“Father’s words and mother’s tears”—Charles H. Spurgeon (1834 – 1892) It is impossible to know just how many people Charles Spurgeon’s ministry affected. His preaching reached thousands each week. He trained ministers through the Pastor’s College, who went on to reach millions themselves. But where did Spurgeon’s ministry begin? With his conversion, and for this, Spurgeon expressed thanks that his mother and father so earnestly invested in his soul.

Some job descriptions can be daunting. Open The Chronicle of Higher Education and find an ad for one who “supports, initiates, and conducts academic development at all levels.” Turn to The Economist and note the search for a manager to “lead a team involved in the analysis of the impact of change and development on agriculture, the environment and rural society.” Challenging tasks, but they are nothing compared to the job description for a husband.

Leah McClintock gave birth at 11:51 PM, Friday, May 25 to Hayden Lee McClintock at the Upper Chesapeake Hospital. She had plenty of support from the church in the room: almost Nana Terri, Aunt Linda, Aunt Angie, Lindsey, and Andrea worked well with Nurse Holly who showed great expertise throughout the process. Pappy Frank, Deacon Bill, and Pastor John found a way to be close outside the room to pray. Siblings, father and family, and other church family, waited patiently for the moment they could return to Leah.

Schaeffer’s influence persuaded Falwell Jerry Pierce GRAPEVINE, Texas (BP)–Ronald Reagan owes the late Francis Schaeffer a posthumous thank-you, which he may have already delivered. Heaven only knows. Others owe Schaeffer a debt of gratitude, too, including George W. Bush and hundreds of others elected to public office in the last three decades because of religious conservative voters.

Greetings from the Mississippi Gulf Coast A report on our most recent construction team written by the local church we helped: The next team came in April 15 -20. Ken and his crew from First Baptist of Perryville, MD drove their caravan all the way to Mississippi, 1200 miles more or less. They insulated the exterior walls and installed the HVAC ducts and inside unit, unloaded, hung and taped most of the sheetrock, ran the main water supply, poured the concrete in the trenches for the drains in the floor and completed the rough plumbing.

The mention of the word modesty conjures up images of women in petticoats and bonnets. It has become an outdated notion instead of a desirable trait. Christians are wise to remember that modesty is biblically mandated. It is an attitude that starts in the heart and works outward. As we narrow our look at modesty to the issue of clothing, it is easily observed that when women of the world head out in the morning, they are not concerned about appearing modest. Instead, most women are heading out hoping that they are in vogue, in fashion and not wearing last […]

The children’s choir and the youth choir worked together to present their spring cantata. It was an enjoyable presentation that also taught us truth from the Bible. The premise was that Simon Peter was on trial for falsely claiming that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah. Through song and drama, evidence was presented to confirm that Jesus claimed to be Messiah and proved it by miracles.

The Revival of 1857-1858 In 1857 there were 30,000 men idle on the streets of New York. Drunkenness was rampant, and the nation was divided by slavery. God raised up a praying businessman, Jeremiah Lanphier. On September 23, 1957 he began a noontime prayer meeting on Fulton Street in the financial district of Manhattan. Out of a city of 1 million people, six people showed up a half hour late for the first prayer meeting. The group decided to meet the next week and there were 14 present. The next week there were 23. The following week there were 40. […]

A respected Christian leader confronts her hidden struggle Taming the angry monster. Power for Living our Sunday morning Bible study handout recently talked about the problem of anger within. Author Kathy Collard Miller told of how she abused her daughter in anger. “It started with yelling and then I was spanking in anger and then it got to the point where I kicked Darcy and pushed her onto the floor.” Everything changed including her marriage when she learned to trust God. “Larry was not the source of my happiness, contentment, and security. God was. He could give me everything I […]

Here is an interesting editorial by a Roman Catholic in Louisiana. It shows the importance of work done by SBC volunteers like our Mississippi team. NEW ORLEANS (BP)–An interesting letter to the editor appeared in the March 1 edition of The Times-Picayune, the daily newspaper for the New Orleans metro. The writer, apparently a Roman Catholic, expressed her frustration, “I was appalled to see that St. Mark Catholic Church in Chalmette had not been cleaned out yet. The Archdiocese of New Orleans should have called the Baptists.