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Yearly Archives: 2009

Of all the dangers that can overtake a Reformed church, pride is surely the worst and most serious. There is, of course, a right kind of pride, a thankfulness to God for our history and heritage. But the pride I am thinking of, is that ugly, self-righteous, self-preening brute that says with the Pharisees, ‘God, […]

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Date November 13, 2009
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4. ‘God Has Given Me All Things’1 We have been considering some of the many passages throughout the Bible where, although the doctrine of creation may not be developed to any great extent, it is clearly assumed to be true and is made the foundation of some further thoughts. It should thus be clear that […]

Category Articles
Date November 10, 2009
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There is nowhere in the Bible where we will find an expression of higher, more exalted joy, than in 1 John 3:1: ‘See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.’ It is as though the elderly apostle John is gathering […]

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Date November 10, 2009
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It was the first day of July 1866. As John Kennedy stood ready to preach on that Sabbath, in the pulpit of his Dingwall church, he gave out as his text: ‘For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better’ (Phil. 1:23). […]

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Date November 6, 2009
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3. The Consistent Scripture Testimony1 In the Old Testament period, when God’s revelation was largely confined to the Jews, we might not expect many instances of them communicating the truth about their God to Gentiles. Yet we do have the example of Jonah when the seamen quizzed him about his background; he told them: ‘I […]

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Date November 6, 2009
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‘A wonderful book . . . a real treasure. Here are lessons for preachers and pastors, lessons for churches and lessons also for all those who seek to grow in grace! (Stephen Richardson on Iain Murray’s A Scottish Christian Heritage) Below are links to selected online reviews of Banner titles posted (mainly) during September and […]

Category Book Reviews
Date November 3, 2009
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What about reading?1 1. I would read more systematically. What I mean is I would always be reading something in a planned way, setting aside time for scheduled reading regardless of my situation or schedule. On family vacations or trips away, I would choose a specific book you have been wanting to read and haven’t […]

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Date October 27, 2009
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That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:6). We must preach Christ crucified. This is not limited to pastors and missionaries.1 It is clear that disciple-making, including the task of evangelizing, is part and parcel of our sanctification. We are commanded to […]

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Date October 23, 2009
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The 9th and 10th of October saw a good number of Christians from all over the North West of England gathering at the Emmaus Church Centre in Warrington for this year’s ‘God’s Glory our Joy’ conference. The conference has been running each year since 2000, and is subtitled ‘Building Biblical Churches for the 21st Century’, […]

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Date October 23, 2009
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TV Will Never Poison My Children’s Minds Australia has come out against television – but some of us have known of its dangers for years. To my amazement the Australian Government has come out against television. Admittedly its report is confined to the effect on small children, and takes the form of undemanding guidelines: the […]

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Date October 20, 2009
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1. Where do you place the importance of preaching in the grand scheme of church life? As far as I can see from the Word of God, preaching must be central to the life of the church. This can be seen from the way the church started in the New Testament. As soon as the […]

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Date October 20, 2009
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The doctrines of grace – otherwise known as the 5 Points of Calvinism or TULIP We believe that these 5 truths are biblical and therefore true. We believe that they magnify God’s precious grace and give unspeakable joy to sinners who have despaired of saving themselves. Total Depravity Our sinful corruption is so deep and […]

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Date October 13, 2009
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The Arminian view is by far the most popular of the four views of the atonement in the Christian church today. However, serious objections must be lodged against Arminian universal redemption, among which are these: It slanders God’s attributes It slanders God’s attributes, such as his love. Arminianism presents a love that actually doesn’t save. […]

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Date October 13, 2009
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God is infinite; he therefore has supreme authority over all his creatures, and it is their duty to submit absolutely to him in everything he requires. Adam and Eve showed this degree of respect for God immediately after the creation; they submitted completely to him in all their thinking, in their entire motivation, and in […]

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Date October 9, 2009
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TIMOTHY OLEINIK went to Siberia from southern Russia eighteen years ago as one of a large mission team of raw recruits visiting Siberia for the first time. He was destined to stay for many years (see what his wife says below)! He has shown himself to be a born leader and enabler of others willing […]

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Date October 9, 2009
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I imagine every Christian as he goes about his daily tasks looks for those occasional indications of the divine hand in his affairs to confirm that his work is of the Lord and not merely some scheme of his own. We are now beginning to build the hospital and because of the high unemployment rate […]

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Date October 9, 2009
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The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground. (Genesis 4:10) ‘An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land. The prophets prophesy falsely, the priests rule on their own authority, and my people love it so. But what will you do at the end of it?’ (Jer. 5:30-31). […]

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Date October 6, 2009
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2. ‘Through Faith We Understand . . .’1 There can be no doubt that the theory of evolution functions as a strong bulwark for the kingdom of Satan today. Most people in Britain and elsewhere stand firmly in opposition to the claims of the God of heaven, and they are strengthened in doing so by […]

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Date October 6, 2009
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The opening paper at the John Owen Centre Calvin conference (September 14-15, 2009) was given by Joel Beeke and was on ‘Calvin the Revolutionary’. It was very helpful indeed. Dr Beeke’s first concern was to state that Calvin was a man with a holistic, unified way of thinking. There is no real dualism in him. […]

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Date October 2, 2009
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The penultimate paper in the John Owen Centre at the September 2009 Conference on John Calvin was from Sinclair Ferguson – on ‘Calvin and the Holy Spirit.’ Dr Ferguson spoke about the fact that there is teaching about the Spirit everywhere in Calvin’s writings leading to B B Warfield’s famous remark that Calvin was the […]

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Date October 2, 2009
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At the beginning of the final paper at the September 2009 London Conference on John Calvin in the John Owen Centre, Joel Beeke revealed that this was his tenth Calvin conference of the year. He had 10 points in what he introduced as a pep talk, an encouragement to believe in preaching. It was a […]

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Date October 2, 2009
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What do we mean by the sovereignty of God? We believe that God upholds and governs all things ‘from galaxies to subatomic particles, from the forces of nature to the movements of nations, and from the public plans of politicians to the secret acts of solitary persons’ all in accord with his eternal, all-wise purposes […]

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Date September 29, 2009
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This work was first published in 1882 by Dr Cuyler (1822-1909), who studied at Princeton Seminary during its ‘golden age’ in the 1840s when Archibald Alexander, Samuel Miller, Charles Hodge, and J A Alexander were professors (see Princeton Seminary, David B Calhoun). Graduating in 1846 he entered in 1860 on his last and longest charge […]

Category Book Reviews
Date September 29, 2009
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By the sweat of your face you will eat bread. (Genesis 3:19) In 1776 Adam Smith, a Scottish economist and Deist, a good friend of David Hume the sceptic, wrote his famous book Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations that has profoundly affected the capitalist system in our world. Smith […]

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Date September 25, 2009
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INTRODUCTION I have betrayed John Calvin1. We all have. We betray Calvin every time we talk about him, because Calvin did a lot to stop people talking about him. He once commented, ‘I am unwilling to speak of myself, but since you do not permit me to be altogether silent, I will say what I […]

Category Articles
Date September 25, 2009
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