This is an IHeart podcast.

This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories,

the show where America is the star and the American people.

If you want to know about the history of America, it's imperative that you know the role that

the Bible played in shaping our country.

You to share another story is Robert Morgan, who's the author of 100 Bible verses that

made America defining moments that shaped our enduring foundation of faith.

Let's take a listen.

The pilgrims, as we know them, were Puritans fleeing religious persecution in England.

And after their arrival on the Mayflower in 1620, thousands upon thousands of more Puritans

emigrated to America.

They were some of England's best-trained scholars, barristers, educators, and clergymen.

On April 8, 1630, a fleet of four ships left the Isle of Wright,

carrying yet another 700 Puritan emigrants to the new world.

Among them was John Winthrop, a noted English lawyer who was distressed by the persecution

directed towards his fellow Puritans from King Charles I.

Joining Winthrop aboard the flagship Arabella were his two young sons, but his wife, Margaret,

wasn't able to join him until the next year. John and Margaret, in an unusual act of devotion,

forged a plan for keeping their love alive during their separation. They agreed together

to think about each other for an hour every Monday and Friday afternoon.

Well, at some point during, or maybe before or perhaps just after the voyage, Winthrop prepared and preached one of the most influential sermons in American history.

He called it a model of Christian charity. It's also known as the

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