This Day in Baptist History
December 4 A Man Who Wouldn’t Take “No” for an Answer Scripture: Psalm 103:1-5 The names of Carey, Marshman, and Ward are outstanding in missionary history. We have previously considered William Carey and William Ward, but Joshua Marshman deserves our serious contemplation as well. Born in a Baptist home in Wiltshire, England, on April 20, 1768, the lad knew early the message of saving grace. He possessed a voracious appetite for reading and perused everything available to him in his youth. When he was twenty-four, he moved to...
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December 3 Richard Major Watered the Plants Scripture: I Corinthians 3:1-9 During the early history of our nation, it was customary to bury the bodies of the dead in a cemetery adjacent to the church where the family were members or on the estate in the “Family cemetery.” Many of these cemeteries throughout our land have gone into oblivion, being overgrown with brush and forests or excavated for highways and high-rises. Fortunately, the estate of Richard Major, who was the subject of the entry of February 6, has been preserved and the...
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December 2 Preparing Great Men Through Great Hardship Scripture: Psalm 130 Many men who have been used mightily of the Lord went through a refining time early in life, and this process prepared them for a ministry that would stand above the mediocre. Thus it was in the life of Billington McCarter Sanders, who was the eldest child of Ephriam and Nancy Sanders. Sanders was born in Columbia County, Georgia, December 2, 1789. 1 By age nine he had lost both of his parents, but the family of Mr. Ambrose Jones provided him with an excellent...
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December 1 The Man with the Twenty Hands Scripture: Deuteronomy 11:16-28 It is interesting to read the biographies of well-known men and women who have been used of God. It is also thrilling to read about some of the people not so well known who have been used in a great way by our Lord. As we trace the life of John Mason Peck, we perceive the hand of God upon his life each step of the way. In the entry for July 25, we witnessed the report of his conversion, his call to the ministry, his encounter with Luther Rice, and his yielding to go...
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November 28 Jonah’s Three Days and Baker’s Three Ships—Same Results Scripture: Jonah 2 The names Elijah Baker and Philip Hughes should be emblazoned in Baptist history as outstanding pioneers of the faith. Elijah Baker was born in Lunenburg County, Virginia, in 1742. He was converted under the ministry of Jeremiah Walker and was baptized by Samuel Harriss in 1769. Soon Baker was preaching with great power as an itinerate evangelist and was used of God in the establishment of a number of churches. Philip Hughes was born in Colver...
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