Resources

In the same paper, Pharisees and Sadducees, Ryle goes on to speak words that are remarkably prescient: To keep gospel truth in the church is even of greater importance than to keep peace . . . The Apostle Paul valued unity very greatly as we know, but here he runs the risk of all the […]

Indebtedness to the Reformation In his paper Lessons from English Church History, Ryle draws out the benefits that have accrued from the Reformation. Whatever England is among the nations of the earth, as a Christian country, whatever political liberty we enjoy, whatever freedom we have in religion, whatever safety for life and property there is […]

May 2016 marks 200 years since the birth of J. C. Ryle. Soon to be released is Iain H. Murray’s new biography of the first Bishop of Liverpool, entitled J. C. Ryle: Prepared to Stand Alone.1 Ryle’, says Marcus Loane, ‘marked out a path for evangelical churchmen in days when much of the Church of […]

This is a book that frankly you wish didn’t have to be written but which you are glad has been. It became necessary because of the recent developments in the Church of Scotland which have seen the denomination reject the authority of Scripture and its biblical roots and accept the ordination of ministers who are […]

Elizabeth Prentiss lived in a different century, but the challenges she faced, and the way she responded to those challenges, speak powerfully to us today. Early in their married life, Elizabeth and her husband, George suffered the loss of two of their six children. Eddie died aged five and Bessie died when just a few […]

Introduction When Jude writes in his Epistle, ‘Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints’ (Jude 3), he expresses a need that […]

Australian missionaries Jocelyn and Ken Elliott, both in their 80s, had been running a hospital for some four decades in the town of Djibo in the West African country of Birkina Faso when they were captured by an al Qaeda-linked terrorist group over a month ago and are believed to have been held in neighbouring […]

The following is an excerpt from Why Read Church History1 by J. Philip Arthur It is fatally easy to develop an uncritical admiration for our heroes, but no one is beyond criticism. One of the most refreshing things about the Bible is that it never conceals the faults of God’s servants. There are numerous examples […]

Those who love the writings of Jonathan Edwards will be pleased to know that Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, assisted by the Jonathan Edwards Center, has completed a high‐resolution scan of the entire Edwards Collections at both Yale University and Andover Newton Theological School. Go to beinecke.library.yale.edu to view and use the scans. […]

A review by Bob Thomas of Preparation For Ministry.1 Carl Trueman calls this book ‘A brief but brilliant book on ministry’, and so it is. Allan Harman’s wisdom gathered over half a century’s involvement in theological education, more latterly as Professor of Old Testament and then Principal of the Presbyterian Theological College, Melbourne, is distilled […]

‘Their feet run to evil, and they hasten to shed innocent blood.’ (Isaiah 59:7) On the evening of April 6, 1994, Rwandan President Habyarimana, a Hutu, was flying into the airport in Kigali when his plane was struck by two rockets, killing him and all on board, including the President of nearby Burundi, Cyprien Ntariyamira. […]

The Bible, at times, makes for very uncomfortable reading. Consider these opening verses of 1 Kings 11:1-8: ‘Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter […]

“. . . He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death,” (Colossians 1:21) Ideas matter. Ideas have consequences. Secularism is a political and moral philosophy devoid of any faith or worship. Last week I noted the lead up to the French Revolution, showing how three combustible ingredients-corruption in government, oppression of the […]

2015 marked the two-hundredth anniversary of a change of pastorate for the Rev. Thomas Chalmers. On Sunday 9th July 1815, after a ministry of twelve years, Chalmers preached a farewell sermon to his congregation in Kilmany (Kilmany is a village in the Fife region of Scotland). Later that month he was inducted to the pastorate […]

‘. . . He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy, blameless, and beyond reproach.’ (Colossians 1:21) A good working definition of secularism is this-secularism is a political and social philosophy devoid of any faith or worship. In other words, the secularist (from the […]

‘I am His’. Every believer in Jesus may say it. And with full assurance. ‘I am the Lord’s’. Humblingly and astonishingly we may also say that he is ours. To the Christian, God is not just the Lord but my Lord. But it is of the bond by which we have become his of which […]

The following are testimonials of how past Banner ministers’ conferences have helped men in their ministries. After reading the testimonials, considering registering today, to join us in Elizabethtown, PA, May 26 – May 28, 2020. ‘The Banner of Truth Ministers’ Conference is an annual event in the US which should be attractive to ministers of […]

The conflict over worship today manifests itself in what have been called ‘the worship wars’. In many church buildings you witness a platform with a plethora of musical instruments. If you check out the order of service you will find that more time is given to so-called ‘worship’ than to the reading and preaching of […]

In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10). What follows is a very basic introduction to Islam where I will lay out a few important terms, the basic tenets of the Muslim religion, and how Christianity […]

Do you remember the resolutions you made at this time last year? I would guess that many of us resolved at the beginning of 2015 that every day we would have a ‘quiet time’. We told ourselves that this would be the year when we at last would establish a pattern of daily Bible-reading and […]

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1) Over the next four weeks I plan to take a brief look at the four major religions in today’s world, and then seek to show how various aspects of Christ’s atoning work satisfies the craving each of […]

‘a great little book … delightfully simple … [appendices] incredibly helpful for pastors and ministerial students.’ – Carl Trueman on Allan Harman’s Preparation For Ministry. In the Notes below are links to selected online reviews of Banner titles, mostly posted October/December 2015. The views expressed are of course those of the respective bloggers/reviewers. For each […]

Psalm 106 makes for salutary reading. It celebrates the Lord’s remarkable rescuing kindnesses to his covenant people Israel and details his people’s disdain of his great mercies to them. It is hard to take in the persistent cavalier behaviour of Israel in the glowing light of God’s repeated mercies in delivering them from their enemies […]

A man had two sons (Luke 15:11). Some of our leading preachers today regularly equate the ‘middle America church’ with Pharisees and the elder brother in Luke 15. They say that we in conservative, traditional churches are self-righteous, legalistic, and consequently unwelcoming to the younger brother types -atheists, agnostics, homosexuals, the ‘broken people’ in our […]

2 Timothy 1:9, 10. God ‘has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our […]