Topic Archives: Church & Ministry

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

It’s quite overwhelming to see so many of you here today, November 14th 2015, numbers of you having travelled far, even hundreds of miles to be with us, and have gone to such expense to be at my Golden Jubilee – fifty years of being in the pulpit of Alfred Place. I’m tempted to think […]

Daniel Baker (1791-1857) of Georgia was one of the outstanding evangelists of the Presbyterian Church in America. Late in his life, Baker wrote a letter to one of his sons, a young minister, answering the question as to why God blessed his preaching: If you ask me why my preaching is so much blessed, I […]

Many explanations have been given for the explosion of the charismatic movement in Africa. Many have seen this as a powerful visitation of the Holy Spirit. Whereas there is probably more than one reason, I want to add my own observation to this for what it is worth. In this article, I am not referring […]

In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they shall both be alike good (Ecclesiastes 11:5). My wife Margaret and I have been running Bible stalls in open-air markets since 1999, with a very small start […]

Speaking about the book A Way to Pray, Ligon Duncan says it is ‘an invaluable asset to a pastor’. Watch the short video below (4 minutes) to learn why he believes that.

‘How Scotland Lost Its Hold of the Bible’ is the title of an excellent address by the Rev Iain Murray, published in The Banner of Truth magazine (Issue 623-4, Aug/Sept 2015).1 It is not surprising that a nation and church that has lost the Bible should also lose the gospel. The two are intertwined. We […]

As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied (Isaiah 53:11). We all know we ought to be lifting up Jesus every time the Holy Spirit opens up a door to speak to someone of his glorious person and work. If you are like me, however, perhaps you […]

When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God saying, ‘Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life’ (Acts 11:18). With a few exceptions Jews living a hundred years or so before the birth of Christ did not have any interest in ‘Gentile evangelism.’ They considered the […]

‘If I profess with loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, […]

At New Covenant Church, we enthusiastically encourage parents to keep their children in the worship service – the whole worship service. Being with the congregation in the worship service from childhood is one of the greatest privileges that God has given to children growing up in a Christian home. That begs the question, however, ‘If […]

. . . and this city I will make a curse to all the nations of the earth (Jeremiah 26:6). Early on Tuesday morning, August 19, 1561 Mary, Queen of Scots, arrived at Leith and made her way later that day to the Palace at Holyrood in Edinburgh. This occurred in the midst of the […]

How Scotland Lost Its Hold of the Bible1 was first published in The Banner of Truth magazine, No. 623-624 (Aug-Sep 2015). The article can be downloaded as a 28-page print-ready pdf here, and may be freely printed and distributed. Man is now thinking out a Bible for himself; framing a religion in harmony with the […]

Election It might be supposed that the doctrine of election could not properly be incorporated into an evangelistic message, or, at least, could not properly be the topic of an evangelistic message. This is a grievous mistake. It is true that only believers have any right to regard themselves as elect of God and only […]

During the 2015 Inerrancy Summit, three Banner Trustees (Ian Hamilton, Iain Murray and Sinclair Ferguson) addressed a gathering of seminary students on the topic of ‘Books to Read in the Ministry’. Steven Lawson, a professor of expository preaching at The Masters’ Seminary, introduced the students to the Trustees present and to the ongoing work of the […]

The United States is in big trouble. Our foreign policy is in shambles. There is geo-political instability all over the globe – China, Russia, the Middle East, Isis, Al Queda. Things on the home front continue to go from bad to worse – racial unrest, the embrace of same sex marriage and the disenfranchisement of […]

. . . there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, and freeman, but Christ is all and in all (Colossians 3:11). The so-called Charles Spurgeon of America, John Lafayette Girardeau, was born in 1825 on James Island, South Carolina into a French Huguenot family. He was reared in […]

Many people have asked me about the effect of the recent events in France1 upon our ministry amongst the ethnic minorities. The answer is that our Muslim friends are more open than ever to the gospel. Most Muslim are embarrassed by what had happened, not only in France, but also the horrible beheading of Christians. […]

One thing I love about Alaska is the pioneering spirit of independence evident in so many people here. ‘Do it yourself’ is just a way of life for many Alaskans. But this mind-set doesn’t carry over very well to a Christian’s relationship to the church. Many Christians have left traditional churches in favour of forming […]

Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12). George McClellan was born in Philadelphia to a prominent family of high society. His father was a prosperous surgeon and well respected leader of the city. George was an educational prodigy. By the time he was […]

The closing words of the gospel of Matthew consist of the last words spoken by the resurrected Son of God. The farewell was not tearful. What Christ said was breathtaking. Our Lord gave them an extraordinary challenge mapping out what was to be the future of all these disciples. His commission was couched in terms […]

We are living in days when there seems to be a flat calm on the church scene in the United Kingdom. How can we explain the current situation? We may find an answer to this by considering church history. Some people would regard times of peace and quiet as desirable and times of controversy as […]

‘What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.’ – A.W. Tozer Cinematic Trailer What is ‘Behold Your God’? Are we sure that the God we serve is the God described in Scripture? Is rethinking Him biblically really necessary? How do we do it? How would it […]