Articles

The man who wrote the one hundred and nineteenth Psalm was as human as you and me. Consequently, affliction for him was no different from what it is for any of us: painful. Yet he speaks so positively about it. He says in fact that it was good for him to be afflicted (verse 71). […]

Recently I attended the communion service in Magdalene College chapel in Cambridge. The service was rich in Trinitarian worship, in elevated God-centred prayers, in excellent hymns and a fine, if too brief, sermon. As I sat and shared in the worship, this thought came to me, ‘How diverse the church of Jesus Christ is.’ Here […]

The Occasion It is a blessing to experience warm-hearted Christian fellowship in an ecumenical conference which holds high the standard of truth while becoming a broad expression of the world-wide unity of the Church of Christ. Rev. L.W. Bilkes of Grand Rapids, Michigan and myself – Pieter VanderMeyden – were privileged to be delegated by […]

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit . . . Do not quench the Spirit . . . Insulting the Spirit of grace (Ephesians 4:30, 1 Thessalonians 5:19, Hebrews 10:29). If the filling of the Holy Spirit yields conviction of sin, conversion, and sanctification;1 if the believer can expect his words to bring forth Holy Spirit […]

Worship services in evangelical churches do not mention sin, a major part of the gospel message, Dr. Cornelius Plantinga, senior research fellow at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, said Monday [March 24, 2014] at the Ethics and Public Policy Center’s Faith Angle Forum. ‘In very many evangelical and confessionally Reformed churches these days, sin […]

At the Reformation in Scotland, John Knox (probably born 500 years ago, in 1514) noted how potently God hath performed . . . the promises made to the Servants of God by the Prophet Esaias, ‘They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall lift up the wings as the eagles: they […]

The message of the angel Gabriel to Zechariah in the temple was that his wife Elizabeth would bear him a son, that this son was to be called John, and that he would be ‘great in the sight of the Lord’ (Luke 1:13-15). There is a right use and a wrong use to which these […]

We have no idea what we take for granted in the United States. I emigrated from Syria to American when I was 19 years of age, and became an American citizen four years later, and then a Christian many years later. As a photojournalist for twenty-five years, I have experienced up close and personal this […]

Nine congregants were ready for baptism, all of whom but my second daughter, Shlomit, were immigrants from the former Soviet Union. God had worked wonders among us. Four were couples who had turned to the Lord together. We hired the CM&A Church building in Jerusalem, reserved three buses and made preparations. The Orthodox, who almost […]

The great Protestant reformer, Martin Luther, infamously referred to the book of James as ‘an epistle of straw’ in his preface to the German New Testament. What is less well known or talked about, is that Luther also praised the book of James in the same preface. Luther said about James, ‘I praise it and […]

2014 is the centenary anniversary celebration of Leon Morris’ birth on 15 March 1914. Leon Morris is arguably Australia’s greatest biblical scholar, best known for his masterful works on the biblical teaching about the atonement [The Atonement: Its Meaning and Significance] as well as studies on The Gospel of John. Leon Morris was also Principal […]

In the mid-nineteenth century, archaeologists digging around the Palatine Hill in Rome unearthed a house that formed one part of the palace of the emperor Caligula, an unpleasant man who reigned in Rome from A.D. 37 until he was murdered in A.D. 41. In the years following Caligula’s death, the imperial palace continued to grow, […]

Romans 2:14, 15 – ‘(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and […]

There was a fine spirit among those who gathered and it showed itself from the outset. Allan Blanch reminded the gathering at the outset, a primary purpose of the conference is to build relationships and that needs days together. We had people this week from various parts of this vast land, including Tasmania and Western […]

In September 1791 Mary Forbes married Thomas Winslow, a Captain in the army; she was just 17. Shortly afterwards she attended a ball, where she was the centre of attention as the young bride. But later that evening, as she lay sleepless in bed, her thoughts went back to the excitement and the pleasure of […]

Nearly 1000 young adults poured into Redeemer College on February 14th, 2014 to hear Paul Washer. A former missionary to Peru and current director of Heart Cry Missionary Society, he spoke on ‘The Gospel and True Conversion.’ Although the greying preacher’s personal appearance in slacks and a blue dress shirt wasn’t particularly noteworthy, his presence […]

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Paul declares them to be the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23). The reason they appear in the life of the believer is because the Spirit is in the life of the believer. They are wholly the fruit of his gracious presence and […]

The year 2013 marked the 450th anniversary of the closing of the Council of Trent, one of the most significant series of meetings in Christian history. Here are nine things evangelicals should know about the Council and the decrees1 that it issued. 1. The Council of Trent was the most important movement of the Roman […]

John Robert Broome, a faithful minister in the ‘Gospel Standard’ churches for many years, member of the church at Trowbridge, died on February 14th, 2013, aged 81. The first part of this obituary by his son can be found here. During this time, our father was exercised about marrying. He had to give up one […]

Are you a Protestant? I do not mean do you side with the Unionists or with the Separatists in Northern Ireland? I do not mean, do you enjoy open confrontation with Roman Catholics as they go about their blasphemous and superstitious devotions at Walsingham, Knock and elsewhere? I mean, are you a Protestant in the […]

John Robert Broome, a faithful minister in the ‘Gospel Standard’ churches for many years, member of the church at Trowbridge, died on February 14th, 2013, aged 81. Our dear father was born in Bournemouth on December 6th, 1931, the second of three children of godly parents, Leonard and Helen Broome. His mother called him John […]

Why would anyone in their right mind believe the Bible, believe Jesus Christ, and believe that belonging to a Christian church was a sane and sensible thing to do? Reason 1 why you shouldn’t believe. The Bible! It is simply unbelievable. Who today in this modern, scientific, rational world believes in creation out of nothing […]

The long wait is over. The 24th Pastors’ Conference proved to be a blessed time. Once again the Lord has proven that his grace is truly sufficient. Pastors and church workers from all over the Philippines (Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao) attended. The work of reformation expands each year we hold this conference. February 4, Tuesday. […]

This year marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of the great Scottish Reformer, John Knox. God not only calls men to particular tasks in his kingdom; he also equips the men he calls with the personality, gifts, and strength to do the work. So it was with John Knox, the Reformer of Scotland. John […]

Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, using the so-called ‘Lord’s Prayer’ as a model. Many have noted that the six petitions in the Lord’s Prayer serve as an excellent outline of how God’s people ought to seek him earnestly in prayer.1 When Jesus taught us to pray, ‘Thy kingdom come,’ what does he mean? […]