Today in History - May 25

 A special thanks to Wikipedia.org for following historical information. The sermons I have chosen from Sermonaudio.com

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• 240 BC – First recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.^[2]

Answers in Genesis:  Why the Hubble Telescope Is Causing Evolutionists to PANIC

Recommended sermons and podcasts:

1. A Look to the Heavens...The Moon, by Jim Schneider
2. Moon Madness, by Dr. Ian R. K. Paisley (1926-2014 [Text: Ecclesiastes 7:29] [Note: This sermon was preached in 1969, right after the Apollo moon landing]

Recommended reading: Supermassive Black Hole 'Wakes Up', Starts Flashing '75 Times Brighter Than Ever Before' - zerohedge.com

Excerpt from this article: "It was dormant for more than 20 years, exhibiting very little fluctuation in light. then one day, it woke up, baffling astronomers around the world. A supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way called Sagittarius A has just started flashing 75 times brighter than it has ever been seen before."

The Bible says:  "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his handiwork." - Psalm 19 (Audio)

1. The Gospel Written in the Sky, by Rev. Ian Brown [Text: Psalm 19:1]
2. The Revelation of Scripture, by Dr. David P. Murray [Text: Psalm 19:1]

Recommended reading: Visualizing the Extreme Temperatures of the Universe - From Coldest to Hottest - zerohedge.com

1521 – The Diet of Worms ends when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, issues the Edict of Worms, declaring Martin Luther an outlaw.^[5]

Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms: "Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason - I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other - my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen." - Martin Luther (1483-1546) (in response to question of whether he will recant his writings against Roman Catholic Church in 1521)

Recommended sermons and podcasts:

Faith Alone: The Evangelical Doctrine of Justification, by Dr. RC Sproul (1939-2017)

• "Does saving faith require a trust in the righteousness of Christ alone as the grounds of our justification? Or may a person have a different view of the gospel and still be a Christian?" 
• "It is to Rome's credit, in my opinion, that she placed anathema on what she believed to be a false and heretical gospel. If sola fide is a distortion of the biblical gospel, surely it deserves such anathema. If the Reformers were preaching and teaching a false gospel, then they were apostate and deserved the labels put on them by Vatican I, 'schismatics and heretics.'" 
• "The Reformation was waged, not over the question of justification by faith, but over the issue of justification by faith alone. It was the sola of sola fide that was the central point of dispute." 
• "I said that if justification by faith alone is essential for salvation, and if Rome rejects justification by faith alone, then the conclusion follows by resistless logic that Rome rejects an essential truth of Christianity. When I use the word, if, here, I do so for the sake of the present argument. In my mind, there is no if about it. I am convinced, as were the Reformers, that justification by faith alone is essential to the gospel, and that Rome clearly rejects it." 
• "Agreement between Rome and Evangelicals can be reached in several ways. One is for Evangelicals to abandon their historic position of sola fide. A second is for Rome to adopt sola fide as its official doctrine. The third is for agreement to be reached that sola fide is not essential to the gospel."
• "To indicate that the Roman view is inadequate, or it falls short, is a gentle criticism. In my estimation, it is too gentle. One could construe this statement to mean that, though it has shortcomings and is less than adequate, the Roman 'version of the gospel' is still just that, a 'version of the gospel.' The New Testament makes it clear that there is only one gospel. An 'inadequate' gospel is not the gospel. A gospel that 'falls short' of its essence is not a true gospel and must be vigorously rejected." 
• "I can imagine no Reformed theologian from the 16th century to the present day suggesting that the Roman Catholic view is not a serious threat to the gospel." 

 1659 – Richard Cromwell resigns as Lord Protector of England following the restoration of the Long Parliament, beginning a second brief period of the republican government called the Commonwealth of England.

I think it was Oliver Cromwell who said: "You need not hope in order to undertake, and you need not succeed in order to persevere." The following sermons and podcasts are on Oliver Cromwell and the English Civil War:

1. Oliver Cromwell: Saint, Soldier, Statesmen, by Dr. Alan Cairns (Text: Hebrews 8)
2. Oliver Cromwell, by Dr. Peter Hammond
3. Oliver Cromwell and His Russet-Coated Heroes, by Bill Potter
4. The Life and Labors of Oliver Cromwell, by Rev. Colin Mercer
5. Oliver Cromwell Lord Protector of England, by Rev. Ian Goligher (Text: 1 Samuel 18:12)

1660 – Charles II lands at Dover at the invitation of the Convention Parliament, which marks the end of the Cromwell-proclaimed Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and begins the Restoration of the British monarchy.

1925 – Scopes Trial: John T. Scopes is indicted for teaching human evolution in Tennessee.

Recommended sermons and podcasts:

• The Scopes Trial: 90 Years Later, by Pastor Kevin Boling
• Scopes Trial II: How the Genome Project Proves Evolution, by Pastor Kevin Swanson
• Physics - Why is the Scopes Trial Significant, by F. William Darrow [Text: Genesis 2:3]
• Inherently Wind: A Hollywood History of the Scopes Trial, by Dr. David Menton [Text: Genesis]