David R. Beck was Professor of New Testament and Greek. He opens his sermon with an encounter he had with a statue of Jesus in the belly of Brontosaurus (00:00-03:47). Beck reads from John 12:20-36, and he first says that Greeks addressing Jesus is a trigger point for his ministry showing that the gospel is for the whole world (03:48-08:01). Most Beck’s sermon centers on the ultimate purpose of Jesus’ ministry that the Greek who came to him did not understand, that he was to be the one who would take away their sins (08:02-31:16). Beck ends the service with a word of prayer (31:17-33:06).
Martinsville Primitive Baptist Church was founded on October 28, 1899, and located in Martinsville, Virginia. Several names are used throughout the records books including Primitive Baptist Church at Martinsville, Martinsville Primitive Baptist Church, the Church Street Primitive Baptist Church Martinsville, Virginia, and Chatham Heights Primitive Baptist Church. Reference is made to the church meeting at a new location in Chatham Heights in 1963 which may explain some name variation. The church typically met monthly during which time minutes were recorded in the church record books.