Resources

‘They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.’ — Acts 2:42 I, for one, am very thankful that many of our Presbyterian and Reformed churches observe the Lord’s Supper each Sunday. After all, we believe that the Lord’s Supper is more than a […]

Published the year after his world-wide bestseller, Pilgrim’s Progress, this 1679 work on the Fear of God is misunderstood & neglected. Yet, anything from the pen of the converted tinker is worth its weight in gold. Bunyan was not only a master of the Word of God — ‘prick him and he bleeds holy scripture,’ […]

‘They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.’ –Acts 2:42 Why does preaching do so little to transform people in the pew? When the Apostle Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, after the promised Holy Spirit had been poured out in fulfilment […]

This address was delivered by C. H. Spurgeon in 1891 and proved to be the final one he was to give at the Pastors’ College. A footnote to the introduction explains, ‘Having endured many years of poor health, which was not helped by the theological battles that had occupied his attention during the mid to […]

This is a reprint of an article that was first published in the Banner of Truth magazine, July – August 1968. His words remain valuable today. * * * The Value of the Gospel No men in the world want help like them that want the Gospel. A man may want liberty, and yet be […]

‘They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.’ — Acts 2:42. In fulfilment of Joel’s prophecy (Joel 2:28-32), in fulfilment of Jesus’ promise (Luke 24:46-49, Acts 1:8), after ten days of earnest prayer, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the one hundred […]

What a remarkable volume to receive just now, in the early part of the 21st century! It is truly historically unique, containing as it does so much under one beautifully-produced cover. It is a joy to those committed to the Reformed Protestant Biblical Faith, and a timely publication in the midst of the gathering apostasy […]

Every employment has its own particular perils and pitfalls, occupational hazards which are simply attendant on fulfilling the task in hand. In this post I want to share three healthy and holy fears which should characterise the mind and heart of a faithful minister. These are not the pathological fears which seize all of our […]

Imagine the average layperson in your church—the owner of a bike shop, a truck driver, a doctor, a secretary, a lawyer, a school teacher.  If you were to ask him or her, ‘How does your pastor expect you to apply your Christian faith to your work?’ What would they say? I can imagine the average […]

A few years ago, a Christian I knew ended his life prematurely. It was sudden, tragic, and devastating to all of us—but especially to his family. Sometimes it’s hard for any of us to believe that people could do this to themselves and to their families, but the reality is that any of us could […]

In some churches, it is a word that conjures up images of an angry and capricious God who acts arbitrarily to save some, but consigns most sinners—including deceased infants—to eternal perdition. For many professing Christians, it is the mother of all swear words. Let the pastor breathe it in the presence of the deacon board […]

On October 15th, pastor, author, and Banner of Truth trustee, Ian Hamilton, will be at Del Rey Church in Los Angeles, preaching on marriage and the Reformation. Additionally, a special Banner of Truth bookstore will be set up with classic selections on faith, family and more – all available at deep discounts. It will be an […]

Here are some questions you must consider. . . 1. Are you currently meaningfully involved in a church? If not, do that for a few years and decide whether you still want to work in the church. 2. When you read about the offices of elder or deacon, do you resonate more deeply with one or […]

The writings of Mr. Bunyan need no recommendatory preface. The various editions they have passed through, and the different languages into which many of them have been translated, sufficiently prove that the gifts of God which were in him, have, by the divine blessing, been made very acceptable and useful to the churches. Though he […]

Unyielding Faithfulness: Devoted to Christ and His Church is a Banner of Truth one day event that will take place on October 13, 2018, at Disciples Church in Bakersfield, California. Ian Hamilton will be speaking on lessons from church history, focusing particularly on the lives of John Calvin and Jonathan Edwards. Mark Johnston will be […]

We need a category for revival in all of our churches. Without it, we may miss out on the great blessing that God offers. Without it, we may spend our lives toiling for the wrong things, and we may shortchange the future generations. Revival, in the historical sense, is an in-breaking of the kingdom of […]

Proverbs has always been one of my favourite books. When as a young man it was called to my attention that there’s a chapter for each of the thirty-one days in a month, I began the habit of daily reading the chapter of Proverbs that corresponds with the day of the month. After doing so […]

It was that title that caused me to read a book review and then purchase the book. I had never heard of Marilynne Robinson but was informed that she had been raised in a Presbyterian home, and had become a writer of sharp, subtle, moving prose, internationally acclaimed and a Pulitzer prize-winner. In the book […]

One of the biggest mistakes I’ve made in evangelism is telling people the good news without telling them the bad news. No wonder I’m met with blank stares or “That’s nice for you, but not for me.” When we don’t tell unbelievers about sin and wrath, they often think grace is irrelevant. They don’t see […]

It’s impossible to measure the influence of Richard Baxter over four centuries. His works remain in print and are widely read, which shouldn’t surprise us. J. I. Packer considers him ‘the most outstanding pastor, evangelist, and writer on practical and devotional themes that Puritanism produced,’ listing Baxter’s The Reformed Pastor (1656) as one of the top five books that have influenced him […]

The August-September edition of Banner of Truth is always something of an occasion — a significant increase in the heft of the envelope flopping on to the doormat, extra features etc — but the current issue has been particularly engaging. In the opening editorial Jonathan Watson hands over the reigns of the magazine to Ian […]

On May 10, 1716, Jonathan Edwards wrote a letter to one of his ten sisters, Mary. Written when he was twelve years old, it is the earliest known letters by Edwards. The very first paragraph was about wakening. That is to say, the earliest sentence that we have from Jonathan Edwards is about awakening. Edwards […]

For many years before entering vocational ministry, I worked as a journalist in the dog-eat-dog world of secular media. While working as a reporter for a metropolitan daily newspaper in Georgia, one of my more progressive colleagues teased me good-naturedly about being a ‘conservative boy’ from a small town in the sticks of North Georgia. […]

‘Thy word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee.’ —Psalm 119:11 From time to time I have people ask me how I go about memorizing Scripture. These same people also have asked me to write about this topic. So here I go. First of all, I have found that […]

I was brought up in the kind of evangelical church that drummed into us as children that Jesus died ‘to save us from our sins’. The cross of Jesus was the centre of the message at summer camps, holiday Bible clubs, and youth group talks. The message was that Jesus had died in my place, […]