Topic Archives: History & Biography

A musical celebrity once visited our school. The girls listened spellbound to her talented performance. Then as the final applause died away there was a sudden rush towards the platform as dozens of us swarmed forward, autograph books opened, anxious to obtain the signature of so notable and gifted a musician. At that same moment […]

In his address to the 1960 Synod, ‘John Knox: Central Figure of the Reformation’, Rev J P MacQueen said:1 It is to be feared that his reputation as one of the most powerful and eloquent preachers of his day, with the fruit of widespread revivals, the edification, comfort and establishment of believers, and the salvation […]

Most Christians will have heard of John MacArthur. For more than 40 years he has been Pastor of the same large church in Los Angeles, USA. He is best known for his books, audio sermons and radio broadcasts. This biography by the co-founder of Banner of Truth brings to life John MacArthur. We find a […]

Donald Charles Edward Wheatley, a member of the church at Zoar Chapel, Dicker, for 30 years and deacon for 26 years, passed peacefully away on December 16th, 2010, aged 82. He was born on September 18th, 1928. He was the first child of godly parents, Benjamin and Ivy Wheatley, who put up many prayers for […]

This is the first book of the series and starts with a brief overview of Jesus’ life and teaching, introduces the reader to his disciples and particularly to John, who as an old man came to know and befriend both Ignatius and Polycarp, young men at the time. This book tells the story of Ignatius, […]

Victor Atallah, General Director of Middle East Reformed Fellowship (MERF), writes: The Republic of South Sudan just divided from the north to become the newest African nation. Hundreds of thousands there are recent Christian converts from tribal animism. Bibles are few. Pastors hike long distances to minister to many villages. Since 2003, Reformed pastors and […]

Iain H. Murray, born in Lancashire, England, in 1931 was educated in the Isle of Man and at the University of Durham. He entered the Christian ministry in 1955. He served as assistant to Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones at Westminster Chapel (1956-59) and subsequently at Grove Chapel, London (1961-69) and St. Giles Presbyterian Church, Sydney (1981-84). […]

Long-time readers of this magazine1 will have noticed that comment on church conditions in Scotland is almost non-existent in these columns. One reason for that has been the complexity of the situation. It is far easier to see the providence of God in events that happened many years ago than it is to understand our […]

Iain H. Murray, the co-founder of the Banner of Truth Trust, recently gave this interview which is to appear in a coming issue of the fine monthly American magazine Tabletalk that comes from Ligonier Ministries and R.C. Sproul. Tabletalk: What are the top three Puritan works that every Christian should read and why? Iain Murray: […]

This little book has been published to commemorate the forthcoming 500th anniversary of the birth of John Knox, the great Scottish reformer. It consists of the transcripts of two addresses given by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in the 1960’s and a new biographical sketch written by Iain H. Murray. In the first address Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones […]

THE ANNUAL EVANGELICAL LIBRARY LECTURE, 2011 This year sees the 250th anniversary of the birth of the pioneer missionary William Carey. On Monday June 6 at the Evangelical Library around 40 people gathered for the Library’s Annual Lecture and to hear Pastor Austin Walker of Crawley give an interesting and stimulating paper on ‘William Carey […]

WESTMINSTER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY COMMENCEMENT MAY 2011 I am honoured to be given this Doctor of Divinity degree along with my old room-mate A. Donald MacLeod and Wayne Grudem. Some preachers have been disdainful of the D.D. degree. You recall the rhyme An old Baptist preacher called Fiddle Once rejected this honoured degree; ‘It’s bad enough […]

A new hardback edition of Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ Spiritual Depression: Its Cause and Cure has been produced by Granted Ministries Press, Hannibal, Missouri (www.grantedministries.org). The following biographical foreword has been written by Geoff Thomas. There was no one in the twentieth century more suited to preach, counsel and write on this subject of spiritual depression than […]

The Testimony of Mr. Robert Wright, a Converted Atheist I embraced Christianity around 3.00 p.m. on Saturday 27th January 2007, after 38 years of being an atheist. When I say ‘atheist’ I do not mean an ‘agnostic’, but a fully signed-up anti-Christian, very much in the mould of Richard Dawkins. I was 16 when I […]

In May 2001 a few people first met in a little flat in West London to pray and think about a ministry for Russian speakers in London. At that time I was in my first year at London Theological Seminary, seeking God’s will for the work that he would call me to do. It would […]

A life dedicated to the Lord and the service of others Harold Crowter was first and foremost a preacher of the gospel, sent out to preach by the church at ‘Rehoboth’, Coventry, in 1954, and serving many Strict Baptist churches and individuals around the country until the last few months of his life. He was […]

I want to focus on three influences which shaped the so-called ‘Authorised Version’: King James himself, the translators, and the printers. Such attention to the human aspect of the making of a Bible translation in no way conflicts with belief in the Bible as the infallible and inerrant Word of God (Isa. 40:8). The Bible […]

John Charles Ryle was born on 10th May 1816 at Park House, Macclesfield. His father was the owner of a local silk mill. His mother Susanna was the daughter of the manufacturer Charles Hurt and cousin of Sir Richard Arkwright, a famous industrialist and inventor. John Ryle came from a good Methodist family but he […]

Introduction Martin Luther is not merely a key figure in the unfolding of events in the Protestant Reformation; he also played a major role in moulding its ideas. ‘Perhaps more than any other person, Luther shaped the presuppositions that define Protestantism.’ (Stephen J. Nichols) These presuppositions are known to scholars in their Latin form as […]

Augustus Toplady was born at Farnham, Surrey on 4th November 1740. His father, who was a soldier, died soon after he was born. He was educated for a time at Westminster School. When he was still a boy, his mother went to Ireland to claim some property there and he accompanied her. It was in […]

I remember every member of the congregation who stayed for a few services, or maybe a few years, and then grew disillusioned with my life and preaching and drifted off disgruntled. But that is not of first priority in my areas of failure. None left to hear more of Jesus Christ or a better gospel […]

These remarks were made at Kuiper’s funeral service in Grand Rapids, Michigan on April 25, 1966. Westminster Theological Seminary has compelling reason to thank God for the ministry of R. B. Kuiper. The decades of his teaching at Westminster were the prime years of his life. His remarkable gifts made him a leader in the […]

The Geneva Bible, first printed in 1560, is arguably the second most important English translation of the Bible after the King James Version. It was the work of a group of English Protestant exiles who lived in Calvin’s Geneva during the oppressive reign of Mary Tudor. This translation became immediately popular with over 150 editions […]

I. Valera Oichanko has been leading the work in Tiumen very successfully for the past eighteen months. Here is his latest report. We are very glad to be able to share with you the experiences and blessings we have had in our service for the Lord in Tiumen. We also thank you for your prayers […]

In Geneva, 450 years ago, a new version of the Bible in English began to come off the printing presses. For the first time, English-speaking people in the British Isles could purchase a Bible in their own tongue translated, in its entirety, directly from the original Hebrew and Greek – a notable milestone on the […]