Yearly Archives: 2015

At the Westminster Conference at Westminster Chapel last December [2003] the opening paper was given by Iain Murray on the above title.1 The following are his opening words, and the remainder of this fascinating lecture has now been printed with the other five lectures in Knowing the Mind of God, published by the Westminster Conference […]

We sat down with Banner trustee Tom Richwine to ask him why he thinks young men and women should seriously consider attending this year’s UK Youth Conference.

I am asked whether, in my judgment, it is profitable for the minister of today to read the writings of Jonathan Edwards, and (I suppose) those of other similarly notable theologians of the past. The question may perhaps have been suggested to my friend by my own remark that I had recently been re-reading Edwards […]

‘What our generation needs is a sense of God,’ says David F. Wells, who has done more than anyone to analyse the weaknesses of modern evangelicalism. Steeped as we are in atheism and secularism in society and worldliness in the Church, the times cry out for a sense of God. The present situation should vex […]

One of the first, simple assignments homiletic students should be given is to assemble a team of prayer partners. Recruiting from their congregation, family members, mentors, and fellow students, the students are required to assemble a number of at least eight to ten people for their prayer team in the first week of the class. […]

A review by Rt Revd Dr J Barry Shucksmith of Confessing the Faith: A Reader’s Guide to the Westminster Confession of Faith by Chad Van Dixhoorn.1 The Westminster Assembly took place in 1643 – a synod appointed by the Long Parliament to reform the English Church. Parliament issued an ordinance to allow the Westminster Assembly, […]

I think that almost every reader of this magazine1 will recognize in these two lines the beginning of the hymn by William Cowper, ‘God moves in a mysterious way’. As far as I know that author is virtually unknown to Polish Christians. Although many Christians might not know the hymn, we know the truth that […]

The Quality of Urgency in Preaching Preaching, by definition, should be urgent in nature. By urgency we mean preaching that has, in the words of Merriam-Webster, a ‘force or impulse that impels or constrains.’ Preaching with urgency is done when the preacher not only hopes for but calls for and expects response to the Word […]

It is always refreshing when you come across an accessible, edifying book on Scripture. Sinclair Ferguson’s From the Mouth of God: Trusting, Reading, and Applying the Bible1 is an easy-to-read, straightforward guide to understanding and profitably using God’s Word. But Ferguson doesn’t leap right into the specifics of biblical interpretation. He knows our attempt to […]

What is the role of the Holy Spirit in evangelistic preaching? First, consider the work of the Holy Spirit upon the preacher himself.1 Clearly the preacher’s private time with the Lord is vital. This includes his own personal devotional time when God speaks to him in prayer, and his own systematic reading of the word […]

Since Wednesday 7th January 2015, France has been in shock. The attack at the offices of the Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper left twelve people dead, then five more were killed over the following two days. The French are sad, angry and indignant. How are we, as Christians, to react? Here are some things to consider […]

Peter Hulland has been an elder and a preacher in the Stanton Lees Chapel in the Derbyshire Dales for forty years. His home is noted for its hospitality; his family trust in the Lord. His church has preaching services that are attend by throngs of people several times a year. He is in his eightieth […]

‘a handsome volume … those who want a straight read of the mature theology of Calvin have their needs met in this translation’ – Paul Helm on Robert White’s new translation of Institutes of the Christian Religion. In the Notes below are links to selected online reviews of Banner titles, posted September – December 2014. […]

Dear boys and girls, I am writing this on Christmas Eve. I am sure that you are all looking forward very much to Christmas Day tomorrow and I hope that you greatly enjoy all the presents you receive. I was asked recently to say something on our local Christian radio station about Christmas when I […]

They spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord who was testifying to the word of His grace (Acts 14:3). I very well remember in 1976, while working with Dr. Jim Baird at the First Presbyterian Church, Macon, Georgia, reading for the first time Arnold Dallimore’s marvellous biography on George Whitefield,1 […]

BOOK REVIEW: Calvinism: A History by D. G. Hart [New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013], 339pp, $40.00/£25.00, ISBN 978 0 30014 879 4. Professor Darryl Hart has taken the plunge. A specialist in the history of twentieth-century American evangelicalism, especially Presby­terianism, he has a string of impressive publications to his credit such as Defending the […]

Mehdi Dibaj’s Final Testament is an extraordinary document. An Iranian preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ he was arrested and spent nine years in an Iranian prison on the charge of apostasy. He was eventually tried before the Islamic courts in December 1993 where he displayed such bravery in giving this defence of the […]