Yearly Archives: 2013

‘The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness’ (Rom. 1:18). The text before us requires me to speak faithfully on the wrath of God. I am under authority to teach whatever is in the Bible. My hearers are under […]

First a confession: Christmas is not my favourite time of year. This is partly due to temperament; I don’t particularly enjoy the ‘jollity’ of the season (my children will testify that there is something of the ‘bah humbug’ in their father at this time of year). However, Christmas does present us with a focused opportunity […]

It is recorded of John Newton that he said: ‘I read the newspaper that I may see how my heavenly Father governs the world.’ Spurgeon said that he read the newspaper to find illustrations for his sermons. In our 21st century it is very revealing to read God’s Word side by side with the newspaper. […]

In 1993 Vladimir Radzihovski was living in southern Ukraine when he was invited to join the third of the river ‘Missions to Siberia’. Passenger ships were hired to visit cities, towns and small settlements along the banks of the rivers Ob and Irtish, to preach the gospel to those who had never heard it before. […]

Are you blessed? Psalm 1 says that if you do not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers, but delight yourself instead in God’s law, you are! And here is part of the reason. Such a person ‘is like a tree […]

Peter writes, ‘give diligence to make your calling and election sure’. Why? Only the elect get to heaven, the rest end up in hell. But who are the elect? How can a person know if he is in the elect? Interestingly Peter links calling with election and puts calling first. The two in his mind […]

The day before John Owen departed to be with Christ (23 August, 1683), he dictated his last letter to a friend: ‘I am going to him whom my soul has loved, or rather who has loved me with an everlasting love, – which is the whole ground of my consolation.’ The following day William Payne […]

The allusion would be lost on most. ‘Here I raise my Ebenezer …’ Who or what is Ebenezer? Those of a more literary turn might remember the infamous Ebenezer Scrooge of Dickens’ Christmas Carol. But the action itself – raising my Ebenezer – would leave just about everyone these days scratching their head. The words […]

Contentment is the proper attitude we should have to our position in life; The Shorter Catechism (Ans. 80) includes ‘full contentment with our own condition’ among the duties that are required by the Tenth Commandment – which declares: ‘Thou shalt not covet’. Matthew Poole (on Col. 3:5) explains covetousness as ‘an immoderate desire after, and […]

In his book The Bruised Reed and Smoking Flax, the Puritan preacher Richard Sibbes provides a tenderhearted, Christ-exalting exposition and application of Isaiah 42:1-3. Since its initial publication in 1630, The Bruised Reed1 has been a source of encouragement to dejected sinners and struggling saints alike. Sibbes follows Matthew’s interpretation of this text, seeing it […]

Some years ago I was sitting in a ministers’ conference enjoying very much hearing God’s Word preached with grace and power. The preacher, a dear friend, paused and said something that riveted me. He quoted some words of Geerhardus Vos, ‘The reason God will never stop loving you is that he never began.’ Vos was […]

Charles Spurgeon was not the only man of God to be labouring during the heyday of the gospel’s progress in Victorian London. On the other side of the river lived and worked that most excellent servant of Christ, Archibald Geikie Brown. He is the subject of Iain H. Murray’s fairly recent biography, Archibald G. Brown: […]

Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:25). Most of us, most of the time, have little or no zeal for intentional evangelistic outreach. We will talk about what is important to us. I live in Alabama and most of the people here have no […]

The UK Banner South East Conference will be held on 30 Nov., 2013, at Grove Chapel, London. We sat down with Paul Levy to ask him some questions about his life, the upcoming conference, and what those who plan to attend should expect to hear from him. For more event details please view our UK […]

A review of R. T. Kendall, In Pursuit of His Glory: My 25 Years at Westminster Chapel (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2002). In the past quarter-century, Westminster Chapel, London, has been through seismic change. Either from personal experience of what it was, or from the reading of Lloyd-Jones’ literature, there are many who know what […]

I wonder if it has ever struck you in reading the New Testament how often faith and love are mentioned in the same breath. Again and again you find that where the one is the other is as well. Let me give you some examples. In one place, Paul declares that ‘we ought always to […]

Finding Peace with God1 provides a brief overview of the biblical doctrine of justification. It is written in plain language which makes it accessible to all and affords not only a timely antidote to the false teaching of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy but it also helpfully refutes the erroneous New Perspective on Paul adopted […]

J C Ryle was an evangelical Church of England minister of the 19th century who eventually became the first Bishop of Liverpool. During his life he became best known for writing tracts on a range of subjects. This book, first published in 1873, is a collection of nineteen such booklets. The common theme is the […]

What qualifies me to write on this subject? Simply the fact that I have been the pastor of Childs Hill Baptist Church in London for the last 30 years. How have I been able to do that? Firstly, I was converted when I was still only about to turn 13. Then, by the time I […]

A recent writer complains that ‘contemporary gospel preaching . . . rarely explains the cross of Christ;’ that is, it fails to tell us that ‘He died bearing the transgressions of His people . . . suffering the divine penalty for their sins . . . forsaken of God and crushed’ beneath God’s wrath. It […]

What is it that shapes our lives? Is it the all-pervasive influence and philosophy of this world? Is it our own fallen natures? Or is it our faith? What do we mean by faith? These are days when it can no longer be safely assumed that the language used for centuries will be understood, so […]

What should a church be looking for when it seeks a pastor? This is a question that should deeply exercise not only elders but every church member. What qualities should a search committee have uppermost in their minds as they look to God to provide them with a man after his own heart? Perhaps before […]

Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting (Psa. 126:5). Read carefully. If your church does not evangelize, then it will surely perish. I say this even if you have several hundreds or thousands of members and are presently a vibrant, fast growing church. We all know of churches that fifty or one […]

Eugene Peterson published The Message: The New Testament in Contemporary English in 1993. A whole Bible version was finally completed in 2002. The casual shopper in the average Christian book shop today could be forgiven for thinking that it is yet another of the veritable flood of English translations of the Bible that have been […]

On the 31st of October, 1517, Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church of Wittenberg, Germany. This event is remembered today as sparking the Protestant Reformation. In honour of this great day in Christian history we have highlighted some Banner books about the history and theme of the Reformation. […]