Resources

The sound of the gospel trumpet was first heard in the Garden of Eden when it fell on the ears of our first parents, who by then had lost that communion with God which they had previously enjoyed. With the entrance of sin into the world, they now were to face up to the reality […]

ROLLING BACK THE STATE AND MENDING SOCIETY Lord Blackwell is the chairman of the Centre for Policy Studies and in The Times on September 8 he made seven suggestions for breaking the dependency culture that has marred life in Great Britain today. How these ideas will resonate in the heart of every Christian! They are […]

Assist me to Proclaim: The Life and Hymns of Charles Wesley By John R. Tyson William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan and Cambridge, UK; 2007 356 pp, pbk, £12.99. ISBN: 978 0 80282 939 9 This biography which is based on careful research of Charles Wesley’s life helpfully brings him out from under […]

But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. (Jonah 4:1) General George Patton was commanding the Seventh Army in the summer of 1943, and his objective was to overrun the Italian forces on Sicily in order to drive them from the war. He also hoped to make Hitler commit troops from the eastern front, […]

ChristianHistory.net recently published this little article of J. I. Packer. God’s Chemo for My Cancered Soul They called it the Victorious Spirit-filled life. You got into it, they said, by total surrender to Jesus Christ (they assumed no one does this at conversion), and then looking to him whenever you felt sinful impulses stirring. He […]

One The Roman Catholic Church believes that its traditions and teaching are as authoritative as Scripture. The Reformed value tradition, but accept the Bible alone as their authority, and sole rule of faith and practice. Two The Roman Catholic Church believes that the Pope, as successor of Peter and Bishop of Rome, is head of […]

‘This is systematic theology at its most accessible and profitable. Step by step, Professor Ferguson leads us along the wonderful tapestry of God’s dealings with us in Christ, pointing out the details, pausing to admire the handiwork, and not ceasing to make plain that these are not boxes to be ticked as a matter of […]

The poet John Milton lived from 1608 to 1674, this year being the four hundredth anniversary of his birth (December 9). He was also a controversialist, a Londoner by birth and death, who after education at St. Paul’s School, and Christ’s College, Cambridge, abandoned his intention of ordination in the Church of England because of […]

I shall speak a word on ejaculatory prayers [uttered suddenly]: 1. It has been the practice of the saints. Thus Jacob, when making his testament, says, ‘I have waited for Thy salvation, O Lord’ (Gen. 49:18), and when giving charge to his sons concerning Benjamin, ‘God Almighty give you mercy before the man’ (Gen. 43:14). […]

The Church in Corinth had experienced the ‘weighty and strong’ writings of the Apostle Paul, but the Galatians had even more cause to feel the force of his pen. Their actions brought forth the sharpest response from Paul. His language in Galatians 1:6-9 is as strong as anywhere in his writings. Verse 6: ‘I am […]

I have heard Thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees Thee; Therefore I retract, I repent in dust and ashes. (Job 42:5, 6) On July 23, 2007 Dr. William Pettit of Cheshire, Connecticut experienced a man’s worst nightmare. On that evening two convicted felons, released two days earlier on parole, […]

How did awareness of heavenly councils between him and his Father shape Jesus’ sense of earthly mission? Every phase of our Saviour’s life was shaped and styled by his self-conscious sense that he had come from heaven ‘not to do (his) will but to do the will of him who sent (him)’ (John 6:38). Indeed, […]

The above heading should give no satisfaction to any evangelical Christian. Some of the finest literature in the evangelical heritage comes from gospel ministers of the Church of England, and a considerable number of evangelicals continue to belong to that denomination today. The crisis to which we refer has arisen from more than one direction; […]

Humility is a precious virtue that is highly commended by the Word of God. It is also a virtue too rarely possessed and practiced as well as too often misunderstood. The popular conception is one where weakness and mindless compliance characterize the attitude and actions of those who are humble. While it is true that […]

In John 12:42-43 we read the following words: ‘Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from […]

Matthew Else, the pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Peel, in the Isle of Man received his homecall on 18th May 2008 after a very short illness. His sudden death came as a great shock to his family, and his passing leaves a huge gap in the life and work of his church and its associated […]

We all like to see progress being made. This is true in every sphere of life and activity in which we are involved. Parents are thrilled at the ongoing development of their children, as they master new skills and cope with the challenges of growing up. Teachers rejoice when ‘the penny drops’ and students surge […]

God’s will for all believers is unmistakable: ‘For this is the will of God, your sanctification’ (1 Thessalonians 4:3). This is priority number two in God’s eternal agenda (his first priority being his own glory). Again and again in the New Testament this great priority is impressed on God’s people. It is the omega point […]

We know the calling of Levi, how he got up and followed Jesus, ‘leaving everything’ (Luke 5:28). If we are skim-reading Luke’s Gospel – not always the most profitable way to read! – we might easily overlook the deep wonder and significance of this issue. A taxman gets up from his desk and goes with […]

Luke 6:43-45 ‘No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognised by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn-bushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings […]

The apostle urges us to ‘Put all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, slander away from you, along with all malice’ (Ephesians 4:31). Richard Cameron, the Lion of the Covenant, the powerful Scottish Covenanter preacher of the 17th century, along with so many other preachers, was driven from his pulpit by Charles II of England. Cameron and […]

I had the privilege of teaching the Lifelearners Sunday School Class last week, and talked about the way that technology is challenging our parenting, particularly in the area of purity (and the exposure to readily available pornography). It brought to mind a good article on this subject written by my friend (and web guru) Tim […]

The Bible teaches that the church is the company of those who are committed to Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. The Master said ‘Upon this rock I will build my church’ and the foundation to which he referred was expressed in the glorious testimony of Peter ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the […]

At a time when Reformed churches are taking the celebration and frequency of the Lord’s Supper more seriously, the question ‘How should I benefit from Communion?’ is timely. I want, however, at the outset to change the title I was given. The change appears minimal, but it is actually profound. I would like to substitute […]

‘How Liberal Theology Infected Scotland’ is a deeply instructive short article1 written by R. A. Finlayson, the late professor of Systematic Theology in the Free Church College in Edinburgh. Finlayson attributed the nineteenth century infiltration of Liberalism into a confessional Church to wrong priorities by the leaders. He wrote: …not content with opening three colleges, […]