William Tyndale: Lesson 5 - A Great Storm

Introduction:

When we last left William Tyndale, his printer, Peter Quentel had his shop raided because he was secretly printing William’s translation of the New Testament from Greek into English.

What would happen to William Tyndale?

Would he be captured by Rincke?

If William is captured, what would happen to the translation of the Bible into English?

Before Rincke raided Quentel’s printshop, William Tyndale received word about the coming raid.

What do you think William did with this advanced knowledge?

William gathered up all the materials he had been working on and left town in the night.

William was able to get away just before Rincke made the raid on the printshop.

What a relief! - the work of translating the Scriptures into English and publishing them can continue!

But now the question is, where would William go now to continue the work of translating the Scriptures into English?

William decided that the best way to leave Cologne, Germany was by boat.

Traveling by boat at this time was not necessarily like going on a cruise ship.

And, if you’ve ever been sea sick, you know how tough it can be to travel by boat!

Have you ever traveled on a boat before?

However, the most important thing was not William’s comfort.

Instead, William was safe.

And, William had been able to save his work from being destroyed by Rincke and his raid.

Who do you think was protecting William during this time? (The Lord!)

As William traveled, he continued his translation work.

In fact, William had something very special with him on board.

William had started translating the Old Testament into English.

Who wants to guess what William started on first?

William began translating the first five books of the Old Testament.

Can anyone name the first five books of the OT? (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy)

Things seemed to be going great!

William was safe.

William was able to continue his work on translating the Bible into English.

William was on his way to a new city where he would be sure to find a new printer who would be willing to print the English translation of the Scriptures.

What could possibly go wrong since William was now safely away from the raid Rincke made?

Do you know what happens when you travel on the sea?

You can run into storms!

Have you ever been in a really bad storm?

How do you feel when you face a really bad storm?

Who do we know is in charge of all things, to include the weather? (the Lord)

Well, the boat that William Tyndale was on got caught in a really bad storm.

When boats run into bad storms, either one of two things happen.

The boat makes it through safely, albeit shaken.

Or, the boat does not make it.

What do you think will happen to the boat that William is on?

If it makes it through the storm, William won’t have anything to worry about before arriving at his next destination to continue his translation work.

If the boat does not make it, William risks losing everything he owns, to include all his work, even the unpublished translation of the first five books of the Bible, or even his life.

Conclusion: In 2 weeks, we’ll rejoin William on the sea in the midst of this great storm to consider the outcome. However, we must remember that regardless of what happens, the Lord controls all storms and is with His people through them: Psalm 93 “1 The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The Lord has clothed and girded Himself with strength; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved. 2 Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting. 3 The floods have lifted up, O Lord, The floods have lifted up their voice, The floods lift up their pounding waves. 4 More than the sounds of many waters, Than the mighty breakers of the sea, The Lord on high is mighty. 5 Your testimonies are fully confirmed; Holiness befits Your house, O Lord, forevermore.”