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CHARLES SPURGEON
Called
by God at the age of just 16 to preach the Gospel of Christ,
Charles Spurgeon rose to be recognised as one of the most
dynamic and popular preachers of the Victorian era.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon was born at Kelvedon in Essex,
England, in 1834. The son and grandson of independent ministers,
Spurgeon grew up against the backdrop of the Nonconformist
Tradition. In 1850, Spurgeon stepped into a Methodist church
to seek shelter from the cold and a preacher challenged the
15-year-old to read a text from the book of Isaiah. On leaving
the church, Spurgeon experienced the reality of God’s
grace and subsequently was converted to Christ. On being baptised,
he joined the Baptist church and almost a year after his conversion,
he first preached the Gospel at Teversham, and regularly preached
at a congregation at Waterbeach.
Not yet aged 20, Spurgeon became pastor of New Park
Street Chapel, Southwark in London. With a growing congregation,
he was forced to preach at Exeter Hall while renovations to
enlarge the church took place. He went on to preach at the
hired Surrey Gardens Music Hall to further cater for the large
crowds - a move which drew criticism from people who felt
the secular activities the building was utilised for was hardly
conducive to the conducting of a church service.
TONY TOWNSEND takes a look at the life of English preacher
Charles Spurgeon... | more...|
JOHN
NEWTON
The
life of John Newton, wretched sinner that he was, clearly
demonstrates that no matter how deep in sin you have gone
so far, God’s grace is still so far greater. God’s
Amazing Grace is all sufficient regardless of whosoever you
are in this world and whatsoever you’ve done with your
life.
Newton, an only child of John Snr. and
Elizabeth Newton, was born on 24th July, 1725, in London,
England. Thirteen days before his seventh birthday, his devout
mother died of tuberculosis. His father, a commander in the
Mediterranean trade, remarried the following year. At the
age of 11, the young boy was taken on his maiden sea voyage.
Over the next seven years he made several more trips.
At the age of 18, Newton
- a confused adolescent - was press-ganged on board HMS Harwich,
a man-of-war. Unable to hold up under its rigid discipline
and unwilling to handle its daily routine, the defiant sailor
deserted ship. He was sought and found, stripped and flogged.
Filled with bitter rage and full of black despair, the demoted
midshipman was eventually discharged from the British Royal
Navy and dispatched onto a slave trading ship.
Ahead of the
release of Amazing Grace - a new film celebrating
the life of Englishman William Wilberforce and his campaign
to abolish slavery, PETER RAHME takes a look at the life of
one of the men who helped to empower Wilberforce, John Newton,
in this, the bicentenary of his death...
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POPE
GREGORY THE GREAT
Against
the backdrop of a tumultuous time, which saw barbarians conquer
the seemingly invincible Roman Empire, emerged Pope Gregory
the Great, a man who, according to church historian Bruce
Shelly, was an “unlikely candidate for greatness”
yet is seen by some as ushering in the start of the Middle
Ages.
Gregory was born around 540 AD into a family
characterised by its wealth, imperial service and religious
piety. He boasted a papal ancestry - not only was his great-great
grandfather Pope Felix III, Gregory was also related to Pope
Agapetus.
Seeking a career in the public service,
Gregory rose to become the mayor of Rome by the age of 30.
His time in public service, however, proved short with Gregory
resigning and pursuing a call as a monk. His inherited wealth
lent itself to him establishing seven monasteries as well
as financing the needs of the poor.
TONY TOWNSEND takes a look at the life of one history's most
influential popes, Gregory the Great...
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WILLIAM
J. SEYMOUR: PART 1
Los
Angeles’ Azusa Street Revival, which celebrated its
100th anniversary in April 2006, is recognised as one of the
key events which gave rise to the Pentecostal Movement at
the beginning of the twentieth century. The revival would
go on to have global ramifications for the Christian church.
The outstanding figure of this revival was William J. Seymour,
seen as one of the most influential and respected early Pentecostal
leaders.
Early Life
Raised in an environment of
poverty, Seymour was an African American born to former slaves
in Louisiana, United States, in 1870. Dr Larry Martin, of
River of Revival Ministries, describes the abject poverty
of the Seymour family, noting that in 1896 "the family’s
possessions were listed as one old bedstead, one old chair
and one old mattress”, and going on to say that Seymour’s
mother’s personal possessions were worth no more than
about fifty cents.
In
the first of a two-part special on the Azusa Street Revival,
TONY TOWNSEND looks at what is known of the early life of
one it's key figures, William J. Seymour...
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WILLIAM
J. SEYMOUR: PART 2
The
spiritual soil was already being prepared prior to William
J. Seymour’s arrival in Los Angeles on 22nd February,
1906, with a thirst and hunger for a spiritual awakening very
evident at the turn of the 20th century. The Azusa Street
Centennial website quotes Frank Bartleman, a man who had sought
after this spiritual awakening.
Bartleman writes: “It would be a
great mistake to attempt to attribute the Pentecostal beginning
in Los Angeles to any one man, either in prayer or in preaching...‘Pentecost’
did not drop suddenly out of heaven. God was with us in large
measure for a long time before the final outpouring.”
Reports coming back from the Welsh Revival
(1904-06) had proved a major inspiration for prayer meetings
to be birthed within Los Angeles with the view of seeing a
similar move of God. Church history professor Cecil Robeck
cites the response of one Baptist pastor, Joseph Smale, who
returned from Wales. According to Robeck, Smale said that
“upon returning from Los Angeles he began to preach
a message that encouraged people to be open to the work of
the Holy Spirit", adding that Seymour "organised
his church into smaller home prayer groups and began a series
of meetings for fifteen weeks".
In the second
of a two-part special on the Azusa Street Revival, TONY TOWNSEND
looks at William J. Seymour's role in the Azusa Street Revival
and its wider impact...
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MARY
MAGDALENE
Mary
Magdalene is one of a number of Marys who are attested to
following and supporting Jesus in His ministry, as recorded
in the New Testament. The name “Magdalene” seems
to find its origin from the town Magdala (meaning “Tower”)
located in the region of Galilee.
Scriptural references
There about nine references made about
Mary by the four Gospel writers with the majority of these
references centring around both the crucifixion and resurrection
accounts (see Matthew 27:55-56, Mark 15:40, Luke 24:10, John
20:10-18).
Luke is the only author to make mention
of her outside the context of these significant events in
where reference is made to her being delivered from demonic
possession (see Luke 8:1-3).
TONY
TOWNSEND takes a look at what we know of the real Mary Magdalene...
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ST JEROME
Recognised
as an outstanding Biblical scholar of his time, the influence
of Jerome’s writings can still be felt in much of the
Western church today.
Born in the Italian town of Stridon in
340, Jerome’s parents were wealthy Catholics and he
was sent to Rome for his higher education, embracing the works
of classical Latin authors.
With a love for travel, Jerome journeyed
through Gaul (modern France) where he converted to an ascetic
form of Christianity (which includes an approach of extreme
self-denial) and lived in an ascetic community at Aquilia
in Italy. It was here that Jerome would have a life changing
experience.
TONY
TOWNSEND on a man who dedicated much of his life to Bible
translation...
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DR
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR
The
year 1955 heralded a defining moment in the civil rights movement,
and in King’s own life, when African-American Rosa Parks
refused to move to the black section of the racially segregated
bus and was taken into custody.
In response, King initiated
a bus boycott which lasted a staggering 381 days. His actions
proved successful, resulting in the de-segregation of buses.
The incident launched King onto the national and international
stage as a key figure in the push for social justice.
TONY
TOWNSEND recalls the life of a man who became renowned around
the world as a champion of civil rights...
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COUNT
VON ZINZENDORF
When
he was just 15, Nikolaus von Zinzendorf and school friends
made a solemn promise that they would seize every opportunity
to confess Christ and seek the conversion of all people no
matter what their background in life was. But his family did
not want him to become a missionary, instead desiring that
he enter the service of the government. In obedience to their
wishes, Zinzendorf studied law for three years (1716-1719)
at the University of Wittenberg and entered the service of
the Government of Saxony.
A defining moment for Zinzendorf came in
1719 while he was on a trip through Europe. He was moved by
a painting showing Christ wearing a crown of thorns in an
art gallery at Dusseldorf. Written on the inscription was:
“This is what I did for you. What do you do for me?”.
The painting and its inscription made a lasting and profound
impact on Zinzendorf and it was following that experience
that he offered himself for Christ’s service instead
of service to the state.
TONY TOWNSEND writes of the life of the
founder of the Moravian Church...| more...|
TONY
TOWNSEND takes a look at the life of the theologian Tertullian
whose influence reaches down the ages to us today... |
more...|
TONY
TOWNSEND explores the story of St Valentine...
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more...|
TONY
TOWNSEND looks at the life of William Wilberforce... |
more... |
DAVID
ADAMS reports that there's more to the life of St Patrick
than simply being patron saint of all things Irish...
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more... | |