The Great Awakening



Many of us remember from school that from the early 1600s into the 1730s, many colonists came to the country to freely worship God without fear of persecution. While fraught with difficulties, life in colonial America must have also been filled with many examples of God’s blessing on those faithful enough to seek Him in this new land.

But in the 1650s, the Age of Enlightenment began. This was a 130-year period where many of history’s great thinkers—scientists, inventors, philosophers, and others—began to challenge societal thinking, particularly in the area of religious belief. Rather than basing one’s life on faith in God, the new standard was to reason, investigate, question, and analyze. Men such as Francis Bacon, John Locke, Voltaire, and Sir Isaac Newton published works discussing discoveries, advancements, and enlightened views. Literacy increased, and people devoured the words of such men.

Also during this time, changes in the Church of England affected the faith of churchgoers. In 1688, the Church of England became the reigning church in that country. While at first this seemed a good idea, it caused other religions, sects, and denominations to be suppressed. Rather than living from true conviction, people worshipped out of habit, ritual, and complacency.

The life of faith in the Colonies and worldwide was waning. All of these events set the stage for The Great Awakening.

Herrnhut

The first stirrings of revival began in Germany, when 
believers from Moravia fled

Count von Zinzendorf

to their country to escape persecution. They found a friend in Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf, who welcomed them to stay in a settlement he established on his land. They named their little community Herrnhut, or “The Lord’s Watch.” When seeds of discord grew among the Moravians in 1727, Count von Zinzendorf called for a time of prayer. Twenty-four Moravians rose to pray, each taking an hour’s shift to pray around the clock. As time went on, more people joined in, and the presence of God became so strong in their meetings that people would lay prostrate on the floor for as much as eight hours, soaking in God’s Spirit. What started as a call to prayer to overcome discord ended up lasting for 100 years! In the first sixty-five years of this movement, the Moravians sent over 300 missionaries to share the Gospel around the world. Before sending out their people, they would hold funerals for the missionaries, since each intended to give their lives for Christ. There are even accounts of Moravian missionaries selling themselves into slavery in Jamaica in order to have opportunity to share Christ with the slaves. What dedication!

Revival Spreads to America

Frelinghuysen

In America, the Dutch-Reform church in New Jersey sought a minister. In January 1720, they called upon German Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen. Knowing of the great movement of God in Herrnhut, Frelinghuysen challenged his parishioners to examine their lives and repent of sin and to live rightly. This man’s bold revivalist approach caused many began to live differently, setting off a revival through the Middle Colonies.





As word of the Dutch-Reform’s revival reached the English speakers, they called

Gilbert Tennent

for a revivalist preacher like Frelinghuysen. Gilbert Tennent, an Irish-born Presbyterian minister who had settled in Pennsylvania, stepped up. Tennent’s father had started Log College (later known as Princeton University) in order to turn out ministers, and Gilbert was a proud graduate. Convinced that many church-goers were not true believers, he preached with a focus on sin, sin’s consequences, repentance, and the need for continual inner change. Response to his sermons was great, and many returned to God and began to live their lives differently. From here, the revival spread to the Baptists in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and beyond.

Jonathan Edwards

The next major wave fell with Jonathan Edwards. Ordained a minister in 1727, he worked under his grandfather, Solomon Stoddard, in one of the largest and wealthiest congregations in the American colonies—that of Northampton, Massachusetts—until Stoddard’s death in 1729. Edwards took the church over then, boldly speaking about sin and the need of God’s grace. Revival soon broke out among the Protestant congregations. His most famous sermon, Sinners In The Hands of An Angry God, had his congregants weeping on the floor as they repented to God. During many such sermons, the listeners shook as the Holy Spirit fell upon them, and there were documented cases of miraculous healings and the dead being raised to life.

During this period, church congregations doubled or tripled in size. The

David Brainerd

colonists’ morals moved back toward godly principles, colleges were formed (many to prepare men for ministry), and a heart for missions emerged. One such missionary, David Brainerd, dedicated his life to sharing the Gospel with the remote Indian tribes in Colonial America. He endured much loneliness, depression, and illness to pursue God’s call, and died of consumption contracted while preaching to his beloved Indian people. Interestingly, he died in the home of Jonathan Edwards, a dear friend.
Meanwhile, Across the Pond…

John Wesley

Waves of revival were crashing over Britain as well, led by two friends who met at Oxford—John Wesley and George Whitefield. In 1736, Wesley went to America to preach to the Indians, though he hadn’t truly committed his life to Christ yet. It was on the ship to America that a raging storm blew in. Everyone grew fearful the ship would be torn apart except one man, a Moravian missionary, who prayed to God in perfect peace. This man’s example and testimony softened Wesley’s heart, and he later was converted at the Aldersgate Street Prayer meeting in 1738. He became an itinerant preacher who traveled well over 250,000 miles on horseback to preach roughly 40,000 sermons. He wrote some 230 books, including journals and commentaries of the Bible, and with is brother Charles, penned roughly 9,000 hymns, some which are still sung today.

George Whitefield

George Whitefield stayed in Britain at first, preaching and stirring British hearts to repent and live for Christ. Eventually, he traveled to America also, preaching in Jonathan Edwards’ church and befriending Gilbert Tennent. During his ministry, he preached in almost every town in the British Isles and crossed the Atlantic Ocean seven times. He often preached in fields to crowds of 30,000+. Just as with his American contemporaries, hearers would become so convicted of their sin, they would shake and fall to the ground under the power of God’s spirit. 

Only as the stirrings of the American Revolution began in the mid-1760’s did the fire of revival wane.

Jennifer Uhlarik discovered the western genre as a pre-teen, when she swiped the only “horse” book she found on her older brother’s bookshelf. A new love was born. Across the next ten years, she devoured Louis L’Amour westerns and fell in love with the genre. In college at the University of Tampa, she began penning her own story of the Old West. Armed with a B.A. in writing, she has won five writing competitions and finaled in two other competitions. In addition to writing, she has held jobs as a private business owner, a schoolteacher, a marketing director, and her favorite—a full-time homemaker. Jennifer is active in American Christian Fiction Writers and lifetime member of the Florida Writers Association. She lives near Tampa, Florida, with her husband, teenaged son, and four fur children.

Now available for purchase: 

Nine romance stories of the Oregon Trail by Amanda Cabot, Melanie Dobson, Pam Hillman, Myra Johnson, Amy Lillard, DiAnn Mills, Anna Schmidt, Ann Shorey, and Jennifer Uhlarik.

The Most Famous New Years Resolutions in History

Blogger: Amber Lemus

As we step into a new year, many of us take time to reflect on our goals and aspirations. We make promises to ourselves, our families, and even our social media followers. But have you ever wondered how people in the past approached New Year's resolutions?


Today we're going to explore two of the most famous new year resolutions in history by two great men of God, Jonathan Edwards and John Wesley.

Travel with me back to 1723, when a young Jonathan Edwards, a prominent American theologian and pastor, penned a remarkable set of resolutions. Edwards, only 20 years old at the time, wrote 70 resolutions, ranging from the spiritual to the practical. These 70 heartfelt commitments, written in his own handwriting, would serve as a guiding force for the rest of his life, shaping him into one of the most influential theologians and pastors in American history.

By Henry Augustus Loop after Joseph Badger -
Princeton University Art Museum, Public Domain 

Edwards' resolutions reveal a young man deeply committed to living a life of purpose and devotion to God. He vowed to "live with all my might while I do live" (Resolution 6), to "never do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life" (Resolution 19), and to "never do anything out of revenge" (Resolution 21). He also committed to "never speak anything that is ridiculous or matter of laughter" (Resolution 45), to "never omit anything that is my duty" (Resolution 28), and to "be endeavoring to find out fit objects of charity and liberality" (Resolution 42).


Edwards' resolutions were not merely a product of youthful idealism; they reflected a deepening conviction that he needed to reform his own life and ministry. Just a few years prior, Edwards had experienced a profound spiritual awakening, which had left him with a sense of awe and reverence for God's sovereignty. His resolutions were, in part, a response to this experience, as he sought to consecrate himself to God's service.



Over the next several decades, Edwards would go on to become a leading figure in the First Great Awakening, a revival that swept across the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. He would preach thousands of sermons, including his famous "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," and would play a key role in shaping American evangelicalism.

A few years after Edwards' did this, another well-known preacher also penned some profound resolutions.

At the end of 1732, Wesley had returned from a disappointing missionary journey to Georgia, where he struggled to connect with the colonists and Native Americans. Despite this setback, Wesley's experience in Georgia had deepened his conviction that he needed to reform his own life and ministry. His resolution on New Year's Day reflected this renewed sense of purpose. On January 1, 1733, he penned this in his journal: "I am resolved to dedicate all my life to God, and to His service." This commitment marked a pivotal moment in Wesley's spiritual journey, one that would propel him toward a life of tireless evangelism, innovative ministry, and unwavering devotion to God.

John Wesley By George Romney
Public Domain

Over the next several years, Wesley's ministry would undergo a remarkable transformation. He would begin preaching outdoors, a radical departure from traditional Anglican practice, and would establish the Methodist movement, which emphasized personal holiness, social justice, and evangelism. Wesley's resolution had set him on a path that would take him to every corner of England, where he would preach thousands of sermons, establish hundreds of Methodist societies, and inspire countless people to follow Jesus.

As we reflect on our own New Year's resolutions, the examples of Edwards and Wesley challenge us to live a life of purpose and devotion to God. What promises will we make to ourselves and to God? How will we strive to live a life that honors Him? The resolutions of these two great men, penned nearly three centuries ago, remind us that sometimes, all it takes is a simple yet profound commitment to alter the course of our lives. Are we willing to surrender our lives, our plans, and our desires to His purposes?


Will you be making any resolutions this year? I'd love to hear them in the comments.


Happy New Year, everyone!

*****

Two-time winner of the Christian Indie Award for historical fiction, Amber Lemus inspires hearts through enthralling tales She has a passion for travel, history, books and her Savior. This combination results in what her readers call "historical fiction at its finest".

She lives near the Ozarks in her "casita" with her prince charming. Between enjoying life as a boy mom, and spinning stories out of soap bubbles, Amber loves to connect with readers and hang out on Goodreads with other bookish peoples.

Amber is a proud member of the American Christian Fiction Writers Association. Visit her online at http://www.amberlemus.com/ and download a FREE story by subscribing to her Newsletter!

How the First Great Awakening Changed America

by Tamera Lynn Kraft
 

In the mid 1700s, traveling evangelists like Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, and John Wesley preached along the countryside of the British colonies, and the seeds were planted for America to become a great nation.

It really started almost 100 years earlier, in 1630, when John Winthrop, one of the Pilgrims, preached a sermon entitled A City on a Hill. The text for the verse was Matthew 5:14  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Winthrop said that God ordained the colonies in America to be that city on a hill. They were the New Jerusalem that would evangelize the world with the Gospel.

Over the next eighty years, colonists forgot those awesome words and had drawn away from God. Church attendance was at an all time low, and few felt Christianity played a major role in their lives. Church service were dry and dull, and most who did go to church did so out of religious duty.

When these preachers came on the scene it changed America for the better. They were fiery, emotional, and commanded attention. When Jonathan Edwards preached Sinner in the Hands of an Angry God, it was reported members of the congregation held on to the church beams fearing the wrath of God and the fire of Hell. Conviction spread all over the colonies, and people responded by having a "born again" experience with God that changed their lives forever.

Many denominations rose up during this awakening including Methodists, Presbyterians, and Baptists. Christians now felt they could have a personal experience with God and learn Scripture and doctrine for themselves instead of only relying on church leaders. Congregational leadership was determined by the congregations, not by church headquarters.

One of the biggest changes that took place during this awakening was that everyone was included. Slaves and poor men came to the meetings and were saved. It created a national unity and identity that later set the stage for the American Revolution where men fought for One Nation Under God. not a nation ruled by a denomination or a state church. The colonies had learned that the people decide on the leaders that rule them instead of letting the rulers dictate their nation's politics and religion.

Tamera Lynn Kraft has always loved adventures and writes Christian historical fiction set in America because there are so many adventures in American history. She has received 2^nd place in the NOCW contest, 3^rd place TARA writer’s contest, and is a finalist in the Frasier Writing Contest.

Her novellas Resurrection of Hope and A Christmas Promise are available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

The Second Great Awakening--and a Giveaway

I’m sure if you believe in God and have for any length of time, you’ve probably experienced the frustration of praying for something without seeing the results you are hoping for. This experience seems to be a right of passage with God, a test that one must pass in order to get to the next level. Very often, God places a promise of something in our hearts long before the promise will be fulfilled.

John Erskine

So is the case of John Erskine of Edinburgh, Scotland. Erskine felt a prompting of God to pray for revival in 1744. He asked many of his friends to join him in a “Concert of Prayer” for the next two years. They prayed every Saturday evening and Sunday morning, as well as the first Tuesday of each new quarter, that God “would appear in His glory...by an abundant effusion of His Holy Spirit...to revive true religion in all parts of Christendom...and fill the whole earth with His glory.” Dutifully, they prayed, and they saw some effect, but not the sweeping moves of God that they hoped for. After a time, the Concerts of Prayer waned, leaving many to feel they’d had no effect.

Years passed. Life carried on. Tensions between Britain and the colonies intensified until the colonies declared independence. War broke out, and people’s focus centered on the crisis at hand. At the end of that conflict, the people of America found themselves far from God and in a state of moral decline. Across the ocean, the French Revolution was in full swing, bringing with it another crisis to keep people’s focus from seeking after God fully. Infidelity and rationalism grew rampant in Europe. The world seemed to be going bad all at once.

Yet God hadn’t forgotten the promise he gave John Erskine for revival.  Once again in 1784—nearly forty years after the initial prompting—Erskine felt the stirring to pray for revival again. This time, he reprinted a call to revival prayer given by Jonathan Edwards, a key player in the Great Awakening of decades earlier. Because of Erskine’s efforts to distribute the booklet and call others to pray, many churches across all denominations, both in Britain and the U. S., agreed to institute Concerts of Prayer each Monday night. They continued this pattern for the next seven years.

In 1791, another central figure from the First Great Awakening, John Wesley, died. Even as churchgoers mourned his death, the stirrings of revival began to break out among the industrial towns of Yorkshire, England. Suddenly, church membership just among the Methodist denomination skyrocketed from 72,000 to nearly 250,000 across the next 20 years. Churches in Wales, Scotland, and Ireland became full—so full that they spilled over into open fields where more people could attend.

Isaac Backus

By 1794, America was sensing the spiritual shift, and twenty-five men in New England gathered to form a Concert of Prayer there. Led by Isaac Backus and Stephen Gano, these men distributed letters calling others to pray on the first Tuesday of each quarter. Within a year, revival broke out, and within four years, it had reached every state. Students attending colleges across the nation began to seek God in droves. In fact, Yale saw half their student body become converted to Christianity during the year of 1795.

Itinerant preachers, known as circuit-riders began to go into less populated or frontier areas and preach to those living in the distant locales. Camp meetings popped up in frontier areas, where residents of a wide region would come to a central area and camp for a week while attending meetings put on by the circuit-riding preacher. They would worship with hymns, hear sermons, and share communion.

Other outcomes of the revival were the inception of many missionary societies, both in Britain and America. Social reforms also took place. Slavery was abolished in Britain, and an abolition movement began in America. Prisons were reformed. Sunday Schools and benevolence institutions were started. Temperance societies were formed, and women’s rights and women’s suffrage became a hot topic of discussion.

By 1800, the awakening reached Switzerland, Scandinavia, and Germany, and before it waned in the 1840’s, it had reached central Europe, South Africa, India, and the Pacific Islands.

It’s your turn. Do you believe there will be another worldwide revival like either the First or Second Great awakenings? If so, do you expect to see it in your lifetime? Leave me a comment to be included in the drawing for my second release—The Convenient Bride Collection.

Jennifer Uhlarik discovered the western genre as a pre-teen, when she swiped the only “horse” book she found on her older brother’s bookshelf. A new love was born. Across the next ten years, she devoured Louis L’Amour westerns and fell in love with the genre. In college at the University of Tampa, she began penning her own story of the Old West. Armed with a B.A. in writing, she has won five writing competitions and finaled in two other competitions. In addition to writing, she has held jobs as a private business owner, a schoolteacher, a marketing director, and her favorite—a full-time homemaker. Jennifer is active in American Christian Fiction Writers and lifetime member of the Florida Writers Association. She lives near Tampa, Florida, with her husband, teenaged son, and four fur children.