A ROCKY FOUNDATION

    John Newton was born in 1725. His mother died when he was six years old and at 11 he began life as a seaman. His early years were one continuous round of rebellion and sin. For a while he worked on the West African coast collecting slaves for sale to visiting traders. Eventually Newton became a captain of his own slave ship. The capturing, selling and transporting of black slaves to the plantations in the West Indies and America was a cruel and vicious way of life. On March 10, 1748, he was returning to England from Africa on a particularly stormy voyage. Everyone thought the ship would be lost, and Newton began reading the classic Christian devotional by Thomas a Kempis, "Imitation of Christ." The message of the book and the frightening experience at sea were used by the Holy Spirit to bring Newton to accept Christ as his Savior. For the next several years he continued working as a slave ship captain. He tried to justify his work by seeking to improve c...

                             John Egglen had never preached a sermon in his life.  It was not that he didn't want to, he just never needed to.  One morning the snow left his town of Colchester, England, buried in white.  When he awoke on that January Sunday in 1850, he thought of staying home.  Who would go to church in such weather?  But he reconsidered, he was after all a deacon. And if the deacons did not go, who would? So he put on his boots, hat, and coat and walked the six miles to the Methodist Church.   He was not the only member who considered staying home.  In fact, he was one of the few who came.  Only thirteen people were present; twelve members and one visitor.  Even the minister was snowed in.  Someone suggested they go home.  Egglen would hear none of that.  ...

                 Duncan smith remembers first time that he encountered God . He says “in Colorado at Estes Park I heard the gospel preached. When the altar call came, instead of running up to the front, I ran outside the building. As I went stumbling up this mountainside, probably looking for an opportunity to have a cigarette, I literally walked smack into the presence of God. Although he was invisible, I knew I was standing face to face with Jesus and I was in his presence. “I hit the deck right there. I just collapsed into the pathway and wept before God as I felt this incredible weight of all of my sin, and yet his incredible love, washing over me. Instead of killing me, he lavished his love on me, and called me his son and called me into his kingdom. I have never ever been the same since.” The religious leaders during Jesus life on earth were legalistic. Legalism is the human attempt to gain salvation or prove spirituality by outwa...

                        Fish sometimes leap out of the water with great energy, but it would be foolish to conclude that they have left the liquid element for ever; in a moment they are swimming again as if they had never forsaken the stream; indeed it was but a fly that tempted them aloft, or a sudden freak: the water is still their home, sweet home. When temptations arose after the death of Stephen, Phillip fled to Samaria. The land that was dominated by forces of darkness! There was a certain man called Simon, who practiced sorcery in the city. Simon had astonished the people of Samaria for a long time. His influence was extensive; the least to the greatest were paying attention to him. Simon's satanic sorcery successfully saturated all levels of the society (Acts 8:4-11). Simon was doing miracles by satanic power. Yet, the Samaritans wrongly assumed that he had r...