Sarah Pierrpont Edwards

This year marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Sarah Pierrpont. Who is Sarah Pierrpont?  One could call her the mother of America.

Sarah Pierrpont Edwards lived from 1710 – 1758.  She was married to one of America’s best (could be argued the best) preacher in it’s history, Jonathan Edwards.  Even though it is Jonathan that is known for his preaching and his leading in the First Great Awakening in American history, we would miss out on an important historical figure if we ignored his wife.  Sarah Pierrpont met Jonathan in 1723, when she was 13 and Jonathan was 20.  They were married on July 18, 1727 when she was 17 years old.  Though this sounds young, it was actually very common during the colonial period for a woman to marry by the time she was 16, so 17 year old Sarah was definitely not too young to be married at this point.

Sarah proved to be a wonderful helpmate to Jonathan, especially considering how difficult it was to live with this kind of man.  He was shy and introverted, lacked any kind of social grace, he would spend 13+ hours in his study and if he was in the middle of intense thoughts, he would not want to be interrupted for dinner.  This does not mean that he did not love her.  Quite the contrary, he loved her with all of his heart.  But he was a man that was called to be a minister of God’s Word and he did not take that calling lightly.  Nor did Sarah want him to.  She was there to help support him in his calling.

Sarah and Jonathan had 11 children, 8 boys & 3 girls.  Although Jonathan would spend some time in manual labor for some exercise, he spent most of his time in his study, so Sarah was responsible for the children and the household duties.  This does not mean that Jonathan was not involved in the life of his children.  Their family would rise early each morning and spend time in the Word of God together and in prayer.  He did not neglect his spiritual responsibility of leading his family to God.  And whenever he went on a trip, he would take one or more of the children with him.  But Sarah gladly accepted the responsibilities of the day to day raising of the kids so her husband could fulfill his calling.

Sarah was a woman who demonstrated her love for God, her husband, and her children.  And what was the result of all this care and devotion to her family?

In 1900, A. E. Winship did a study of the descendants of two different families, one being the Edwards’ family and the other being the family of an unreligious man named Max Jukes.  Here’s what the study revealed:

“Max Jukes, [an] atheist, lived a godless life. He married an ungodly [woman], and from this union there were 310 who died as paupers, 150 were criminals, 7 were murderers, 100 were drunkards, and more than half of the women were prostitutes. His 540 descendants cost the State one and a quarter million dollars [before inflation].

Then there is a record of a great man of God, Jonathan Edwards. He lived at the same time as Max Jukes, but he married a godly [woman]. An investigation was made of 1,394 known descendants of Jonathan Edwards, of which 13 became college presidents, 65 college professors, 3 United States Senators, 30 judges, 100 lawyers, 60 physicians, 75 army and navy officers, 100 preachers and missionaries, 60 authors of prominence, one Vice-President of the United States, 80 public officials in other capacities, 295 college graduates, among whom were governors of states and ministers to foreign countries. Jonathan Edwards’ descendants did not cost the state a penny.  Many large banks, banking houses, and insurance companies have been directed by them. They have been owners or superintendents of large coal mines… of large iron plants and vast oil interests… and silver mines…. There is scarcely any great American industry that has not had one of this family among its chief promoters….”

It is hard not to realize that the Edwards’ family has had a profound impact on the leadership of this country.  Some people explain this to selective breeding in that family.  I think this happens because people hate to think that God has any power over human history, but would rather think that we are in control of our destinies, so of course, eugenics sounds like a better explanation to some people.  Instead, could this not be a fulfillment of God’s promise to His people when He said in Deut. 7:9, “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations.”  Both Jonathan and Sarah Edwards loved God and taught their children the joy and delight of loving God.  Because of their love for God, God blessed their family to several generations of descendants after them.  And because of Sarah’s faithful commitment to her family, she literally shaped the future of what would soon be called the United States of America.

Now, I’m not saying through this that women ought to stay home and raise and take care of the family.  My wife is a wonderful, godly woman who helps to support our family in her nursing career.  But she does not desire to put her career above her family.  It is actually the opposite.  She has put her family needs above her career.  She has a desire to take care of her family before she seeks advancement in her career.  It is not whether she works or stays at home, but rather, where her priorities are placed.  My wife has the same priorities as Sarah as she loves and supports her husband and cares for her daughter.  How different would our country be if more women were like Sarah Edwards who did not seek her own needs or her own careers, but instead put her God and her family before herself.  What woman has made more of an impact in the leadership of our nation than Sarah Pierrpont Edwards?  Could it be that feminism is stealing the glorious position that God desires to bestow upon women by convincing them that they need to seek their own above the sake of their families?

For the three hundredth anniversary of the birth of Sarah, let us honor the God of this godly woman and thank Him for the faith and strength that He bestowed upon this remarkable woman and all women like her that, through bringing up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, has shaped and will continue to shape this great nation of ours.

“In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.  And the LORD gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into  his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God.  And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god.” (Daniel 1:1-2, ESV).

Here we see God’s people at a very dark point in their history.  The people are attacked and taken into exile by a pagan people.  Not only are they enslaved by the enemies of their God, but God’s own holy temple is ransacked and robbed for the sake of those pagan gods.  It is not an irrelevant fact that is being mentioned here when it mentions the articles of gold being taken from the temple here.  Nebuchadnezzar was a very arrogant man who believed he had the power to do whatever he wished, as will be shown later on with the building of his own statue.  He is a man who is very willing to set himself up as someone worthy to be worshiped.

But the question is, is it really Nebuchadnezzar who is orchestrating these events?  Is he the one who has finally outsmarted God and defeated His people?  It would seem that he had.  But appearances can be very deceiving, and so it was in this situation.  Nebuchadnezzar had not defeated God.  It was, quite to the contrary, the other way around.  He was playing right into the plans of God.  God was in complete control of the situation, like He is at all times throughout history.  God had not given up on the Israelites.  He was bringing about punishment and discipline upon His people, but He was not abandoning them.  It was not Nebuchadnezzar who had taken control of Jerusalem.  It was God who was in control of both Babylon and Judah.

Though God was and is sovereignly in control, Nebuchadnezzar was still responsible for his sinful actions taken against God’s people.  In fact, God promises His people that Babylon would receive its own punishment for what they did to the Israelites.  Nebuchadnezzar was used by God to accomplish His purposes, but Nebuchadnezzar also was doing all he could to fight against God.  We see this in his contempt for the temple of God.  We also see this in the fourth chapter of the book when he exclaims, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30, ESV).  Nebuchadnezzar was attempting to claim God’s glory for himself.  This struggle between Nebuchadnezzar and God (and I use the word struggle loosely since God is not really struggling), is an example of the struggle that is always happening between the spiritual kingdom of Babylon, in which all men are born into, and the spiritual city of Jerusalem, in which a person becomes a part of when he places his faith in Christ.

What we can learn from this is that no matter how bad things seem to be getting in this world, we can trust that our Sovereign God is always in complete control of the situation.  And it should not surprise us that this world constantly tries to fight against God and claims His glory for itself.  There have been times in which I look at the news and see the condition of our nation, and I’m tempted to become depressed because we are not the Christian nation we once were.  Of course, maybe we never really were.  I have to agree with President Obama when he said that America is not a Christian nation.  It is sad, but it is true.  But that’s alright because the kingdom that we as believers belong to is not of this world.  In fact, our earthly kingdoms will always be fighting against God.  This fact should not surprise any of us.  And we know that our God has already won in this cosmic struggle, as He promised His people concerning Babylon.

The other thing that should encourage us is that it is within these times in which God’s people were living in the midst of their enemies that they were able to glorify God the most.  Would we even know of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah if Babylon had not come and conquered Jerusalem?  Probably not, because they made the greatest impact for the kingdom of God when they were forced to choose between God and the comforts of this life.  Knowing that we are living in a generation that is highly opposed to God gives us the opportunity to be a Daniel in our generation.  Because we do live in a world that is struggling against God, we have a chance to glorify God in a way we probably wouldn’t get if we lived in a society that did not try to fight against God.  We get to show the world that God is worth more than anything this life can give us.  Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.

We are commanded, by the words of Jesus, to take care of those in need and to share the gospel with the lost.  And we are to take up the call to minister to people, not only in the area in which we live, but all across the world.  Jesus commands us in Acts 1:8 to be witnesses in Jerusalem (our local home town), Judea (the immediate area surrounding our home town), Samaria (other places within our country), and to the ends of the earth.

Of course, there are many hurting people all across the world, but right now, the focus seems to be on Haiti because of the recent earthquake.  They are still suffering from the effects of it.  Of course, most of us just cannot pick up and leave and go help people.  But, if you and your family are looking for ways to somehow minister to Haiti, there are different ways you can help the people over there.  There are a couple of them that my family and I are involved in.

Mississippi Disaster Relief – Buckets of Hope

The Southern Baptist State Convention of Mississippi has a special disaster relief program, as do most of the state conventions, that focuses on responding to disasters, both here at home and around the world.  Right now they are collecting buckets of food to help send over to Haiti which will go to a family who needs it.  If you would like to help in this special project, or would like more information, please go to their website at http://www.mbcb.org/haiti/buckets.aspx.  I also have included the PDF document which gives the details about what food items they are requesting in each bucket.  Click here to download the document.

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The Hands and Feet Project – A Haitian Orphanage

The Hands and Feet Project is an orphanage that was founded and is run by the members of the Christian rock band, Audio Adrenaline.  These men felt called of God to go to Haiti and take up the command to care for the orphans and widows.  This is, as the book of James calls it, true and pure religion.  The RA’s and GA’s at our church and currently raising money to send to this project, especially during this time as they are not only taking care of the orphans there, but also the surrounding community as they are continuing to respond to the recent earthquake.  You can go to http://www.handsandfeetproject.org/home.php to find out more information and to make a special donation to them.

These are a couple great projects to be involved in.  I know that there are many others out there just like these, so take these as suggestions or starting points as you begin to pray and consider where God wants you to be involved in carrying out Acts 1:8.

What I have included is just the ten items listed.  There is, however, more to this article and I would invite you to check it out by clicking on the link for The Gospel Coalition.

1. Pray for them and let them know that you are doing so frequently.

2. Send “real mail.”

3. Pray for the people the missionaries serve and not only for the missionaries and their families.

4. Recruit others to pray for the missionary’s area of service (city, people group, etc.) or for the missionaries themselves.

5. Go visit them with the purpose of serving and encouraging them in their work.

6. Send them updates and pictures of you and your family (by mail or email).

7. Ask questions about their work.

8. Continue to be a Christian friend and continue to minister to them.

9. Support them financially.

10. Seek to encourage them when they are on stateside assignment.

Pastor John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minnesota has compiled a reading plan.  Actually, he borrows his plan from the Discipleship Journal reading plan.  The beauty of this plan is that it divides the Bible readings into 25 day readings per month, so it gives you 5 days to catch up just in case you miss a day now and then, and if you’re like me, then that is a great feature.

You can download bookmarks or you can download just a month by month guide provided by Bethlehem Baptist Church.

Justin Taylor also gives a variety of different plans that seek to guide you through the Bible in different ways.  Click here to see his list of reading plans. Don’t get overwhelmed by the variety of different plans available.  The purpose behind all of these plans is to help you find a way to work through the Bible based upon your own personality and based upon how God is currently working in your life right now.

Here are some words of wisdom from Piper as you commit to spend time in God’s Word each day:

“In the year ahead, ask God each day to speak directly to you from the Scripture portions you read. Be expectant, and let your continual exposure to God’s Word reshape your attitudes and behavior as you gain a better understanding of every part of His written testimony to us.”

I hope you all have a great year spent in experiencing God personally and powerfully in your life.

Santa Claus is actually a modernized version of a historical person named Saint Nicholas of Myra.  Here was a man who knew what it meant to live the gospel.  There are, of course, several different legends concerning this man, but there is little doubt that there is truth about this man who would sacrificially give from his wealth to help the poor and the downtrodden of his day.  He grew up in a wealthy family and his parents were very generous people who loved to help others for the sake of Christ.  As far as what is historically accepted, Nicholas has gained the reputation of secretly giving to the poor by placing coins in the shoes of people who left them outside for him.  Of course, now we leave out our stockings on Christmas Eve for him to come and fill.  The point of all this is that this man truly understood the gospel.  He knew that God had blessed him with wealth so he could be an instrument of God to help those who were poor.

In Matthew 25, as Jesus is teaching about the final judgment, He shows us the marks of the true believer.  All of those people He received into heaven are those who showed their love for God by showing love for their fellow man.  He tells them that they visited Him in prison, fed Him when He was hungry, clothed Him when He was naked and so forth.  He explains that whenever they did that for the least of people, they were doing it to Him.  The book of James also tells us that the true religion is defined by our caring for the widow and the orphan, or in other words, helping those who cannot help themselves (James 1:27).  This is the life of St. Nicholas.  This is the wonderful beauty of Santa Claus.

I know and agree that there is much commercialization to Santa Claus that seems to steal attention from the true meaning of Christmas, which is Christ Himself.  But that’s not Santa Claus’s fault.  He lived his life to bring honor and glory to Christ through the loving care of the poor.  Why should we let the secular world corrupt this wonderful man?  I believe that we have a wonderful opportunity to allow Santa to once again bring glory to Christ through the giving that he does each year.  We can teach our children that Santa gives to us because he wants us to remember the greatest gift that was given over 2000 years ago.  And Santa wants us to learn how to give to those who are less fortunate than we are because that is one of the best ways that we can show our love for God and for others.  Jesus came and saved us so we could make a difference in the lives of others.  This is the great teaching of Santa as he brings his gifts to children every Christmas Eve night.  I plead with you, don’t shut Santa out.  Rather, bring him back to the place in which he desired in the beginning, as a humble servant that sought only to glorify Christ.

If used properly, Santa Claus can help teach children about the love and grace of God, our heavenly Father who has lavished such wonderful gifts upon us.

It is important to note that Luther did not want to leave the Catholic church, but rather reform the church.  The tension between him and the other church leaders, however, were too high and he was forced to leave the Catholic church.

To view a list of the 95 these, click here.