A ROCKY FOUNDATION

  Peter Cartwright a nineteenth-century circuit-riding Methodist preacher known as the "Lord's Plowman" was an uncompromising man. One Sunday morning when he was to preach, he was told that President Andrew Jackson was in the congregation, and warned not to say anything out of line. When Cartwright stood to preach, he said, "I understand that Andrew Jackson is here. I have been requested to be guarded in my remarks. Andrew Jackson will go to hell if he doesn't repent." The congregation was shocked and wondered how the President would respond. The sermon he preached was from Isaiah 26:4 " Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength ."   After the service, President Jackson shook hands with Peter Cartwright and said, "Sir, if I had a regiment of men like you, I could whip the world." The Apostle Peter and John were arrested for healing a lame man, causing a stir in Jerusalem. In Acts 4:7-15 we ar...

  The June 1988 issue of Mission Frontiers, the bulletin of the U.S. Center for World Mission, describes the arrest of Xu Yongzhe, an itinerant evangelist from China, who risked coming to Beijing so that he might meet Billy Graham. Xu Yongzhe was a fugitive for refusing to follow a government policy designed to prevent itinerant evangelists from preaching the gospel. Yet despite persecution, house churches overseen by Xu Yongzhe had grown from 200 to more than 3,000 during the previous eight years. In Acts 4 we find the first persecution of the Church by religious leaders; other than Jesus trials and His crucifixion. In Acts 4:1-7 we read “the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John and because it was evening, they put them in jail until ...

                            The body parts had a meeting one day and each tried to convince the others why he was more important than the rest.” I am the most important part “said the eye, “without me the whole body would be in dark”. “I am more important said the nose, without me you would all die for lack of oxygen”. “But I am more important” said the stomach, I work for twenty four hours digesting food so that you can all get nutrients to live”. One part was quiet all along, finally he decided to speak. When he did it was unanimously agreed that he should shut up because any time he speaks, he embarrasses the others. “Okay” said the part” I will shut up from now on, but you will remember me”. At first there no problem, however after some days the stomach got swollen and every part had difficult. An emergency meeting was called, the other parts apologized to the unhappy part, and they all accepted that it had ...