed me emperor over that part of Rome in his place. After a series of wars over many years I became emperor over the whole Roman Empire*, which had been my goal since I was young.

"A young lady shared that dream with me from my early years in the army. Fausta came from a very important family in Rome. Her father was a deadly enemy of mine, even trying to kill me. Despite it all we married. Her drive to succeed was as strong as mine if not stronger. We were each so caught up in our own lives and power we didn't get very close, in fact we became jealous enemies. In fact, I ended up killing her after she killed my son, Crispus, and tried to dethrone me with one of her lovers. As you can tell, my life sort of fell apart after I came to power.

"You see, all along I believed in God. When I learned about Jesus I added Him to my military gods and prayed to all of them, but then when He along obviously and miraculously gave me the victory that made me emperor over all of Rome I knew He was the only true God. Privately I talked to Him, but strong superstitions were built into me and I never completely gave up my false gods. I knew it wouldn't be good for me politically to say I was a Christian so I never did, that is until right before I died. All along, though, I did favor the Christian church. I knew they were different and special, and I also knew that the best way I could unite the whole empire into one unit was by making this church the organizing factor. Thus I supported and did all I could to help the church. I gave much money, imprisoned their enemies, and took over leadership of the church. I signed the Edict of Milan* in 313 and that was the turning point for the church, marking its change from childhood to adolescence, from minor and ridiculed to popular and powerful. Christians comprised about 10% of the empire but I made them the most powerful group in it. I even built the city of Constantinople to be the new center of the church. I set up many good laws to make the empire a much safer, nicer place to life.

"It wasn't until I was facing death that I was forced to face my great problem with anger and pride. Having a very choleric temperament, I knew I was using God for my own means more than letting Him use me for His. By the time I was broken I had lost all I spent my life getting, but I did finally find the peace I so desperately sought just before I died.

* These subjects are good to pursue for further study.

AUGUSTINE

"Hello! My name is Augustine. I was born in 354 in North Africa , which was a very 'Christian' area at that time. My mother was a devout Christian who prayed for me and taught me the faith. My father, however, was very wicked and evil. It was he I tried to imitate as I grew up. I liked to do what was forbidden just because it was forbidden.

"My parents went into debt to send me to law school, but all I was interested in while there was drinking, chasing girls, playing sports, and even some stealing. I lived a very immoral life and had a son by a woman I lived with for 16 years without marrying her. In those days I was really in bondage to sex. No matter how bad I got, though, my mother followed me and prayed for me.

"I made my living by teaching rhetoric, and was always looking for what was the truth about life. My search brought me into close contact and even membership in some false cults. Everything I found was empty, though. Then one day a friend died and that scared me for I had no hope of life after death. I became seriously ill and was attracted to Christianity although I just couldn't bring myself to believe there was a God. Some Christians started telling me about what Jesus did in their lives. That brought a first class uproar in the house of my inner self! I couldn't forget what they said, though.

"One day I went out into a garden by where I was living and fell to the ground under a fig tree and cried out. I seemed to hear a voice saying, 'Take up and read; take up and read.' I got a Bible and opened it. My eyes fell on Romans 13:13-14, 'Let us behave decently, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.' All doubt passed away and the truths I was taught as a child returned. I left my current mistress and was baptized. I was 33 years old.

"Before long my mother died and I went into a monastery to try to serve God there. My heart was full of faith, love and humility. God gave me a good mind for theology. People say I was the most influential theologian from Paul to Martin Luther. I preached and wrote against the heresies of Manacheanism, Donatism and Pelatianism. I taught, proved and made acceptable the Trinity -- that Jesus is equal to God and the Holy Spirit, not subordinate to them. That became a turning point in church history and the impact is still felt in your time.

My writings included "Confessions," and "City of God" (as I watched Rome fall I knew God would build a city that would never fall). I died at the age of 76 in the year 430, just as the Dark Ages were starting. Perhaps the sentence from my writings that best sums up my life and teaching is this: 'You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You." I hope yours finds its rest in Him, that's the only way to find it!

FRANCIS OF ASSISI

"Hello! My name is Francis Bernadone but you probably know me better as Francis of Assisi. Assisi , in central Italy , was my hometown. I was born there in 1182 AD. My father named me after France . Growing up I was spoiled and only interested in pleasure. Until I was 25 I wasted my time chasing women, drinking, and going from one party to another. I was a natural leader and always had a group following me around. For most people life was miserable for living conditions were horrible and life was short, harsh and brutal. Even the church was a cesspool of corruption as priests lived with concubines and the higher officials were only concerned with wealth and power. I figured any fun I could get out of life was well wroth it!

"LORD, GIVE ME THE COURAGE TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN CHANGE, THE SERENITY TO ACCEPT THE THINGS I CAN'T CHANGE AND WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE."

-St. Francis of Assisi

"During this time the Crusades* were going on. They were an excuse to get out of miserable Europe and seek free riches stolen from others as well as promised forgiveness of all sin. They were a miserable failure. We didn't free the Holy Land. In fact the 'Christian' soldiers were often worse than the Moslems!

"All this focus on war did capture the hearts of us young men as we grew up, though, and we dreamed of winning glory and riches on the battlefield. I must admit, I was more taken with it than others my age. Thus when our town fought a neighboring town I quickly went to war. I was 20 and bragged about how great the experience would be. Instead it was awful -- killing, screaming and blood everywhere. I was captured and held in jail for a year. My cheerfulness despite prison lifted the spirits of those with me. When I returned home I was even more intent on living for any pleasure I could find than before. However God soon started working on my heart.

"I became quite ill and lost all interest in friends, fun and war. I just wanted to help the poor. But before long war fever swept our area again and my friends talked me into joining them. My old enthusiasm and dreams returned even greater than before. I became more boastful and gay than ever, convinced I'd be a great prince. A couple days after leaving for war, though, I suddenly started feeling strangely weary and sick at heart. I lagged behind the others and soon developed a fever. Was I not completely over my recent sickness? I had to stay in the next town while the others went on. I didn't mind for a great horror of war came on me again. All my dreams of glory died for good. Instead of seeing glamorous victorious soldiers I saw homeless and fatherless children, ruined homes and desolation. It was at this time I turned my life over to Jesus.

"Gradually I made my way home where my godly mother rejoiced to see me. My father and friends, however, mocked me as a coward. I lost all desire for my old life and ways. When I wouldn't continue to work for my father and take over his business he became furious. He locked me in my room but I talked my mother into releasing me when he was away on business. Publicly I turned my back on all wealth and worldly things. I worked with lepers and poor and begged for money for myself and others. I had no means of support and had to daily depend on others to feed and house me. Men who were looking for something worth giving their lives to in this miserably dark time joined me, although most ridiculed us. We wouldn't gather in a monastery (Monasticism*) but stayed with the poor people, helping where we could. We called ourselves "Friars Minor" ("Lesser Brothers"), but you call us Franciscans. Women developed their own group called "Poor Clares."

"This life was very hard on my physically, and I suffered many disappointments, I had severe bouts of depression and saw my followers turn from my strict path to take a somewhat easier way of life. I died on October 3, 1226, at the age of 44. God used my life to help many poor people and to set an example to others that living for the pleasures of this life doesn't satisfy. I hope you know that, too." (*Words to look up for further study.) By Jerry Schmoyer

Christopher Columbus

"Hello! My name is Christopher Columbus! I know you've heard of me!!! As you know, I was the first European to officially discover the North and South American continent area. However, there are things about me I bet you don't know. For instance, " Columbus " means "Christ-bearer," and my whole life I wanted to bear the name of Christ to those who had never heard of Him. I won't spend much time on the details of my life you already know about, but will fill you in my relationship to Jesus Christ.

"I grew up in Genoa , Italy , and from little on knew God loved me, died for me, and had a special plan for my life. I never in my life doubted God ruled His universe. My lifelong problem was doing things in my own strength. My strong, choleric temperament caused me to think I was self-sufficient and could run my own life. Of course, when I got in trouble I turned to God, and made all kinds of promises, but when the pressure was off I went back to running my own life. Thus I had some times of total commitment and living by faith. I also had times of real rebellion and awful, sinful living. God never forced me to submit to Him, but when I didn't I really suffered.

"As you probably know, when I first sighted what would later be called San Salvador (meaning "Holy Savior") I gave God the credit for getting us there. I knew it wasn't my skill but God's. He was the one who made the attempt possible, that's why I flew under a large red cross on our sails. On each island we explored that first trip I placed a large wooden cross. However, the lure of gold brought out the greed in me. The temptation of great riches turned my head from God. Did you know that on that first return trip I almost died several times and God was obviously trying to get my attention so I would live for Him, not for riches. My pride was too much, though. I justified my desire for riches saying I would use it to free the Holy Land from the Moslems. What that sounded Good, I never asked God if He wanted me to do that. I was again acting on my own.

"My skills as a leader weren't what they should have been for I was more concerned about my own prestige than doing the right thing and that caught up with me quickly. I lost all my prestige and power because of my greed and self-centeredness. I lost my family and friends, and all I had. Finally I turned back to God just before I died, though. But oh what a better life I would have had if I had lived for God my whole life instead of for myself. I can't do it over, but I hope you can learn from my mistakes! Always put God first in everything and you'll be greater than Christopher Columbus!"

MARTIN LUTHER

"Hello! My name is Martin Luther*. Perhaps you have heard of me. People say I started the Reformation and I guess that is true, but it's not anything I planned or even wanted at the time. Let me explain to you how it all came about.

"I was born Nov. 10, 1483 , in Eisleben , Germany to very poor peasant parents. I was the oldest of seven children. My parents were very strict. I was shy and sensitive. Sometimes I was warm and friendly, other times moody or depressed. I was considered a hard worker. I got a good sense of humor from my father and a love of music from my mother. My father forced me to study to be a lawyer, but when lightning killed my brother as we walked through a field I promised I'd be a monk if I lived. My father was furious but I became an Augustinian monk anyway.

"As a monk I really punished myself, thinking this was the way to find peace with God. I hardly ate, I slept without blankets in freezing weather, I felt so guilty and sinful I wouldn't even pray. In fact, I came to hate God. Once I traveled to Rome , thinking I'd find my answers there but all I found was corruption, superstition and ungodly priests. Following the teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church* brought more misery than relief.

"When I was 29 I became a professor of theology at the University of Wittenburg , a position I held for the rest of my life. There I could study the Bible in its original languages. I came to trust the Bible above any human authority, even the pope. I became a well-known Bible lecturer, focusing on Psalms, Romans, Galatians and Hebrews. As I studied the Bible Romans 1:17 really stood out to me -- "The just shall live by faith." God was developing a new and revolutionary picture of Himself in me as I realized salvation comes by faith in the merits of Christ's sacrifice alone. All my life I was taught I had to work to earn salvation from the Church! Immediately upon realizing and accepting this truth I felt myself reborn and I seemed to have entered the broad gates of of paradise itself. From then on everything seemed different to my eyes. That truth became the main focus of my life and teachings. I wasn't planning on starting a new movement. Others before me had learned the same truth and nothing came of it. Men like Peter Waldo*, John Wycliffe*, John Huss* and Girolamo Savanarola* all discovered this same truth about salvation, but each of them ended up martyred. It was only God's grace that preserved me and His timing that chose to use me.

"You see, the Roman Catholic Church had gotten far from the New Testament church. Politically, spiritually and economically things were awful. The Inquisition* was in full swing, killing 50 million people in 1200 years. Local nation-states were developing and challenging the Church's right to own and run everything. The Dark Ages were ending as men were becoming more enlightened. I had to do something when the archbishop in my area started selling Indulgences* (buying good works from dead 'saints'). These guaranteed your loved ones would get out of purgaroty sooner. The seller got 50% of the take and the archbishop the other 50%. That really bothered me so on October 31, 1517, I nailed 95 Bible truths showing indu lgences weren't Scriptural on my church door. Without knowing it I struck the spark that started the Reformaton. Word spread rapidly. When church authorities excommunicated and tried to kill me, local German leaders backed me so they wouldn't have to be under the church's power. That's how it all started, and I found myself carried along by it. God provided help. To take care of the theological side of things He provided Philip Melanchton* and to help me personally he provided a most unusual but very capable wife, Katherine Von Bora*.

"The rest of my life was spent leading my Wittenburg church the best I could. I had many ups and downs. I died in bed after severe heart pains when I was 62. God blessed my life and ministry in a way I never dreamed possible, I give Him all the praise and glory for it!" (* Words for further study.)

JOHN CALVIN

Hello! My name is John Calvin. That name probably brings strong feelings to you one way or another. I have been described as "The most Christian man of his age," and "Next to Paul, he has done the most good to mankind." Charles Spurgeon said, "Calvin's theology is nearest to perfection." However others don't agree. A common saying in my day was "Better with Beza in hell than Calvin in heaven." Jimmy Swaggart said "Calvin has caused untold millions of souls to be damned." Freudian psychologists have said I was a compulsive-neurotic who transformed the God of love into a diabolical being. Maybe you agree with one side or another, or maybe you don't know what the big fuss is all about. Whatever the case may be, please read along as I tell you about myself. My life really has directly influenced yours in several ways today. I'll tell you how.

I was born July 10, 1509, in Noyon, Picardy, France, a small town 60 miles northeast of Paris. I wasn't part of the start of the Reformation. Others won the early battles. I became leader of the second generation of Reformers.

I was always gifted intellectually and in my early years studied law. I could write and speak quite well, it came naturally to me. I was skilled in logical argument and was a careful and disciplined thinker. These traits helped me later as I formulated by theological doctrines. I wanted to spend my life as a scholar of classics and ancient languages, but God had other plans for me.

Early in my life I committed myself to the Word of God as the supreme authority and sided with the Reformers. At age 24, however, I had a somewhat sudden encounter with God which completely transformed my life. From then on I was completely committed to a ministry of proclaiming the Word of God and purifying the life of the church. I gave up my career as a classical scholar and became part of the Protestant movement in France. In doing this I lost the financial support to study that the Roman Catholic church had been providing me.

Martin Luther was a man I had few contacts with but greatly admired. We were opposites in almost all ways: background, training, health, family, and spiritual focus, but we agreed on the main basics: salvation by grace as taught in God's inspired Word. He was a pastor, but I wanted to spend my life as a Christian scholar, again God had other plans for me.

One day in my travels studying I passed through Geneva, intending to move on the next day. It was a large (13,000), very wicked city. I was persuaded to stay and lead the church and city in the ways of God. The church ran the city government, there was no separation of church and state, although we did try to have a democracy of sorts. It set the pattern for future democracies. After initial success I was forced to flee, then invited back.

I spent most of my time studying, preaching, and leading the city as best I could. At 31 years of age I married Idelette deBure, the widow of an Anabaptist pastor, who had a daughter and son. Our only child together, a son, died in infancy. She suffered ill health and died nine years after we were married. Unlike Luther, my marriage did not bring joy to my life. I guess I was married more to my work than to my wife.

My work way my life. I worked 12 to 18 hours a day, slept little, ate sparingly, and fasted frequently. I was always small and thin, tending to sickliness. To others I sometimes seemed cold and calculating, but to God I was warm, dynamic and alive. People either loved me or hated me.

I already told you about one impact I had on your lives -- starting democracy based on Christian principles. There is another influence just as great. It is the theology I developed which has been called Calvinism. That influenced the revolutions which spread across Europe in the centuries following my death for I undermined the view of absolute authority in a ruling class -- all are equal before Jesus Christ. Puritanism sprang from my writings. Reformed theology today is based directly on my theology Presbyterianism, a system of church government still widely used, was developed by me. This is used today by Presbyterian churches as well as Reformed, Congregationalist and even many Baptist churches.

My theology was built around God's sovereignty as the final determining factor in everything. It is very similar to Augustine's theology that the church was build on for hundreds of years. This focus was opposed by a man named Jacob Arminus who felt man's free will was the final determining factor and therefore man can lose or give back his salvation.

People today explain my beliefs using the word TULIP. Total depravity of man means that man, through Adam, inherited the guilt of Adam's sin and can do nothing for his own salvation for he is spiritually dead. Arminus said we inherited a weakness from Adam, but man was free to do spiritual good. Unconditional election means God chose those who would be saved by grace, irregardless of the person's worth or lack of it. Arminus said God just looked into the future to see who would believe on his own and then elected them. Limited atonement, that Jesus died only for the elect, is something that current Calvinists no longer believe. In this one area they agree with Arminus that Jesus died for the sins of everyone. Irresistible grace speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit inside those elect to show them their need of salvation, without which none would come to him on their own. Arminus disagreed, saying man doesn't need a special calling by the Holy Spirit in order to accept salvation. Perseverance of the saints by the grace of God guarantees that none saved will ever be lost. Arminus said keeping salvation was dependent on obedience, that a man can turn from grace and lose salvation. This determines our whole motive of why we life the Christian life: because we already HAVE salvation or to GET/KEEP salvation. Arminus' influence has continued to today in groups that still believe and practice this: Pentecostal, Mennonite, Amish, Methodist and other churches.

While Luther focused on justification by faith I focused on the sovereignty of God. We each had an overwhelming sense of the majesty of God: Luther in the miracle of forgiveness and I in the assurance of the impregnability of God's purpose.

When I was 54 years old I became seriously ill, worn out by my long and hard labors. I died May 27, 1564. God in His sovereignty saw fit to use me to spread the message of his sovereignty to people in my day and on to the present. May His holy name be praised!

WILLIAM BRADFORD

"Hello! My name is William Bradford. I was among the first group of Pilgrims to come to America . I lived through some very fascinating times in history and would like to tell you about them. I was born in England in 1590. My parents died and I was passed from one home to another. Since I was often sick I got to read the Bible a lot and got very interested in spiritual things. I started visiting a group of separatists in Scrooby when I was 12. They met at William Brewster's* house. I knew they were in danger for their lives for there was no religious freedom in England. Men like John Wycliffe* and William Tyndale* gave their lives to give us the Bible in our language, but the King was against religious freedom. The Puritans* tried to bring reform by staying in the Church of England but others left. Some of these became the pilgrims. Baptists and Quakers had their start here during this struggle.

"When I was 16 I joined the Scrooby church and was kicked out of my home. Twice we tried to sail to Holland but the first time the ship's captain turned us in after taking our money and the second time soldiers caught us on the beach awaiting the ship. We lost all we had. Eventually, though, by ones and twos, we did make it to Holland and settled first in Amsterdam, then Leyden. I fell in love with another separatist there named Dorothy May. When I was 23 we got married. Our son, John, was born soon after that. "During my 12 years in Holland I learned to work with silk. Life was very hard with no time for family or church. We were losing our children. God put it in our hearts of some of us to go to America despite the fact that the only English colony there, Jamestown, was in terrible shape. Their greed for gold undermined any effort to make the settlement work. We weren't enough alone so we invited others to join us. Miles Standish*, John Aldon*, and Priscilla Mullins." were among them.

"At 30 years of age I sailed, after praying on the deck for God's guidance and will to be done. One of our ships, the Speedwell, couldn't make it. We lost much time and money returning twice to have it repaired. We had to crowd into the Mayflower. The trip over took 66 days. One died and 2 babies were born. We were crowded together in hot, smelly, dark, constantly moving quarters. Many sins came up and had to be confessed. God used this to make us into a solid unit so we could face the trials to come. "On November 21, 1620, we landed and signed the Mayflower Compact. I went ashore with some others to look for a place to build. . When we got back to the ship I found my homesick wife was dead, having fallen (or jumped) over the side of the ship. She couldn't stand being separated from our son John whom we left back in England until it was safe enough to bring him over. The whole thing really devastated me!

"That winter was cold and miserable. We couldn't plant food and had no place to live except on the ship. We found ourselves in a life-and-death struggle not just with the elements, but with Satan himself who had this fine continent in darkness so long he would do anything to put out the spark of light we brought. By the time winter was over half of our number had died. A fire in the common house we just built destroyed most of our remaining clothes and food. It was awful! God saw us through, though. "I'm sure you know how God brought Samoset* and later Squanto*. He taught us to hunt and plant. He really saved our lives! John Carver, our governor, died from heatstroke and I was elected to replace him. I held that office most of the rest of my life. We worked hard all summer, fighting fear and discouragement (two of Satan's best weapons against us). By fall we had a harvest to just see us through the winter. I proclaimed a time of Thanksgiving and invited Massasoit*, never dreaming he'd bring 90 braves with him! They surely ate a lot of our food! The arrival of 35 new pilgrims was nice for us, except they had no clothing or food with them. That reduced or rations to 5 kernels of corn per person for each day. God was faithful, and no one died that winter. We got greedy the next summer and planted too much food, putting our faith in it instead of God. A long drought showed us our error but God again took care of us. He continued to do so our whole lives, as I am know He does for all His people.

*These subjects are good for further study

ROGER WILLIAMS

My story is not a happy one. In fact, if it were unique (one-of-a-kind) I wouldn't tell it. Unfortunately it is way too typical. I share it in the hopes that it may help you, or someone you know, avoid the pitfalls I fell into. My sin was perfectionism. I strove so hard to be perfect in everything, especially in my spiritual life, that I became focused entirely on sin and avoiding it. I lost all joy, became very judgmental of others, and was preoccupied with looking for the smallest errors in my life. I felt no grace, nor gave any to others. I always raised standards higher than could be met. I was driven, driven, driven. If only I could have accepted God's grace and forgiveness my life would have been different, but something in my kept me from doing that. I know now it was my pride. Still, God used me to establish the first colony in America that offered freedom of religion, and I started the first Baptist church in this country. Still, I fear I did more harm than good. You decide. Please learn from my life. Here is my story.

I was born Roger Williams in 1603 in London, England. I was trained to be a lawyer and God gave me great gifts of intelligence and persuasion. I grew up near Newgate prison, though, in a time when many were cruelly tortured and killed for their religious beliefs. I entered the ministry so I could help them, but this stand soon caused me to flee for my life. I had suddenly married house servant following the rejection of my proposal to marry the daughter of an important family (she loved me, but her family said I was beneath their station). Mary was a tremendous support and a very faithful life mate. I couldn't have had a better wife!

We fled to Holland for freedom, and the Puritans there invited me to Boston where preachers were sorely needed. Arriving there, I was well received because of the stand I had taken in England. My reputation as a fine speaker preceded me. I was 28, tall, handsome, intelligent, charming, sweet-tempered and loved by all. However my stubborn obsession with total purity soon reared its head. I refused to pastor there because their Congregational church hadn't officially separated from the Anglican. I said they must publicly recant every being Anglican before I pastored them, but they saw no need for it. From here it got worse. I found sin in everyone and everything, especially myself. Others continued to love me and try to help me. William Bradford, Edward Winslow, Thomas Hooker, John Cotton, and especially my lifelong closest friend John Whinthrop, often spoke to me. I would listen to no one for I was super-independent. I felt we were all too sinful for God to have anything to do with. Eventually I separated myself from them.

I first went to Salem where I found others who accepted my ideas and I pastored them. I was only there 6 months, though. I soon moved to Plymouth and was assistant pastor there for 2 years. During this time I evangelized the Indians as lot. The Puritans said they couldn't be elected so evangelizing them was foolish, but I had a deep hearts desire to see them turn to the gospel and many did, including Massasoit. When I realized that the agents of the Plymouth colony over in England went to the Anglican church there I demanded the Plymouth colony repent and separate themselves from them. When they wouldn't I left, this time for Salem.

I never for once considered I could be wrong. I didn't realize my arrogance and self-righteousness were worse sins than those I accused others of committing. If I had humbled myself God could have used me in great ways. He gave me great gifts in intellect, personality and leadership. I didn't use them for him, though, but to keep myself from admitting I could only live by grace. I saw every minor flaw in everyone else. Still I was kind and loving to them, and they to me. I never verbally mistreated anyone, I just expected way too much of myself and others. I became as cold as steel and would allow no one to get close to me.

In Salem my attacks on the king brought public censor to me. I thrived on opposition and strengthened my stand. Being a very influential personality and speaker, I caused the leaders quite a bit of trouble. Reluctantly they had to banish me, but I refused to leave. When I was told they were coming to get me I fled alone at night. There was a blizzard and it was very cold. I would have died if some of the Indians I had evangelized hadn't happened upon me. I stayed with them all winter. In the spring they gave me land and I used it to start my own colony.

This was the start of Rhode Island. My family and a few friends joined me. I wanted freedom of belief as our foundation. I discovered I soon attracted every crackpot, misfit and troublemaker in the colonies! Since my emphasis on personal freedom allowed them to believe and practice whatever they wanted I had no authority over them. Chaos reigned, and if I would have noticed I could have easily seen what I had been doing to others. My eyes weren't open to anything but my own guilt and trying to escape it by super-perfectionism.

I decided to organize my own church there, and patterned it like the Baptists I had met in England and Holland. I was convinced theirs was closest to the New Testament pattern. I called it "First Baptist Church of Providence." It continues on to this very day. The next year, however, I resigned from the church. Others continued the church, but I again doubted my salvation. I despaired of ever reaching the perfection I felt I had to find in order to feel worthy of God's love. In striving for that I separated myself from more and more people until my wife was the only one I felt I could partake of the Lord's Supper with. I then found her impure, too.

I spent the rest of my life trying to prove my positions and actions were right. Long after my generation passed on, and everyone forgot the issues I raised, I was still debating them with anyone who would listen and writing long, very detailed books proving myself right. I just couldn't let it go. I had no inner peace, just self-pity, self-hate and despair.

The only worthwhile thing I did was evangelize the Indians, and I continued that my whole life. I learned their language and wrote a brief dictionary. As a result Rhode Island was the only colony spared an Indian uprising.

Finally, at the end of my life, I did mellow. I then admitted true purity was unattainable. I reversed myself entirely and embraced everyone. I humbled myself and rested in the grace and forgiveness of God alone. I gave up trying to attain perfection and accepted mercy. Oh, that I would have been able to do this when young, how different my life would have been! I beg of you, if you see any of yourself in me please, please, please humble yourself and accept God's grace and forgiveness. That is the ONLY way to live! Believe me, I know.

JOHN WESLEY

The name "Wesley" is probably a name you've heard, especially if you've ever been in a Methodist church. The impact of us Wesley's goes way beyond Methodism, however. I'm John and I want to tell you about my family.

SAMUEL (1662-1735), my father, came from a long and distinguished line of Anglican clergymen. He was an obscure parish minister for 40 years. I remember him as godly, faithful, but stern. He was a gifted musician, and always seemed to be behind financially. Our home was dominated, though, by my mother SUSANNAH (1669-1742). She was the 25th child of a pastor and had 19 children herself (11 survived past infancy). She was well-bred and well-educated. She ruled our home with diligence, system and piety. She was a good pastor's wife. I remember her shutting herself in her room one hour each day for prayer. I was much closer to my mother than my father. She home schooled us all. She had special rules to cover everything but showed us lots of love, too. She would have special time each week alone with each child.

I was born June 17, 1703 (died 1791), and named JOHN BENJAMIN (after two brothers of mine who had died). Even though I was the 15th child born, I always knew I was special to my mother. I almost died when our house caught fire when I was 5. God miraculously provided for my deliverance and my mother called me "a brand plucked from the burning." She said she felt God's hand on my life in a special way from then own. My mother dominated all of us by her strong personality and organization, and father usually let her have her way. Growing up in a family dominated by my mother and 7 older sisters had a strong impact on the rest of my life. I always was more comfortable around women, knowing just how to charm and win them. Unfortunately my love life and eventual marriage (at 47 years of age) were disasters. I suppose my family influence had a lot to do with that. It seemed most of my brothers and sisters had the same problem.

Five years after I was born CHARLES was born (1708-1788), he was the 18th child born. We both ended up at Oxford together in a club to help us organize our spiritual lives. George Whitefield was in our group, too. Because of my personality I was the natural leader. We drew up rules for prayer, reading, and all areas of life. Since we approached things so methodically we were called "Methodists."

Perhaps you've heard of our trip to Georgia with some Moravians to evangelize the Indians. It turned out fine for George Whitefield, but for Charles and I it was a disaster! We returned to England feeling miserable, empty failures. We had nothing spiritually to give.

When back in England we met a young Moravian preacher named Peter Bohler. He told me about the need of a new birth, about personal faith in Jesus. Charles went to their church first and accepted Jesus as his savior. I attended a few days later and the same thing happened. I felt my heart "strangely warmed" as God's Spirit worked within me. You see, I had been trying to work my way into heaven by what I was doing and didn't realize until then that it was God's grace, not my works, that removed my sins.

Following this Charles and I traveled and ministered together for 18 years. I was strong and able to carry quite a schedule. Charles had a fine marriage to Sally Gwunne. They had 8 children. He was very gifted musically and wrote 6,000 to 7,000 hymns. I edited and corrected his hymns (theologically) as well as writing some myself. They were quite innovative for their day. Almost everyone else just sang the words to the Psalms in the Bible to dull tunes. We followed Isaac Watt's lead and wrote our own lyrics and put them to memorable music. Many of our songs are still sung in churches today.

My ministry took a different turn. Soon after my conversion I was invited by George Whitefield to join him in preaching he was doing in England. The Great Awakening in America and England was just starting and God was using George to spread revival everywhere he went. I'll let him tell you about that. I will say that it was very different preaching outside for I had always preached in churches before! Thousands were converted, though, and God's Spirit freely moved every time we preached.

Soon, however, several changes took place in my life. I parted with the Moravians because they seemed to me to focus too much on the man von Zinzendorf. I also parted with George Whitefield because he was Calvinistic (as were all the leaders of the Great Awakening) and I, as an Anglican, was Arminian. Calvinists focus on God's sovereignty as the final determining factor in all that happens and Arminians say it is man's free will that determines everything. John Calvin explained these two systems in more detail so you can read what he had to say about them. I did stay good friends with George, though.

As my beliefs developed I came to feel it was possible to life a holy, perfect (but not sinless, for we still sin in error but can arrive at the point where we no longer sin knowingly) life, although I never claimed to have reached that state myself. I believed a special work of the Holy Spirit was necessary for this to happen. Methodist churches all adopted these beliefs. Please understand, I never started the Methodist church for I and Charles were always part of the Anglican church in England. We did form societies within the Anglican church similar to your small group Bible studies. Eventually in England these became a church within a church. In America they organized independent of the Anglican church, although I was against it. Those Americans always were independent types! George Whitefield was more of an evangelist, not interested in organizing groups and overseeing their structure and maintenance.

Methodism from then own influenced many other groups that came from it. This includes the Salvation Army, Wesley or Methodist churches and denominations today, Charles Finney, R. A. Torrey, Andrew Murray, Watchman Nee, and the Keswick "Victorious Life" teachings. They all adopted my emphasis on free will, including the possibility of the loss of salvation. They also carried on my teachings that a perfect (but not sinless) life was possible with a special touch from the Holy Spirit. This set the groundwork for Holiness and Pentecostal churches of your day which also came from Methodism.

At my death there were over 70,000 Methodists in England and 40,000 in America. Wesley influence continues today. The desire of my life was to see Him glorified and praised, and it is very satisfying to have so many of the hymns Charles wrote and I helped with still sung today. Next Sunday look at the names on the top of your hymn and perhaps you'll find yourself singing one of ours. Think of us if you do!

GEORGE WHITEFIELD

"Hello! I'm G. W. and God used me in a great way to bring freedom to America in the 1700's - just like another "G.W." man - George Washington. God used me to set the groundwork for what he did, or America wouldn't have been unified to fight Britain . In the early 1700's Americans were not one, they were divided into various religious, cultural, social and racial groups, none of which got along with the others. It was salvation in Jesus that brought them together and showed them they were all one in Christ. It was salvation in Jesus that broke down the walls between the separate groups and colonies, so they could unite as one against the British army. God sent a revival in the mid 1700's that prepared this country for the Revolutionary War, and in His infinite wisdom He chose me to spread that revival.

"Actually I was born in England in 1714 in Gloucester. My mother raised me in the tavern she ran and I grew up quite a 'bad boy.' I spent years trying to earn God's forgiveness and approval, but it wasn't until I quit trying and just trusted Him that I found peace and joy. From then on I wanted to make sure everyone found this, too. I started preaching in England (outside for no pastors wanted me in their churches) and revival broke out wherever I preached. It seemed no matter when or where I preached, God's power fell in a great way and thousands were converted.

"I came to America when I was 24 and immediately had a burden for this country. I considered it my home from then on. I preached in the major cities up and down the seacoast. I went by horse and canoe into the back country and preached to pioneers and Indians. I was driven to tell others about Jesus! During my ministry I preached 18,000 sermons (average of 500 a year or 10 a week). I traveled in southeastern Penna. with William Tennent and his sons who fine were evangelists in that area.

"Jonathan Edwards became a great personal friend of mine. God used him to set the groundwork for the revival in America and God gave us each other to encourage and help each other. Benjamin Franklin was another friend who was amazed at my powerful voice (50,000 could easily hear me at one time) and teaching. He even printed my sermons and gave money to help me, but to my knowledge never did accept Jesus as his Savior.

"I died at 56 years of age, my health being ruined from my hard life of travel and preaching. I was glad, though, at what God had accomplished in uniting this country in one under Jesus. He brought the country back to Himself in time for their fight for freedom. God indeed does all things well!"

Jonathan Edwards

Have you ever heard of me? I am credited with preaching the most famous sermon ever preached. God used me to start the most dramatic revival America ever had. Historians say I was the greatest thinker in colonial America . Still, many know very little about me. I'll tell you my story.

I was born in 1703, the same year John Wesley was born and 11 years before George Whitefield. My home town was East Windsor , Conn. I had ten sisters, all very tall girls. My father called them his "sixty feet of daughters." My father and grandfather were ministers.

As a young boy I loved nature and wrote an excellent story about spiders when I was 13. I was considered precocious. I learned Latin at 6 and knew Greek and Hebrew by the time I was 12. I always had a love for God. I remember building a clubhouse for prayer with my playmates in a swamp near where we lived. We'd meet there five times a day to pray. In addition, I had my own secret place in the woods where I'd go to pray alone.

One Sunday when I was 17 I was sick and didn't go to church with my family. I was bored and saw a Bible in my father's study. I picked it up and read "Now to the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever, Amen." I immediately felt an awakening in my soul as I realized for the first time the vastness and majesty of the sovereign God of the universe. The pain and guilt I felt for having resisted Him for so long was overwhelming. I felt deep remorse for my sin and committed myself completely to Him forever.

I didn't know what God wanted with my life, but I was willing to do whatever He wanted. That same year I graduated from Yale with Highest Honors. Two years later I had a ministerial degree and pastored my first church, a Congregational church in New York City. When I was 21 I joined the faculty of Yale.

Sarah Pierrepont became my wife when I was 23 (she was 16). She came from a long line of famous ministers. She had many suitors but waited for me to ask for her hand. She chose me because we were very close, sharing a strong love for nature, books, theology and God. I couldn't study when I first fell in love with her. In fact, I wrote an ode to her on the front page of my Greek grammar. She was an excellent help-meet my whole life. While I was moody, shy, a bit gawky, and socially inept she was very vibrant, outgoing, and graceful. I could be difficult, moody, lost in my own world, putting my work first. She brought joy to our home, was well-organized and responsible, and I give her the credit for making our marriage a success. We had 8 girls and 3 boys. In fact a baby was born every even-numbered year for 22 years! One of my daughters was engaged to marry David Brainerd, the missionary to Indians in Pennsylvania, when he died. In fact, he died at our home. Later I had 75 grandchildren.

When I was 24 I started co-pastoring the Congregational Church in Northampton, Mass. I shared the ministry with Solomon Stoddard, my grandfather, a very famous and very godly man, one of the last of the Puritans. It was there God started the Great Awakening in America.

I'll never forget it. God had given me a real burden for cold New England. One day when I was 32 (1734) I felt I should fast so for three days I had no food or sleep. I just prayed, "God, give me New England." I left the room I was in when it was time to preach and went straight to the pulpit. People later said it was like looking straight into the face of God and His Spirit poured out in a great way. Revival came! The whole town was turned upside down, people everywhere were being converted and coming for counsel. Emotional outbreaks were common. Lives were changed. When I would preach people sometimes would faint, shout, quiver or weep.

Of course, there was much opposition to such a revival. I don't know why, but after 6 months it stopped as quickly as it had started. Many went back to their old sins and there were very few good results of it - virtually no fruit. I was very discouraged and became ill. People turned against me and my salary suffered. We had severe financial problems. Sarah almost had a nervous breakdown. It all really tried our marriage, too.

It was at this bleak time that God brought George Whitefield into our lives. He was 26 and I 37. He came and stayed with us. A great, close friendship developed. I asked him to preach for me and when he did the revival broke out again (1740). I wasn't jealous, just glad to see God working. Sarah experienced a special touch from God and became herself again. George was so moved by our family and marriage that he determined to find a wife for himself and soon afterwards did. I was able to influence him in Calvinism, as my conversion experience was built on a strong awareness of the sovereignty of God. Thus the leaders of this Great Awakening were all Calvinists except the Wesleys, who broke from George over this before long.

I was full of new life, too. I went throughout New England preaching and every time power from God fell. The sermon that drew more attention than any other was "Sinners In The Hands of an Angry God." As I preached it people would sob, grab the pew to keep from falling into hell, and often plead with me to stop. I assure you it wasn't my delivery that caused this. I was nearsighted and read all my sermons, holding them a few inches from my nose. My voice was a dull monotone with no emotion, but God used it. Before each service Christians would pray all night for God's Spirit to move and He did. As a result revival spread through New England. George took this revival to other parts of America and England, but I stayed in New England. Many there were against it, especially the established church. We started Princeton Seminary to train revival preachers for the established seminaries wouldn't.

Despite this things went poorly for me in my own church. I made a very unpopular decision to limit membership to only those who were born again. In response the church stopped my salary. My health suffered and I became discouraged again. Soon I was fired! Since the church couldn't find a replacement I preached for them without bitterness until they could get someone. Sarah and the girls made lace and sold it to support the family.

After awhile (when I was 47) I was invited to pastor a small frontier church. Conditions were crude. In fact the French and Indian war came and people in the area forted up in my home for protection. Several neighbors were killed. The congregation was very small and uneducated, mainly Indians. Strange as it seems, I really liked it there and thrived! I finally had time to do what I loved: study and write. My health returned. It was just what I needed! I was here 7 years. When my son-in-law, who was president of Princeton, died, they asked me to come and be president. However I died of smallpox two months after arriving. Sarah was devastated and died 6 months later.

I was far from perfect. Today you would call me a workaholic. I had a phobia about wasting even a minute. I was prone to moodiness and depression. I didn't work well with others and was not a leader. I know I wasn't easy to get alone with. Sarah made our marriage, and me, successful. Still God used me. I have been called the outstanding figure of colonial America and one of the greatest minds America has ever produced. They say I was a religious genius, a brilliant philosopher, a masterful preacher and a devout Christian. All I know is that I gave my life to Jesus to use as He saw fit. If He in His sovereignty could use me as He did, He can use anyone who gives Him full control. If you haven't done that, do it now. I don't guarantee you'll become an evangelist, but you will be whatever the holy God of the universe has for you -- and what could you do that would be better than that?

George WASHINGTON

Greeting to all of you. I presume you have heard of me, so introductions are not necessary. You people have a phrase "being in the right place at the right time." Well, that aptly describes me. The "right place" was America as it was seeking independence. The "right time" was the 1700's. The Great Awakening had just swept through America and shown us that we were all equal before God. "No king but King Jesus" was the cry on many lips. We felt free and independent. That's what things were like when God put me on earth.

I was born in 1732 in Virginia, the oldest of 6 children. I won't go into any detail about things you already know about me but want to tell you about what many of the books don't say. I want to tell you about my faith in Jesus Christ. That is the most important thing in my life.

I grew up in the Church of England, which was the only church in Virginia. My great-great grandfather and great-grandfather were godly clergymen. The later wrote in his will: "I am heartily sorry from the bottom of my heart for my sins past, most humbly desiring forgiveness of the same from the Almighty God (my Savior) and redeemer, in whom and by the merits of Jesus Christ, I trust and believe assuredly to be saved, and to have full remission and forgiveness of all my sins." My grandfather and father were godly men, too. They taught me to humbly serve God and put Him first in everything I did.

Unfortunately my father died when I was 12. I continued to practice the spiritual graces he taught me, though. I developed a strong spiritual life when young. I saw my own sinfulness and need of mercy. I put my full faith in the blood of Jesus shed on the cross for my sins. I was always acutely aware that all I had and was came from God. I never swore, drank to excess or gambled.

I kept a prayer journal. This is one of my prayers. "O most glorious God...I acknowledge and confess my faults, in the weak and imperfect performance of the duties of this day. I have called on Thee for pardon and forgiveness of sins, but so coldly and carelessly that my prayers are become my sin and stand in need of pardon. I have heard Thy holy word, but with such deadness of spirit that I have been an unprofitable and forgetful hearer.... but, O God, who is rich in mercy and plenteous in redemption, mark not, I beseech Thee, what I have done amiss; remember that I am but dust, and remit my transgressions, negligences and ignorances, and cover them all with the absolute obedience of Thy dear Son, that those sacrifices (of sin, praise and thanksgiving) which I have offered may be accepted by Thee, in and for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ offered upon the Cross for me. ... Direct my thoughts, words and work, wash away my sins in the immaculate Blood of the Lamb, and purge my heart be Thy Holy Spirit .... daily frame me more and more into the likeness of Thy Son, Jesus Christ. ... Thou gavest Thy Son to die for me; and hast given me assurance of salvation, upon my repentance and sincerely endeavoring to conform my life to His holy precepts and example."

When I was 17 I moved to Mt. Vernon to live with my brother Lawrence. He died four years later and I took over Mt. Vernon. I was in the army at that time, during the French and Indian War. I was an officer at Ft. Necessity and led church services when the chaplain was absent. I spent much time on my knees in prayer, I can tell you! During Braddock's defeat I had two horses shot out from under me and four bullet holes through my coat, yet God spared my life. The Indians later said they realized then that I could not die in battle because the Great Spirit was protecting me and would use me to found a might empire. There were several other times before this when I should have been killed in various accidents but something kept me miraculously alive. That was God's will for me.

Mrs. Martha Custis, a wealthy widow, became my wife when I was 27. We had a very nice marriage and relationship. She was very devout spiritually. Her whole life she spent the first hour after breakfast alone reading her Bible and praying. She was a godly companion and the Lord blessed our relationship richly.

When I was 31 I was made deacon over that whole part of Virginia, a position I held for the rest of my life. I attended church every Sunday unless the weather made travel impossible. Even when we had company, which was often, I went to church. I always invited them, but went no matter what they did. In church I always stood for prayers and Martha knelt, as was the practice then. At home I always said grace before and after each meal. It was such a habit with me I automatically prayed one time when a minister was present, a very bad departure from good manners. I was quite embarrassed, but at least he knew we were in the habit of praying at our meals. I had family prayers with the children each day, too.

Fasting was a common practice in my spiritual life. Our church had called fast days. I called for a fast on June 1, 1774, for the whole nation in response to the British boycott of Boston Harbor after the tea party.

When war broke out with Britain it was obvious God was on our side. It wasn't that we deserved it but was all His grace. Many of the leaders in America were deists. They felt man was getting better. This was the basis of Unitarianism, which developed directly into humanism and the New Age in your day. I could give you example after example of how God miraculously intervened to help our cause in the Revolutionary War.

When the Continental Congress chose me to be Commander-In-Chief I didn't want to do it. I knew they needed someone steady, mature, sober, and a good leader. I didn't feel I was right for it. Also, the army was an undisciplined, unorganized mess without much support from congress or the people. It was full of power-hungry generals competing with each other for power. Since the people wanted me to serve I agreed, but never took any pay for it. My popularity base was with the people, although most politicians disliked me and were jealous of me. I was quiet, humble, embarrassed by attention -- not a back-slapping kind of person. God gave me great supernatural wisdom.

I don't mind admitting I had to depend on God every step of the way. Actually its hard for me to talk about all this, for I don't want it to sound like I am bragging about myself. Really, I am not! Its just that so many books about me in your day leave this part out. I want to make sure God gets the credit for everything that happened, for I totally depended on Him each day.

I prayed often each day in private and had group devotions with the families I stayed with. Private prayer in those days was always done out loud so I'm afraid I was overheard quite often. I partook of the Lord's Supper when possible. I must admit that I did withdraw from communion for awhile during the Revolutionary War. I did the same for a short period later in my life, too. I have never told anyone the reason for that, it was always a private matter between myself and God. I never stopped church attendance, though. I always had private prayers on my knees each morning and evening, too.

In my conversations and letters I always tried to give Providence (the common title for God in my time) the credit for leading, directing, protecting, and providing.

Valley Forge was the worst time of the war. Out of 11,000 soldiers who marched in, only about 1 in 10 were properly equipped! When we entered we were marching into the dark night of our young nation's soul. Twenty five percent of the soldiers died from flu, smallpox, typhus or exposure. Black feet and legs were regularly cut off. We had few supplies, and almost no food. God was using this to make a nation of us. The Pilgrims had their starving winters, the Puritans faced the Indian uprisings, for us Valley Forge was the crucible of American freedom. God used it to build the carbon-steel core around which an army would be built. I encouraged the men to have faith in God. We held church each Sunday. Quite regularly I went out into the woods to kneel and pray. It seemed hopeless when we held a day of fasting and prayer on April 12,. 1778. then, just as Squanto was sent to the Pilgrims when they most needed him, God sent us Baron von Steuben to drill the soldiers and France entered the war on our side to provide sea support.

From there on things turned around. There was one extraordinary event after another. Hundreds of "little things" worked out. Eventually the British wore down and quit, surrendering at Yorktown. I ordered a thanksgiving service to give God the credit. I said, "The hand of Providence has been so conspicuous in all that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations."

I retired to Mt. Vernon and continued my practice of morning and evening prayers. That wasn't just something done in the heat of battle. Every Sunday morning I rode 10 miles to church and in the evening I read a sermon or the Bible to the entire household. Retirement didn't last long enough, though, for soon I was called on to help write the new constitution, and then to be the first president.

Six weeks after becoming President I got ill and almost died but was not afraid to die, death has never held any fear for me. While President I went to my study at 9 PM every night for devotions. I knelt by my open Bible to read and pray. I prayed for 1 or 2 hours every day. Sundays I allowed no visitors but Mr. Trumbal, a very godly man, and we had good Christian fellowship. I was reelected President for a second term but refused a third. Then I retired to Mt. Vernon for the last 2 years of my life. Even in old age I attended church regularly and had devotions in my study each morning and evening. At 5 AM I started my day on my knees in from of my open Bible, and ended it that way from 9 to 10 PM each evening.

My death came December 12, 1799, at 68 years of age. I knew I was dying but had no fear. My final words were "Father of mercies, take me to Thyself." And He did. He has always done right for me, and for America. He had a special purpose in my life and in this fine country. I know He has a special purpose in your life, too. Trust Him to bring it about.

Is America a Christian nation? Was America ever a Christian nation? There is much talk and debate about this today. Did our forefathers want this to be a Christian nation? To answer this question we must define 'Christian.' If it refers to externally adhering to Biblical principles the answer is "yes." However if it refers to internally born-again believers the answer is "no." Outwardly the values and morality of the Bible were accepted, but inwardly most did not put their faith in Jesus for salvation. Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson are two examples.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

The background and life of Benjamin Franklin is well known, but his spiritual state is often ignored. Benjamin was a friend and supporter of George Whitefield and the Great Awakening. He heard him speak often, printed his tracts, and contributed money to the cause. He was moved by Whitefield's preaching, despite himself. He said, "Whitefield used to pray for my conversion, but never had the satisfaction of believing that his prayers were heard. Ours was a mere civil friendship, sincere on both sides, and lasted to his death."

Benjamin Franklin was not a humanist or a secularist, but he as not born again as far as any record shows. He believed in God, the Bible, prayer, morality and eternal life. He wrote this epitaph for his gravestone before his death: "The body of Benjamin Franklin, Printer, like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out and stripped of its lettering and gilding, lies here. ... Yet the Work itself shall not be lost; for it will, as he believed, appear once more in a new and more beautiful edition, corrected and amended by the Author." Outwardly Benjamin followed Biblical values and beliefs, but inwardly left no trace of ever accepting Jesus as His Savior.

THOMAS JEFFERSON

Called an atheist by ministers of his day, Thomas Jefferson was really a 'humanized Anglican' or 'closet Unitarian.' He was greatly influenced by the radical instigators of the French Revolution. He believed in the Bible -- as he compiled it. Congress once issued a special edition of his Bible. It is the same as ours but with all references to the supernatural eliminated. It ends with Jesus in the grave.

When the Continental Congress added "Providence" (the current way of referring to God) to the Declaration of Independence he was very angry. As a deist, he believed God was above and beyond His creation, but not involved in it. God created the world then left it to natural clauses (no miracles or supernatural) as one winds up an alarm clock and leaves it. He believed man is basically good, Jesus was just a good man (not God come to die for our sins) and the Bible is not inspired. Outwardly Thomas Jefferson was a great man, productive patriot, and well-respected by all, but inwardly there seems to be no personal relationship with God.

What about you? Are you outwardly a fine, moral person? That's fine -- but that doesn't make you a Christian in the Biblical sense. As Jesus told that fine, moral religious leader Nicodemus (John 3) it is only by being born again that one can see the Kingdom of heaven. Are you just going through the motions or is Jesus real in your life and heart? Are you REALLY a Christian?

DAVID BRAINERD

Murder was in our hearts as we stalked the frail young paleface as he ventured farther into the wilderness. This territory, known as the "Forks of the Delaware" (present-day Easton) had a well-deserved reputation for danger and death. Whites were despised because of their dishonesty, land-stealing, greed and whiskey. The man approached an Indian village but instead of entering spent the night in the forest nearby. We went into the village and reported his presence. The chief and several warriors joined us to murder the white man.

Tomahawks in hand, we crept toward the strange tent. As we cautiously peered under the flap, our intention to kill was momentarily forgotten. There, in the center of the tent was a man on his knees. He was praying that God would save the Indians. We couldn't kill him while he prayed to his God so we waited.

Hours passed and he still prayed. Then a rattlesnake entered the tent. We thought it would do our work for us as it approached him. It crossed his feet and paused in position to strike. But the snake did not strike. For no apparent reason it lowered its head again and glided out of the tent. We knew this stranger was under God's special protection so we slipped away. Next day when he entered the village, one of the warriors told what happened and all realized the Great Spirit was with Him. We listened. He seemed surprised that we didn't try to kill him. It wasn't until much later that he found out why.

I accepted his message about Jesus and traveled with this man helping him and learning from him. I am a Leni Lenape Indian. My name is Walks-in-the-Dark. While named that because my mother found me walking outside the hut when young, it was true of my spiritual condition before David Brainerd entered my life. I would like to tell you about David. He is too modest to tell these things about himself, but the truth about him is very refreshing.

David was born April 20, 1718, in Connecticut. He was the third of five sons (four became preachers) and four daughters. From the age of seven on he was concerned about his lost condition. He was always a very sensitive perfectionist. Very introverted, he felt inferior to others and was often depressed. Physically his health was very poor. This was not a good beginning for a missionary!

To make matters worse, his father died when he was 9 and his mother when he was 14. Throughout his childhood and youth he tried to find security in living a righteous life, but his expectations of himself were so high he found little security in this. Finally, when he was 21, he realized his own works and goodness would not do it. He stopped striving and freely accepted God's love and mercy - his burden lifted! He still had periods of darkness and distress when he felt far from God, though. He fought these his whole life, but then so did Spurgeon, Moody, David Livingston and others.

David was no great orator or scholar. He was no natural leader. He was even kicked out of Yale Divinity School because favored the Great Awakening going on. He was a strong follower of George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards and became ordained in the Presbyterian church in New Jersey. Because he didn't feel worthy to pastor, he chose the hardest work he could think of - being a missionary to the Indians. He didn't even feel worthy for that. He was very quick to condemn himself when he considered himself less than perfect. He felt he had to be perfect to deserve love from God, others, or even himself. Because he was so hard on himself he was hard on others, too. He was very critical of the churches of our day because they were cold.

David's work among the Indians centered around the Delaware, Lehigh and Susquehanna Rivers. He worked hard day and night, spent careless hours in prayer and fasting, and suffered greatly to spread God's Word to us Indians. He love for God and devotion to God was evident and spoke louder than his words. I traveled with him most of the time since I had no family of my own to care for.

Even though Indians were coming to Jesus because of David, he was often discouraged and felt he should resign. He thought taking mission support money, little that it was, was theft. Only his great commitment to God and love for Indians kept him from quitting. He said, "I care not where I live, or what hardships I go through, so that I can gain souls to Christ. While I am asleep, I dream of these things. As soon as I awake, the first thing I think of is this great work. All my desire is the conversion of sinners, and all my hope is in God."

Language was a real problem for David. He just was no good at learning other languages and had to depend on translators. Because of his infirmities he often spent days at prayer, asking for God's power to help him. Once when he preached his interpreter was so intoxicated he could hardly stand up, yet scores were converted. It was God's power that did it.

While whites were experiencing the Great Awakening throughout the colonies, God used David Brainerd to spread it among the Indians. Revival came to us, too. Whites who came to mock ended up on their knees, too.

Because of his poor health and the great strain of traveling and preaching so much, he was only to work for God for four years. By the time he was 29 he was homebound, in the home of Jonathan Edwards. He was engaged to his daughter but they never married. He couldn't even climb the stairs and felt helpless. All he could do was pray -- and he did much of that! His brother John took over his work among us.

David died October 9, 1847 from tuberculosis, but his influence still goes on. Not only did his Indians carry on his work among themselves, but many whites have been moved by his story through the years. His journal and biography (by Jonathan Edwards) are still in print. William Carey was influenced to become the first modern foreign missionary by reading them. American foreign mission efforts were motivated by him, also. Charles Wesley said of him: "Find preachers of David Brainerd's spirit and nothing can stand before them. Let u s be followers of him, as he was of Christ, in absolute self-devotion, in total deadness to the world, and in fervent love to God and man."

Truly God used him in a great way. My only regret is that David didn't experience the peace and joy of God to the extent he could have. I have since met others like him: those who expect too much of themselves and don't accept God's forgiveness. What can they do:

1. ACCEPT your strengths as well as weakness' as God-given.

2. AFFIRM your worth in God and find security in His love, not in meeting certain standards.

3. ADAPT your expectations to fit life's realities and you own limits.

4. ADVANCE, even in the face of discouragement (Philippians 3:10-14).

5. ADORE Christ, in Whom you find full acceptance. Focus your thoughts on Him, not self.

FRANCIS ASBURY

Hello! My name is Francis Asbury. I was born in 1745 in England . I was very tall for my time and rail thin. At 13 I accepted Jesus as my Savior and when older became a itinerant Methodist preacher under John Wesley. In 1771 when he called for volunteers to go to America to preach I was the first of "Christ's Calvarymen" to volunteer. We rode and preached anywhere we could: inns, jails, towns, etc. When the American Revolution began all Methodist preachers were recalled to England, but I stayed in America. I knew that was where God wanted me to serve Him.

It was quite a large parish God assigned me to, though -- a parish the size of Europe! I traveled 6,000 miles a year on horse, often 200 miles a week! Before long I found myself being the leader of the Methodist church in America. Despite being so active I made sure I had time for God. I always got up at 4 AM in order to have 2 uninterrupted hours of prayer and meditation with the Lord before the day began.

I read whenever I rode. It would take about 4 months of horse-back riding to read the Bible through. I virtually knew the New Testament by heart. Although I couldn't do it on horseback, I personally answered each of the thousand letters I received each year. Why did I do it? Because I really cared about people as individuals. I loved to work closely and personally with people.

I was always on the go. As a result of my travels and involvement with people, I was the most well-known and easily-recognized person in America, more so even than President Madison.

This traveling was no relaxing excursion, however. Let me quote from my journal (which I meticulously kept): "I was unwell: the clouds were lowering. We had ridden but a mile when the rain began. ... Hard necessity made us move forward. The western branch of the Toe River that comes down from the Yellow Mountain, was rapidly filling, and was rocky, rolling and roaring like the sea, and we were compelled to cross it several times. Then when we cane to ascend the mountain, we had a skirmish of rain, thunder and lightning." Another entry said: "We have had rain for 18 days successively, and I have ridden about 200 miles in 8 or 9 days -- a most trying time indeed." Again: "At night we were poorly provided against the weather; the house was unfinished; and to make matters worse, a horse kicked the door open and a I had a cold and bad tooth ache, with a high fever." Every time crossed a river boots filled with water!

I developed inflammatory rheumatism, fevers, boil, bronchitis, asthma, neuralgia, galloping consumption, and other things. Still, I never quit. I wrote: "I am willing to travel and preach as long as I live, and I hope that I shall not live long after I am unable to travel."

My consuming desire was to love and serve God. I recorded: "O Lord, help me to watch and pray! I am afraid of losing the sweetness that I feel: for months I have felt as if in the possession of perfect love; not a moment's desire of anything but God." and "My body is weak, but this does not concern me like the want of more grace. My heart is too cool towards God; I want to feel it like a holy flame."

When commended by some friends I wrote: "Satan, ready for every advantage, seized the opportunity and assaulted me with self-pleasing, self-exalting ideas. But the Lord enabled me to discover the danger, and the snare was broken. May He ever keep me humble, and little, and mean, in my own eyes."

I never married. That was what caused the greatest loss to the ranks of us circuit-riding preachers. I traveled, preached, and encouraged people and pastors to serve God. I ordained 4,000 preachers during my lifetime, and tried my best to set a good example for them. I hope you are setting a good example of love and service for those God puts into your life. You only get one life to live for God - make it count the best it can!

GEORGE MUELLER

Do you believe in prayer? No, I mean d

59 S. Main Street

Doylestown, PA 18901

Dr. Jerry Schmoyer, Pastor
Phone: 215-348-8086

jerry@mainstreetbaptist.org

Sunday Services:
9:00 AM Sunday School
10:00 AM Worship Service

Wednesday Bible Study
7:00 PM Bible Study and

prayer time