Articles

Almost everywhere you look in contemporary culture you are likely to run into the prefix alt. “Alt” is short for “alternative.” For instance, there are “alt” music styles, such as “alt rock” and “alt country.” “Alt” serves to distinguish the group or the pursuit from the mainstream. Well, to “alt” rock and country you can […]

David Fountain passed away on July 4 at his home in Southampton aged 74. Members of Spring Road Evangelical Church in Sholing mourned the death of their long-serving pastor. He had led the church for 37 years until his retirement in 1992. His books were much appreciated. He wrote a biography of the famous son […]

In mid-May, 2004, the second International Jewish Evangelical Fellowship conference was held in Fredericksburg, VA, USA. The IJEF conference was hosted by the New Life in Christ Church (PCA). IJEF was formed: 1. to promote a clear presentation of the Gospel, unencumbered with rabbinic religious authority, to Jewish people; 2. to encourage Jewish Christians to […]

“I am 39 years old. I have been leading nine churches in nearby villages for more than ten years. The number of believers in these churches ranges from 20 to 120. I have only ten co-workers. None have received any systematic Bible teaching training. Their sermons are disorganised and dull. Even the co-workers seldom meet […]

Like almost all of South America, Columbia is Roman Catholic. I was born in a typical middle class Roman Catholic Colombian family. My parents were born in Chiquinquira, a small town two hours by bus from the capital of Colombia. This town has a special particularity in our country, in that it is a very […]

In the “Protestant Truth” magazine for July-August 2004 (www.protestant-truth.org) Peter Kinley of East Anglia writes a report of his visit to the FIEC Family Conference in Pwllheli a couple of months ago. After reporting the quiet time they had had at the Protestant Truth Society exhibition he wrote about the meetings as follows: I only […]

Christians all over the world are following with fascination the final completing of the building of the first Protestant church in Israel for a century. On the morning of June 22 2004 Baruch Maoz composed the following report: "We are excited and thankful. By the time you receive this letter, the dome of our building […]

G. Chewter [These are notes of an address at a meeting for ministers and printed in the splendid Gospel Tidings edited by P.M. Rowell, Chapel House, Forest Fold, Crowborough, TN16 1TD.] 1. PRAYER MEETINGS CAN EASILY DEGENERATE. Some of the reasons for this are: 1. Wrong attitude – Many may be happy to come and […]

Diego Guirao The Lord in his providence and mercy continues to feed us, giving meaning and content to our life and existence (Psalm 90:14; 36:7-9; 63:3-5). That is why we keep on with this privilege of serving him and his people with confidence and joy. What a wonderful thing the truth of God is as […]

In the first edition of the excellent six monthly journal, Reformed Baptist Theological Review, Robert P. Martin, the author of Accuracy of Translation (Banner of Truth), writes the following review of The Word of God in English: Criteria for Excellence in Bible Translation by Leland Ryken (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2002): This book is the […]

At the December 2003 Westminster Conference held at Westminster Chapel Ian Hamilton of Cambridge Presbyterian Church gave a stimulating paper on the life and work of Charles Hodge. The following are his opening words. The remainder of this paper and the five others are now published in “Knowing the Mind of God” and can be […]

Iain H. Murray Last week I had an e-mail from this dear friend in which he quoted the words of an old preacher, ‘I am yet in the land of the dying, but am bound for the land of the living.’ At 7:30 AM on Monday morning, May 31, Ernest Reisinger, at the age of […]

[Extracts from a moving tribute by John G. Reisinger] Yesterday I attended my older brother’s funeral. This is the second of my two brothers that have gone home to be with the Lord. At the time of refreshments following the funeral there was an opportunity for personal testimonies and nearly everyone who spoke had come […]

The age of Edwards, Whitefield and the Wesleys By Mark A. Noll (IVP. 316 pages. £16.99 ISBN 1 844740013) This, the first of a series of five projected volumes entitled A History of Evangelicalism, covers the period from the 1730s to the 179Os. Two centuries earlier an ‘evangelical’ was the equivalent of ‘a gospeller’. But […]

A review of The Auburn Avenue Theology, Pros and Cons: Debating the Federal Vision. The Knox Theological Seminary Colloquium on the Federal Vision. Edited by E. Calvin Beisner. Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Knox Theological Seminary, 2004. 331 pp. $16.00. The talks given at the 2002 Auburn Avenue Pastors’ Conference (AAPC) at the Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church […]

Ian Hamilton (Cambridge) Peter Marshall was a Scotsman who became the Chaplain to the United States Senate in the late 1940’s. He wrote some words that speak powerfully to our morally decaying society and to an evangelical Christianity that has its focus in all the wrong places. "The modern challenge to motherhood is the eternal […]

Our Lord has wonderfully designed His kingdom for sinners. Not only does He call us, just as we are, into the kingdom of God, but He has made provision for us to grow out of the dregs of our sin and into His likeness. The efficient cause behind such sanctifying growth is the Holy Spirit, […]

On Tuesday June 1 at 11.20 we flew for an hour and a half from Milan in the north of Italy to Catania on the island of Sicily. Milan is nearer to London than it is to Sicily, and there was a time when it was nearer culturally, but we did not sense that difference […]

A year ago Andrea Ferrari of Milan got in touch inviting me to Italy to take part in the Jonathan Edwards’ centenary celebrations. The Alfa & Omega publisher had just translated and printed Iain Murray’s life of Edwards, and Edwards’ “Religious Affections” had also been translated into Italian. I could not go last year and […]

What is the purpose driven life? In his popular book "The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?" Rick Warren claims simply to have taken the Westminster Shorter Catechism’s first question and answer, and extended it into a devotional book. There are positive aspects to his book, such as his emphasis on […]

Much about this year’s Word Alive was the same as usual – happy reunions with old friends, challenging teaching, the strange, permanent half-rain that characterises Skegness in April. But in the book shop in the Skyline Pavilion, troubled voices could be heard: ‘Have you seen it?’, ‘I can’t believe he’s written that.’ OK, Christians can […]

Many Christians are haunted by their past. It can tyrannize them, paralyze them, and all but crush the life out of them. It is undeniably true that one of Satan’s many anti-Christian devices is his bringing our pasts to our remembrance, to humble us, distract us, turn us in upon ourselves, and leave us with […]

(Note: What follows is not a sermon manuscript or transcript, but notes made in preparation for preaching.) Gospel Reading: Luke 10: 38-42 We live in an age of busyness: Families: Work, school, housekeeping, shopping, and cooking, soccer, baseball, music lessons, youth group, church committees, and, of course, a little time has to be found for […]

Recently a Presbyterian Church in America ruling elder posted a blog stating his stance on an earlier discussion regarding the Pope’s comments on Sunday sports. He made these points: (1) Though he is an elder who has subscribed to the Westminster Confession and Catechisms as “the system of doctrine” taught in Holy Scripture, He has […]

Historic evangelicalism has taken its cue on the needs of humans from the Philippian jailer whose question it assumed to be universal: “What must I do to be saved?” It has followed the lead of the Apostle Paul in proclaiming “how to be saved”: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you […]