Category: History
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John Calvin: Shaping Christianity from the Reformation to the Present
John Calvin was originally trained as a lawyer, a background that would later prove invaluable in his meticulous and systematic approach to theology. Though his father initially sent him to school to study to be a priest, it was the world of law that would shape Calvin’s intellectual foundation and leave a long-lasting legacy on…
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Igniting the Flames of Pentecostalism: The Life and Legacy of William Seymour
Today more people identify as Pentecostal than any other Protestant denomination. This vibrant and diverse movement, boasting over 644 million adherents worldwide, finds its fiery origins in a small, unassuming storefront on Azusa Street in Los Angeles from 1906-1909. It was there, that William Seymour, a humble African American preacher with a powerful vision, ignited…
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Evolution of Preaching Part II: Puritan and Great Awakening to Modern Times
Puritan Movement and The Great Awakening The Reformation gave rise to a lot of new movements within Protestantism. One of such movement was the Puritan movement which we talked about briefly on the article last week. Puritan preachers often used vivid imagery, intense language, and extended metaphors to convey their message with conviction. The Puritans…
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Evolution of Preaching: New Testament to the Reformation
St. Augustine wrote down the first manual on learning to preach in book 4 of De Doctrina (On Christian Doctrine). This book was seminal and influenced the preaching style of his time down to even the present age. But before Augustine wrote down the first manual, there was already an existing pattern developed through the…
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Saint Augustine’s Impact on Christian Theology and Western Thought
“It may be said that all the thought-currents of the past meet in his works and form the source which provides the whole doctrinal tradition of succeeding ages.” – Pope Paul VI on Augustine Last week, we delved into the life of Saint Augustine, tracing his journey from Thagaste to Carthage, Rome, and Milan, and…
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St. Augustine: The Making of an Orthodox Icon
From a life of loose living which included sexual indulgence, lavish parties, drunkenness, worldly ambitions and all manner of vices that were available to the ancient world, St. Augustine sought fulfilment for his soul dJ. Perhaps the most notable Christian thinker after the apostle Paul, the transformation of Augustine from a wayward sinner to a…
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Dwight L. Moody: A Life Steeped in Prayer, Preaching and Service
“I’d rather be able to pray than to be a great preacher; Jesus Christ never taught his disciples how to preach, but only how to pray.” Dwight L. Moody was absolutely one of the greatest preachers of his time but that was as the result of hours of prayers. Dwight L. Moody once said that…
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The Sermons of the Early Church Fathers
After the death of the apostles in the formative years of Christianity, between the first and fifth centuries emerged a group of people that would be later known as the church fathers. These were theologians, bishops, scholars and philosophers and some were direct disciples of the apostles. These groups of individuals are notable for their…
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Sermons and War: Hope in Dark Places
And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. – Matthew 24:6 This verse from the Gospel of Matthew speaks to humanity’s long struggle with conflict and strife, yet it also infuses us with quiet resilience. Wars,…
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Harold John Ockenga: A Visionary Leader
“I never met a man among evangelicals who could compare to the mighty intellect and spiritual development of Harold John Ockenga” – Billy Graham Emerging from the heart of Chicago in the year 1905 was a man who would dramatically shape the landscape of 20th-century evangelicalism – Harold John Ockenga. For over three decades, Ockenga…