Pastor Roger Brumley teaches on Judges 1:1-2:3

In tracing the emergence of religious liberty in America, Joseph Dawson concluded, If the researchers of the world were to be asked who was most responsible for the American guarantee for religious liberty, their prompt reply would be, James Madison.'" However, Dawson continued, "If James Madison might answer, he would as quickly reply, John Leland and the Baptists.'"

Many scholars of colonial Christianity regard Isaac Backus as the greatest spokesperson for religious liberty in America. Arguing that the struggle for liberty of conscience was a fundamental issue of the Revolution, Backus acted in strategic ways that produced two significant freedoms eventually enshrined in the U.S. Constitution-religious liberty and the right to present grievances to the government for redress.

Sydney Ahlstrom refers to the First Great Awakening as “America’s conversion experience.” This profound revival did more to create a single national identity than any military or commercial venture ever could. Thirteen separate colonies would unite under the banner of the United States only after God’s Spirit swept the land and created a bond that had previously been non-existent. Spiritual awakening produces political unity.

William Wilberforce; a British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. Through a mixture of grace, faith, and hard work William changed the world by fulfilling his God ordained two Great Objects: the suppression of the Slave Trade and the Reformation of Manners. How can we use the example of William Wilberforce to make an impact on our own culture?

Tonight Justin Schell brings us a word from Psalm 45, we pray that it is encouraging for you.

Pastor Michael Gabbert continues in his series surveying American Christian history.

Influenced by the horrors of the Thirty Years War, Roger Williams saw the disaster of religious orthodoxy enforced by political favor. He increasingly believed that the combination of church and state always resulted in coercion, persecution, and conflict; and that only institutional separation could prevent such evils in the future of the new world.