by Peter James | Apr 30, 2025 | Favorite, Suzanna Wesley
Suzanna and Samuel were married forty-six years. They didn’t have an easy time of it. They possessed strong personalities and definite opinions. Case in point: English politics. Suzanna supported King James II while Samuel preferred his successor, King William....
by Peter James | Apr 19, 2025 | Favorite, John Milton
John Milton (1608-1674) was nearing the end of his eventful life. He felt as if he had one last poem in him. He rose each morning at 5:00 am, meditated with his Hebrew Bible for an hour and offered the day in prayer. (John had learned ancient Hebrew as a child and as...
by Peter James | Apr 12, 2025 | Favorite, Thomas Dorsey
Why don’t we tell the stories that accompany the hymns we sing? Virtually every song has a story to accompany it. So many hymns emerge out of pain and intense struggle. Once you know the story behind the hymn “Precious Lord, Take My Hand,”...
by Peter James | Apr 6, 2025 | Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Favorite
Hitler’s takeover of the German Evangelical Church was resisted by a small number of dissenting pastors like Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945). Dietrich challenged his pastoral colleagues to stand for Christ and not succumb to Hitler’s fear tactics. The...
by Peter James | Mar 26, 2025 | Favorite, St. Augustine
Augustine (354-430) was restless. He identified his restlessness at the outset of his autobiography, Confessions, “Thou hast made us for thyself and restless is our heart until it comes to rest in thee.” As Augustine looked back over his life in 397 at age...
by Peter James | Mar 21, 2025 | Favorite, Hildegard of Bingen
I first learned about Hildegard of Bingen (ca. 1098-1179) in a Washington Post article about beer. This twelfth-century abbes (leader) of a convent in Germany was the first person to document the use of hops in making beer. I have come to find out she was no ordinary...
