This Day in Christian History: May 26 May 26, 1811: Birth of William Hunter William Hunter was born in Ireland on May 26th, 1811. His family moved to America when he was six years old. He went on to become a Bible scholar, professor, newspaper editor and hymn writer. He composed over 125 hymns, including The Great Physician Now is Near and I Feel Like Traveling On. On a side note, my publisher is having a big sale! You can now get all my books and audiobooks for 25% off! Details below. SPRING SUPER SALE!!! RIGHT now until June 18th everything in the Helping Hands Press Store is 25% OFF!!!!!! When you checkout, please put the code word SpringSuperSale into the coupon area to receive the discount. Everything is on sale in the HHP Store- ALL audiobooks, ebooks, paperbacks and all pre-sale titles . We will be adding in as many of our ebooks on a daily basis as we can, so please check back often. Here is the direct link to the Helping Hands Press Store: http://shop. myh...

This Day in Christian History: April 21 April 21, 1783: Happy Birthday Reginald Heber! Reginald Heber - Bishop of Calcutta 1823 Reginald Heber was born at Malpas England and was named after his father. Even from an early age, Reginald showed an interest in church history and beliefs. He attended Oxford College where he gained a reputation as a poet. With a heart for ministry, Reginald became a deacon, then a bishop at Oxford, and later took over his father's parish in Hodnet. Reginald married Amelia Shipley in April of 1809, and they had two children. In 1823, Reginald was ordained as the Biship of Calcutta, and he served his people faithfully until his sudden death three years later at the age of 42. Monuments were erected in his memory in India for the work that he had done there. Heber Memorial in Madras Reginald is best remembered in America for the hymns that he wrote, mainly during the years of 1811-1821. He admire the hymns of John Newton and William Cowp...

This Day in Christian History: March 23 March 23, 1743: Handel's Messiah is Performed for the First Time in London George Frideric Handel George Frideric Handel was born in Germany in 1685. He became a well known British-German composer. His favorite genre of music was the Italian Opera, but during the 1730's, the genre was losing popularity--and funding. To combat this, Handel began composing operas in English. His first English opera composition was Esther, which was first performed for a private gathering in 1718, but later revised and performed publicly in 1732. The success of this first opera encouraged Handel to write more English adaptions including Deborah, Athalia, Saul, and Israel in Egypt. The success of the English productions so outshined the Italian versions that Handel abandoned the Italian productions all together. Charles Jennens had composed the text for a new opera and charged Handel with the creation of music to accompany it. In a letter to his...

This Day in Christian History: March 12 March 12, 1607: Birth of Paul Gerhardt Birth of Paul Gerhardt was born March 12, 1607 in Germany. Paul married Anna Maria Barthold shortly after receiving his first ecclesiastical appointment in a small town near Berlin. Paul and Anna had five children, but only one survived to adulthood. Amidst his grief, Paul wrote over 130 hymns. Paul was a great advocate for unity among the Reformed and Lutheran clergy, however, his efforts and conferences lacked success. This ended in Paul's removal from his position when the Elector issued his " syncretistic " edict. Paul lived in Berlin for over a year without employment, and his wife died during this time, leaving him with only his one surviving child. He died on 27 May 1676, at the age of 69.   Gerhardt is considered Germany's best hymn writer. He penned one of my favorite hymns, "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded." My favorite line in the song is, "O make me Thine f...

This Day in Christian History: March 10 March 10, 1748: John Newton's Conversion John Newton was the owner of a slave ship, and a rough, that is until March 10th 1748. On this day, at the age of 22 years old, John found the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Newton's ship was caught in a fierce storm off the coast of Ireland. The crew had done everything they could, and yet the ship was going to drown. As the ship filled with water, John realized that he was the Jonah in the ship, and called out to God. At that precise moment, the cargo in the hold shifted to cover the hole, and the ship was able to reach safety. This is what John considered the beginning of his conversion, and he marked the anniversary for the rest of his life. John Newton would go on to become a clergyman and abolitionist, and the famous author of the beloved hymn, Amazing Grace. John's story is absolutely 'amazing', and someday I'm going to write it as a novel.

This Day in Christian History: March 5 March 5, 1850: Birth of Daniel B. Towner Daniel B. Towner was an American musical evangelist born on March 5, 1850. Daniel received his early music training from his father, but he later studied under John Howard, George Root, and James Webb. He achieved a Doctorate of Music in 1900 from the American Temperance University in Tenesee. He began as the music director for his Lutheran church in New York, but later joined the Methodist movement, and became associated with Moody Bible Institute. Among Daniels most famous compositions are: At Calvary ("Years I Spent in Vanity and Pride")  Marvelous Grace of our Loving Lord My Anchor Holds Trust and Obey What Will It Be When We See Him? Daniel died at age 69 on October 3, 1919. 

This Day in Christian History: January 28 January 28, 1834: Sabine Baring-Gould's Birthday Sabine Baring-Gould was born in St. Sidwell Parish in Britain as the eldest son of Edward Baring-Gould and Sophia (nee Bond) Baring-Gould. His family enjoyed travel, and spent most of his childhood touring through Europe. During the only two years Sabine spent in a formal school, he contracted a bronchial disease that would torment him throughout his life. At 30 years of age, Sabine fell in love with Grace Taylor, a 14 year old mill hand's daughter. Four years later, he married her, and the couple had 15 children during their 48 years of marriage. When he buried his wife, he etched latin words into her coffin that transated to "half my soul." He never remarried. Sabine had many talents. He obtained a Master of Arts degree from Cambridge, became an Anglican Priest, wrote books on History, biography, poetry as well as fiction, but he is best known as the author of ...

This Day in Christian History: January 5 January 5, 1527: Felix Manz becomes the first Protestant to be martyred at the hands of Protestants. Grossmunster, Zurich by Robert Scarth Felix Manz was born in Zurich Switzerland sometime around 1498. It was there that he was educated and learned Hebrew, Greek and Latin. In 1519 when Zwingli came to Zurich, Felix became one of his followers. About this time, Felix also became friends with Conrad Grebel. He and Conrad eventually split from Zwingli's movement, feeling that he had been corrupted by the City Council. One of the main subjects of dispute was the baptism of infant children. Felix and Conrad believed a person should be baptized after they had reached the age of accountability and accepted Christ, however Zwingli and his movement still practiced infant baptism. Felix used his learning to translate texts into the language of the people, and was also an evangelist. He was arrested several times between 1525 and 1527 ...

This Day in Christian History: December 31 December 31, 1837: Birth of John R. Sweney Born in Chester, PA, John R. Sweney discovered his talents at an early age. He became a music teacher and Sunday school music leader while yet a boy. By age 19, he was studying music under German Professor Bauer. He played the piano, violin, and led choir. He specialized in children's music. When the Civil War began, John joined the 3rd Delaware  Regiment, and was in charge of the band. After the war, John continued his musical teaching and accomplishments by accepting a position at the Pennsylvania Military Academy where he served for 25 years. Before his death in 1899, John composed over 1,000 gospel tunes, including Beulah Land, More About Jesus I Would Know, and Tell Me the Stories of Jesus.

This Day in Christian History: December 29 December 29, 1849: The Christmas Hymn It Came Upon a Midnight Clear first published. Born on April 6, 1810 in Massachusetts, Edmund Sears was a minister and author who is best known as the author of the Christmas hymn, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear . He began preaching as a missionary at age 27 in Ohio, and later served several towns in the Boston area. He wrote a good number of theological works in addition to his hymns. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear is said to have been written upon the request of Edmund's friend, William Parsons Lunt. Originally, the poem was written as a reflection on his time as a minister, but it has since become a beloved Christmas carol. It was first published in the Christian Register on December 29, 1849. While we here in America know the song as set to the tune of  Carol by Richard Willis, it is sung to a different tune in the U.K. Arthur Sullivan composed a tune known as Noel and adapted the lyri...

This Day in Christian History: December 6 December 6, 1769: William Cowper composes the hymn Oh, For a Closer Walk with God. William Cowper was a poet and hymnist of the 18th century. On December 6th, during the illness of one of William's closest friends, he picked up his pen and wrote the lines to the hymn, Oh For a Closer Walk with God. William told his aunt: I be­gan to com­pose them yes­ter­day morn­ing be­fore day­break, but I fell asleep at the end of the first two lines. When I awaked again, the third and fourth vers­es were whis­pered to my heart in a way I have of­ten ex­per­i­enced. These are the words he wrote: O for a closer walk with God, A calm and heavenly frame, A light to shine upon the road That leads me to the Lamb! Where is the blessedness I knew, When first I saw the Lord? Where is the soul refreshing view Of Jesus and His Word? What peaceful hours I once enjoyed! How sweet their memory still! But they have left an aching void Th...

This Day in Christian History: December 5 December 5, 1848: Death of Joseph Mohr Josephus Franciscus Mohr was born on December 11, 1792. His mother, Anna Schoiberin, was an embroderer who became mixed up with a deserter of the mercenary army. He left her before Joseph was born. Joseph's rough start and upbringing did not cripple him. He went on to become an accomplished violinist, singer, and vicar in the Catholic church.  However, Joseph is best known as the composer of the beloved Christmas carol, Silent Night. On Christmas Eve of 1818, Joseph was in need of a carol for the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass service. He brought along a poem that he had written several years before and got together with the church's choir master and organist by the name of Franz Xaver Gruber. Gruber composed the tune in only a few hours and "Stille Nacht" was born.   Read more about Silent Night and Joseph Mohr here.

This Day in Christian History: November 28 November 28, 1904 - Clergyman and hymn writer Jeremiah E. Rankin dies at age 76. Jeremiah Rankin was born on January 2, 1828. Besides being an abolitionist, clergyman, correspondent to Fredrick Douglas, and president of Howard University, Jeremiah was best known as the author of  "To Tell Jesus" and "Till We Meet Again" and many others. He died on November 28, 1904 at the age of 76.

This Day in Christian History: November 22 November 22, 1873: Horatio Spafford's daughters drown. Horatio Spafford was a lawyer from Chicago. After losing his son to sickness, and most of his wealth to the Chicago fire, he and his family decided to cross the Atlantic and spend some time in Europe on vacation. Horatio was delayed by business, but his wife and four daughters went ahead on the ship. On November 22, 1873, the passenger ship carrying Horatio's family collided with another vessel and sank to the depths of the sea. Horatio received a telegraph from his wife with two words: Saved Alone. With a broken heart, Horatio made arrangements to join his grieving wife in Europe. The heartbreaking experience of passing over the spot where his four beautiful girls had drowned is what gave us the beloved hymn, It Is Well With My Soul.

This Day in Christian History - November 20 November 20th, 1850 - Fanny Crosby's Conversion at Age 30 Frances Jane van Alstyne née Crosby better known as Fanny Crosby , was born on March 24th 1820. She was the only child. At six weeks old, Fanny caught a cold and the sickness spread to her eyes, blinding her for life. Fanny wrote her first poem at age eight. She was educated at the New York Institution for the Blind where she became a skilled singer and musician. She later became an instructor at this institute. After nursing the sick of the cholera epidemic of 1849, Fanny recognized her need for the Savior and the assurance of her eternal destination. It was on November 20th, 1850 that Fanny experienced a touch from God. Her conversion story is amazing, and you can read the full testimony here. Fanny went on to write over 8,000 hymns, many of them being our most beloved gospel songs such as Blessed Assurance, Pass Me Not Oh Gentle Saviour and Softly and Tenderly .