Memorial Day we drove out to the cemetery to plant flowers around the graves of our loved ones. It is such a peaceful and beautiful place--green grass, trees, flowers, winding roads, shrubs, beautiful monuments, tender words. I thought that if the top could be cut from this hillside and, instead of looking at what is above, we could only look at what is six feet down, it would be a wretched sight--bones, carcasses, rottenness, worms, and corruption.
What these eyes see is not always the true picture. This is the way our Lord described the Pharisees (the religious but lost), “Ye are like whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness.” But a better thought to consider when we stand over this hillside of death, decay, and human corruption is, “Can these bones live?” Yes! “In a moment! in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed into his immortal power and glory.”
“These eyes shall see him in that day,
The Christ who died for me;
And all my rising bones shall say,
Lord, who is like to thee?”
About Henry Mahan
Henry T. Mahan was born in Birmingham, Alabama in August 1926. He joined the United States Navy in 1944 and served as a signalman on an L.S.T. in the Pacific during World War II. In 1946, he married his wife Doris, and the Lord blessed them with four children.
At the age of 21, he entered the pastoral ministry and gained broad experience as a pastor, teacher, conference speaker, and evangelist. In 1950, through the preaching of evangelist Rolfe Barnard, God was pleased to establish Henry in sovereign free grace teaching. At that time, he was serving as an assistant pastor at Pollard Baptist Church (off of Blackburn ave.) in Ashland, Kentucky.
In 1955, Thirteenth Street Baptist Church was formed in Ashland, Kentucky, and Henry was called to be its pastor. He faithfully served that congregation for more than 50 years, continuing in the same message throughout his ministry. His preaching was centered on the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified, in full accord with the Scriptures. He consistently proclaimed God’s sovereign purpose in salvation and the glory of Christ in redeeming sinners through His blood and righteousness.
Henry T. Mahan also traveled widely, preaching in conferences and churches across the United States and beyond. His ministry was marked by a clear and unwavering emphasis on Christ, not the preacher, but the One preached. Those who heard him recognized that his sermons honored the Savior and exalted the name of the Lord Jesus Christ above all.
Henry T. Mahan served as pastor and teacher of Thirteenth Street Baptist Church in Ashland, Kentucky for over half a century. His life and ministry were devoted to proclaiming the sovereign grace of God and directing sinners to the finished work of Christ. He entered into the presence of the Lord in 2019, leaving behind a lasting testimony to the gospel he faithfully preached.
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