Resources

The New Testament uses the experiences of Israel in the New Testament to teach the Church important lessons about itself. It uses what Israel experienced, not just as illustrations, but as experiences God’s people have had before, which can occur again in different historical circumstances. See, for example, the use made of Israel’s idolatry in […]

It is 500 years since God brought John Calvin into this world. During 2009, many Reformed churches and Christians in particular are remembering with gratitude this gift of Christ to his church. Publishing houses are producing books at a rapid pace of knots, articles, papers, conferences, and website and blog postings proliferate. But who was […]

Wives, be subject to your own husbands. (Ephesians 5:22). There is perhaps no one biblical command more misunderstood, maligned, or mocked in our culture. This is true for at least two reasons. First, none of us like to be told what to do. It’s in our DNA. Don’t you silently become irritated when officials verbally […]

Eunice Grace Field, member of the church at Grove Road, Eastbourne, passed away peacefully in the Hove Bethesda Home on July 3rd, 2008, aged 98. Our friend worshipped in Salem Chapel, Carshalton, with her husband Ben. They were baptized together at Salem and joined the church there on December 5th, 1937. Here her soul was […]

It was my great privilege to be at the Carey Conference in Swanwick once again. We were packed out there. I travelled up by car with four African students from LTS – two from West Africa (Femi and Klebert), two from South Africa (Richard and Clinton). FIRST DAY The first session was chaired by Hugh […]

In the spring of 1856 an English lady by the name of Mrs Colville came to Ballymena from Gateshead because she had ‘time and money to spend for God’. She began a programme of house to house visitation with a view to winning souls for Christ. In November she returned to England in low spirits […]

If we are to live healthy spiritual and emotional lives as believers, it is vital that we understand clearly the true character of the hearts of those who are regenerated by God’s Holy Spirit. In particular, it is imperative that we understand the distinction between wickedness and wretchedness. The Bible tells us that the heart […]

During the Reformation era, debates raged over what things must be considered crucial to Christian faith and practice, and what could be considered adiaphora (Latin for ‘things indifferent’). All sides agreed that the doctrines of the Trinity, the atonement, and justification were central. But what about worship issues? What about the elements of worship, sacramental […]

For several months now the financial world has been in crisis. Banks large and small, particularly in Europe and the USA, have been in dire straits. Many have had to go cap in hand to their respective governments for massive bailouts; these have included the second-largest American bank Citigroup, which has been granted $306 billion […]

Church growth experts tell us that Christmas Eve surpasses Easter as the time when people are most likely to go to church. It’s a recent development but should not be surprising. Religious practices have caught up to cultural preferences. Santa Claus has always won out over the Easter Bunny. It’s an important piece of information […]

He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. (Luke 1:32) Is it really possible to be filled with joy at this time of year, especially in light of our economic uncertainty and the constant threat of […]

In the year 1967 I was living with my husband and son in the village of Framfield near Uckfield in East Sussex. I was also with child the second time, and was having great problems with the pregnancy. My mother took care of my family whilst I was confined to bed for three months. It […]

The Banner of Truth has published A Handful of Pebbles, Theological Liberalism and the Church1, by Peter Barnes. Liberalism (also referred to as modernism) is, in this context, ‘a belief system which rejects the orthodox view of the Christian faith as set out in the Bible, and summarised in the historic creeds’. A S Peake, […]

Incorporating the Law into the gospel presentation does many things. It primarily shows the sinner that he is a criminal, and that God is his judge. The Law (in the hand of the Holy Spirit) stops his mouth and leaves him guilty before God (see Romans 3:19-20). It reveals that he deserves nothing but judgement […]

The Future of Justification: A Response to N. T. Wright By John Piper Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2007 239 pp, paperback ISBN: 978 1 58134 964 1 To the numerous books that respond to N. T. Wright’s heretical ideas, John Piper, well known pastor at the Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, adds this. The title, […]

‘A precious work that no serious expositor of the Bible should be without. If you found Calvin’s commentaries valuable, you will discover his sermons to be priceless.’ [Josh Gelatt in giving Calvin’s Sermons on the Acts of the Apostles, Chapters 1-7 an ‘honorable mention’ in his 2008 Book of the Year selection] Below are links […]

The Banner of Truth has published Sermons on the Acts of the Apostles, chapters 1-71, by John Calvin. John Calvin was, and regarded himself as, primarily a preacher of the Word of God. He wrote theological works which have guided the Church to a biblical understanding of the truth (and we would recommend his Institutes […]

John Calvin is thought of, principally, as a theologian. Of course, he was that. But, as Andrew W. Blackwood once told me, in his day he was first of all considered a preacher. Too few of his sermons have been preserved.1 English translations are mainly in 16th century English!2 Nevertheless, the more I read them, […]

Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church By N. T. Wright New York: HarperCollins, 2008 352 pp, hardcover ISBN: 978 0 06155 182 6 Bishop Tom Wright has written a book on the resurrection entitled Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. Rejecting […]

Moses struck the rock twice and water poured forth. (Numbers 20:7) Obedience and faith bring power while disobedience and lack of faith yield impotence. When Israel continues to grumble and complain against God while in the wilderness, demanding water, accusing Moses of bringing them into the wilderness only to kill them, both Moses and Aaron […]

The Courage to Be Protestant: Truth-lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in the Postmodern World By David F. Wells Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008 267 pp, clothbound ISBN: 978 0 80284 007 3 David Wells is an evangelical, and he is concerned with the state of evangelicalism. This is nothing new; he has written […]

Abraham was brought up in the city of Ur, not far from the River Euphrates, in what is now southern Iraq. It was presumably very much a heathen environment. Yet even there the Lord appeared to him and called him ‘to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance’ (Heb. […]

The Banner of Truth has published Love Rules: The Ten Commandments for the 21st Century1. Originally published in 2004 by the Church and Nation Committee of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, Australia, this volume was written by Australian Presbyterian ministers and professors. The Introduction explains that this book on the law of God was written […]

John Calvin was not a man who would readily draw attention to himself. When he gave some details of his early life in the preface to his Commentary on the Psalms, his purpose was to draw attention to God’s activity. His father had intended him for the priesthood but, says Calvin, God, by the secret […]

Be filled with the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18) In July, 1997 my wife and I had the privilege of taking tea with Lord and Lady Catherwood in Cambridge, England. Lady Catherwood is the daughter of my favourite preacher, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, who so ably preached the doctrines of grace, beginning in Aberavon, Wales in 1927 and […]