Topic Archives: Church & Ministry

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows (Matthew 10:29-31, NIV). For years I’d thought Timbuktu […]

We are in contact with church and mission agencies all over the world and the one thing they all have in common is that they need workers. Most are even praying for those who will come short-term and help in the task. The bigger demand is for long-term workers of some level of maturity. It […]

The following is a sermon by Brian Edwards, given February 15, 2000 at Brynygroes Conference Centre, Bala, at the annual Day Conference of the evangelical ministers of North Wales. * * * We are living in unique days. Could it ever have been so hard to be in the ministry of the gospel as today? […]

An Introduction James I. Packer ‘BAXTER, Richard, gentleman; born 12 November 1615, at Rowton, Salop; educated at Donnington Free School, Wroxeter, and privately; ordained deacon by Bishop of Worcester, Advent 1638; head of Richard Foley’s School, Dudley, 1639; curate of Bridgnorth, 1639-40; lecturer (curate) of Kidderminster, 1641-42; army chaplain at Coventry, 1642-45, and with Whalley’s […]

This video is frequently recommended as a tool for evangelism. It is based on Luke’s Gospel, and reports indicate that it is faithful to the text. The motives and integrity of the makers and users of this video are thus not to be questioned. However they are misguided, and the following arguments are intended to […]

In the current Westminster Theological Journal (Vol 61, No 2, Fall 1999) Bob Letham, formerly of England but now a pastor with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Delaware, reviews Alister McGrath’s J. I.Packer: A Biography (Baker in the USA; Hodder and Stoughton in Great Britain). He makes many good points. He begins, ‘After Basil Hall’s […]

‘Essentially Evangelical’ is the name adopted by a group of evangelical ministers to a proposed organisation of individuals (and perhaps of churches) sharing certain convictions. The envisaged movement would not constitute a denomination with any form of centralised leadership, but would be a voluntary means of promoting co-operation. Other such groups already exist in British […]

The following report is published in the current edition of the American ‘Presbyterian & Reformed News’ [Vol. 5, No. 4, December 1999]. In October, controversial Anglican minister John R. W. Stott preached in chapel at Covenant Theological Seminary, the denominational seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) located in St Louis, and filled the […]

The Times (Monday January 24, 2000) printed an extract from Monica Furlong’s critical biography of George Carey, the Archbishop of Canterbury (C of E. The State It’s In, by Monica Furlong, to be published by Hodder and Stoughton on February 17, £18.99). At 17 years of age Londoner Carey professed conversion in an Anglican church. […]

Mark Pickett of Brighton was a student in Aberystwyth twenty years ago, and for many years he, his wife, and their three children have been living, studying, and working in Nepal. He has just written a simple commentary on Genesis in one of the Indian languages — actually their first commentary on Genesis. I recently […]

Over forty years ago the Banner of Truth reprinted John Owen‘s Death of Death in the Death of Christ. The book became instantly famous in the English-speaking world because of its introductory essay written by the youthful Dr. J. I. Packer. The book is still in print, and here are its timeless opening paragraphs: ‘The […]

We are asking the question today ‘How do we assess hymns, and how do we assess hymn-books?’ I hope to do three things. Firstly I want to make a general observation about singing in the New Testament. Then I want us to look at Paul’s instructions in Ephesians and Colossians. Then I want us think […]

This article is a continuation from Part I. There were some weaknesses in Abraham Kuyper. 1. Kuyper’s approach to the Bible was not uniformly helpful because his preaching was not that of the careful exegete. At times his sermons were more like lectures than expository addresses. He would, for example, seize on single words in […]

This is the final part of this series. Please click for Part I, Part II, and Part III. There is also unease we have with Dr Klaas Schilder. These would be in these areas:– 1. The polemics which finally resulted in the trial, the suspension from office, the schism and the new denomination. I am […]