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We're Marching to Zion (Zion City Choir)
John Alexander Dowie
John Alexander Dowie (1847–1907). Born on May 25, 1847, in Edinburgh, Scotland, to John Murray Dowie, a tailor and lay preacher, and Ann Macfarlan, John Alexander Dowie became a controversial evangelist and faith healer who founded the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church and Zion, Illinois. His childhood was marked by poverty and illness, but he showed early piety, reading the Bible cover-to-cover by age six and converting at seven after hearing a street preacher. In 1860, his family migrated to Adelaide, Australia, where Dowie worked in his uncle’s shoe business and later as a clerk, rising to a firm handling $2 million annually. At 21, he returned to Edinburgh to study theology, ordained as a Congregational minister in 1872, pastoring at Alma, Australia. His outspoken style led to conflicts, prompting resignations from churches in Manly (1873) and Newtown (1875). By 1878, he left Congregationalism, embracing divine healing after witnessing recoveries during a plague, founding the International Divine Healing Association in 1886. Moving to the U.S. in 1888, he built a following in San Francisco before settling in Chicago in 1890, capitalizing on the 1893 World’s Fair to grow his ministry. In 1896, he established the Christian Catholic Church, emphasizing healing, and in 1901, founded Zion, a theocratic community banning alcohol, tobacco, and medicine. Proclaiming himself “Elijah the Restorer” in 1901, he ruled Zion autocratically, amassing wealth but facing legal battles, including fraud suits he overcame. His books, like Zion’s Conflict with Methodist Apostasy (1900), and Leaves of Healing magazine spread his teachings. Married to cousin Jane Dowie in 1876, he had three children—Gladstone, Jeanie (died 1885), and Esther (died 1902). Extravagant campaigns, like a failed 1903 New York crusade, and financial mismanagement led to his 1906 deposition by deputy Wilbur Voliva after a stroke. Dowie died on March 9, 1907, in Zion, saying, “The time has come when I must obey God rather than man.”
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Sermon Summary
The video is a repetitive chant or song asking the Lord to let His joy be known. The phrase "And hear us, how we sing our song" is repeated multiple times throughout the video. The video emphasizes the importance of singing and praising the Lord. The overall message is a call to worship and express joy through song.
Sermon Transcription
The Queen has come along, and let her joy be known. The hills are full with trees and corn, The hills are full with trees and corn, And crowns of gold have grown, The crowns of gold. I am the peace of God, And I am the peace of God, And I am the joy of men. I am the peace of God, And I am the joy of men, The Lord is with me. I am the king, I feel the love, I am the king, I see the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy, the joy The hills are high, the hills are tall, the deserts grey, Before we reach the end, before we reach the end, Our walk of mercy, our walk of mercy, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial, When I go to trial, beautiful, beautiful trial.
We're Marching to Zion (Zion City Choir)
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John Alexander Dowie (1847–1907). Born on May 25, 1847, in Edinburgh, Scotland, to John Murray Dowie, a tailor and lay preacher, and Ann Macfarlan, John Alexander Dowie became a controversial evangelist and faith healer who founded the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church and Zion, Illinois. His childhood was marked by poverty and illness, but he showed early piety, reading the Bible cover-to-cover by age six and converting at seven after hearing a street preacher. In 1860, his family migrated to Adelaide, Australia, where Dowie worked in his uncle’s shoe business and later as a clerk, rising to a firm handling $2 million annually. At 21, he returned to Edinburgh to study theology, ordained as a Congregational minister in 1872, pastoring at Alma, Australia. His outspoken style led to conflicts, prompting resignations from churches in Manly (1873) and Newtown (1875). By 1878, he left Congregationalism, embracing divine healing after witnessing recoveries during a plague, founding the International Divine Healing Association in 1886. Moving to the U.S. in 1888, he built a following in San Francisco before settling in Chicago in 1890, capitalizing on the 1893 World’s Fair to grow his ministry. In 1896, he established the Christian Catholic Church, emphasizing healing, and in 1901, founded Zion, a theocratic community banning alcohol, tobacco, and medicine. Proclaiming himself “Elijah the Restorer” in 1901, he ruled Zion autocratically, amassing wealth but facing legal battles, including fraud suits he overcame. His books, like Zion’s Conflict with Methodist Apostasy (1900), and Leaves of Healing magazine spread his teachings. Married to cousin Jane Dowie in 1876, he had three children—Gladstone, Jeanie (died 1885), and Esther (died 1902). Extravagant campaigns, like a failed 1903 New York crusade, and financial mismanagement led to his 1906 deposition by deputy Wilbur Voliva after a stroke. Dowie died on March 9, 1907, in Zion, saying, “The time has come when I must obey God rather than man.”