Christian Biographies H-J

ABOUT ISAAC JOGUES

Isaac Jogues (1607-1646) became well known in France when he returned after escaping from slavery among the Mohawks in Canada with his hands badly mutilated from torture. Despite his sufferings, he returned to the missions where he was eventually martyred. Jogues was born in Orleans, France on Jan. 10, 1607 and entered the Jesuits at Rouen when he was 17 years old. Two months after celebrating his first Mass Feb. 10, 1636, he was on his way to the Jesuit mission in New France. He wrote his mother of his great joy when he landed in Quebec and saw native Americans waiting on shore. After only a month and a half, he set out on his first mission to the Hurons, traveling the 900 miles to Ihonatiria by water. The party spent 19 days paddling and carrying the flotilla of canoes around obstacles. During the voyage, the Hurons gave Jogues the name ""Ondessonk"" (""bird of prey"").

Jogues met his hero, Father John de Brébeuf at Ihonatiria, and began learning the Huron language. The first problem arose when a smallpox epidemic broke out in the settlement and people blamed the missionaries for bringing the disease. When the epidemic passed, the settlement was abandoned and Jogues moved first to Teanaustayé and then on to Sainte-Marie, a thriving enterprise where missionaries had taught people how to cultivate the land and raise cattle, pigs and fowl. A group of Chippewas who had come to Sainte-Marie admired the prosperous settlement and invited the Jesuits to establish a mission among them. Jogues visited them in September 1641 and found them eager to hear about God, but the small number of Jesuits made it impossible to expand to new tribes at that time.

During the winter and spring of 1642, Jogues prepared neophytes at Sainte-Marie for baptism on Holy Saturday; one of the 120 adult converts was Ahtsistari, the tribe's greatest war chief. Although the French missionary felt contented that Christianity was beginning to take root, he wanted to convert the whole Huron nation and offered himself in prayer as a sacrifice to make that happen.

In June Jogues accompanied a group of Hurons back to Three Rivers, near Quebec, for supplies. The voyage was hazardous because the Iroquois were at war with the French. Jogues tried to get more Jesuit priests for the mission, but none were available. The provincial suggested he take René Goupil, a layman who was a surgeon and had promised to work with the Jesuits, remain celibate and obey the Jesuit superior. Jogues, Goupil and the Hurons set out Aug. 1 to return to Sainte-Marie, but were attacked one day into the voyage by a war party of 70 Mohawks who took three Frenchmen and 20 Hurons as prisoners. The Mohawks tortured Jogues by partly mutilating his fingers. Goupil asked Jogues to accept him into the Society of Jesus as a brother, given the peril they faced, and Jogues accepted his vows en route.

The Mohawks headed back to their home village passing through the St. Lawrence, Lake Champlain and into Lake George. Finally on August 14 the flotilla arrived at Ossernenon (which today is Auriesville, New York) on the bank of the Mohawk River. The prisoners endured the torture of running the gauntlet between two lines of warriors who beat the captives as they staggered by. Jogues and Goupil had to endure other torments; a woman cut off Jogues' thumb. Then the two Frenchmen became slaves of the chief who had captured them. Goupil was killed on Sept. 29, 1642 when someone saw him make the sign of the cross over a child, but Jogues remained a slave even while ministering to the Hurons who had been captured with him. When he accompanied several Mohawks on a trading trip to the Dutch settlement of Fort Orange (Albany), the Dutch tried unsuccessfully to ransom him. Finally they suggested he try to escape. After some hesitancy, Jogues hid in one of the Dutch ships where he remained for six weeks until his captors' anger at losing him subsided. Eventually he made his way to New York and then back to Europe.

He landed in Brittany on Christmas morning and made his way to Rennes where his Jesuit brothers received him as a hero. Jogues' only regret was his inability to celebrate Mass because of his mutilated hands: on the left hand the index finger was nothing but a stub and the thumb was missing while the thumb and index finger of the right hand were badly disfigured. He was unable to hold the host correctly, but Pope Urban VIII granted him a dispensation to celebrate Mass. Jogues visited his mother in Orléans but was eager to return to the missions so he set sail in May, arriving at Three Rivers in time to attend the July peace conference between the French and the Indians representing the Iroquois federation. The final treaty needed the approval of the Mohawks; Jogues was chosen as an envoy to obtain their consent. He surprised his former captors by arriving as the ambassador of the powerful French nation and offering them that government's gifts. They accepted the terms of the treaty, and Jogues offered pastoral care to the Christian Huron prisoners remaining there. Then Jogues returned to Three Rivers on July 3 where he was supposed to remain.

In September the Hurons asked the Jesuit missionary to accompany them on an embassy to the Mohawks who had invited their former enemies to arrange details of the treaty. Jogues took along another layman as his assistant, John de La Lande, an experienced woodsman who had settled in New France before offering to help the Jesuits. The small party left Quebec Sept. 24, 1646. A few days into the trip they learned the Mohawks were on the warpath again. Only one Huron volunteered to continue with Jogues and La Lande. Meanwhile, the Mohawks in Ossernenon had suffered a crop failure and an epidemic, blaming it on the chest of vestments and books that the Jesuit had left behind him when he visited them as French ambassador. Warriors set out in search of some Frenchman to kill and were delighted when on October 17 they captured Jogues and his two companions.

The captors were beaten on their way back to Ossernenon where people cut strips of flesh from the neck and arms of the Jesuit. Some of the clans were friendly toward the missionaries and wanted peace with the French, but the war-like Bear Clan wanted to kill Jogues, which they did the next day when he was struck down as he entered a lodge. La Lande was advised not to leave another lodge where he was under protection, but he tried to slip out at night and was immediately killed by some warriors who were waiting to ambush him. The bodies of the two Frenchmen were thrown into the river while their heads were exposed on the palisades protecting the village.

Originally Collected and edited by: Tom Rochford,SJ

- Source: jesuits.global/saint-blessed/saint-isaac-jogues/

QUOTES BY ISAAC JOGUES

 MY CONFIDENCE PLACED IN GOD
"My confidence is placed in God who does not need our help for accomplishing his designs. Our single endeavor should be to give ourselves to the work and to be faithful to him, and not to spoil his work by our shortcomings."
- Isaac Jogues (1607–1646) French Missionary, Martyr worked among the Iroquois  

ISAAC JOGUES BOOKS BAND SERMONS

• Jogues, Isaac, Saint, 1607-1646: Narrative of a Captivity Among the Mohawk Indians, and a Description of New Netherland in 1642-3 (New York: Press of the Historical Society, 1856), also by John Gilmary Shea (multiple formats at archive.org)
• Jogues, Isaac, Saint, 1607-1646: The Jogues papers,, also by John Gilmary Shea (page images at HathiTrust)
• Jogues, Isaac, Saint, 1607-1646: The life of Father Isaac Jogues, missionary priest of the Society of Jesus [electronic resource] : slain by the Mohawk Iroquois in the present state of New York, October 18, 1646 / (New York; Cincinnati : Benziger, c1885), also by Félix Martin and John Gilmary Shea (page images at HathiTrust)
• Jogues, Isaac, Saint, 1607-1646: Narrative of a captivity among the Mohawk Indians, and a description of New Netherland in 1642-3 [electronic resource] / (New York : Press of the Historical Society, 1856), also by John Gilmary Shea (page images at HathiTrust)
• Jogues, Isaac, Saint, 1607-1646: Novum Belgium [electronic resource] : an account of New Netherland in 1643-4 / ([New York : s.n.], 1862), also by John Gilmary Shea (page images at HathiTrust)
• Jogues, Isaac, Saint, 1607-1646: Novum Belgium [ressource électronique] : description de Nieuw Netherland et notice sur René Goupil / (New York : Presse Cramoisy de J.M. Shea, 1862) (page images at HathiTrust)
• Jogues, Isaac, Saint, 1607-1646: Novum Belgium : an account of New Netherland in 1643-4 / (New York : [s.n.], 1862), also by John Gilmary Shea (page images at HathiTrust)
• Jogues, Isaac, Saint, 1607-1646: Novum Belgium, description de Nieuw Netherland et Notice sur René Goupil. (A New York, dans l'Ancien Niew Netherland, Presse Cramoisy de J. M. Shea, 1862) (page images at HathiTrust)

Photo Credit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Jogues

ABOUT ISAAC PENNINGTON

Isaac was the eldest son of Alderman Isaac Pennington, Lord Mayor of London from 1642–43. He was brought up in a strict and rigid Puritan family, and was interested in religion from an early age.  In 1634 he was admitted to the Inner Temple and was called to the bar in 1639.

He became dissatisfied with what seemed to him to be an outward and formal religion. By 1649 he had become associated with some Independents (a loose coalition of political and religious radicals).  After this he went through a period of spiritual darkness and later became a Seeker looking for a more inward and spiritual religion.   He wrote much about this quest. In ‘A voyage out of Thick Darkness’ (1650) he argued that it was essential to wait for the Spirit’s light and in ‘Light or Darkness’ he recounted his spiritual troubles and his longing for a more perfect righteousness.

In 1654 Pennington married Mary, the widow of Colonel Springett.  Mary had also experienced difficulties with her religious beliefs and had spent some years trying to find spiritual satisfaction, so she and Isaac had much in common in a spiritual sense.  Within two to three years they came into contact with the Friends.  At first he rejected them saying His reason trampled them down as a silly contemptable generation. One day in 1657 when they were walking in the park an unidentified Quaker rode by on his horse.  He chastised the Pennington's for their elaborate and fashionable attire.  Later he sent two Quakers Thomas Curtis and William Simpson to visit them.  Then, in 1658, after hearing George Fox speak, Isaac and Mary joined the Friends. He wrote;

Some may desire to know what I have at last met with.  I answer I have met with the Seed.  Understanding that word, and thou wilt be satisfied and inquire no further.  I have met with my God, I have met with my Saviour, and he hath not been present with me without his salvation; but I have felt the healings drop upon my soul from under his wings. I have met with the true knowledge, the knowledge of life, the living knowledge, the knowledge which is life; and hath had the true virtue in it, which my soul hath rejoiced in, in the presence of the Lord. Their home at The Grange in Buckinghamshire became a hub of Quaker activity. They befriended Quaker Thomas Ellwood and made him the tutor to their five children.

Mary and Isaac suffered greatly for becoming Quakers.  Friends and relatives shunned them and they were stoned on their way to Meetings.   Between 1660 and 1670 Isaac was imprisoned six times because of his Quaker principles.  Throughout this time he showed a forbearance and even tenderness towards his persecutors.  When not in prison Isaac spent his time spreading truth by preaching and writing, and he continued to write even when in prison.

By now, his writing was often political.  In ‘Three Queries Propounded to the King and Parliament’ he reminded readers that in the recent Civil War God had overturned the government and empowered men of low estate and warned that it could happen again.  In ‘A Weighty Question’, addressed to King and Parliament he asked whether they had the right to enforce laws people could not conscientiously obey.

In March 1665 he was imprisoned in Aylesbury for a month for attending a Quaker funeral.  Soon after his release he was imprisoned again for refusing to address the Earl of Bridgewater as “My Lord”.  He was released after serving nine months, but was arrested again about three weeks later and held in Aylesbury prison for about eighteen months.  He was released after one of Mary’s relatives obtained a writ of habeas corpus and had his case transferred to king’s bench.

During his 1665 imprisonment their house was seized and Mary and their children were evicted. They found a new home at the much smaller Berrie House in Amersham.

His imprisonments had taken their toll on his health, but in 1672 he was able to witness the marriage of his step-daughter Gulielma Springett to William Penn. Isaac Pennington died in 1679 and is buried at Jordans in Buckinghamshire.

- Source: quakersintheworld.org/quakers-in-action/222/Isaac-Penington

QUOTES BY ISAAC PENNINGTON

IT IS GOOD FOR YOUR SPIRIT, AND GREATLY TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

"It is good for your spirit, and greatly to your advantage, to be much and variously exercised by the Lord. You do not know what the Lord has already done, and what he is yet doing for you in this."

- Isaac Pennington (1616–1679) Early Quaker Member in England

WAIT ON THE LORD IN HUMILTY OF HEART

"Wait on the Lord with humility of heart, that thou mayest daily feel the changes which is wrought in the heart and conscience by the holy, eternal, ever-living Power; and so thou mayest witness, 'that which is born of the Holy Spirit, is spirit.' And then thou wilt feel that this birth of the Spirit cannot fulfil the lusts of the flesh, but will be warring and fighting the good fight against them: and thus, in faithfulness to the truth, and waiting upon the Lord."

- Isaac Pennington (1616–1679) Early Quaker Member in England

HAST THOU A SENSE OF THE WAY TO THE FATHER?

"Have thou a sense of the way of the Father? Then be careful that thy spirit daily bow before Him, that He would continue His mercy to thee: making thy way more and more clear before thee every day; -yea, and bearing thee up in all the exercises and trial that may befall thee, in every kind; that, by His secret working in thy spirit, and helping thee with a little help from time to time, thou mayest still be advancing nearer and nearer towards the kingdom; until thou find the Lord God administer an inheritance of life, joy, righteousness, and peace therein; which is strength unto the soul against sin and death." 

- Isaac Pennington (1616–1679) Early Quaker Member in England

TAKE HEED OF DESPISING THE DAY OF SMALL THINGS

"Oh! look not after great things: small breathings, small desires after the Lord, if true and pure, are sweet beginnings of life. Take heed of despising "the day of small things" by looking after some great visitation, proportionable to they distress, according to thy eye. Nay, thou must become a child; thou must loses they own will quite by degrees. Thou must wait for life to be measured out by the Father, and be content with what proportion, and at what time, He shall please to measure."

- Isaac Pennington (1616–1679) Early Quaker Member in England

ALL THE ENMIES OF A MAN'S OWN HOUSE

"All the spiritual enemies, all the enemies of a man's own house, are to be destroyed by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, working by His grace in the heart. And when salvation is brought home to the heart, and wrought out there by the Lord, it is to be enjoyed and abode in, and the soul is not to return back again into captivity; buy, being delivered out of the hands of its inward and spiritual enemies, is to serve God in the dominion of His Son's life, in holiness and righteousness all its days here upon the earth."

- Isaac Pennington (1616–1679) Early Quaker Member in England

GOD IN HIS ETERNAL WISDOM AND LOVE

"Judge that only necessary which God, in His eternal wisdom and love, proportions out unto us. And when though comest hither, thou wilt come to they rest; and as thou abidest here, thou wilt come to thy rest; and as thou abidest here, thou wilt abide in the soul's true rest, and know the preciousness of that lesson, and of whom thou art to learn it, even, in evert state to be content."

- Isaac Pennington (1616–1679) Early Quaker Member in England

THEREFORE IN THIS EVIL HOUR , LIE STILL

"Therefore, in this evil hour, lie still, feel thy stay, till His light which "makes manifest" arise in thee, and clear up things to thee. And think not the time of darkness long: but watch, that thy heart be kept empty, till He bring in somewhat which thou mayest safely receive. Therefore, say to thy thoughts and to thy belief of things (according to the representation of the dark power, in the time of thy darkness), "Get thee hence!" And if that will not do, look up to the Lord to speak to them: and to keep them out if they already entered , or to thrust them out if they be already joy in. And if He do not so presently, or for a long time, yet so not murmur or think much, but wait till He do. Yea, though they violently thrust themselves upon thee, and seem to have entered they mind, yet let them as be as strangers to thee, receive them not. believe them not, know them not, own them not." - Isaac Pennington (1616–1679) Early Quaker Member in England  

ISAAC PENNINGTON BOOKS AND SERMONS

Isaac Pennington Sermons - Sermon Index 

Penington, Isaac, 1616-1679: The Ancient Principle of Truth, or The Light Within Asserted and Held Forth According to True Experience, and the Faithful Testimony of the Scriptures (HTML at qhpress.org)

Penington, Isaac, 1616-1679: The Works of the Long Mournful and Sorely Distressed Isaac Penington, Whom the Lord in Tender Mercy, at Length Visited and Relieved by the Ministry of That Despised People, Called Quakers (4 volumes; online edition) 

The Works of Isaac Penington. In four volumes. Glenside, PA: Quaker Heritage Press, 1995–97.

Claus Bernet (2010). "Isaac Penington (Quaker)". In Bautz, Traugott (ed.). Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) (in German). Vol. 31. Nordhausen: Bautz. cols. 1031–1049. ISBN 978-3-88309-544-8.

Photo Credit: quakerhistory.org/quakerquotes/isaacpennington

ABOUT J. C. RYLE

John Charles Ryle was born of well-to-do parents at Macclesfield on 10 May 1816. After a period of private schooling, he entered Eton in February 1828, where he excelled at rowing and cricket. Going up to Christ Church, Oxford in October 1834, he continued his sporting prowess, and captained the First Eleven in his second and third years, achieving a personal 10-wicket bowling triumph in the 1836 Varsity match at Lords (which Oxford won by 121 runs).

Various circumstances and incidents in his own and others’ lives had awakened Ryle to the knowledge that all was not well with his soul, but matters came to a head not long before he took his Finals in 1837. He was struck down with a serious chest infection, and for the first time in fourteen years he turned to his Bible and prayer. Then one Sunday, arriving late to church he was in time to hear the reading of Ephesians chapter two. As he listened, he felt that the Lord was speaking directly to his soul. His eyes were opened when he heard verse 8, ‘For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.’ He was converted through hearing the Word of God, without comment or sermon.

Ryle took a first in Classics, but turned down the college fellowship which was offered. His intention was a career in politics, and he went to London to study law, thinking this would be a help to him. However, he had to give this up after six months due to a recurrence of his chest problems, caused by the London smog. When his father’s bank crashed in 1841, Ryle had to give up all hope of a political career, as he now had no money behind him.

With his Oxford degree, Ryle could enter the ministry of the Church of England, and it was to this he turned, being ordained by Charles Sumner, Bishop of Winchester on 21st December 1841. Long afterwards Ryle wrote, ‘I have not the least doubt, it was all for the best. If I had not been ruined, I should never have been a clergyman, never have preached a sermon, or written a tract or book.’

Ryle started his ministry as curate at the Chapel of Ease in Exbury, Hampshire, moving on to become rector of St Thomas’s, Winchester in 1843 and then rector of Helmingham, Suffolk the following year. While at Helmingham he married and was widowed twice. He began publishing popular tracts, and Matthew, Mark and Luke of his series of Expository Thoughts on the Gospels were published in successive years (1856-1858). His final parish was Stradbroke, also in Suffolk, where he moved in 1861, and it was as vicar of All Saints that he became known nationally for his straightforward preaching and firm defence of evangelical principles. He wrote several well-known and still-in-print books, often addressing issues of contemporary relevance for the Church from a biblical standpoint. He completed his Expository Thoughts on the Gospels while at Stradbroke, with his work on the Gospel of John (1869). His third marriage, to Henrietta Amelia Clowes in 1861, lasted until her death in 1889.

After a period as honorary canon of Norwich (1872), in 1880 Ryle became the first bishop of Liverpool, at the recommendation of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. His episcopate was marked by his efforts to build churches and mission halls to reach the rapidly expanding urban areas of the city. He retired in 1900 at age 83 and died later the same year in Lowestoft. His successor in Liverpool described him as ‘the man of granite with the heart of a child.’

- Source: banneroftruth.org/us/about/banner-authors/j-c-ryle/

QUOTES BY J. C. RYLE

USE THE BIBLE TO RESIST SATAN  

"The chief weapon we ought to use in resisting Satan is the Bible. Three times the great enemy offered temptations to our Lord. Three times his offer was refused, with a text of Scripture as the reason, "it is written" 

 - J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop 

ALL IS ARRANGED AND APPOINTED BY GOD

"Nothing whatever, whether great or small, can happen to a believer, without God's ordering and permission. There is no such thing as "chance," "luck" or "accident" in the Christian's journey through this world. All is arranged and appointed by God. And all things are "working together" for the believer's good."

- J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop

MARRIED TOGETHER JUSTIFICATION AND SANCTIFICATION  

"I fear it is sometimes forgotten that God has married together justification and sanctification. They are distinct and different things, beyond question, but one is never found without the other. All justified people are sanctified, and all sanctified people are justified. ... Tell me not of your justification, unless you have also some marks of sanctification. Boast not of Christ's work for you, unless you can show us the Spirit's work in you."

- J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop 

THE REAPING, BUT NOT THE SOWING

"Many, I fear, would like glory, who have no wish for grace. They would [want to] have the wages, but not the work; the harvest, but not the labor; the reaping, but not the sowing; the reward, but not the battle. But it may not be."

- J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop  

HE THAT BOASTS OF BEING ONE OF GOD'S ELECT

"He that boasts of being one of God's elect, while he is willfully and habitually living in sin, is only deceiving himself, and talking wicked blasphemy."

- J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop   

IN THE CHRISTIAN'S JOURNEY THROUGH THIS LIFE

"Nothing whatever, whether great or small, can happen to a believer, without God's ordering and permission. There is no such thing as "chance," "luck" or "accident" in the Christian's journey through this world. All is arranged and appointed by God. And all things are "working together" for the believer's good."

- J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop

FALSEHOOD AND DECEIT IN THE WORLD  

"Think about how much falsehood and deceit there is in the world! How much exaggeration! How many untruths are added to a simple story! How many things are left out, if it does not serve the speaker's interest to tell them! How few there are around us of whom we can say, that we trust their word without question!" 

- J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop 

WEALTH IS NO MARK OF GOD'S FAVOR

"Wealth is no mark of God's favor. Poverty is no mark of God's displeasure." 

- J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop

CONTENTED HIMSELF WITH SOWING HIS FIELD 

"I should as soon expect a farmer to prosper in business who contented himself with sowing his fields and never looking at them till harvest, as expect a believer to attain much holiness who was not diligent about his Bible reading, his prayers, and the use of his Sundays."  

- J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop 

THERE IS A WORLDLY KIND OF CHRISTIANITY

"There is a common, worldly kind of Christianity in this day, which many have, and think they have enough - a cheap Christianity which offends nobody, and requires no sacrifice - which costs nothing, and is worth nothing."

- J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop 

INHERITED FROM OUR FIRST PARENT ADAM AND EVE  

"Let us, then, have it fixed down in our minds that the sinfulness of man does not begin from without, but from within. It is not the result of bad training in early years. It is not picked up from bad companions and bad examples, as some weak Christians are too fond of saying. No! It is a family disease, which we all inherit from our first parents, Adam and Eve, and with which we are born."  

- J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop 

WE CORRUPT THE WORD OF GOD 

"We corrupt the Word of God most dangerously, when we throw any doubt on the plenary inspiration of any part of Holy Scripture."  

- J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop 

THE NAME EMANUEL  

"The name Emmanuel takes in the whole mystery. Jesus is "God with us." He had a nature like our own in all things, sin only excepted. But though Jesus was "with us" in human flesh and blood, He was at the same time very God."  

- J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop 

DOUBTING DOES NOT PROVE  

"Doubting does not prove that a man has no faith, but only that his faith is small. And even when our faith is small, the Lord is ready to help us."  

- J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop 

NO FRIEND TO SATAN 

"We are evidently no friends of Satan. Like the kings of this world, he wars not against his own subjects. The very fact that he assaults us should fill our minds with hope."

- J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Bishop  

WE MUST NOT COUNT TEMPTATION AS STRANGE  

"We must not count temptation a strange thing. "The disciple is not greater than his master, nor the servant than his lord." If Satan came to Christ, he will also come to Christians."  

- J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop 

HE SOMETIMES KEEP US WAITING LONG 

 "Jesus hears us, and in His own good time will give an answer... He may sometimes keep us long waiting...but He will never send us empty away."  

- J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop 

SEEK FRIENDS THAT WILL STIR UP 

“Let us seek friends that will stir up our prayers, our Bible reading, our use of time, and our salvation.”   

- J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop 

WITHOUT HOLINESS WE SHALL NEVER BE PREPARED FOR HEAVEN

Without holiness on earth we shall never be prepared to enjoy heaven. Heaven is a holy place. The Lord of heaven is a holy Being. The angels are holy creatures. Holiness is written on everything in heaven... How shall we ever be at home and happy in heaven if we die unholy?"

-  J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop  

TRUE REPENTANCE IS NO LIGHT MATTER

"True repentance is no light matter. It is a thorough change of heart about sin, a change showing itself in godly sorrow and humiliation - in heartfelt confession before the throne of grace - in a complete breaking off from sinful habits, and an abiding hatred of all sin. Such repentance is the inseparable companion of saving faith in Christ."  

- J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop

PEOPLE NEVER REJECT THE BIBLE  

 
"Be very sure of this - people never reject the Bible because they cannot understand it. They understand it too well; they understand that it condemns their own behavior; they understand that it witnesses against their own sins, and summons them to judgment. They try to believe it is false and useless, because they don't like to believe it is true."     

- J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop    

ABIDE IN ME SAYS JESUS

"Abide in Me says Jesus. Cling to Me. Stick fast to Me. Live the life of close and intimate communion with Me. Get nearer to Me. Roll every burden on Me. Cast your whole weight on Me. Never let go your hold on Me for a moment. Be, as it were, rooted and planted in Me. Do this and I will never fail you. I will ever abide in you."

- J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop 

KNOWLEDGE AND CONDEMNATION

"Knowledge, not improved and well employed, will only increase our condemnation at the last day."

- J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop

WHETHER GREAT OR SMALL 

 
"Nothing whatever, whether great or small, can happen to a believer, without God's ordering and permission. There is no such thing as "chance," "luck" or "accident" in the Christian's journey through this world. All is arranged and appointed by God. And all things are "working together" for the believer's good."

- J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) English Anglican Bishop  

J. C. RYLE BOOKS AND SERMONS

• Ryle, J. C. (John Charles), 1816-1900: A Call to Prayer (text slightly modernized), ed. by Daniel W. Wright (HTML at anglicanlibrary.org)
• Ryle, J. C. (John Charles), 1816-1900: Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots (HTML at amglicanlibrary.org)
• Ryle, J. C. (John Charles), 1816-1900, ed.: Hymns for the Church on Earth: Being Three Hundred Hymns and Spiritual Songs (For the Most Part of Modern Date) (New York: A. D. F. Randolph, 1865) (multiple formats at archive.org)
• Ryle, J. C. (John Charles), 1816-1900, contrib.: The Imperial Bible-Dictionary: Historical, Biographical, Geographical, and Doctrinal (new issue, 6 volumes in 3; London et al.: Blackie and Son, ca. 1886), ed. by Patrick Fairbairn, also contrib. by C. H. Waller (page images at HathiTrust)
• Ryle, J. C. (John Charles), 1816-1900: Thoughts for Young Men (text slightly modernized) (HTML at gracegems.org)
• Ryle, J. C. (John Charles), 1816-1900: Thoughts on the Prayer Book (1962 reprint from a larger collection of essays) 

Source: onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=Ryle%2C%20J%2E%20C%2E%20%28John%20Charles%29%2C%201816%2D1900

Photo Credit: regenerationandrepentance.wordpress.com/tag/j-c-ryle/page/4/

ABOUT J. I. PACKER

J. I. Packer (1926–2020) is regarded as one of the most well-known theologians and influential evangelicals of our time. Once named to Time magazine's list of the 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America, Packer wrote what many consider the definitive classic evangelical book of the twentieth century, Knowing God, which has sold more than one million copies in North America alone.

As the author of forty-seven books, as well as untold numbers of journal articles, book reviews, dictionary entries, and forewords, Packer's prolific work has impacted countless pastors, thought leaders, theologians, and authors. He preached and lectured widely in Great Britain and North America and served as general editor of the English Standard Version of the Bible published in 2001, and as theological editor of the Study Bible version. When Christianity Today conducted a survey to determine the top 50 books that have shaped evangelicals, Packer's book Knowing God came in fifth. In 2014, Packer was named Author of the Year by the Association of Logos Bookstores.

Packer was a frequent contributor to and an executive editor of Christianity Today, and wrote numerous articles published in journals such as Churchman, South Western Journal, Reformation & Revival Journal, and Touchstone. In addition to Knowing God, his books include Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God (1961), Keep in Step with the Spirit (1984), A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life (1994), Weakness Is the Way (2013) and many others.

A LIFETIME OF CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE

James Innell Packer was born in a village outside Gloucester, England, on July 22, 1926. When he was seven, while being chased by a bully as he left school, Packer suffered a severe head injury in a collision with a van. Unable to participate in sports after the accident, Packer instead turned his attention to his love for reading. Packer's time studying at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, became another formative experience for his future as a prolific author and theologian. During his years at school he attended lectures by C. S. Lewis, whose thought became an influential part of Packer's life and work. While at Oxford he also committed his life to Christ at an evangelistic service sponsored by the campus InterVarsity chapter.

Following the completion of his doctorate in philosophy, Packer went on to teach at Oak Hill Theological College in London before attending Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, where he underwent theological training for ordination into the Church of England. In 1954 Packer married Kit Mullet and they had three children: Ruth, Naomi, and Martin. During his time in England, Packer served as principal of Latimer House, Oxford, then as principal of Tyndale Hall, Bristol, and also as associate principal of Trinity College, Bristol. In 1979, he began teaching at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he served in many roles and remained Board of Governors' Professor of Theology until his death.

Source: ivpress.com/j-i-packer

QUOTES BY  J. I. PACKER

WHAT IS THE ETERNAL LIFE THAT JESUS GIVES?  

"What were we made for? To know God. What aim should we have in life? To know God. What is the eternal life that Jesus gives? To know God. What is the best thing in life? To know God. What in humans gives God most pleasure? Knowledge of himself."  

- J. I. Packer (1926-2020) Canadian Evangelical Theologian 

STANDING IN THE AWE OF GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY

"Not until we have become humble and teachable, standing in awe of God's holiness and sovereignty. acknowledging our own littleness, distrusting our own thoughts, and willing to have our minds turned upside down, can divine wisdom become ours."

- J. I. Packer (1926-2020) English Theologian, Cleric

WE MUST LEARN TO MEASURE OURSELVES

"We must learn to measure ourselves, not by our knowledge about God, not by our gifts and responsibilities in the church, but by how we pray and what goes on in our hearts. Many of us, I suspect, have no idea how impoverished we are at this level. Let us ask the Lord to show us."

- J. I. Packer (1926-2020) English Theologian, Cleric

THE GREATNESS AND GRACIOUSNESS OF GOD

"We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the psalms, and that the habit of celebrating the greatness and graciousness of God yields an endless flow of thankfulness, joy, and zeal."

- J. I. Packer (1926-2020) English Theologian, Cleric

THE INCARNATION IS UNFATHOMABLE MYSTERY

“The incarnation is in itself an unfathomable mystery, but it makes sense of everything else that the New Testament contains.” 

- J. I. Packer (1926-2020) English Theologian, Cleric

NOTHING IN FICTION IS SO FANTASTIC AS THE INCARNATION

"It is here, in the thing that happened at the first Christmas, that the most profound unfathomable depths of the Christian revelation lie. God became man; Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the incarnation."

- J. I. Packer (1926-2020) English Theologian, Cleric

THE ALMIGHTY APPEARED ON EARTH A HELPLESS HUMAN BABY

"The Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the Incarnation."

- J. I. Packer (1926-2020) Canadian Evangelical Theologian  

DIRECTS EVERYTHING TO ITS APPOINTED GOAL

"The unceasing activity of the Creator, whereby in overflowing bounty and goodwill, He upholds His creatures in ordered existence, guides and governs all events, circumstances, and free acts of angels and men, and directs everything to its appointed goal, for His own glory."

- J. I. Packer (1926-2020) Canadian Evangelical Theologian 

THE ALMIGHTY APPEARED ON EARTH A HELPLESS BABY

"The Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the Incarnation."

- J. I. Packer (1926-2020) Canadian Evangelical Theologian  

BLESSINGS UNDER THE COVENANT OF GRACE

"Guidance, like all God's acts of blessing under the covenant of grace, is a sovereign act. Not merely does God will to guide us in the sense of showing us his way, that we may tread it; he wills also to guide us in the more fundamental sense of ensuring that, whatever happens, whatever mistakes we may make, we shall come safely home. Slippings and strayings there will be, no doubt, but the everlasting arms are beneath us; we shall be caught, rescued, restored. This is God's promise; this is how good he is." 

- J. I. Packer (1926-2020) Canadian Evangelical Theologian

REVIVAL IS THE VISITATION OF GOD

"Revival is the visitation of God which brings to life Christians who have been sleeping and restores a deep sense of God's near presence and holiness. Thence springs a vivid sense of sin and a profound exercise of heart in repentance, praise, and love, with an evangelistic outflow."

- J. I. Packer (1926-2020) Canadian Evangelical Theologian

HOW WELL A PERSON UNDERSTANDS CHRISTIANITY

"If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all. For everything that Christ taught, everything that makes the New Testament new and better than the Old, everything that is distinctively Christian, is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God the Father."

J. I. Packer (1926-2020) English Evangelical Theologian

THE UNCEASING ACTIVITY OF THE CREATOR

"The unceasing activity of the Creator, whereby in overflowing bounty and goodwill, He upholds His creatures in ordered existence, guides and governs all events, circumstances, and free acts of angels and men, and directs everything to its appointed goal, for His own glory."

- J. I. Packer (1926-2020) English Theologian, Cleric

REVELATION DOES NOT MEAN MAN FINDING GOD

"Revelation does not mean man finding God, but God finding man, God sharing His secrets with us, God showing us Himself. In revelation, God is the agent as well as the object."

- J. I. Packer (1926-2020) English Theologian, Cleric

HE SEES ALL THE TWISTED THINGS ABOUT ME

"He sees all the twisted things about me that my fellow-men do not see (and I am glad!), and that He sees more corruption in me than that which I see in myself (which, in all conscience, is enough)."

- J. I. Packer (1926-2020) Canadian Evangelical Theologian  

OUR BUSINESS IS TO PRESENT THE CHRISTIAN FAITH  

"Our business is to present the Christian faith clothed in modern terms, not to propagate modern thought clothed in Christian terms... Confusion here is fatal."  

- J. I. Packer (1926-2020) English Theologian, Cleric

ADOPTION IS HIGHER THAN JUSTIFICATION 

"Adoption is the highest privilege that the gospel offers: higher even than justification.. . To be right with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater."  

- J. I. Packer (1926-2020) English Theologian, Cleric

J. I. PACKER BOOKS BAND SERMONS

Fundamentalism and the Word of God (1958; reprinted 1984) ISBN 0-8028-1147-7

Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God (1961 by Inter-Varsity Fellowship) (reprinted 1991) ISBN 0-8308-1339-X

Our Lord's Understanding of the Law of God (1962) ASIN B0007J7B2Y

The Church of England and the Methodist Church: Ten Essays (1963)[28]

God Speaks To Man: Revelation and the Bible (1965) ASIN B000K7MIYE

Tomorrow's Worship (1966) ISBN 978-0851900360

Guidelines: Anglican Evangelicals Face the Future (1967) ISBN 978-0854918027

Knowing God (1973, reprinted 1993) ISBN 0-8308-1650-X

What did the Cross Achieve? The Logic of Penal Substitution (1974) ASIN B0007AJPE0

I Want To Be A Christian (1977) ISBN 978-0-8423-1842-6

The Ten Commandments (1977) ISBN 978-0-8423-7004-2

The Evangelical Anglican Identity Problem: An Analysis (1978) ISBN 978-0-946307-00-5

The New Man (1978) ISBN 978-0-8028-1768-6

For Man's Sake! (1978) ISBN 978-0-85364-217-6

Knowing Man (1979) ISBN 978-0891071754

God Has Spoken (1979) ISBN 978-0-87784-656-7

Beyond the Battle for the Bible (1980) ISBN 978-0-89107-195-2

Freedom and Authority (1981: International Council on Biblical Inerrancy) ISBN 978-1573830355

A Kind of Noah's Ark? : The Anglican Commitment to Comprehensiveness (1981) ISBN 978-0-946307-09-8

God's Words: Studies of Key Bible Themes (1981) ISBN 978-0-87784-367-2

Freedom, Authority and Scripture (1982) ISBN 978-0-85110-445-4

Keep In Step With The Spirit: Finding Fullness In Our Walk With God (1984, reprinted 2005) ISBN 0-8010-6558-5

The Thirty-Nine Articles: Their Place and Use Today (1984) ISBN 978-0946307562

Through the Year with J. I. Packer (1986) ISBN 978-0-340-40141-5

Hot Tub Religion (1987) ISBN 978-0-8423-1854-9

Among God's Giants: Aspects of Puritan Christianity (1991) ISBN 978-0-86065-452-0

A Passion for Holiness (1992) ISBN 1-85684-043-3

Rediscovering Holiness (1992) ISBN 0-89283-734-9

Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs (1993) ISBN 0-8423-3960-4

A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life (1994) ISBN 0-89107-819-3

Knowing Christianity (1995) ISBN 978-0-87788-058-5

A Passion for Faithfulness: Wisdom from the Book of Nehemiah (1995) ISBN 978-0-89107-733-6

Decisions – Finding God's Will: 6 Studies for Individuals or Groups (1996) ISBN 978-0-85111-376-0

Truth & Power: The Place of Scripture in the Christian Life (1996) ISBN 978-0-87788-815-4

Life in the Spirit (1996) ISBN 978-0-340-64174-3

Meeting God (2001) ISBN 978-1-85999-480-1

God's Plans for You (2001) ISBN 978-1-58134-290-1

Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility (2002) ASIN B0006S2A2W

Faithfulness and Holiness: The Witness of J. C. Ryle (2002) ISBN 978-1-58134-358-8

The Redemption and Restoration of Man in the Thought of Richard Baxter (2003, based on his 1954 Oxford dissertation) ISBN 1-57383-174-3

Knowing God Through The Year (2004) ISBN 978-0-8308-3292-7

18 Words: The Most Important Words You Will Ever Know (2007) ISBN 978-1845503277

Praying the Lord's Prayer (2007) ISBN 978-1-58134-963-4

Affirming the Apostles' Creed (2008) ISBN 978-1-4335-0210-1

Weakness Is the Way: Life with Christ Our Strength (2013) ISBN 978-1433563836

Finishing Our Course With Joy (2014) ISBN 978-1-4335-4106-3

Photo Credit: thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/j-i-packer-1926-2020/

ABOUT J. VERNON MCGEE

John Vernon McGee was an American ordained Presbyterian minister, pastor , Bible teacher, theologian and radio minister. He is remembered particularly for his Thru the Bible radio and television programs.

He was born in Hillsboro on 17th June 1904 to itinerant parents. John. his father. died from a cotton gin accident when he was 14. On his death the family relocated to Tennessee.

He worked as a bank teller before entering the ministry.
He earned a B.Div degree from Columbia Theological Seminary.
He earned Th.M and Th.D. from Dallas Theological seminary.
His former bank manager paid for his education through seminary…

18th June 1933 he was ordained at the Second Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee

John’s first church was in midway, Georgia. he then served Presbyterian churches in Decatur, Georgia; Nashville, Tennessee; Cleburne, Texas.

In Cleburne he met and later married Ruth Inez Jordan. In 1941 they moved to Pasadena, California when he accepted the pastorate at Lincoln Avenue Presbyterian (LAP) church. They had 2 children , both girls. The first baby was born prematurely and died within hours of being born.

It was at LAP he started radio broadcastings with Open Bible Hour a one hour weekly program. In 1949 it was expanded to a daily half-hour slot and renamed High Noon Bible Class,

He became pastor of the Church of the Open Door (COD) in Los Angeles (LA) in 1949 and stayed until he retired in 1970.

In 1949 he worked with Billy Graham at Christ for Greater LA Campaign.

In 1952 he was asked by John Brown, owner of KGER radio station ( now KLTX), to take over a radio program started in 1950 by Harry Rimmer -listeners would send in questions what were answered on he air.

1967, about 20 years after he first started to broadcast, John began broadcasting the Thru the Bible Radio Network program. In a systematic study of each book of the Bible he took his listeners from Genesis to Revelations in a 2.5 year ‘Bible bus tour’ as he called it. He had earlier preached a ‘Through the Bible in a Year’ at COD.

When he retired in 1970 he devoted his remaining 18 years to the TBB Radio network, lecturing & chairman of Bible Institute LA .

He realized that 2.5 years was not long enough to teach the whole Bible so he completed another study of the entire Bible which would take his listeners 5 years to complete.

Today (TTB) is aired in 100 languages and broadcast to the world every weekday. The continued success of the long running TTB program has been attributed to his oratorical abilities, folksy manner, distinctive accent, as well as his insistence on maintaining the original mission, which was to spread the Scriptures with consistency of message.

Today pastors and follow-up teams in over 160 countries are using the TTB materials in serving their people’s spiritual needs.

1st December 1988 he *fell asleep in his chair and quietly passed into the presence pf his Savior. *

Source
TTB

Source: tes.com/en-us/teaching-resource/j-vernon-mcgee-1904-1988-thru-the-bible-12435207

QUOTES BY J. VERNON MCGEE

SOMEDAY, WHEN IN THE PRESENCE OF OUR SAVIOR

"Someday, when in the presence of our Savior, we will thank Him for every burden, every trial, and every heartache."

- J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) American Bible Teacher

THERE IS BROTHERHOOD WITHIN THE BODY OF BELIEVERS

"There Is A Brotherhood Within The Body Of Believers, And The Lord Jesus Christ Is The Common Denominator. Friendship And Fellowship Are The Legal Tender Among Believers."

- J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) American Bible Teacher

GREAT SIN OF THE AVERAGE BELIEVER

"The great sin of the average Christian is ignorance of the word of God."

THAT IS WHERE GOD WILL MEET YOU

"There are so many people who want to get together to have a great prayer meeting or other great gatherings. Friend, have you ever tried being alone? That is where God will meet with you. Take the Word of God and go off alone with Him. It will do you a lot of good."

- J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) American Bible Teacher

GOD'S WORD IS AS GOOD AS HE IS

"God's Word is as good as He is. There is an old saying that a man is as good as his word. Well, God is as good as His Word. His character is behind what He has said."

IN ORDER TO LIVE A LIFE OF HOLINESS

"In order to live a life of holiness, we must first receive new life from God - we must be born from above."

- J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) American Bible Teacher

YOU CAN BELIEVE A WHOLE LOT OF FOOLISH THINGS

"You can believe a whole lot of foolish things, but God doesn't want you to do that. He wants your faith to rest upon the Word of God."

- J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) American Radio Bible Teacher 

WE MUST FIRST RECEIVE NEW LIFE FROM GOD  

"In order to live a life of holiness, we must first receive new life from God - we must be born from above."  

-  J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) American Bible Teacher 

THE THING THAT'S GOING TO END YOU TO HELL  

"Don't say that a loving God is going to send you to hell - He's not. The thing that's going to send you to hell is that you're a sinner and you don't want to admit it." 

- J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) American Bible Teacher

IN ORDER TO LIVE A LIFE OF HOLINESS  

"In order to live a life of holiness, we must first receive new life from God - we must be born from above."  

- J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) American Bible Teacher

ALONE, THAT IS WHERE GOD WILL MEET YOU  

"There are so many people who want to get together to have a great prayer meeting or other great gatherings. Friend, have you ever tried being alone? That is where God will meet with you. Take the Word of God and go off alone with Him. It will do you a lot of good."  

- J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) American Bible Teacher

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE AMBITION TODAY?

"What is your ambition in life today? Is it to get rich? Is it to make a name for yourself? Is it even to do some wonderful thing for God? Listen to me, beloved. The highest desire that can possess any human heart is a longing to see God."

- J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) American Bible Teacher

J. VERNON MCGEE BOOKS AND SERMONS

J. Vernon McGee Commentaries - Blue Letter Bible 

J. Vernon McGee Sermons - Sermon Index 

Photo Credit: oneplace.com/ministries/thru-the-bible-with-j-vernon-mcgee/

ABOUT JAMES HANNINGTON

James Hannington (3 September 1847 – 29 October 1885) was an English Anglican missionary and martyr. He was the first Anglican bishop of East Africa.

Hannington was born on 3 September 1847 at Hurstpierpoint in Sussex, England, about eight miles from Brighton, where his father ran a warehouse,[1] and was part of the family that ran Hanningtons department stores.[2] His father, Charles Smith Hannington, had recently acquired the property known as St George's. During his childhood, Hannington was a collector and he blew off his thumb with black powder. 

For Hannington's early education a tutor had been engaged, but when he was thirteen he was sent to the Temple School at Brighton, where he remained for the next two-and-a-half years, although he was an indifferent student. 

Hannington left school at fifteen to work in his father's Brighton counting house. He obtained a commission in the 1st Sussex Artillery Volunteer Corps in 1864 and rose to the rank of major. Under his training and supervision, his detachment won prizes at the annual camp competitions. 

Ministry

The former St George's Church, Hurstpierpoint

The family were Congregationalists but joined the Church of England in 1867. In that year the chapel which Hannington's father had built in the grounds of his property in 1852 was licensed for Anglican services. At twenty-one, Hannington decided to pursue a clerical career, and entered university at St Mary Hall, Oxford; he was President of the Red Club and captain of the St Mary Hall Boat. In 1872, the death of his mother spurred a change in Hannington's life; he was awarded his BA, and on 1 March 1874 was made a deacon (by Frederick Temple, Bishop of Exeter, at Exeter Cathedral), and took a curacy of Martinhoe with Trentishoe, Devon. Having been ordained priest, in 1875 James became curate-in-charge at St George's, Hurstpierpoint where he stayed until volunteering for missionary work in East Africa in 1882. He had by then been married for five years.

Around 1882, Hannington heard of the murder of two missionaries on the shores of Lake Victoria. This led to him offering himself to the Church Missionary Society (CMS) and he left England on 17 May, setting sail for Zanzibar on 29 June, as the head of a party of six missionaries. Crippled by fever and dysentery, Hannington was forced to return to England in 1883.

On 24 June 1884 (St John the Baptist's Day), having recovered, Hannington was ordained and consecrated a bishop by Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury, at St Mary-at-Lambeth, to serve the See of Eastern Equatorial Africa, and in January 1885, at age thirty-seven, Hannington again departed for Africa. His diocese included missions of the CMS at the coast and inland in Buganda. While there Hannington collected a number of shells which were described by E. A. Smith in two papers in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History.

Seizure of Bishop James Hannington, by William Hatherell from The Story of Africa and its Explorers (1892)

After arriving at Freretown, near Mombasa, in Kenya, Hannington determined to pioneer a shorter and healthier highland road to Buganda, using Christian porters and undercutting the Arab slave route to the south. He was oblivious to the political consequences of traversing Busoga, a strategically sensitive area for the Buganda state. The sudden intrusion of German imperialism at the coast made the Kabaka of Buganda Mwanga II, even more suspicious of Hannington's motives. An oracle (emmandwa) had said that Buganda's conqueror would come from the east. Mwanga forbade Hannington from continuing through Busoga and sent boats to take him to Sukumaland, but Hannington refused. Together with his team, he safely reached a spot near Lake Victoria on 21 October, but, under the orders of Mwanga II of Buganda, the missionaries were imprisoned in Busoga by Basoga chiefs.

Bishop Hannington Memorial Church, Hove

After eight days of captivity, by order from Mwanga II, Hannington's porters were killed, and on 29 October 1885, Hannington himself was speared in both sides. As he died, his alleged last words to the soldiers who killed him were: "Go, tell Mwanga I have purchased the road to Uganda with my blood."

Alexander Murdoch Mackay, who had first-hand knowledge of events from the Buganda side, in letters dated 2 May 1886, wrote:

"Had the matter of the Busoga route been the real point at issue, the king needed only to adopt our advice at the time, and request the Bishop to return to the neighbourhood of Kwa Sundu in Kavirondo, whither the boat had gone for him. But he was determined on shedding the blood of one whom he believed was a European of higher standing than merely an ordinary missionary or traveler, as 'a challenge to the whole of Europe' as he said himself ... this case was absolutely unprovoked and unjustifiable on any ground, the extent of the crime being much increased by the fact that our brethren were coming after the King's own repeated invitation, although they themselves were, perhaps, not aware of that fact. Further we gave the King perfectly to understand who they were, and why they came via the east, viz., to avoid the Germans"

Widespread persecution of Christians followed, many being killed or sold to Arab slavers. Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe, a Roman Catholic and an official at Mwanga's court, rebuked the king for the deed, and was beheaded for it. Hannington and his companions were among the first Martyrs of Uganda.

The location of Hannington's remains was divulged to Bishop Alfred Tucker in 1892 and on 31 December 1892, his remains were reburied at Namirembe. He is commemorated by the Hannington memorial chapel in Namirembe Cathedral, Kampala, Uganda.

James Hannington is honored in the Church of England and in the Episcopal Church on 29 October. A dedication stone, erected in his memory along with the Bishop Hannington Memorial Church, West Blatchington, Hove, England in 1938, bears the inscription "Thou hast turned my heaviness into joy".

HANNINGTON'S JOURNAL NOTES

Hannington appears to have kept a journal, and, remarkably, his last pocket diary was saved by a native Ugandan, and sold to a later expedition. It found its way back to Britain where it was edited by Rev E. C. Dawson and published by the CMS in 1886 as The Last Journals of Bishop Hannington being narratives of A Journey through Palestine in 1884 and A Journey through Masai-Land and U-Soga in 1885. This is freely available online at Internet Archive. The Last Journals, and another book written by Dawson about Hannington, were very popular, and must have helped establish Hannington’s reputation as a missionary hero. Incidentally, without Hannington’s journal there would have been no record of what happened to him and his expedition. Here are several extracts from the journal, including the very last entry.

21 June 1883
‘Went to town with Sam. Visited Kew; poor reception. Went to British Museum; warm reception. Slept at C.M. College. Gave address to the students.’

22 June 1883
‘Gave another address at morning prayers. Brighton 11 a.m. Gave address at the C.M.S. meeting in the Pavilion.’

23 June 1883
‘Rather tired with the week.’

1 October 1884
‘During the past nine months I have travelled 9,292 miles, or thereabouts. I have preached during the same time one hundred and eleven times, and spoken at one hundred and eighty-seven meetings, besides being present at thirty-four others.’

5 November 1884
‘What a bustle there is at the Liverpool Street Station! What an unusual amount of leave-taking! Even as the train moves out of the station many run alongside well-nigh the length of the platform to give one last look, one more parting blessing.

What does it all mean? Why that we are in the special train that is conveying P. and O. passengers to Tilbury, thence to embark for their several destinations.

It was but eighteen months ago that I was hurried along that same line in exactly the opposite direction. And with what different feelings! Each beat of the engine was then conveying me nearer home, and now it is tearing me away - but I must not soliloquise, for I have many things yet to say to those who have so kindly determined to see the last of us; nor can we refrain from enquiring who that queer old gentleman is in the corner. We learn that he is uncle to a noble earl, and is to occupy a berth in the same cabin as ourselves, so more of him by-and-by.

Wedged in on the steamer that is running up alongside the P. and O. boat we hear a voice at our elbow, “Hulloa! there is to be a bishop on board, won’t you get dosed with –!” with what I never heard, for just at that moment the speaker’s eye was raised from the list of passengers to the strings on my hat, thence it wandered to my gaiters, and finally stole a furtive peep at my face - where, to judge from the confusion that followed, it read in my enquiring glance, “Dosed with what, sir?”

What a motley crowd there was on deck! Officers in uniform (we learn with horror that there are three hundred troops on board), Lascars, British tars, Chinese, Indian ayahs, agents, and passengers, and nobody knowing exactly what to do or say next, until at length the bell rings, and relatives who have come to say farewell must do so now as best they can. The final wrench, the most agonising of all, because it breaks the last link with England and home.

There may be but little time for a man to get his cabin shipshape before he finds himself battling with the billows, so I take the initiative and slip below, put a week’s supply close at hand, and arrange a few little mysteries, as O. D. C, toilet vinegar, Eno, matches, and plenty of spare pocket-handkerchiefs. You expect, then, to catch a cold? No, but it might be rough for a few days!

Having completed my arrangements to my own thorough satisfaction, I was not sorry to hear the unmistakable peal of the dinner-bell; we congratulate ourselves that we are still in the Thames.’

JAMES HANNINGTON BOOKS AND SERMONS 

Life Story Of James Hannington: The Merchant's Son Who Was Martyred For Africa 

Photo Credit: oakhamteam.org.uk/james-hannington-bishop-of-eastern-equatorial-africa-martyr-in-uganda-1885/

ABOUT JAMES W. ALEXANDER

Alexander, James Waddell D.D., eldest son of Archibald Alexander, was born March 13, 1804, in Louisa Co., Va. He received his academical training under James Ross in Philadelphia, and graduated A.B. at Princeton in 1820. He was appointed tutor in the college at the age of twenty, having in the mean time pursued his theological studies at the seminary under the instruction of his father, who was appointed in 1812 first professor in the Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church at Princeton. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of New Brunswick in 1824, and soon after became pastor of the same church in Charlotte Co., Va., in which his father had commenced his ministry. In 1828 he accepted a call to the First Presbyterian church in Trenton, N J. In 1832 he resigned his charge in Trenton, on account of impaired health, and became editor of the Presbyterian newspaper in Philadelphia. In the following year he was appointed Professor of Rhetoric and Belles-Lettres in the college at Princeton, which post he continued to occupy until, in 1844, he was called to the Duane Street church in New York. While fulfilling the professorship he preached regularly to a small congregation of colored people at Princeton, without compensation, for the space of seven years. In 1843 he was made D.D. by Lafayette College, Pa. In 1849 he was appointed by the General Assembly Professor of Ecclesiastical History and Church Government in Princeton Theological Seminary, and in 1851 he was called to take charge of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian church, New York. Here his most important work in the Gospel ministry was performed. He gathered around him one of the largest and most influential congregations in the land, who were attracted, not by his popular talents, but by his personal worth, and weight, and piety, and by the fervid simplicity with which he preached Christ Jesus. Dr. Alexander was a man of eminent and varied learning, reaching into all the departments of science and literature, the stories of which, in many modern as well as ancient languages, were as familiar to him and as much at his command as those in his mother tongue. Yet his practical religious zeal was so great that the greater part of his writings consists of books for children, and writings to increase practical religion. His rare qualities as a writer and a preacher enabled him to say every thing in a style of originality and peculiar grace. He was equally distinguished for moral excellence, especially for childlike simplicity of character, unaffected humility, and simple but ever- glowing piety. In the spring of 1859 his health began to fail. With a view to its restoration, he went to Virginia in the early summer, and appeared to grow better. About a week before his death he was seized with dysentery, and died at the Red Sweet Springs, Alleghany Co., Va., July 31, 1859. 

Source: biblicalcyclopedia.com/A/alexander-james-waddell.html

QUOTES BY JAMES W. ALEXANDER

IF FAITH EVER RISES TO MANLY VIQOUR

"If faith ever rises to manly vigour, it must be by enlarging the mind's acquaintance with the whole extent of saving truth. Believers who would be strong and healthy, must not be detained upon the milk of babes, but must aspire to strong meat, and go on unto perfection. For faith to be strong and conquering, we must have variety of food. The entire truths of religion must enter into the regimen."

— James W. Alexander (1804-1859) American Presbyterian Minister and Theologian

NO REGIONS BEYOND THE DIVINE GOODNESS

"There are regions beyond the most nebulous outskirts of matter; but no regions beyond the Divine goodness. We may conceive of tracts where there are no worlds, but not of any where there us no God of mercy."

— James W. Alexander (1804-1859) American Presbyterian Minister and Theologian

FOUNDED ON PERSONAL APPLICATION OF THE HEART

"The life-boat may have a tasteful bend and beautiful decoration, but these are not the qualities for which I prize it; it was my salvation from the howling sea! So the interest which a regenerate soul takes in the Bible, is founded on a personal application to the heart of the saving truth which it contains."

— James W. Alexander (1804-1859) American Presbyterian Minister and Theologian

TO BE THE INSTRUMENT OF CONVERTING A SINGLE SOUL

"To be the instrument of converting a single soul, is so great a blessing and honor, that if there were no other way to accomplish it, any true Christian would be willing to lay down his life."

— James W. Alexander (1804-1859) American Presbyterian Minister and Theologian

NO DOCRINES WILL BE UNIMPORTANT

"No doctrines will be unimportant, though some will lie closer to our bosom than others. But doctrine--doctrine--doctrine--is that which faith desires. It is lamentable that the Christianity of our day desires it not."

— James W. Alexander (1804-1859) American Presbyterian Minister and Theologian

IN FAITH, ABOUT WHICH WE ARE NOW SPEAKING

"If faith, about which we are now speaking, were so inscrutable, undistinguishable, and complex a product of our activity as many suppose, we might have expected numerous and most guarded definitions of it in the Scriptures. As faith is the instrument of salvation, we might expect that so doubtful an act of the soul would be set forth by numerous distinctive tests. If the faith of true experience is so utterly diverse from all the believings of mankind about all other things, we might confidently look for certain marks of difference. On the contrary, often as believing, belief, and faith are mentioned in the Scriptures, they are always introduced as if with a presumption that the words are to be taken in their ordinary sense. This gives us much reason to conclude that evangelical faith is a simpler thing, and more familiar to us every day, than the theologians sometimes teach. The fear of such theologians is, lest faith shall be made so easy, and so little diverse from common natural acts of man, that careless and unconverted sinners will flatter themselves that they have faith when they have none. They therefore interpose numberless cautions, to prevent mistake as to faith. They sedulously distinguish various kinds of faith. They refer faith to various so-called faculties or powers of the soul; the nomenclature of which faculties varies with every system. They dissect the act of faith into several parts, nicely following one another, and of which no one must be wanting, or the faith is spurious. And they succeed in hopelessly confounding some, and landing others on the unscriptural conclusion that faith is something different from believing, or accepting truth as true."

— James W. Alexander (1804-1859) American Presbyterian Minister and Theologian

JAMES W. ALEXANDER BOOKS AND SERMONS

A Gift to the Afflicted (1835)

The Life of Archibald Alexander, D.D. : First professor in the Theological Seminary, at Princeton, New Jersey by James W Alexander

The New York Pulpit in the Revival of 1858 : a memorial volume of sermons by James W Alexander

Thoughts on Preaching, being contributions to homiletics by James W Alexander

The Revival and its Lessons (1859)

The Working-Man by James W Alexander

Consolation, in Discourses on Delect Topics Addressed to the Suffering People of God by James W Alexander

The American Mechanic by James W Alexander

Faith: treated in a series of discourses by James W Alexander

A geography of the Bible : compiled for the American Sunday School Union by James W Alexander

Thoughts on Family-Worship by James W Alexander

Photo Credit: presbyteriansofthepast.com/2014/01/30/j-w-alexander/

ABOUT JERRY BRIDGES

Jerry Bridges (December 4, 1929 – March 6, 2016) was an evangelical Christian author, speaker and staff member of The Navigators. Born in Tyler, Texas, United States, he was the author of more than a dozen books, including The Pursuit of Holiness, which has sold more than one million copies. His devotional Holiness Day by Day garnered the 2009 ECPA Christian Book Award for the inspiration and gift category, and The Discipline of Grace received a similar award in 1995 for the Christian living category. 

Bridges earned his undergraduate degree in engineering at the University of Oklahoma before serving as an officer in the United States Navy during the Korean War. He joined Christian discipleship organization The Navigators in 1955, where he served as administrative assistant to the Europe Director, office manager for the headquarters office, Secretary-Treasurer of the organization, and as Vice President for Corporate Affairs before moving to a staff development position with the Collegiate Mission. 

At the time of his death, he was a widower, and had married Jane Mallot a year after his first wife's death. Bridges died on March 6, 2016 in Colorado Springs, Colorado at the age of 86. 

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Bridges

QUOTES BY JERRY BRIDGES

WHEN WE FIRST TRUST IN CHRIST FOR SALVATION

"There are two 'courts' we must deal with: the court of God in Heaven and the court of conscience in our souls. When we first trust in Christ for salvation, God's court is forever satisfied. Never again will a charge of guilt be brought against us in Heaven. Our consciences, however, are continually pronouncing us guilty. That is the function of conscience. Therefore, we must by faith bring the verdict of conscience into line with the verdict of Heaven. We do this by agreeing with our conscience about our guilt, but then reminding it that our guilt has already been borne by Christ."

- Jerry Bridges (1929–2016) Evangelical Christian Author 

THANKSGIVING IS NOT A NATURAL VIRTUE

"Thanksgiving is not a natural virtue; it is a fruit of the Spirit, given by him."

- Jerry Bridges (1929–2016) Evangelical Christian Author 

YOUR WORST DAYS ARE NEVER SO BAD

"Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace."

- Jerry Bridges (1929-2016) Evangelical Christian Author

ADVERSITY SEEKS TO OVERWHELM US

"Trust is not a passive state of mind. It is a vigorous act of the soul by which we choose to lay hold on the promises of God and cling to them despite the adversity that at times seeks to overwhelms us."

- Jerry Bridges (1929-2016) Evangelical Christian Author

GOD'S PLAN AND HIS WAYS

"God’s plan and His ways of working out His plan are frequently beyond our ability to fathom and understand. We must learn to trust when we don’t understand." 

- Jerry Bridges (1929-2016) Evangelical Christian Author 

JERRY BRIDGES BOOKS AND SERMONS

Jerry Bridges Sermons - Sermon Index 

Discipline of Grace, The: God's Role and Our Role in the Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges

The Pursuit of Holiness, NavPress (1978) ISBN 0-89109-430-X

The Practice of Godliness, NavPress (1983) ISBN 0-89109-497-0

Bridges, Jerry (1991), Trusting God, NavPress, ISBN 0-89109-617-5.

(1991), You Can Trust God, NavPress, ISBN 0-89109-571-3.

(1992), The Crisis of Caring: Recovering the Meaning of True Fellowship, P & R, ISBN 0-87552-110-X.

Transforming Grace, NavPress (1993) ISBN 0-89109-656-6

The Joy of Fearing God, Random House (1999) ISBN 1-4000-7064-3

I Exalt You, O God: Encountering His Greatness in Your Private Worship, Random House (2000) ISBN 1-57856-421-2

I Give You Glory, O God, Random House (2002) ISBN 1-57856-629-0

The Chase: Pursuing Holiness in Your Everyday Life, NavPress (2003) ISBN 1-57683-468-9

The Gospel For Real Life, NavPress (2003) ISBN 1-57683-507-3

Growing Your Faith: How to Mature in Christ, NavPress (2004) ISBN 1-57683-475-1

Is God Really in Control? Trusting God in a World of Terrorism, Tsunamis, and Personal Tragedy, NavPress (2006) ISBN 1-57683-931-1

The Discipline of Grace, NavPress (2006) ISBN 1-57683-989-3

The Fruitful Life:The Overflow of God's Love Through You, NavPress (2006) ISBN 1-60006-027-7

(2007), Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins we Tolerate, NavPress, ISBN 978-1-60006-140-0.

(2007), The Great Exchange, Good News & Crossway, ISBN 978-1-58134-927-6.

(2009), The Bookends of the Christian Life, Crossway, ISBN 978-1-4335-0319-1.

(2012), The Transforming Power of the Gospel, NavPress, ISBN 978-1-61747-922-9.

(2012), Who Am I? - Identity in Christ, Cruciform Press, ISBN 978-1-936760-47-3.

Photo Credit: thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/the-memorial-service-for-jerry-bridges/