Yearly Archives: 2007

Elizabeth, the fifth child of Dr Edward Payson and his wife Louisa was born in Portland, Maine, USA in 1818. This is the story of her childhood development, her marriage in 1845 to George Prentiss and their subsequent life and work. I had no previous knowledge of this truly Christian lady, prior to reading this […]

Mark writes about the three women who were at the tomb of the Lord Jesus; ‘And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid,’ (Mark 16:8). The women who came to the tomb that first Easter morning showed […]

‘The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, bring when thou comest, and the books, especially the parchments.’ (2 Timothy 4:13, ASV) As the Apostle Paul writes his second epistle to Timothy, he does so from the confines of a Roman prison awaiting trial. These are some of the last words he pens, or […]

Some thoughts from Iain H. Murray arising out of Alan Clifford’s Calvinus: Authentic Calvinism, A Clarification (Charenton Reformed Publishing, 8 Le Strange Close, Norwich, 1996), 94pp.1 This title from Alan Clifford is a monograph of twenty-six pages, plus end-notes, pages of quotations from Calvin, and refutation of some opposing views. It continues the discussion whether […]

Mary Stone was the daughter of Matthew Stone, a successful London Merchant. She met her husband Christopher Love, in 1639 and six years later they married. Christopher Love was a Puritan who became the lecturer at St. Ann’s Aldergate for three years before becoming the minister of St. Laurence Jewry, a church in London, in […]

A few hundred yards beyond the house where Finlay Thomson lived most of his days, there stands prominently, on its own, a place of worship known as Teampaill Moluaidh, a building dating from the twelfth or thirteenth century and which, we are informed, was possibly built on the site of an earlier church. Moluag, as […]

Just over half of A Scottish Christian Heritage1 by Iain Murray consists of biographical accounts of five Scottish ministers, a form of writing at which Mr Murray excels. Each chapter is slanted towards highlighting specific lessons which the author considers its subject exemplifies. The second part has two chapters dealing with missionary themes. One focuses […]

In times of revival sinners experience a deep conviction of their sinful condition. Sometimes this experience can be agonising. As souls first discover their appalling condition of lostness and guilt and then are led to search for and find salvation by faith in Christ, the glory of God’s grace shines resplendently. The hymns which stem […]

I am constantly amazed how quickly and easily I forget that ‘our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’ (Eph. 6:12). This does not mean that indwelling sin is not […]

God made everything. His final act of creation was to bring mankind into existence. Like every other part of His work, Adam and Eve were perfect in every respect. “God saw every thing that He had made,” we are told, “and, behold, it was very good” (Gen. 1:31). Adam’s body was perfect; as was Eve’s. […]

In the book of The Revelation we read of the Lord’s day (1:10), as this is the day that belongs to Christ Jesus – only it and the Lord’s supper (1 Cor. 11:20) bear this title, so why this special significance and where does it come from? The risen Saviour appeared on the first day […]

Memorizing Scripture seems like a daunting task for many of us. Why is that? For some, the memory is not as good as it used to be, or at least as we remember that it was! “I have a bad memory” is often used to justify not even attempting to memorize God’s Word. Still others […]

It is everyone’s duty to pray. Yet there is a serious difficulty: how can a holy God answer the petitions of a guilty sinner? So Isaiah was directed to tell rebellious Israel: “Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear” […]

PowerPoint and the Death of Preaching I have nothing against PowerPoint presentations when it comes to missionary spots, illustrated talks or lectures, etc. But I take issue with the use of PowerPoint in the pulpit. A preacher told me recently that a church he was due to visit asked him not only for his hymns […]

A pilgrimage to faith in the integrity of Scripture Enough things are lost in the average church to make some sort of lost-and-found department necessary, even if it is only a drawer in a desk somewhere. Church coatrooms often contain an interesting selection of old hats, overshoes, umbrellas, and gloves. Human memory being what it […]