Giants of the Faith - A Christian History Podcast

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Today we're going to talk about Watchman Nee, a Chinese church leader and Christian teacher who worked in China during the 20th century and whose impact is still being felt there today in the rapidly expanding Christian church. Nee was a Chinese Christian who wrote about the normal Christian life, which he believed involved four steps: knowledge of the cross of Christ, reckoning, presenting to God, and walking after the Spirit.


RESOURCES

Thirdmill: https://thirdmill.org/magazine/article.asp/link/hue_mountfort%5ECH.Mountfort.watchman.nee.bio.html/at/Watchman%20Nee%20%281903-1972%29:%20A%20Biographical%20Study

Christianity Today: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1975/may-9/footnotes-sharper-focus-on-watchman-nee.html

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/297301999_The_Theological_Anthropology_of_Watchman_Nee_In_the_Context_of_Taoist_Tradition

Reformed Perspectives: http://reformedperspectives.org/articles/hue_mountfort/CH.Mountfort.watchman.nee.bio.html.

Dwell Community Church: https://dwellcc.org/learning/essays/watchman-nee-and-house-church-movement-china

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We've finished our 10 episode series on hymn writers and today we are going to talk about Matthew Henry, a British Nonconformist minister and author who wrote one of the most famous and influential biblical commentaries of all time. If you don't know him from his commentaries, you might know him from this famous quote: The woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved. That's a beautiful sentiment and does much to demonstrate the character of this godly man.


RESOURCES

Banner of Truth: https://banneroftruth.org/us/about/banner-authors/matthew-henry/#:~:text=He%20began%20work%20on%20his,Henry's%20own%20notes%20and%20writings.

Bible Study Tools: https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/

Bible Portal: https://bibleportal.com/commentary/mhc

MatthewHenry.org https://www.matthewhenry.org/about/who-is-matthew-henry/

Quaker.org: https://quaker.org/the-inner-light/

Challies: https://www.challies.com/articles/the-puritans-matthew-henry/

Intro Music: Country Strumstick Mountain Hop, by Andy Slater

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This is episode 59, the final episode of our focus on  the hymnists. Today we’re going to talk about Charlotte Elliott, a hymn writer who wrote one of the most beloved hymns of all time: Just As I Am.



RESOURCES

Christian Study Library: https://www.christianstudylibrary.org/article/just-i-am-%E2%80%A6-life-charlotte-elliott

Conservapedia: https://www.conservapedia.com/Charlotte_Elliott

Women of Christianity: https://womenofchristianity.com/biographical-sketch-of-charlotte-elliot/

Spurgeon.org: https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/blog-entries/strength-amidst-suffering-lessons-from-the-life-of-charlotte-elliott/

The Bright Forever: http://thebrightforever.com

Intro Music: Country Strumstick Mountain Hop, by Andy Slater

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Today we’re going to talk about Horatio Spafford, the author of the famous hymn “It Is Well With My Soul”. As we'll see, Spafford went off the rails in his later life and, so, he's relegated to a Bonus Episode as we wind down are focus on the great hymn writers. This is probably going to stand as the longest episode in season 4 and I had to trim a lot of crazy stuff from it just to keep the episode to a reasonable length. So if you are interested go check out the source articles, particularly Leben, that I've linked in the show notes.

RESOURCES

Bethel Church Ripon: https://www.bethelripon.com/life-stories/horatio-gates-spafford

Covenant Protestant Reformed Church: https://cprc.co.uk/articles/spafford/

Isabellaalden.com: https://isabellaalden.com/2017/08/28/horatio-spaffords-second-chapter/

Leben: https://leben.us/shipwreck-american-colony/

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Today we are going to talk about Augustus Toplady, an Anglican clergyman and hymn writer who is best known for his classic hymn "Rock of Ages".

RESOURCES

Hymnary: https://hymnary.org/person/Toplady_Augustus

Leben: https://leben.us/augustus-toplady/

Challies.com: https://www.challies.com/articles/hymn-stories-rock-of-ages/

Evangelical Movement of Wales: https://www.emw.org.uk/2020/05/rock-of-ages/

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This is episode 57 and we're continuing our look at some of the great hymn writers and writers of some of the great hymns of all time. The subject of today's episode is Thomas Obadiah Chisholm, author of the beautiful hymn Great is Thy Faithfulness.


RESOURCES

Hymnology Archive: https://www.hymnologyarchive.com/thomas-chisholm

Blue Letter Bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/hymns/bios/bio_c_h_chisholm_to.cfm

Wordwise Hymns: https://wordwisehymns.com/2010/07/29/today-in-1866-thomas-obediah-chisholm-born/

Wikitree: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Chisholm-1772

Evangelical Movement of Wales: https://www.emw.org.uk/2020/06/great-is-thy-faithfulness/

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This is episode 56 and we're continuing our look at some of the great hymn writers of all time. Today we're looking at the man who wrote one of the most popular hymns of the early 20th century and what is also my mother in-law's third favorite hymn - James Milton Black. Black is best remembered as the man behind When the Roll is Called Up Yonder. There's not a ton of biographical information on him so this will be a little on the shorter side but the song is very famous and the story behind it is a good one that I think it merits inclusion. 

RESOURCES

Lycoming College: https://www.lycoming.edu/umarch/image/black/black.pdf

Wordwise Hymns: https://wordwisehymns.com/2010/08/19/today-in-1856-james-milton-black-born/

Christianity.com: https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1801-1900/james-milton-black-wanted-his-name-on-gods-roll-11630502.html

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Hello and welcome to another short bonus episode of the Giants of the Faith podcast. Today we're taking at look at that preeminent Christmas hymn from Isaac Watts - the one that you and I have sung hundreds of times during the season of Advent - that is in fact not a Christmas hymn at all. It is, in fact, a song looking at the second advent - the second coming of Christ. I'm speaking, of course, of Joy to the World.

RESOURCES

The Gospel Coalition: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/joy-to-the-world-a-classic-christmas-hymn-reconsidered/

Prince on Preaching: https://www.davidprince.com/2015/12/23/joy-to-the-world-christmas-and-the-second-coming/

Ligonier Ministries: https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/joy-to-the-world-all-year-long

Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/PUBLICDOMAINJoytotheWorld

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You’ve surely heard or read something about the coming AI revolution spurred on by OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google. I thought it’d be interesting to incorporate AI into an experimental podcast episode. I asked Microsoft’s Bing AI to write a biography of Isaac Watts that’s suitable for a podcast and then asked it a follow-up question about Congregationalism. What you’re about to hear is the result. And just for fun it’s read by Microsoft's Immersive Reader. 

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Today's episode is focused on, as my good friend Pastor Dave Ungar would say, the big mamma jamma. He's the Father of English Hymnody, the genius of logic and theology, the Master of Metre, the Puritan Poet, the Prince of Praise, the dissenting unrelenting Southampton Singer, Isaac "Wondrous" Watts. Well, silly introductions aside, Isaac Watts was a remarkable man.

RESOURCES

Wholesome Words: https://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/bwatts7.html

Banner of Truth: https://banneroftruth.org/us/about/banner-authors/isaac-watts/

Christian Classics Ethereal Library: https://www.ccel.org/ccel/watts

The Reformed Reader: https://www.reformedreader.org/watts.htm

Evangelical Movement of Wales: https://www.emw.org.uk/2020/05/when-i-survey/