CHRISTIAN BIOGRAPHIES R-T

ABOUT ROBERT MURRAY M'CHEYENE

Robert Murray M‘Cheyne (1813-43) was widely regarded as one of the most saintly and able young ministers of his day. Entering Edinburgh University in 1827, he gained prizes in all the classes he attended. In 1831 he commenced his divinity studies under Thomas Chalmers at the Edinburgh Divinity Hall. M‘Cheyne’s early interests were modern languages, poetry, and gymnastics. The death of his older brother David in July 1831 made a deep impression on him spiritually. His reading soon after of Dickson’s Sum of Saving Knowledge brought him into a new relationship of peace and acceptance with God.

In July 1835 M‘Cheyne was licensed by the Presbytery of Annan, and in November became assistant to John Bonar at Larbert and Dunipace. In November 1836 he was ordained to the new charge of St Peter’s, Dundee, a largely industrial parish which did not help his delicate health.

M‘Cheyne’s gifts as a preacher and as a godly man brought him increasing popularity. The Communion seasons at St Peter’s were especially noted for the sense of God’s presence and power.

M‘Cheyne took an active interest in the wider concerns of the Church. In 1837 he became Secretary to the Association for Church Extension in the county of Forfar. This work was dear to M‘Cheyne’s heart. First and foremost he saw himself as an evangelist. He was grieved by the spiritual deadness in many of the parishes in Scotland and considered giving up his charge if the Church would set him apart as an evangelist. Writing to a friend in Ireland he revealed where his loyalties lay in the controversy that was then overtaking the Church: ‘You don’t know what Moderatism is. It is a plant that our Heavenly Father never planted, and I trust it is now to be rooted out.’

Towards the close of 1838 M‘Cheyne was advised to take a lengthy break from his parish work in Dundee because of ill-health. During this time it was suggested to him by Robert S. Candlish that he consider going to Israel to make a personal enquiry on behalf of the Church’s Mission to Israel. Along with Alexander Keith and Andrew Bonar, M‘Cheyne set out for Israel (Palestine). The details of their visit were recorded and subsequently published in the Narrative of a Mission of Enquiry to the Jews from the Church of Scotland, in 1819. This did much to stimulate interest in Jewish Mission, and led to pioneer work among Jews in parts of Europe, most notably Hungary.

M‘Cheyne returned to St Peter’s to find that the work had flourished in his absence under the ministry of William Chalmers Burns. M‘Cheyne exercised a remarkably fruitful ministry in Dundee while in constant demand to minister in other places. Just prior to his death (in a typhus epidemic) he had been preparing his congregation for the coming disruption in the Church of Scotland, which he thought inevitable after the Claim of Right had been refused.

[Ian Hamilton in Dictionary of Scottish Church History and Theology. See also Andrew Bonar’s Robert Murray M’Cheyne, and the same author’s influential Memoir and Remains of Robert Murray M’Cheyne, both published by the Trust. There is a short biography of M’Cheyne in Marcus L. Loane’s They Were Pilgrims (Banner of Truth, 2006).]

Source: banneroftruth.org/us/about/banner-authors/r-m-mccheyne/

QUOTES BY ROBERT MURRAY M'CHEYENE

IF I COULD HEAR CHRIST PRAYING FOR ME

"If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me."

- Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-1843) Church of Scotland Minister

WHEN OLD LUSTS CROWD IN UPON YOU  

"When old companions, old lusts, and sins crowd in upon you, and when you feel that you are ready to sink, what can save you, sinking sinner? This alone - I have a high priest in heaven, and he can support in the hour of affliction. This alone can give you peace - I have a high priest in heaven. When you are dying - when friends can do you no good - when sins rise up like spectres around your bed - what can give you peace? This - "I have a high priest in heaven"  

Robert Murray M'Cheyne (1813-1843) Scottish Minister

HIS EYE IS ALL THE MORE BENT ON YOU  

"Your afflictions may only prove that you are more immediately under the Father's hand. There is no time that the patient is such an object of tender interest to the surgeon, as when he is bleeding beneath his knife. So you may be sure if you are suffering from the hand of a reconciled God, that His eye is all the more bent on you."  

- Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-1843) Church of Scotland Minister

WHEN THE WORLD IS ONE VAST HOWLING WILDERNESS

"You will never find Jesus so precious as when the world is one vast howling wilderness. Then he is like a rose blooming in the midst of the desolation, a rock rising above the storm."

- Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-1843) Church of Scotland Minister

A BEAM OF GOD'S COUNTENACE IS ENOUGH TO FILL

"A beam of God's countenance is enough to fill the heart of a believer to overflowing. It is enough to light up the pale cheek of a dying saint with seraphic brightness, and make the heart of the lone widow sing for joy."

- Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-1843) Church of Scotland Minister

CHRIST FREQUENTLY GIVES US THE DESIRES 

"Christ frequently gives us the desires of our heart, though not at the peculiar time we desired, but a better time." 

- Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-1843) Church of Scotland Minister

JESUS SEES THE BEGINNING FROM THE END

"When Christ delays to help His saints now, you think this is a great mystery, you cannot explain it; but Jesus sees the end from the beginning. Be still, and know that Christ is God."

Robert Murray M'Cheyne (1813-1843) Scottish Minister

STUDY SANCTIFICATION TO THE UTMOST 

"Self-righteousness is the largest idol of the human heart - the idol which man loves most and God hates most. Dearly beloved, you will always be going back to this idol. You are always trying to be something in yourself, to gain God's favour by thinking little of your sin, or by looking to your repentance, tears, prayers ; or by looking to your religious exercises, your frames, etc; or by looking to your graces, the Spirit's work in your heart. Beware of false Christs. Study sanctification to the utmost, but make not a Christ of it." 

- Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-1843) Church of Scotland Minister 

THE DUST OF LAZARUS WAS DEAR TO LAZARUS

"The dust of Lazarus was dear to Jesus; He would not leave it in the rocky tomb. So is the dust of every Lazarus dear in His sight.  He will not lose so much as one of them. Wherever they lie, it matters not – beneath the deep blue sea, or on some distant battlefield, or consumed in flame and smoke – the Lord Jesus will yet collect their scattered dust, sand make them like His own glorious body."

Robert Murray M'Cheyne (1813-1843) Scottish Minister

ROBERT MURRAY M'CHEYENE BOOKS AND SERMONS

• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Additional remains of the Rev. Robert Murray M'Cheyne, late minister of St. Peter's Church, Dundee : consisting of various sermons and lectures delivered by him in the course of his ministry. (Edinburgh : John Johnstone, 1847) (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Bethany, or, The sickness, death, resurrection of Lazarus / (Philadelphia : Presbyterian Board of Publications, [ca. 1850]) 
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Familiar letters : by the Rev. robert Murray M'Cheyne : containing an account of his travels as one of the deputation sent out by the Church of Scotland on a mission of inquiry to the Jews in 1839 / (New York : R. Carter, 1848), also by Adam M'Cheyne (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Les juifs d'Europe et de Palestine : voyage de MM. Keith, Black, Bonar et Mac Cheyne, envoyés par l'Église d'Écosse / (Paris : L.-R. Delay, 1844), also by Andrew A. Bonar and Louis Gaussen (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: The life and remains, letters, lectures, and poems of [the Rev] Robert Murray McCheyne. (New York, Robert Carter & Brothers, 1866), also by Andrew A. Bonar (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: The life and remains, letters, lectures, and poems of Robert Murray McCheyne, (New York, R. Carter & Brothers, 1851), also by Andrew A. Bonar (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: The life and remains, letters, lectures, and poems of the Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne, (New York, R. Carter & Brothers, 1856) 
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: The Life and remains, letters, lectures, and poems of the Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne ... (New York, Carter, 1847), also by Andrew A. Bonar (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: The life and remains, letters, lectures, and poems of the Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne / (New York : R. Carter, 1860), also by Andrew A. Bonar (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: The life and remains, letters, lectures, and poems, of the Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne : minister of St. Peter's Church, Dundee / (New York : R. Carter, 1869), also by Andrew A. Bonar (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Life and remains: letters, lectures and poems of the Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne, minister of St. Peter's church, Dundee; (New York, Robert Carter, 1848), ed. by Andrew A. Bonar (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: The life and remains, letters, lectures and poems of the Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne : minister of St. Peter's church, Dundee / (New York : Robert Carter & Brothers, 1849), also by Andrew A. Bonar (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Memoir and remains of Robert Murray McCheyne, minister of St. Peter's Church, Dundee (Philadelphia, Presbyterian Board of Publication, [185-]), also by Andrew A. Bonar (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Memoir and remains of the Rev. Robert McCheyne. (Philadelphia, Presbyterian board of publication, 1844), also by Andrew A. Bonar (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Memoir and remains of the Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne / (Edinburgh ; London : Oliphant Anderson & Ferrier, [1892]), also by Andrew A. Bonar (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Memoir and remains of the Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne, minister of St. Peter's church, Dundee. (Philadelphia, Presbyterian board of publication, [1844]), also by Andrew A. Bonar (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Memoir and remains of the Rev. Robert Murray M'Cheyne, minister of St. Peter's church, Dundee. (Dundee : Middleton, 1849), also by Andrew A. Bonar (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Memoir and remains of the Rev. Robert Murray M'Cheyne, Minister of St. Peter's Church, Dundee. (Dundee, W. Middleton, 1846), also by Andrew A. Bonar (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Memoir and remains of the Rev. Robert Murray M'Cheyne, minister of St. Peter's church, Dundee, (London & Edinburgh, Oliphants ltd., [1913]) (page images at HathiTrust; US access only)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Memoir and remains of the Rev. Robert Murray M'Cheyne, minister of St. Peter's church, Dundee / (Dundee : Middleton ; London : Hamilton, Adams,& Co., 1848), also by Andrew A. Bonar (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Memoir and remains of the Rev. Robert Murray M'Cheyne, minister of St. Peter's church, Dundee / :c by the Rev. Andrew A. Bonar. (New York : F. H. Revell, [pref. 1892]), also by Andrew A. Bonar (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Memoir and remains of the Rev. Robert Murray M'Cheyne, minister os St. Peter's Church, Dundee / (Edinburgh : Oliphant, Anderson, & Ferrier, 1883), also by Andrew A. Bonar (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Narrative of a mission of inquiry to the Jews from the Church of Scotland in 1839. (Philadelphia, Presbyterian board of publications, [1843]), also by Andrew A. Bonar and Church of Scotland. General Assembly 
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Narrative of a mission of inquiry to the Jews from the Church of Scotland in 1839. (Edinburgh, Whyte, 1849), also by Andrew A. Bonar 
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Narrative of a mission of inquiry to the Jews from the Church of Scotland in 1839. (Edinburgh : W. Whyte, 1843), also by Andrew A. Bonar (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Narrative of a mission of inquiry to the Jews from the Church of Scotland in 1839 ... (Edinburgh, W. Whyte & co.; London, Hamilton, Adams, & co. [etc, etc.], 1845), also by Andrew A. Bonar (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Narrative of a mission of inquiry to the Jews from the Church of Scotland in 1839 ... (Edinburgh, W. Whyte & co.; London, Hamilton, Adams, & co. [etc.], 1848), also by Andrew A. Bonar (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Narrative of a mission of inquiry to the Jews from the Church of Scotland in 1839 ... (Edinburgh : W. Whyte & co.; London : Hamilton, Adams, & co.; [etc., etc.], 1842), also by Andrew A. Bonar (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Narrative of a mission of inquiry to the Jews from the Church of Scotland in 1839 / (Philadelphia : Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1845), also by Andrew A. Bonar (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Narrative of a visit to the Holy Land : and, mission of inquiry to the Jews / (Edinburgh : William Oliphant, 1878), also by Andrew A. Bonar (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: Sermons. (New York, R. Carter, 1848) 
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: The sermons of the Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne. (New York, R. Carter & brothers, 1854) (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: The sermons of the Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne. (New York : R. Carter, 1861) (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: The spiritual garden : or, Traits of Christian character delineated / (Philadelphia : Presbyterian Board of Publication, [186-?]), also by James Hamilton and Henry Foster Burder (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: The works of Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne : complete in one volume. (New York : Robert Carter, 1874) (page images at HathiTrust)
• M'Cheyne, Robert Murray, 1813-1843: The works of the late Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne : containing his life and remains, letters, lectures, songs of Zion, &c. (New York : R. Carter, 1847) (page images at HathiTrust)

Source: onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=M%27Cheyne%2C%20Robert%20Murray%2C%201813%2D1843

Photo Credit: lukesblog.org/2017/10/meeting-mccheyne.html

ABOUT RUTH GRAHAM

Ruth McCue Bell Graham (June 10, 1920 – June 14, 2007) was an American Christian author, most well known as the wife of evangelist Billy Graham. She was born in Qingjiang, Jiangsu, Republic of China, the second of five children. Her parents, Virginia Leftwich Bell and L. Nelson Bell, were medical missionaries at the Presbyterian Hospital 300 miles (480 km) north of Shanghai. At age 13 she was enrolled in Pyeng Yang Foreign School in Pyongyang, Korea, where she studied for three years. She completed her high school education at Montreat, North Carolina, while her parents were there on furlough. She graduated from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois.

The Grahams met at Wheaton College and were married in the summer of 1943, shortly after their graduation. Ruth Graham became a minister's wife for a brief period in Western Springs, Illinois. She lived out the rest of her life in Montreat, North Carolina. The Grahams have five children: Virginia (Gigi), Anne, Ruth, Franklin, and Nelson Edman (Ned), 19 grandchildren, and numerous great-grandchildren.

Graham wrote Our Christmas Story, Sitting by My Laughing Fire, It's My Turn, The Legacy of a Pack Rat, Prodigals and Those Who Love Them, Clouds Are the Dust of His Feet, One Wintry Night, Coffee and Conversation with Ruth Bell Graham and Gigi Graham Tchividjian, Collected Poems, Mothers Together. and Prayers from a Mother's Heart. Her most recent books published in 2001 are, Never Let It End: Poems of a Lifelong Love published by Baker Books, Footprints of a Pilgrim: The Life and Loves of Ruth Bell Graham, published by Word Publishing and A Quiet Knowing, published by W Publishing Group.

Early life

Ruth McCue Bell was born in Qingjiang, Jiangsu, China (now the main district of Huai'an, Jiangsu, China). Her parents, Virginia Myers (Leftwich) and Dr. L. Nelson Bell, were American medical missionaries at the Presbyterian Hospital 300 miles north of Shanghai. She grew up in China in a deeply religious household. Some of her early life in China is depicted in the biography of her father, a general surgeon, in "A Foreign Devil in China" by John Charles Pollock.

Graham studied for three years at a high school in Pyongyang, now in North Korea, before graduating from a school in Montreat, North Carolina, while her parents were on furlough. 

Married Life

Graham returned to the U.S. at the age of 17 in the fall of 1937, and enrolled at Wheaton College, outside Chicago, Illinois, where she met Billy Graham. They married on August 13, 1943. In 1945, after a brief stint as a suburban pastor, her husband became an evangelist for Youth for Christ. The Grahams moved to Montreat near her parents where the Grahams continued to live for the rest of their married life. Despite her husband being one of the world's most famous Baptists, Graham remained a Presbyterian and often taught Sunday School. 

Between 1945 and 1958, Graham gave birth to five children, whom she raised – sometimes single-handedly – while her husband was away on extended national and international evangelistic crusades. Their three daughters and two sons are all actively involved in ministry, including eldest son Franklin, who heads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) founded by his father. 

Ministry

1996 Congressional Gold Medal coin shows Ruth and Billy Graham in profile; the Ruth and Billy Graham Children's Health Center in Asheville, North Carolina .

In 1959, Graham published her first book, Our Christmas Story, an illustrated volume for children. She went on to write or co-write 13 other books, many of them works of poetry she wrote as an emotional release while her husband was so often on the road through the years. 

Graham was a vital part of Billy Graham's evangelistic career, and he turned to her for advice and input about many ministry decisions. One of the early uses of media by the BGEA was the "Hour of Decision" radio program begun in 1950, which she named. After her upbringing in China and high school experience in Korea, she continued to have compassion for the people of Asia. She encouraged her husband to visit and later accompanied him during his historic visits to the People's Republic of China. 

Graham's significant role in her husband's ministry was recognized in 1996, when they were jointly awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in a special ceremony in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. 

Philanthropy

In 1966, Graham founded the Ruth and Billy Graham Children's Health Center in Asheville, North Carolina, with which she was actively involved until her death. 

Ruth Bell Graham dies at 87

Graham had been in frail health since suffering spinal meningitis in 1995. This was exacerbated by a degenerative osteoarthritis of the back and neck that began with a fall while testing a swing she made for her grandchildren in 1974 that resulted in chronic back pain for many years. During the final months of her life, she was bedridden and had contracted pneumonia.

The day before Ruth Graham's death, Billy Graham released a statement through the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association stating, "Ruth is my soul mate and best friend, and I cannot imagine living a single day without her by my side. I am more and more in love with her today than when we first met over 65 years ago as students at Wheaton College."

On Monday, June 11, at Graham's request and subsequent to consultation with her family, she was removed from life support. On June 13, 2007, following her decline into a semi-coma, her husband announced that he and his wife had decided to be buried beside each other at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina.She died at 5:05 pm. EDT June 14, 2007, at the couple's home, Little Piney Cove, in Montreat, North Carolina, with her husband and five children at her bedside, four days after her 87th birthday.A private ceremony followed by burial on the grounds of the Billy Graham Library was held on Sunday, June 17, 2007.

In a statement released from Wheaton College, Duane Litfin, president of the school, remarked, "Strong, steady, and dauntless, Ruth Bell Graham was the glue that held many of the parts of their lives together."

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Graham

QUOTES BY RUTH GRAHAM

MY JOB IS TO TAKE CARE OF THE POSSIBLE

"My job is to take care of the possible and to trust God with the impossible."

- Ruth Bell Graham (1920-2007) American Christian Writer

IT IS A FOOLISH WOMAN TO EXPECT HER HUSBAND

"It is a foolish woman who expects her husband to be to her that which only Jesus Christ Himself can be: always ready to forgive, totally understanding, unendingly patient, invariably tender and loving, unfailing in every area, anticipating every need, and making more than adequate provision. Such expectations put a man under an impossible strain."

- Ruth Bell Graham (1920-2007) American Christian Writer

IT TAKE MORE FAITH TO BE AN ATHIEST

"It takes more faith to be an atheist than to believe in God."

- Ruth Bell Graham (1920-2007) American Christian Writer

RUTH GRAHAM BOOKS BAND SERMONS 

Graham was a poet and writer, authoring or co-authoring 14 books, as well as a regular contributor for newspapers and magazines.

Our Christmas Story, 1959

Family Bible Library, 1971 (Board of Editorial Advisors)

Sitting by My Laughing Fire, 1977 (revised 2006)

It's My Turn, 1982

Legacy of a Pack Rat, 1989

Prodigals and Those Who Love Them, 1991

Clouds are the Dust of His Feet, 1992

One Wintry Night, 1994

Collected Poems, 1997

Prayers from a Mother's Heart, 1999

Footprints of a Pilgrim: The Life and Loves of Ruth Bell Graham, 2001

Never Let It End: Poems of a Lifelong Love, 2001

Books With Gigi Graham:

Coffee and Conversation With Ruth Bell Graham and Gigi Graham Tchividjian, 1997

Mothers Together, 1998

A Quiet Knowing, 2001

Her biography, A Time for Remembering (later reissued as Ruth: A Portrait), was an early work of novelist Patricia Cornwell.

Photo Credit: billygrahamlibrary.org/inspiring-words-from-ruth-bell-graham/

ABOUT SAINT IGNATIUS

Saint Ignatius was the founder of the Jesuit Order, and was one of the most prominent figures during the Catholic Counter-reformation. In an age when many religious orders and convents were under unhealthy influences of politics and corruption, the Jesuits were founded as a new order, strictly dedicated to Catholic principles, and responsible directly to the Pope rather than to local bishops. From the first, the Jesuits were committed to education, both of themselves, and of others, and they were also the first to explicitly dedicate themselves to foreign missions at a time when opportunities for evanglizing outside of Europe were greater than ever. There were few developments as important as the formation of the Jesuit order in countering the Protestant sentiment of the age.

Ignatius was born to a well-off family in Northern Spain, and at 18 entered the service of the Duke of Navarre. Until age thirty, at which time he was severely injured, he had no thought of the spiritual life, and considered himself a worldly soldier. During a long recovery, however, he read works on the Life of Christ and underwent a terrific spiritual conversion. After embarking on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, he chose rather to educate himself than to join an existing order. He studied first at the University of Alcala in Spain, but eventually transferred to the University of Paris. His extra-curricular activities, however, which involved service to others, and discussion of current religious controversies, got him in trouble with authorities at every turn. They did, however, win him a dedicated following.

After spending over a decade in studies, Ignatius and seven followers took vows of chastity and poverty. The principles upon which the Jesuit order were founded evolved slowly over time. One of the most characteristic features of the order is an extraordinarily long period of formation. Its members are assumed to take many years to develop the dedication, spiritual discipline, and broad knowledge of theology required of the order. In 1540, the order was recognized by Pope Paul III, and Ignatius became secretary General. Many of the earliest Jesuits became extremely influential figures in the Counter-reformation, including St. Francis Xavier, the famous missionary of Asia, Peter Faber a counselor to Charles V, and Diego Laynez, a leading theologian at the Council of Trent.

The genius of Saint Ignatius lay in his ability to found an order which would have the discipline, and interior spiritual commitment to withstand the extreme hardships, calumny, and temptations that accompany true Christian service. Its members were required to educate princes and associate with wealthy nobles without presumption or conceit, and to serve ignorant natives in distant, impoverished lands without self-pity or complaint. To this end he authored two important books. The Spiritual Excercises was written to instruct novices in spiritual formation. The Jesuit Constitutions was published in 1554 shortly before he died, and codified the principles on which the Jesuit Order is governed. It combines the principles of a long period formation, with extreme discipline once final vows are taken.

As administrator of the Jesuits, Ignatius dedicated himself to founding schools and Universities, and working with both the very wealthy and the very poor. He worked tirelessly until his death in 1556.

Source: heritage-history.com/index.php?c=resources&s=char-dir&f=loyola

CONVERSION OF SAINT IGNATIOUS

During the long weeks of his recuperation, he was extremely bored and asked for some romance novels to pass the time. Luckily there were none in the castle of Loyola, but there was a copy of the life of Christ and a book on the saints. Desperate, Ignatius began to read them. The more he read, the more he considered the exploits of the saints worth imitating. However, at the same time, he continued to have daydreams of fame and glory, along with fantasies of winning the love of a certain noble lady of the court. The identity of this lady has never been discovered but she seems to have been of royal blood. He noticed, however, that after reading and thinking of the saints and Christ he was at peace and satisfied. Yet when he finished his long daydreams of his noble lady, he would feel restless and unsatisfied. Not only was this experience the beginning of his conversion, it was also the beginning of spiritual discernment, or discernment of spirits, which is associated with Ignatius and described in his Spiritual Exercises.

The Exercisesrecognize that not only the intellect but also the emotions and feelings can help us to come to a knowledge of the action of the Spirit in our lives. Eventually, completely converted from his old desires and plans of romance and worldly conquests, and recovered from his wounds enough to travel, he left the castle in March of 1522.

He had decided that he wanted to go to Jerusalem to live where our Lord had spent his life on earth. As a first step he began his journey to Barcelona. He first proceeded to the Benedictine shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat, made a general confession, and knelt all night in vigil before Our Lady's altar, following the rites of chivalry. He left his sword and knife at the altar, went out and gave away all his fine clothes to a poor man, and dressed himself in rough clothes with sandals and a staff.

Source: luc.edu/mission/archivedjesuitpages/jesuitcommunityatloyolauniversitychicago/biographyofstignatiusloyola/

QUOTES BY SAINT IGNATIUS

ALL THINGS IN THIS WORLD ARE GIFTS OF GOD

"All the things in this world are gifts of God, created for us, to be the means by which we can come to know him better, love him more surely, and serve him more faithfully. As a result, we ought to appreciate and use these gifts of God insofar as they help us toward our goal of loving service and union with God. But insofar as any created things hinder our progress toward our goal, we ought to let them go." 

- Saint Ignatius (1491-1556) Spanish Priest and Theologian

IF GOD GIVES YOU AN ABUNDANT HARVEST OF TRIALS

"If God gives you an abundant harvest of trials, it is a sign of great holiness which He desires you to attain. Do you want to become a great saint? Ask God to send you many sufferings. The flame of Divine Love never rises higher than when fed with the wood of the Cross, which the infinite charity of the Savior used to finish His sacrifice. All the pleasures of the world are nothing compared with the sweetness found in the gall and vinegar offered to Jesus Christ. That is, hard and painful things endured for Jesus Christ and with Jesus Christ."

- Saint Ignatius (1491-1556) Spanish Priest and Theologian

HERE IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE JOYS OF THE WORLD

"Here is the difference between the joys of the world and the cross of Jesus Christ: after having tasted the first, one is disgusted with them; and on the contrary, the more one partakes of the cross, the greater the thirst for it."

- Saint Ignatius (1491-1556) Spanish Priest and Theologian

IT IS THE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE GOOD SPIRIT

"It is characteristic of the good spirit to give courage and strength, consolation, tears, inspiration, and peace, making things easy and removing all obstacles so that the soul may make further progress in good works."

- Saint Ignatius (1491-1556) Spanish Priest and Theologian 

RICHES ARE ONLY LENT

"Who could count all those who have had wealth, power, honor? But their glory, their riches were only lent to them, and they wore themselves out in preserving and increasing that which they were forced to abandon one day."

- Saint Ignatius (1491-1556) Spanish Priest and Theologian 

SAINT IGNATIUS BOOKS AND SERMONS

• A Man to Match the Mountains: A Sketch of St. Ignatius Loyola (cover title "St. Ignatius"; St. Louis: The Queen's Work, c1962), by John P. Markoe and A. S. Hahn (page images at HathiTrust)
• The Labor of God: An Ignatian View of Church and Culture (Washington: Georgetown University Press, 1991), ed. by William James O'Brien (PDF at Georgetown)
• Ignatius His Conclave: or, His Inthronisation in a Late Election in Hell (facsimile reprint of a 1611 edition, with added commentary: New York: Pub. for the Facsimile Text Society by Columbia University Press, 1941), by John Donne, contrib. by Charles M. Coffin (page images at HathiTrust)
• Conclave Ignati: Sive Eius in Nuperis Inferni Comitiis in Thronisatio (In Latin; 1611), by John Donne

Source: onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/browse?type=lcsubc&key=Ignatius%2C%20of%20Loyola%2C%20Saint%2C%201491%2D1556&c=x

Photo Credit: britton-images.com/product/saint-ignatius-of-loyola-1491-1556-spanish-basque-priest-and-theologian-who-founded-the-society-of-jesus/

ABOUT SAMUEL D. GORDON

Gordon, Samuel Dickey (1859–1936). Devotional speaker and writer. Born and educated in Philadelphia, Gordon was involved in various parachurch organizations, the most notable of which was the YMCA.

Following his years with that organization, he initiated a ministry of preaching and lecturing on religious issues in the U.S. Beyond American shores he traveled for four years in Europe and the Orient, where he conducted Bible conference and missionary conventions.

He captured the hearts of his hearers by his informal and intimate style. He had a gentle spirit, and his quaint phrases stuck in the mind. He remains one of the very few early twentieth century speakers widely published.

In 1895, Gordon gave a notable series of lectures at Moody Bible Institute. About this time his first "Quiet Talk" book was published, the first in a series of approximately 25 devotional books. These books were widely used by clergy and lay leaders alike, as well as common church goers. Millions of copies from his “Quiet Talks” series have been printed and reprinted

An incessant and tireless itinerant, Gordon never lacked for opportunities to preach. He never called himself a preacher, preferring the title of lecturer. In a real sense he was unique. His manner of speaking, never dull, always illustrated by parabolic stories, had gripping power to hold the attention and stir the heart." 

The Bent Knee is S. D. Gordon's daily devotions book. Each day contains a Bible verse and a short devotional discussion for thought and prayer. Gordon uses a very casual writing style that blends well with devotions. 

Source: biblesupport.com/e-sword-downloads/file/9032-gordon-samuel-dickey-sd-the-bent-knee-devotional/

QUOTES BY SAMUEL D. GORDON

 THE GREATEST THING ANYONE CAN GO

"The greatest thing anyone can do for God and man is pray. It is not the only thing; but it is the chief thing. The great people of the earth today are the people who pray. I do not mean those who talk about prayer; not those who can explain about prayer; but I mean those people who take time and pray."

- Samuel D. Gordon (1859-1936) Evangelical Lay Minister

IT IS GOOD TO KNOW, IT IS BETTER TO DO

"It is good to know; it is better to do; it is best to be. To be pure and strong, to be honest and earnest, to be kindly and thoughtful, and in all to be true, to be manly and womanly and Christly—this is the greatest ambition in life. It is not in knowing or having or doing, but through knowing and having and doing the best, it is in being, in what a man is in himself. He can do more for others who has done most with himself. Mastery of circumstances comes only through mastery of self."

- Samuel D. Gordon (1859-1936) Evangelical Lay Minister

JESUS WAS GOD SPELLING HIMSELF OUT

"Jesus was God spelling himself out in language humanity could understand."

- Samuel Dicky Gordon (1859-1936) Evangelical Lay Minister

 THE GREATEST THING ANYONE CAN DO

"The greatest thing anyone can do for God and man is pray. It is not the only thing; but it is the chief thing. The great people of the earth today are the people who pray. I do not mean those who talk about prayer; not those who can explain about prayer; but I mean those people who take time and pray."

- Samuel D. Gordon (1859-1936) Evangelical Lay Minister 

IF THRE ARE TWO PERSONS PRAYING

"If there are two persons praying, there are three. If three meet to pray, there are four praying. There is always one more than you can see."

- Samuel D. Gordon (1859-1936) Evangelical Lay Minister 

REPOSE IN THE ARMS OF GOD

"If there be anything that can render the soul calm, dissipate its scruples and dispel its fears, sweeten its sufferings by the anointing of love, impart strength to all its actions, and spread abroad the joy of the Holy Spirit in its countenance and words, it is this simple and childlike repose in the arms of God."

- Samuel D. Gordon (1859-1936) Evangelical Lay Minister 

SAMUEL D. GORDON BOOKS AND SERMONS

• Gordon, S. D. (Samuel Dickey), 1859-1936: Prayer Changes Things (New York et al.: F. H. Revell Co., ca. 1910) (page images at HathiTrust)
• Gordon, S. D. (Samuel Dickey), 1859-1936: Jia fan su yuan / (Shanghai : Guang xue hui, 1922), also by Mary Kilgore Gordon (page images at HathiTrust; US access only)
• Gordon, S. D. (Samuel Dickey), 1859-1936: The problem of guidance : a chapter from Quiet talks on personal problems / (New York City : Interchurch World Movement, 1920) (page images at HathiTrust)
• Gordon, S. D. (Samuel Dickey), 1859-1936: A quiet talk with those who weep, (New York, Chicago [etc.] Fleming H. Revell company, [c1915]) (page images at HathiTrust)
• Gordon, S. D. (Samuel Dickey), 1859-1936: Quiet talks about Calvary: its foreshadowings, fact and spirit / ([New York] : Fleming H. Revell co., [c1911]) 
• Gordon, S. D. (Samuel Dickey), 1859-1936: Quiet talks about Jesus, (New York, A.C.Armstrong & Son, 1906) (page images at HathiTrust)
• Gordon, S. D. (Samuel Dickey), 1859-1936: Quiet Talks about Jesus (Gutenberg ebook)
• Gordon, S. D. (Samuel Dickey), 1859-1936: Quiet talks about Jesus / (London : Hodder and Stoughton, 1906) (page images at HathiTrust)
• Gordon, S. D. (Samuel Dickey), 1859-1936: Quiet talks about Jesus / (London : Hodder & Stoughton, 1909) (page images at HathiTrust; US access only)
• Gordon, S. D. (Samuel Dickey), 1859-1936: Quiet talks about Our Lord's return, (New York, Chicago [etc.] Fleming H. Revell company, [c1912]) (page images at HathiTrust)
• Gordon, S. D. (Samuel Dickey), 1859-1936: Quiet talks about simple essentials and the present world outlook / (New York : F.H. Revell, c1924) (page images at HathiTrust)
• Gordon, S. D. (Samuel Dickey), 1859-1936: Quiet talks about the crowned Christ of Revelation/ (New York, Chicago: Fleming H. Revell Co., [c1914]) 
• Gordon, S. D. (Samuel Dickey), 1859-1936: Quiet talks about the tempter, (New York, Chicago, Fleming H. Revell, [c1910]) (page images at HathiTrust)
• Gordon, S. D. (Samuel Dickey), 1859-1936: Quiet talks of John's Gospel, (Chicago [etc.] Fleming H. Revell company, [1915]) (page images at HathiTrust)
• Gordon, S. D. (Samuel Dickey), 1859-1936: Quiet Talks on Following the Christ (Gutenberg ebook)

Source: onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=Gordon%2C%20S%2E%20D%2E%20%28Samuel%20Dickey%29%2C%201859%2D1936

Photo Credit: spibook.fr/tag.php?id=7

ABOUT SAMUEL RUTHERFORD

Samuel Rutherford (1600–61) was born in the village of Nisbet, Roxburghshire, and educated at Jedburgh Grammar School and Edinburgh University (MA, 1621). From 1623 he acted as Regent of Humanity at the University, with responsibilities as a Latin tutor. There is a strong suggestion that 1624 was the date of his conversion, and he began reading theology at Edinburgh under Andrew Ramsay.

In 1627 he was settled as minister of Anwoth in Kirkcudbrightshire, and so began a ministry lasting only nine years, yet one ‘whose fragrance and power has left the name of Anwoth forever stamped on the hearts of Christian people’. In July 1636 the High Commission brought his ministry in Anwoth to an end because of his nonconformity, barring him from preaching in Scotland and exiling him to Aberdeen for the duration of the King’s pleasure. It was during his two years in Aberdeen that many of his much-loved Letters were written.

After the Covenanters’ revolution in 1638 Rutherford returned to Anwoth and was a commissioner to the Glasgow Assembly. The commission of that Assembly designated him Professor of Divinity at St Mary’s College, St Andrews. He consented to the office with the stipulation that he be permitted to preach regularly, and was made a colleague of Robert Blair in the city pulpit.

In 1643 Rutherford left for London as one of the Scottish Commissioners to the Westminster Assembly. He remained in the city four years, preached before the Long Parliament, took a prominent part in the Assembly’s debates on theology and Church polity, and published five major books. In his Lex, Rex (1644) Rutherford denied that a limitless sovereignty belonged to the King, and contended that the Crown is bestowed by the voluntary consent of the people, who are at liberty to resist a tyrant. In 1647 he resumed his duties at St Andrews and was soon made Principal of St Mary’s. In 1651 he became Rector of the University.

At the Restoration of Charles II in 1661 the Committee of Estates ordered the burning of Lex, Rex, deprived Rutherford of his offices, and cited him to come before Parliament to answer a charge of treason. Rutherford was already terminally ill and replied, ‘I have got summons already before a Superior Judge and Judicatory, and I behove to answer to my first summons, and ere your day come, I will be where few kings and great folks come.’ Death indeed intervened before the charge could be tried.

[See also Andrew Bonar’s ‘Sketch of Samuel Rutherford’ in Letters of Samuel Rutherford (Banner of Truth, 1984 and reprints); ‘Samuel Rutherford: Strong-Winged Eagle’ in Samuel Rutherford and His Friends by Faith Cook (1992, revised edition 2013); and the Biographical Study ‘Samuel Rutherford: The Saint of the Covenant’ in Marcus L. Loane’s Makers of Puritan History (2009).] 

Source: banneroftruth.org/us/about/banner-authors/samuel-rutherford/

QUOTES BY SAMUEL RUTHERFORD

YOUR AFFLICTIONS ARE NOT ETERNAL

Your afflictions are not eternal, time will end them, and so shall ye at length see the Lord's salva¬tion; His love sleepeth not, is still in working for you; His salvation will not tarry nor linger; and suffering for Him is the noblest cross out of heaven. Your Lord hath the choice of ten thousand other crosses, beside this, to exercise you withal; but His wisdom and His love choosed out this for you, beside them all; and take it as a choice one, and make use of it. Let the Lord absolutely have the ordering of your evils and troubles, and put them off you, by recom¬mending your cross and your furnace to Him, who hath skill to melt His own metal, and knoweth well what to do with His furnace."

- Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661) Scottish Presbyterian Pastor, Theologian and Author

FIRST NIGHT'S WELCOME TO HEAVEN 

“Our little time of suffering is not worthy of our first night’s welcome home to Heaven.”  

- Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661) Scottish Presbyterian Pastor, Theologian

KEEP GOD'S COVENANT IN YOUR TRIALS  

"Keep God's covenant in your trials; hold you by His blessed word, and sin not; flee anger, wrath, grudging, envying, fretting; forgive a hundred pence to your fellow-servant, because your Lord hath forgiven you ten thousand talents: for, I assure you by the Lord, your adversaries shall get no advantage against you, except you sin, and offend your Lord, in your sufferings." 

- Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661) Scottish Presbyterian Pastor, Theologian

BELIEVE GOD'S LOVE AND POWER 

"Believe God's love and power more than you believe your own feelings and experiences. Your rock is Christ, and it is not the rock that ebbs and flows but the sea."  

- Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661) Scottish Presbyterian Pastor, Theologian

THAT HE MAY MAKE US STONES AND PILLARS

"Oh, thrice fools are we, who like new-born princes weeping in the cradle, know not that there is a kingdom before them; then, let our Lord's sweet hand square us, and hammer us, and strike off the knots of pride, self-love, and world-worship, and infidelity, that He may make us stones and pillars in His Father's house."

- Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661) Scottish Presbyterian Pastor, Theologian

DISSAPOINTMENTS ARE GOD'S WORKMAN

"Howbeit your faith seeth but the black side of Providence, yet it hath a better side, and God shall let you see it. We know that all things work together for good to them that love God; hence I infer that losses, disappointments, ill tongues, loss of friends, houses or country, are God's workmen, set on work to work out good to you, out of everything that befalleth you"

- Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661) Scottish Presbyterian Pastor, Theologian

EVEN IN OUR WINTER STORM  

"We may sing beforehand, even in our winter storm, in the expectation of a summer sun at the turn of the year; no created powers can mar our Lord Jesus' music, nor spill our song of joy. Let us then be glad and rejoice in the salvation of our Lord; for faith had never yet cause to have wet cheeks, and hanging-down brows, or to droop or die."  

- Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661) Scottish Presbyterian Pastor, Theologian

CHRIST AND THE CROSS ARE NOT SEPRERABLE  

"Christ and His cross are not separable in this life; howbeit Christ and His cross part at heaven's door, for there is no house-room for crosses in heaven. One tear, one sigh, one sad heart, one fear, one loss, one thought of trouble cannot find lodging there."  

- Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661) Scottish Presbyterian Pastor, Theologian

MAKE A PURCHASE OF SALVATION

"See that you buy the field where the Pearl is; sell all, and make a purchase of salvation. Think it not easy: for it is a steep ascent to eternal glory: many are lying dead by the way, slain with security.

- Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661) Scottish Presbyterian Pastor, Theologian

MORE THAN YOU BELIEVE YOUR OWN FEELINGS

"Believe God's love and power more than you believe your own feelings and experiences. Your rock is Christ, and it is not the rock that ebbs and flows but the sea."

- Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661) Scottish Presbyterian Pastor, Theologian

CHRIST SHAPES OUR LIVES

“You yourself may ebb and flow, rise and fall, wax and wane, but your Lord is this day as He was yesterday; and it is your comfort that your salvation is not rolled upon wheels of your own making, neither have you to do with Christ of your own shaping.” 

- Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661) Scottish Presbyterian Pastor, Theologian

SAMUEL RUTHERFORD BOOKS AND SERMONS

• Rutherford, Samuel, 1600?-1661: Lex, Rex, or The Law and the Prince (Edinburgh: R. Ogle and Oliver and Boyd, 1843) (multiple formats at archive.org)
• Rutherford, Samuel, 1600?-1661: Selected Letters, ed. by Hugh Martin (text at CCEL)
• Rutherford, Samuel, 1600?-1661: Christ and his cross : selections from Rutherford's 
• Exercitationes pro Divina Gratia Amsterdam 1636
• A Peaceable and Temperate Plea for Paul's Presbytery in Scotland London 1642
• A Sermon before the House of Commons, on Daniel, London 1644
• A Sermon before the House of Lords on Luke 7:22 London 1644
• The Due Right of Presbyteries London 1644
• Lex Rex, or The Law and the Prince London 1644
• The Trial and Triumph of Faith London 1645
• The Divine Right Of Church Government and Excommunication London 1646
• Christ Dying and Drawing Sinners to Himself London 1647
• A Survey of the Spiritual Antichrist London 1648
• A Free Disputation against Pretended Liberty of Conscience London 1649
• The Last and Heavenly Speech and Glorious Departure of John, Viscount Kenmure Edinburgh 1649
• Disputatio Scholastica de Divina Providentia Edinburgh 1649
• The Covenant of Life Opened Edinburgh 1655
• A Survey of 'The Survey of that Sum of Church Discipline' penned by Mr. Thomas Hooker London 1658
• Influences of the Life of Grace London 1659
• Joshua Redivivus, or Mr Rutherford's Letters 1664
• Examen Arminianismi Utrecht 1668
• A Testimony left by Mr. S. Rutherford to the Work of Reformation uncertain date
• A Treatise on Prayer 1713
• The Cruel Watchman, The Door of Salvation Opened Edinburgh 1735
• Twelve Communion Sermons Glasgow 1876
• Quaint Sermons Hodder & Stoughton, London 1885
• Rutherford’s Catechism: Containing the Sum of Christian Religion. London, 1886
• A discussing of some arguments against Cannons and ceremonies in God’s worship in David G. Mullan (ed.) Religious Controversy in Scotland 1625–1639. (Edinburgh: Scottish Historical Society, 1998) 

Photo Credit: apuritansmind.com/puritan-favorites/samuel-rutherford/

ABOUT SUSANNA WESLEY

Susanna Wesley (née Annesley; 20 January 1669 – 23 July 1742) was the daughter of Dr Samuel Annesley and Mary White, and the mother of John and Charles Wesley.

“…although she never preached a sermon or published a book or founded a church, (she) is known as the Mother of Methodism. Why? Because two of her sons, John Wesley and Charles Wesley, as children consciously or unconsciously will, applied the example and teachings and circumstances of their home life.”

Susanna Wesley, was the 25th of 25 children. Her father, Dr Samuel Annesley, was a Dissenter from the established church in England. At the age of 12, Susanna stopped attending her father's church and joined the Church of England.

She and Samuel Wesley were married on 11 November 1688; Samuel was 26 and Susanna was 19.

Susanna and Samuel Wesley had 19 children. Nine of her children died as infants. Four of the children who died were twins. A maid accidentally smothered one child. At her death, only eight of her children were still alive.

Susanna experienced many hardships throughout her life. Her husband left her and the children for over a year because of a minor dispute.

To her absent husband, Susanna Wesley wrote:

I am a woman, but I am also the mistress of a large family. And though the superior charge of the souls contained in it lies upon you, yet in your long absence I cannot but look upon every soul you leave under my charge as a talent committed to me under a trust. I am not a man nor a minister, yet as a mother and a mistress I felt I ought to do more than I had yet done. I resolved to begin with my own children; in which I observe the following method: I take such a proportion of time as I can spare every night to discourse with each child apart. On Monday I talk with Molly, on Tuesday with Hetty, Wednesday with Nancy, Thursday with Jacky, Friday with Patty, Saturday with Charles.

Samuel Wesley spent time in jail twice due to his poor financial abilities, and the lack of money was a continual struggle for Susanna. Their house was burned down twice; during one of the fires, her son, John, nearly died and had to be rescued from the second storey window. She was the primary source of her children's education.

After the second fire, Susanna was forced to place her children into different homes for nearly two years while the rectory was rebuilt. During this time, the Wesley children lived under the rules of the homes they lived in. Susanna was mortified that her children began to use improper speech and play more than study.

“Under no circumstances were the children permitted to have any lessons until they had reached their fifth year, but the day after their fifth birthday their formal education began. They attended classes for six hours and on the very first day they were supposed to learn the whole of the alphabet. All her children except two managed this feat, and these seemed to Susanna to be very backward.” “The children got a good education. Daughters included, they all learnt Latin and Greek and were well tutored in the classical studies that were traditional in England at that time.” During a time when her husband was in London, defending a friend against charges of heresy, he had appointed a locum to bring the message. The man’s sermons revolved solely around repaying debts. The lack of diverse spiritual teaching caused Susanna to assemble her children Sunday afternoon for family services. They would sing a psalm and then Susanna would read a sermon from either her husband's or father's sermon file followed by another psalm. The local people began to ask if they could attend. At one point there were over 200 people who would attend Susanna’s Sunday afternoon service while the Sunday morning service dwindled to nearly nothing. 

Wesley practised daily devotions throughout her life, and in her reply to her son Charles's letter, she addressed her experience of the depravity of her human nature, and the grace of God. The letter also shows that she has been fully awakened to the spiritual enjoyments for many years, with which her sons were only recently made acquainted. 

Funeral of Susanna Wesley, with John Wesley officiating

Her husband Samuel spent his whole life and all of the family’s finances on his exegetical work of the Book of Job. However, his work was not remembered and had little impact on his family other than as a hardship. In contrast Susanna wrote several pieces that would be fundamental in the education of their children. “In addition to letters, Susanna Wesley wrote meditations and scriptural commentaries for her own use. She wrote extended commentaries on the Apostles Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments. Many of these were lost in the rectory fire, but many survive. The most accessible means to her writings is Charles Wallace's excellent and important Susanna Wesley, The Complete Writings.”  Susanna was buried at Bunhill Fields in London. 

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susanna_Wesley

QUOTES BY SUSANNA WESLEY

THE CHILD THAT NEVER LEARNS TO OBEY 

"The child that never learns to obey his parents in the home will not obey God or man out of the home."  

- Susanna Wesley (1669-1742) Mother of John & Charles Wesley

THERE ARE TWO THINGS TO DO ABOUT GOSPEL

"There are two things to do about the gospel. Believe it and behave it."

- Susanna Wesley (1669-1742) Mother of John & Charles Wesley

THE CHILD THAT LEARNS NEVER TO OBEY HIS PARENTS

"The child that never learns to obey his parents in the home will not obey God or man out of the home."

- Susanna Wesley (1669-1742) Mother of John & Charles Wesley

SIX RULES FOR RAISING CHILDREN

1. Subdue self-will in a child and thus work together with God to save his soul.
2. Teach him to pray as soon as he can speak.
3. Give him nothing he cries for and only what is good for him if he asks for it politely.
4. To prevent lying, punish no fault which is freely confessed, but never allow a rebellious, sinful act to go unnoticed.
5. Commend and reward good behavior.
6. Strictly observe all promises you have made to your child.

- Susanna Wesley (1669-1742) Mother of John & Charles Wesley

SUSANNA WESLEY BOOKS AND SERMONS

Clarke, Eliza. Susanna Wesley. London: W. H. Allen, 1886.

Kirk, Rev John. Mother of the Wesleys. London: Jarrold, 1868.

Ludwig, Charles. Mother of John and Charles: Susanna Wesley. Milford: Mott Media, 1984.

McMullen, Michael. Prayers and Meditations of Susanna Wesley. Peterborough: Methodist Publishing House, 2000.

Newton, John A. Susanna: Susanna Wesley and the Puritan Tradition in Methodism. ISBN 0-7162-0562-9.

Rogal, Samuel J. The Epworth Women: Susanna Wesley and her Daughters. Retrieved 30 April 2009.

Wakeley, J. B. Anecdotes of the Wesleys: Illustrative of Their Character and Personal History. New York: Nelson & Phillips, 1869.

Wesley, Susanna. Susanna Wesley: The Complete Writings. ed., Charles Wallace Jr. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.

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

ABOUT THEODORE EPP

Theodore H. Epp (January 27, 1907 – October 13, 1985) was an American Protestant Christian clergyman, writer, and radio evangelist. Epp was the founding director of the Back to the Bible radio broadcast and speaker on the program from 1939–1985. As of 1999 the program was heard worldwide on over 800 stations in eight languages. 

Early years and education

Epp was born in Oraibi, Arizona, the son of Russian Mennonite immigrants.[2] His parents were missionaries to the Hopi Indians there. After graduating from Oklahoma Bible Academy, Epp attended Hesston College, Hesston, Kansas, and the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (now Biola University). Epp received a ThM degree in 1932 from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

Ministry

Epp started his ministry as a pastor and radio preacher in Goltry, Oklahoma, and then relocated to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he established the Back to the Bible radio program.  It was first broadcast May 1, 1939, on a local station and was eventually syndicated as a daily 30-minute program to more than 800 radio stations worldwide by the time of his retirement in 1985. 

Under Epp's direction, the broadcasts were also noted for music by the Back to the Bible Choir and the Back to the Bible Quartet. Several popular recordings were made by the choir in the 1940s and 1950s. Back to the Bible also had a weekly youth program, featuring a youth choir and serialized adventures with a Christian theme. Both the music and the youth programs have since been discontinued. Epp wrote nearly 70 books and magazine articles. 

Theodore Epp died in 1985 in Lincoln, Nebraska, and is buried at Lincoln Memorial Park there. The Back to the Bible program he founded was led after his death by Warren W. Wiersbe, later followed by various successors. The program remains headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Epp

QUOTES BY THEODORE EPP

TRUST GOD TO GIVE US WISDOM FOR TODAY'S DECISIONS

"As we trust God to give us wisdom for today's decisions, He will lead us a step at a time into what He wants us to be doing in the future."

- Theodore Epp (1907-1985) American Clergyman and Radio Evangelist

THE SECRETS OF THE NIGHT ARE NOT HIDDEN FROM GOD  

"The Lord made it very plain in the New Testament that believers cannot escape reaping the kind of harvest they sow. We cannot hide our sin; we will not get away with it. The secrets of the night are not hidden from God."  

- Theodore Epp (1907-1985) American Clergyman and Radio Evangelist

ALL THAT WE HAVE BELONGS TO GOD  

"We should never think that once we have given some money and time to the Lord that the rest is ours to do with as we please. All that we have belongs to God, so He should be taken into consideration in everything we do."  

- Theodore Epp (1907-1985) American Protestant Clergyman  

TRIALS SHOULD BE VIEWED IN LIGHT OF ETERNITY

"We are so easily entangled in earthly affairs and so easily consumed with the desire for those things that do not last. We will not live on this earth forever, so even our trials should be viewed in the light of eternity."

- Theodore Epp (1907-1985), American Christian Clergyman, Radio Evangelist

THE TONGUE SPEAKS WHAT'S IN THE HEART 

"Remember that the tongue speaks only what is in the heart."  

- Theodore Epp (1907-1985) American Protestant Clergyman 

MANY HEAR THE WORD OF GOD

"Many people hear the Word of God, but to some of them it is only words; they do not accept it as the Word of God. What a paradox it is that all creation obeys His Word except we who are made in the image of God and have the ability to choose."

- Theodore Epp (1907-1985) American Clergyman and Radio Evangelist 

THEODORE EPP BOOKS AND SERMONS

Sermons & Devotionals by Theodore Epp

Theodore Epp Sermons - Sermon Index  

A Brief Outline of Things to Come 1514815915 Theodore H. Epp

Galatians 0847423115 Theodore H. Epp

Como Vencer La Tension Nerviosa = Nervous Christians 0825414431 Theodore H. Epp

Ephesians null Theodore H. Epp

Portraits of Christ in the Tabernacle 0847412334 Theodore H. Epp

David: A man after the heart of God 0847412954 Theodore H. Epp

The times of the Gentiles 0847407160 Theodore H. Epp

The Holy Spirit and the believer 0847407187 Theodore H. Epp

Elijah A Man of Like Nature 0847412970 Theodore H. Epp

The Other Comforter 0847412997 Theodore H. Epp

Present Labor and Future Rewards: The Believer, His Sin, Conduct and Rewards 0847404269 Theodore H. Epp

Job: Formed in the Furnace of Faith 0847412938 Theodore H. Epp

James, the Epistle of Applied Christianity 0847412296 Theodore H. Epp

Practical Studies in Revelation: 2 Volume Boxed Set 0847412768 Theodore H. Epp

Romans Vol. II Living by Faith Chap. 6:1 - 16:27 0847423077 Theodore H. Epp

Joseph: 'God planned it for good' B000RBKFZ2 Theodore H. Epp

Moses : Great Leader And Lawgiver (Volume III) 0847412377 Theodore H. Epp

Brief Outlines of Things to Come 0802409253 Theodore H. Epp

The God of Jacob 084741230X Theodore H. Epp

Moses Vol. I: God Prepares and Strengthens His Man 0847412008 Theodore H. Epp

The believer's spiritual warfare 0847412318 Theodore H. Epp

Why Do Christians Suffer? 0847407314 Theodore H. Epp

Letters of love: Studies in the general epistles of John 0847404501 Theodore H. Epp

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob 0847412865 Theodore H. Epp

Christ preeminent: Studies in Philippians 0847412946 Theodore H. Epp

GOD'S CONFIDENT CHILDREN 084740451X Theodore H. Epp

Winning your war against Satan 0847411230 Theodore H. Epp

Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage 0847411273 Theodore H. Epp

Moses, Volume Ii: Excellence In Leadership 0847412016 Theodore H. Epp

How God makes bad men good; Studies in Romans 0847412903 Theodore H. Epp

The Ideal Christian Mother Theodore H. Epp

Job: A Man Tried as Gold 1939110084 Theodore H. Epp

Fools of the Bible 1258023512 Theodore H. Epp

Ephesians 0847413101 Ephesians Theodore H. Epp

Photo Credit: kawx.org/kawx-news/534692

ABOUT THOMAS ADAMS

Thomas Adams (1583-1652) was an English clergyman and reputed preacher. He was called “The Shakespeare of the Puritans” by Robert Southey. Adams was a Calvinist in theology. He is not accurately described as a Puritan. He was for a time at Willington, Bedfordshire, and his works may later have been read by John Bunyan. He was educated at the University of Cambridge, graduating B.A. in 1601 and M.A. in 1606. Ordained in 1604, he was a curate at Northill in Bedfordshire, a position he lost. By 1611, he was vicar of Willington.

On 21 December 1614 he became vicar of Wingrave, Buckinghamshire, a position he held until 1618. From 1618 to 1623 he held the preachership of St Gregory by St Paul’s, and during the same period preached occasionally at St. Paul’s Cross and Whitehall.

He was ‘observant chaplain’ to Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester, lord chief justice of England. Incidental references show that he was on intimate terms with William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke and Lord Ellesmere. Montagu was a dedicatee, as was Sir Henry Marten. He was buried on 26 November 1652. 

Source: digitalpuritan.net/thomas-adams/

QUOTES BY THOMAS ADAMS

DEATH IS AS NEAR TO THE YOUNG AS TO THE OLD

"Death is as near to the young as to the old; here is all the difference: death stands behind the young man's back, before the old man's face." 

- Thomas Adams (1583–1652) English Clergyman and Preacher

BAPTISING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER

"Baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: there are three distinct persons: in the Name, not names; there is one essence."

- Thomas Adams (1583–1652) English Clergyman and Preacher

BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER  

"Baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: there are three distinct persons: in the Name, not names; there is one essence."  

- Thomas Adams (1583–1652) English Clergyman and Preacher

SATAN, LIKE A FISHER, BAITS HIS HOOK 

"Satan, like a fisher, baits his hook according to the appetite of the fish."

- Thomas Adams (1583–1652) English Clergyman and Preacher

THE BIBLE IS TO US WHAT THE STAR WAS TO THE WISEMAN

"The Bible is to us what the star was to the wise men; but if we spend all our time in gazing upon it, observing its motions, and admiring its splendor, without being led to Christ by it, the use of it will be lost to us."

- Thomas Adams (1583–1652) English Clergyman and Preacher

IMPATIENCE TURNS A FEVER TO A PLAGUE

"Impatience turns an ague into a fever, a fever to the plague, fear into despair, anger into rage, loss into madness, and sorrow to amazement."

- Thomas Adams (1583-1652) English Clergyman Puritan Preacher

THAT WHICH A MAN SPITS AGAINST HEAVEN

"That which a man spits against heaven, shall fall back on his own face." 

- Thomas Adams (1583-1652) English Clergyman Puritan Preacher

MEASURE NOT THY LIFE

"Both in thy private sessions, and the universal assizes, thou shalt be sure of the same Judge, the same jury, the same witnesses, the same verdict. How certain thou art to die, thou knowest; how soon to die, thou knowest not. Measure not thy life with the longest; that were to piece it out with flattery. Thou canst name no living man, not the sickest, which thou art sure shall die before thee."

- Thomas Adams (1583-1652) English Clergyman Puritan Preacher 

THE SALVATION OF THY SOUL

"Even the tired horse, when he comes near home, mends pace: be good always, without weariness, but best at last; that the nearer thou comest to the end of thy days, the nearer thou mayest be to the end of thy hopes, the salvation of thy soul." 

- Thomas Adams (1583-1652) English Clergyman Puritan Preacher 

AS GOD BY CREATION MADE TWO INTO ONE

"As God by creation made two of one, so again by marriage He made one of two."

- Thomas Adams (1583-1652) English Clergyman Puritan Preacher 

SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS IS THE DEVILS MASTERPIECE

"Self-righteousness is the devil's masterpiece to make us think well of ourselves."

- Thomas Adams (1583-1652) English Clergyman Puritan Preacher 

IN SPIRITUAL GRACE LET US STUDY

"In spiritual graces let us study to be great, and not to know it."

- Thomas Adams (1583–1652) English clergyman and Preacher 

THOMAS ADAMS BOOKS ANS SERMONS

In 1629, Adams organized his sermons into a massive folio, subsequently printed as three volumes in the Nichol’s series reprint: The Complete Works of Thomas Adams. Volume 1 contains his sermons on Old Testament texts, volume 2 contains his sermons on New Testament texts, and volume 3 contains the remaining corpus of New Testament sermons as well as meditations on the Apostles’ Creed and a fifty-page memoir by Joseph Angus. Adams’s sermons have been admired since their first printing; they “placed him beyond all comparison in the van of the preachers of England, and had something to do with shaping John Bunyan…. His numerous works display great learning, classical and patristic, and are unique in their abundance of stories, anecdotes, aphorisms, and puns” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., 1:181). James I. Packer writes: “His fondness for evangelical allegorizing and verbal pyrotechnics, however, makes his sermons lively rather than weighty. His doctrine is unambiguously Calvinistic, but with a pastoral rather than a speculative or controversial orientation.” (The Encyclopedia of Christianity, ed. Edwin H. Palmer, 1:63).

In 1633, Adams published A Commentary on the Second Epistle General of St. Peter, which was never included in any edition of his works. The work is exegetically reliable and stylistically adept. Much useful theological knowledge is conveyed in striking phrases. Spurgeon commented that this book was “full of quaintness, holy wit, bright thought, and deep instruction; we know of no richer and racier reading.”

Excerpted from Joel R. Beeke and Randall J. Pederson, Meet the Puritans: With a Guide to Modern Reprints,

Source - reformation21.org/blog/meet-a-puritan-thomas-adams 

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