“But Jesus answered him, saying, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”‘” Luke 4:4 NKJV
“Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is strong, yes, a man of knowledge increases strength; for by wise counsel you will wage your own war, and in a multitude of counselors there is safety.” Proverbs 24:3-6 NKJV
God is omnipotent. He is unlimited by time and distance; He spans calendars and geography.
In 1823, John Ingle, the son of a Baptist pastor from England, came to America and obtained 160 acres in Southern Indiana. He soon built a log cabin, providing lodging and hospitality for itinerant preachers. The north-south path alongside “Ingle Cabin” extended from Henderson, Kentucky to Vincennes, Indiana; and the east-west path went from Boonville to New Harmony. TTT is now located there.
Francis Scott Key was one of the founders of the American Sunday School Union in 1824.
Key wrote the “Missionary Sunday School” plan to start Sunday schools across the country. Individuals could hear the Gospel and learn to read and write, using the Bible as their primary text. Their strategy: Start a class, teach it, then turn it over to a Christian man or woman to teach. Go out and do it again.
In 1830, Key, with Arthur Tappan and other Christian leaders adopted the “Mississippi Valley Enterprise,” with the goal of establishing Sunday schools in every town west of the Allegheny Mountains to the Rockies – from Pittsburgh to Denver and from Louisiana to Michigan. Their goal to complete the project in two years, took 50 years.
D.L. Moody was born in Massachusetts, and “born again” in a Boston shoe store while working for his uncle. In 1856, D.L. Moody moved to Chicago.
Emma Revell and her family came to America from England in 1849.
When Emma was 15, she met D.L. Moody in a Sunday school class, where he was recruiting workers for his Chicago Avenue at Wells Street Sunday School. Emma worked at the Sunday School for a year before she and Moody became engaged in 1859.
Christian History Magazine reported that when Moody determined to leave the business world to preach the Gospel, Emma Revell chose to become “the wife of an itinerant evangelist with no guarantee of support. She took a teaching position in a Chicago public school to support herself during their three-year engagement.”
D.L. Moody and Emma Revell married on August 28, 1862. Emma handled his correspondence and finances, and continued to teach.
In 1867, D.L. Moody with his wife Emma sailed to England. While there, they met with the famous pastor Charles Spurgeon and his wife, and with George Mueller, who founded two far-reaching orphan schools by faith.
As they were preparing to leave England, Henry Varley said: “The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through and in the man who is fully and holy consecrated to Him.” D.L. Moody determined to try to be that man.
God will meet anyone, anywhere to accomplish His purpose. When D.L. Moody prayed on Mount Olivet in Israel in 1892, the vision God gave him to use the Chicago World’s Fair for evangelism in 1893 had begun decades earlier when Moody moved from Boston to Chicago in 1856.
From the time I was two weeks old through college graduation, our family’s pastors were graduates of Moody Bible Institute. From them I was taught to be aggressively evangelistic, and the Bible admonition: “he who wins souls is wise” (Proverbs 11:30).
Every Saturday night at TTT Christian Youth Ministries, and between Saturdays, the Gospel is being shared to and through teenagers and youth workers.
The “wordless book” concept used widely by Child Evangelism Fellowship
will be presented in cake form to celebrate Jesus’ birthday December 7. The New Year will be celebrated January 4, and TTT will celebrate our 59th birthday (God willing) February 1. Preparations begin in earnest for “Hosanna Highway,” to be March 1 through May 3.
April 5 is to be “Hosanna” Saturday at TTT, previewing the life, death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Between Saturdays, every means and media available presents an invitation to “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The thrust of TTT Christian Youth Ministries continues to implement the challenge: “Christ through you can change the world.”
How are you willing to live to help that concept become reality?