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Yearly Archives: 2009

I have just completed preaching through the twelfth chapter of Romans, thirty years after I had first preached through the letter. It is the Everest of New Testament ethics, corporate and individual, ecclesiastical and personal. I preached fifteen sermons on it and found much helpful material available compared to thirty years ago. There is the […]

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Category Book Reviews
Date June 23, 2009
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On 10 July 1509, almost exactly 500 years ago, one of God’s greatest gifts to his Church was born. This was John Calvin, whose life began in Noyon in northern France. His father held several important positions in the town, some civil and some ecclesiastical; his mother – who died when John was no more […]

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Date June 23, 2009
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And God blessed them, saying, ‘. . . fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’ (Genesis 1:22) On the fifth day of creation Elohim created swarms that swarm in the sea and flying birds that fly in the sky. In his commentary on Genesis, John Currid says that the […]

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Date June 19, 2009
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One of the effects of conversion is a new desire for the public worship of God. In regeneration, the Holy Spirit joins the soul to Christ, and through Christ the soul is united to all other believers, as members of the same body. The soul now finds itself drawn to the place where prayer is […]

Category Articles
Date June 19, 2009
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By the seventh day God completed his work which he had done. (Genesis 2:2) How old is the earth? Most scientists confidently assert that the universe, and consequently the earth, is billions of years old. Literal twenty-four hour, six day creationists believe, however, that the universe and earth are less than ten thousand years old. […]

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Category Articles
Date June 12, 2009
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Many today assume that things are best when nature rules. Examples we see are such things as a market for ‘natural (organic) foods’, ‘natural (alternative) medicine,’ and for the preservation of ‘natural (unmanaged) resources.’ There are not a few Christians who readily accept this outlook – that nature is best when left alone and allowed […]

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Date June 12, 2009
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THE LAW IS VERY GOOD AND PROFITABLE It is exceeding necessary for us to know this use of the Law. For he that is not an open and a public murderer, an adulterer, or a thief, holds himself to be an upright and godly man; as did the Pharisee, so blinded and possessed spiritually of […]

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Date June 12, 2009
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The Banner of Truth has published Scottish Puritans: Select Biographies, edited by W. K. Tweedie, and when we began to read this set, we expected something similar to the much appreciated Calvinistic Methodist Fathers of Wales, We could not have been more mistaken; the two sets are completely different. Yet Scottish Puritans is a real […]

Category Book Reviews
Date June 9, 2009
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At the annual assembly of the Association of Evangelical Churches in Wales, Ian Parry, pastor of the Bay Church in Cardiff, delivered a paper on the above subject and then led a seminar in a discussion of it. The following is a summary of what he said. 1) We need to UNDERSTAND our traditions. Where […]

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Category Articles
Date June 9, 2009
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‘A kind and merciful Providence.’ To my knowledge I first encountered that phrase reading a biography of Robert E. Lee. A little quick research indicates that the phrase was often used in the 19th century. People thanked ‘a kind and merciful Providence’ in their last wills and testaments for what he had entrusted to them. […]

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Date June 5, 2009
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‘The believer’s faith, love and hope would all be well-served by prayerful and meditative reading of this little volume . . . it is full of the gospel, and the aroma of Jesus rises from it sweetly.’ (Jeremy Walker on Marcus Loane’s Jesus Himself) Below are links to selected online reviews of Banner titles (mainly) […]

Category Book Reviews
Date June 5, 2009
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Then God said, ‘Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.’ (Genesis 1:6) Alexander Solzhenitsyn was born in 1918 at the beginning of the October Revolution that brought Communism to Russia, establishing the Soviet Union. His father died in a hunting accident six […]

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Category Articles
Date June 2, 2009
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The Banner of Truth has printed for the first time in English Songs of the Nativity: Selected Sermons on Luke 1 and 2*, by John Calvin. Calvin was without doubt a great man. Past generations have prized his writings, especially his Institutes and his commentaries. His very name (‘Calvinism’) has become almost synonymous with the […]

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Category Book Reviews
Date June 2, 2009
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Over the years I’ve done a lot of it. I can’t count the books, the articles and the various other items that I have composed. I always had a penchant for writing. In my first pastorate, I bought a Miller printing press; in order to bring it inside, I had to partially knock out a […]

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Category Articles
Date May 29, 2009
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In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1) Astronomers tell us that our galaxy, the Milky Way, has over three billion stars, that it is one thousand light years deep, that it is one hundred thousand light years across. One light year is the speed of light (one hundred and eighty-six […]

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Category Articles
Date May 29, 2009
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In his masterful commentary on Second Corinthians, James Denney warned against ministers of the gospel becoming diplomatists and strategists, rather than heralds. This warning, issued by Denney in 1894, needs more than ever to be heeded and acted upon by Christ’s ministers today. Over the past twenty or so years, there has been a pressing […]

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Category Articles
Date May 20, 2009
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The Lord has given and now the Lord has taken away one of the most faithful, and fruitful ministers of the Word who has ever served in the Church of Christ. On 12 March, 2009, James Philip was called out of this life and into the nearer presence of the God whom he loved and […]

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Date May 19, 2009
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On recent Sundays I’ve been preaching on the return of Christ. I grew up with some very mixed-up ideas about the Second Coming, but understanding the doctrine in our heads surely isn’t enough. As I’ve preached these sermons, I’ve found myself asking again and again, ‘how much do I look forward to the return of […]

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Category Articles
Date May 19, 2009
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Summary of a 10-minute address at the Banner of Truth Leicester Ministers’ Conference, 2009. Acts 9:1 ‘Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter.’ Acts 9:3 ‘Suddenly a light from heaven.’ What drama in the Early Church! The chief antagonist is on the warpath. His theme as he engages on his latest crusade is described as […]

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Date May 15, 2009
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Summary of a 10-minute address at the Banner of Truth Leicester Ministers’ Conference, 2009. One hundred and fifty years ago the Irish province of Ulster came under the powerful influences of the Spirit of God. The spiritual life of churches was revived and their witness to the gospel strengthened. The unconverted were deeply affected by […]

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Date May 15, 2009
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‘one of the most beautifully named Puritan books, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment . . Some of [Burroughs’] insights and comments are challenging. I don’t like some of them! But maybe it’s the ones I don’t like that should instruct me the most! (Lex Loizides). Below are links to selected online reviews of Banner […]

Category Book Reviews
Date May 15, 2009
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Blog notes on the Banner of Truth UK Ministers’ Conference, Leicester, 27-30 April 2009. Monday Lindsay Brown Our first speaker was Lindsay Brown. Lindsay was the travelling secretary for UCCF when I began as a student in Aberystwyth. He has gone on to work with IFES in various capacities. He spoke on the phrase ‘so […]

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Category Articles
Date May 12, 2009
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The form of worship acceptable to God has been commanded by him in the Scriptures. Without his prior word of institution for an action offered to him in worship, what we bring is offered in vain. From the beginning of the world, there have been certain solemn actions which he invests with the significance of […]

Category Articles
Date May 12, 2009
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This year is the 500th anniversary of John Calvin’s birth. For some people, the very name ‘Calvin’ conjures up images of a tyrannical despot who ruled the city state of Geneva, and its church, with a rod of iron during the middle decades of the sixteenth century. For others, who know their history a little […]

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Category Articles
Date May 5, 2009
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‘What sort of church is yours?’ I’ve been asked that question a number of times recently. Of course, the answer I’ve given has varied according to who I’m speaking to, and why they’re asking. But if I were talking to somebody who really wanted to know, and who had the time and inclination to listen, […]

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Category Articles
Date April 24, 2009
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