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Hymn History: Bring Them In & Author: Alexcenah Thomas “Sunday School workers began to recognize that music was a natural way to teach the children and provide scriptural and life lessons for them to easily remember.  This is a song which was written for Sunday School sometime in the early 1880s … Alexcenah Thomas was aware of this movement, which Read more...

Hymn History: Channels Only & Author: Mary Elizabeth Dobell Maxwell “The writer of this verse was Mary Elizabeth Dobell Maxwell. She wrote four known hymns, but beyond that little is known about her. … What is known from her hymns is that she understood the New Covenant life of surrender to Christ and living only by His life in her.” Read more...

Hymn History: Search Me, O God & Author: James Edwin Orr “Some men read history, some write it, and others make it. So far as the history of religious revivals is concerned, J. Edwin Orr belongs to all three categories.” (F. F. Bruce)   The Origin of the Hymn “Search Me, O God” Few hymns express a more personal cry Read more...

Hymn History: Fairest Lord Jesus & Translator: Joseph Augustus Seiss “His contemporaries described him as ‘an eloquent pulpit orator’ and said his ‘style is clear, ornate, attractive, and forcible.’” (Wikipedia)   The Origin of the Hymn “Fairest Lord Jesus” Among the world’s most beloved hymns exalting the beauty and majesty of Christ, “Fairest Lord Jesus” holds a cherished place in Read more...

Hymn History: Faith Is the Victory & Translator: John Henry Yates “Life wasn’t always easy for John H. Yates … He knew hard work. … Shortly after his interaction with Ira D. Sankey, Yates wrote ‘Faith Is the Victory’. … Yates knew what it meant to ‘let tents of ease be left behind’, but he recognized that there is reward Read more...

Hymn History: Footsteps of Jesus & Author: Mary Bridges Canady Slade “She and her husband were active in the Underground Railroad. … She authored children’s magazine Wide-Awake and Sunday school materials, primarily for training teachers.” (Bible Exchange)   The Origin of the Hymn “Footsteps of Jesus” Among the tender and devotional hymns that call believers to follow Christ in daily Read more...

Hymn History: Give of Your Best to the Master & Author: Howard Benjamin Grose “This hymn calls believers to wholehearted devotion to Christ. Grose … was known for his passionate dedication to missions and Christian service, and this hymn reflects that same spirit.” (Bible Exchange)   The Origin of the Hymn “Give of Your Best to the Master” Among the Read more...

Hymn History: God Be with You ‘Till We Meet Again & Author: Jeremiah Eames Rankin “That gifted hymn-writer, Jeremiah Eames Rankin, tells us that the two most useful farewell hymns in the world are Blest Be the Tie That Binds and God Be With You ’Til We Meet Again.” (W. H. Bergherm)   The Origin of the Hymn “God Be Read more...

Hymn History: God Leads Us Along & Author: George A. Young “This song is a reminder that God’s providence is still with us even in our difficult moments … The author of this song … was a rural preacher and carpenter whose fame only came after he was already dead.” (Christianmusicandhymns.com)   The Origin of the Hymn “God Leads Us Read more...

Hymn History: Happy the Home When God Is There & Author: Henry Ware “He was kind to children, and had a happy influence with them.… He said he did not wish to set the child an example of obstinate willfulness, but would rather let him see that the strongest must and could yield sometimes.” (Samuel A. Eliot)   The Origin Read more...

Hymn History: He Keeps Me Singing & Author: Luther Burgess Bridgers Sr. “In spite of ‘life’s ebb and flow,’ he felt his heart filled with a melody whispered by Jesus: ‘Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be still.’ … He knew that even though we may feel overwhelmed by the hardships in life, this truth keeps us singing God’s Read more...

Hymn History: He the Pearly Gates Will Open & Translator: Nathaniel Carlson   The Origin of the Hymn “He the Pearly Gates Will Open” Few gospel hymns express the transforming power of divine grace as movingly as “He the Pearly Gates Will Open.” Written in 1917 by Fredrick Arvid Blom, a Swedish immigrant to America, the hymn tells the story Read more...

Hymn History: Heavenly Sunlight & Author: Henry Jefferys Zelley “From what we know of Henry Zelley … he was an evangelist for 40 years … He urged hearers to seek the ‘promise divine’, the ‘mansions above’ by travelling in the ‘sunlight of love’.” (David Cain)   The Origin of the Hymn “Heavenly Sunlight” Among the joyful gospel songs of the Read more...

Hymn History: His Way with Thee & Author: Cyrus Sylvester Nusbaum “Cyrus Sylvester Nusbaum … was one of the most outstanding evangelists of his time. He wrote these words [for ‘His Way with Thee’] at a time when economic need forced him to surrender to the will of God.” (Hinshaw Music)   The Origin of the Hymn “His Way with Read more...

Probably the largest Christian bookstore in America, and one of the few surviving in the hub of Christian publishing. A History of Christian Publishing in Grand Rapids: Beginning from humble origins in a small Dutch immigrant kolonie in Grand Rapids, Michigan, two families diverged into four Evangelical publishing houses that have, through shrewd business practices, financial frugality, and the sheer Read more...

As the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Colorado, he has become the name and face associated with business owners standing up for their deeply held religious beliefs. He’s in the midst of his third lawsuit and his business has suffered, but Jack stands strong. From Wikipedia: Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, 584 U.S. 617 (2018), was a case in the Supreme Read more...

From Wikipedia: Casper John “Jack” Wyrtzen (April 22, 1913 – April 17, 1996) was an American youth evangelist and founder of Word of Life ministries, which operates Christian camps, conference centers and Bible institutes. Wyrtzen produced the Word of Life radio program, heard by a nationwide audience. He led the organization for fifty years until his retirement in 1991. Wyrtzen spoke in many churches and venues, holding meetings from the streets to stadiums; Read more...

From Wikipedia: Charles Grandison Finney (August 29, 1792 – August 16, 1875) was an American Presbyterian minister and leader in the Second Great Awakening in the United States. He has been called the “Father of Old Revivalism“.[1] Finney rejected much of traditional Reformed theology. Finney was best known as a passionate revivalist preacher from 1825 to 1835 in the Burned-over District in Upstate New York and Manhattan, an opponent of Old School Read more...

From Christian Hall of Fame: Warren Wendel Wiersbe was born on May 16, 1929, the third and youngest child of Fred and Gladys Anna Wiersbe, in East Chicago, Indiana. Just before his 16th birthday in May 1945, Wiersbe attended a Youth for Christ rally where a 26 year old Billy Graham preached the Gospel. Wiersbe accepted Christ as his Savior Read more...

Hymn History: Happy the Home When God Is There & Author: Henry Ware “He was kind to children, and had a happy influence with them.… He said he did not wish to set the child an example of obstinate willfulness, but would rather let him see that the strongest must and could yield sometimes.” (Samuel A. Eliot)   The Origin Read more...