Week Twenty-Nine, 2026
“My chains are gone. I have been set free.” – John Newton
The profound history and impact of this hymn span several key milestones: after leaving the Royal Navy and engaging in the Atlantic slave trade, a life-threatening storm battered Newton’s vessel in 1748. Terrified, he called out to God for mercy—a turning point that sparked his spiritual conversion.
Newton wrote the words in 1772 as a poem to accompany a New Year’s Day sermon for his congregation in Olney, Buckinghamshire. It was first published in print in 1779 in a collaborative book called Olney Hymns, co-written with poet William Cowper.
Originally, the lyrics may have been chanted or sung to various tunes. The version familiar today was created in 1835 by American Baptist song leader William Walker, who paired Newton’s words with the traditional melody “New Britain.”
Despite his early involvement in the slave trade, Newton later became an outspoken abolitionist. He served as an influential mentor to William Wilberforce, the British Member of Parliament who spearheaded the eventual abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire.
“Amazing Grace” evolved from relative obscurity in England into one of the most recognizable and widely sung spiritual anthems in the world. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit, and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God, it is among the most sung and recorded hymns in the world and is especially popular in the United States.
It offers a lesson for us all, as Christians. No matter how bad we have been, we can be set free for the work of God. With a conversion, there is a bright future for us all. As the song says, we can go from wretch to saint and serve God in a mighty way.
Are you prepared for a significant lifetime of service to our Lord and Savior?
Sometimes True Stories
“Remove the impurities from silver, and the sterling will be ready for the silversmith.” – Proverbs 25:4 (NLT)
Can you imagine a silversmith trying to create a fine artifact without first removing the impurities from the silver? When you leave dross in silver, weak spots develop and blemishes result. Once the impurities are removed, the final product has more value and can be used in countless applications. The analogy to our lives should be obvious: when we allow the Lord to remove the impurities and weaknesses, our lives can be molded into something we will be proud of. Here is the rub: the dross cannot be removed from silver without heat, and we cannot be molded into the people God would have us to be without trials and tribulations. Life can be easy when things go our way, but it is in difficult times that true character is formed. – Tony Ferguson
Quotes You Can Use
When hopelessness vanishes, hope takes its place.
Stay focused on God’s word and you will not be uprooted.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” – Deuteronomy 6:5
God has always been interested in wholehearted devotion.
God will never call you to do anything that He will not enable you to do.
The early church was a lifeboat for rescuing the perishing; today’s church is a cruise ship pampering the prosperous.
When God fulfills His Word concerning the end times and begins to pour out His judgment upon the earth, people will know He is God.
Sinful desires create conflict, but humble repentance receives greater grace.
Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance.
Taking credit for what God has done is always a dangerous thing.
Caring comes from being able to put yourself in the position of another person.
Rather than criticize God, we need to learn from Him. We need to have the same love, compassion, and readiness to forgive as God does.
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