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Jamestown would not have survived without him.  Plymouth may not have survived without him.  America might not even be in existence had it not been for this one individual.  I’m referring to John Smith; soldier, adventurer, and—you might be surprised to know—Christian.  One of the most colorful individuals in all of history, this Englishman with the very common name, John Smith, is also one of the most important individuals in all of history.  Not that you’ll find much about him in the textbooks of our day.  It’s interesting how many great individuals have been completely ignored by modern-day historians.  But that’s another subject.  Why was John Smith so important to America?

Smith came with those who landed at Jamestown in the spring of 1607.  He had been picked by the council who sent them to be one of the leaders.  But jealousy among the group refused his leadership, and they even put him in chains for the whole trip across the Atlantic.  Once here though, his Christian character and his many experiences began to shine to the point he could not be denied his rightful place as leader of the colony.  Taking Continue reading →

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Most people live and die without ever finding the hope that they can be what God created them to be. But you can have that hope! Jesus Christ wants to step into you and live His life through you. He wants to bring you into all He created you to be. Thousands in the first three centuries found that hope. Here’s how it happened as described in the book Why God Birthed America:

“Jesus’ followers had been together a lot during those ten days after He had returned to heaven. They had opened their hearts to each other in a way they had never done before. Somehow, reflecting on Jesus’ different appearances made it easier to bare one’s thoughts – the hopes and the fears. This opening of the heart began to work a oneness, a unity among them that made them feel as if they were a real part of the others: An actual body of believers, joined together by the same thinking, moving in the same direction.

“They had decided to come together on the Day of Pentecost; a Feast which reminded them of God’s awesome power displayed when God gave the Ten Commandments. Through the prophet Ezekiel, God had promised Continue reading →

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Jesus had been dead three days. Some of the women who had followed Him came to His tomb early and had found the stone door rolled away and His body gone! They had told His disciples, and Peter and John had come to the grave site and seen for themselves that His body was gone. But now the others had left and only Mary Magdalene remained. It is here we pick up the story from the book, Why God Birthed America:

“Mary did not want to leave. She stood there a few steps from the entrance to the grave, trying to sort out all that had happened. The angels had said He was alive. Jesus Himself had told them He would come back to life. But could that really be?

“She moved closer to the entrance. Questions were flying through her mind. Could He really be alive again?

“She didn’t know how long she stood there lost in thought. But as she put her head on the doorway and wept, she was instantly blinded with light! There they were again! The two shining creatures they had seen earlier.

“They looked at her with compassion. ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ they asked. ‘Because they’ve taken away my Lord and I don’t know where they’ve put Him’, she wailed.

“She turned her head away, having no stamina which could stand up to the questions of celestial beings. What had happened? Where was His body? Her mind was racing, exceeded only by the racing of her heart.

“Blinded by tears, she turned Continue reading →

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Ladies and Gentlemen, we continue to see the crucifixion of Jesus as written in the book, Why God Birthed America:

“By now it was noon, and a strange thing begins to happen. The sky begins to darken with an eerie blackness. For a few brief moments, the air was so still it seemed to choke you as the darkness deepened. Then the earth began to tremble. Lightning bolts were exploding against the ground.

“Then, unexpectedly, the voice of Jesus pierces the darkness. In a loud, wrenching voice Jesus cries out, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ (Matthew 27:45-46)

“The level of emotional pain expressed by this outcry was incomprehensible. All who heard it were arrested by its intensity. While the light produced by the lightning bolts was short-lived, the pain in His face that they exposed was unforgettable. His brow was deeply wrinkled. The blood on his battered face was Continue reading →