Articles

In 1524, Desiderius Erasmus, probably the foremost classical scholar in Europe, published a little book with the title Diatribe sue collatio de libero arbitrio (‘Discussion concerning free will’). Erasmus wrote the book to distance himself from the teachings of Martin Luther that were setting Europe ablaze and challenging the foundations of the papacy. Erasmus was […]

God used the Apostle Paul on his third missionary journey, around A.D. 58, to plant the church in Ephesus, in the Roman province of Asia Minor, modern day western Turkey. Ephesus was a fruitful church which God used to plant many other churches in the region. Mighty societal impact resulted from the Holy Spirit coming […]

We are living in days when there seems to be a flat calm on the church scene in the United Kingdom. How can we explain the current situation? We may find an answer to this by considering church history. Some people would regard times of peace and quiet as desirable and times of controversy as […]

Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Jeremiah Lanphier was born in upstate New York in 1809 and moved to the city of New York as a young man where he engaged in the mercantile industry. In 1845 he was converted as he heard the preaching of the gospel at the Broadway Tabernacle, a church built […]

It is not difficult to appreciate the great strengths of the Southern Presbyterian Church in the early nineteenth century. It comprised of many solid, faithful congregations where the truths of the Bible were honoured and clearly taught; and where, from time to time, sudden bursts of religious awakening added large numbers of people to the […]

Francis of Assisi has little to answer for. Although the quotation of ‘preach the gospel at all times; use words if necessary’ has been attributed to him, the historical truth of the matter is that Francis was a prolific gospel preacher.1 However, in a contemporary world of increasing political (and seemingly ecclesiastical) correctness, the unspeaking […]

On Sunday November 23rd 2013, the bones of St Peter were presented to the world for the first time at a public Mass. According to the Catholic Herald it was ‘wonderful and almost unbelievable . . . a man from Argentina has reintroduced us to his predecessor, a Galilean fisherman born millennia ago’. Eight bone […]

This article was published as a ‘Letter from the Manse’ in the church magazine of Grace Baptist Church, Stockport, Cheshire (March 2015). I spent last week with seventeen other men. We came together for a ‘study week’ and we studied. Seven hours together each day around the conference table and personal assignments to be completed […]

I suppose if we had asked around our churches regarding what we would most like to see in 2015 one prominent answer would be a national revival of true religion. Of course, many definitions could be given of revival, although most of them would be related to historical records, which means that there is the […]

‘Comfort with the comfort with which you were comforted.’ My husband Dennis lay in the Intensive Care Unit at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. Surgery had led to his inclusion in the 10% who develop complications, leaving me both bewildered and overwhelmed. Day followed day with little improvement. I thought, ‘What if I lose him?’ […]

This article was published as a ‘letter from the manse’ in the church magazine of Grace Baptist Church, Stockport, Cheshire, England. Dear friends, I never buy newspapers these days. Most of the newspapers have websites where you can read all the news and comment for free. And you can also see what other readers have […]

What daily anxieties of spirit are there in some because of the lack of children. They have many other comforts, but the not having of this embitters all. Abraham himself was much troubled about it: Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer […]

It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind (Joel 2:28). In 1848 at the age of twenty Andrew Murray returned home to Cape Town, South Africa from his theological studies in Scotland and Holland. The Dutch Reformed Church required ministers to be at least twenty-two years old […]

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? (Mark 8:36). Barbara ‘Basia’ Piasecka was born in Poland in 1937, and after graduating with a degree in art history and with $100 in her pocket, made her way to the United States and secured a job as a […]

To answer my own question, I hope so. I very much hope so. I am not a fan of hell. I bow to God’s sovereign wisdom and justice, but I wish there were no hell. I wish that every life were sooner or later redeemed, set free from the scourge of sin, and released from […]

I am writing this en route to Cambridge after a flying (literally) visit to Glasgow. The week before Christmas, I answered the phone to be told that the police and fire service had to break into our apartment in Glasgow where one of our children is living and studying. Our daughter had not misbehaved; there […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]