Apr 8, 2016 | This Sunday in Baptist History
The colony of Virginia was settled by Loyalist Englishmen – men faithful to King James and to the Church of England. Their first charter, dated on this day in 1606, said in part, “We do specially ordaine, charge and require (the residents of Virginia) that they...
Apr 1, 2016 | This Sunday in Baptist History
William and Joseph Murphy were brothers, growing up in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Like their neighbors, they were raised as Anglicans, but unlike many of their neighbors they were wild and troublesome young people. They were known as “the Murphy boys”...
Mar 25, 2016 | This Sunday in Baptist History
This little vignette is about two men who were double Baptists. On this day in 1828, a baby boy named Edward was born into the family of Pastor Edward Baptist. Edward Baptist Sr., was one of the leading pastors in Virginia at the turn of the nineteenth century. In...
Mar 18, 2016 | This Sunday in Baptist History
Samuel Straughan was born on a Virginia farm in 1783. His formal education was minimal, but the Lord blessed his mind nonetheless. He loved church and was fond of reading sermons and religious journals, earning, as a child, the nickname, “the preacher.”...
Mar 11, 2016 | This Sunday in Baptist History
On this day in 1639, six men were arraigned before the general court in Boston charged with establishing a Baptist church in Weymouth a few miles to the south. They were found guilty and were punished with various fines, disenfranchisement and banishment. Of course...
Mar 5, 2016 | This Sunday in Baptist History
Caleb Blood was born in Massachusetts in 1754. As a young man, while attending a dance, he came under great conviction for his sin. The voice of God seemed to say, “What doest thou here, Elijah?” Under the direction of the Holy Spirit Caleb repented before...
Feb 26, 2016 | This Sunday in Baptist History
Joseph Reese was born in 1732 to a couple who had emigrated from Wales to Delware and eventually to South Carolina. Mr. & Mrs. Reese were among the first pioneers to settle in the area known as the Congarees. Joseph was raised in the Anglican church, but by the...
Feb 19, 2016 | This Sunday in Baptist History
Robert Hall passed into the presence of his Saviour on this day in 1831. Shortly after his birth in 1764, it was predicted that he would never amount to anything. As the youngest of fourteen children, his ability to speak and walk was far slower than any of his...
Feb 5, 2016 | This Sunday in Baptist History
I mentioned George Blaurock a few weeks ago. Let me add a little more about the man. He was born in a small village in Switzerland in 1491 under a different name. His family intended for him to become a priest, but he chose rather to marry and further his education in...
Jan 30, 2016 | This Sunday in Baptist History
Isaac Johannes Dermout was born on this day in 1777 and eventually became the Protestant chaplain to the King of the Netherlands. He and Anne Ypeij, Professor of Theology in Gronigen were commissioned by the King to investigate the history of the Dutch Baptists. The...
Jan 18, 2016 | This Sunday in Baptist History
On this day (January 24) in 1774, James Madison, a citizen of Orange County, Virginia wrote a letter to a friend named Bradford in Philadelphia. The future president of the United States wrote: “I want again to breathe your free air. I expect it will mend my...
Jan 16, 2016 | This Sunday in Baptist History
As far as recorded history is concerned, we first hear of George Blaurock in a debate about infant “baptism.” It occurred in Switzerland on this day (January 17), 1525. Brother Blaurock had been a Roman Catholic monk, but through Bible study, the Holy...
Jan 9, 2016 | This Sunday in Baptist History
In 1886 an Anglican Bishop in Burma requested permission to reprint Adoniram Judson’s translation of the Bible. But he wanted to make one change. On this day in 1887 the Baptists who then owned Judson’s copy-right replied – “We understand that you ask our...
Jan 1, 2016 | This Sunday in Baptist History
“Historians” – I wish that there was a better name or classification for these people, because many of them are more like editors of history, re-writers and redactors of history, than they are recorders of historical facts. It doesn’t matter what country,...
Dec 25, 2015 | This Sunday in Baptist History
B.H. Carroll was born on this day (December 27) in 1843. The place was Carroll county Mississippi, and there must be a special correlation between those names. His father was a Baptist pastor and his mother was a devoted Christian. As a young teenager, B.H. knew the...
