Study Questions

Chapter 1: Christ-Bearer

  1. What reason did Columbus give for sailing into the Atlantic Ocean? Who gave him the idea?
  2. What rewards did Columbus demand from Ferdinand and Isabella? What do they show about his character?
  3. What three miracles happened on the first voyage? Why do you think that God waited for Columbus to ask Him for a miracle?
  4. When did Columbus’s vision begin to change? What tempted him to change it?
  5. List three points from this chapter that indicate God did have a plan for America.

Chapter 2: If Gold Is Your Almighty

  1. Did King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella believe in God? How do you know?
  2. Name two ways God tried to reach Columbus.
  3. Was Columbus a “Christ-bearer” even though he sinned? Why or why not?

Chapter 3: Martyrs for Jesus

  1. Look up John 12:24. How does this Scripture apply to the first missionaries who came to the New World?
  2. Why did God choose monks to spread His Light into the dark land?
  3. What did the early monks find when they arrived? What did they do about it?
  4. What is a martyr? Name two from this chapter.
  5. Compare Father Jogues with Columbus. How were they alike? How were they different?

Chapter 4: The Lost Colony

  1. The English made two very bad decisions in regard to the Indians. What were they?
  2. This chapter tells of the first English attempts to colonize America. How many expeditions were there, and how did each of them end up?
  3. Where do you see the hand of God in the story of the Lost Colony?
  4. One of America’s greatest mysteries is what happened to the Lost Colony. What do you think happened to them?

Chapter 5: Jamestown

  1. What did the Virginia Company tell people in order to raise money for the new colony? Was it true?
  2. How did the arguing and fighting among the colony’s leaders hinder God’s blessings on the settlers?
  3. Who was Robert Hunt? How did he prove to be a man of God?
  4. Give three reasons that kept God from richly blessing the colonists at Jamestown.
  5. By His providential mercy God intervened a number of times to keep the Jamestown colony from failing. What were those times, and what happened?

Chapter 6: To the Promised Land

  1. What was God’s plan for America? How did the Pilgrims fit into it?
  2. What happened to the Speedwell? Why did God let this happen?
  3. Name two events on the Mayflower that illustrate God’s hand being on the Pilgrims.
  4. Why did the Pilgrims write the Mayflower Compact? Why is it important?

Chapter 7: “God Our Maker Doth Provide”

  1. What prepared Squanto for his role at Plymouth?
  2. Why did the Pilgrims stay at Plymouth when Captain Jones left?
  3. Explain the difference in the way the Jamestown settlers and the Pilgrims felt about the following:
    a. planting corn
    b. the Indians
    c. God
  4. What were the “five kernels of corn”?

Chapter 8: Thy Kingdom Come

  1. Why did the Puritans feel they had to leave England?
  2. What did the Puritans hope to do in the New World?
  3. Who defined covenant love? What did he say?
  4. How did the Pilgrims demonstrate Christian love toward the Puritans?
  5. Did John Winthrop understand the meaning of commitment? Why or why not?

Chapter 9: The Puritan Way

  1. What are some adjectives that would describe the Puritans?
  2. The heart of the Puritans’ lives was their willingness to deal with what?
  3. God pruned His vineyard in New England for two purposes: to do away with bad growth and to encourage good growth. What three people illustrated this? How?

Chapter 10: King Philip’s War

  1. Why did the Puritans begin to turn their hearts away from God?
  2. According to Deuteronomy 8, what do we receive if we obey the commandments of the Lord?
  3. What incident touched off the Indian uprising?
  4. How did God use the “Praying Indians” to help the colonists?

Chapter 11: The First Great Awakening

  1. The Great Awakening was a revival. Where did it start? What is a revival?
  2. Where did George Whitefield begin preaching in the open air as Jesus did?
  3. What important message did George Whitefield deliver to the colonists?
  4. Where did he preach his last sermon?

Chapter 12: “No King but King Jesus!”

  1. Is it ever permissible to resist lawful government authority? When?
  2. List three tax acts passed by Parliament that hurt the colonists.
  3. How did the other colonies respond when the King closed the port of Boston?
  4. How did Samuel Adams outsmart the governor?
  5. Patrick Henry believed that the colonies could stand up to the might of Great Britain. What are two of the reasons he gave?

Chapter 13: War!

  1. What battle marked the beginning of the war for Independence?
  2. List four instances of God’s favor in the battles of Lexington and Concord.
  3. Why do you think General Howe did not pursue Prescott after the Battle of Bunker Hill?

Chapter 14: The Birth of a Nation

  1. What were the spiritual secrets of George Washington’s leadership? Do you see any of these characteristics in yourself? In others?
  2. Why did the attack on Canada fail?
  3. Give three instances of God’s aid to the colonists during the war.
  4. Why was Caesar Rodney’s vote so important? Why was he risking his life with his vote?
  5. Why was the Declaration of Independence so important?

Chapter 15: The Dark Night of a Nation’s Soul

  1. Why did the British call General George Washington “a cunning fox”?
  2. What made things hard for the soldiers at Valley Forge? What was God’s purpose in allowing this?
  3. What European country decided to help the Americans?
  4. Name at least four times that you can see God’s hand favoring the American cause during the war.

Chapter 16: Building the House

  1. What document sets up the legal framework for God’s plan in America?
  2. How did Benjamin Franklin’s influence save the Constitutional Convention?
  3. What role can you have in promoting God’s plan for our great country?