All Articles For Authors, Various

At the after-dinner program of the banquet which marked the closing of the second convention, the host committee had arranged an interesting debate on the topic, “Should doctrinal differences be minimized?” The affirmative position was maintained by two young men of Fuller Ave. Young Men’s Society, John Piersma and Walter Hof man. The negative was represented by two young ladies from Talitha Society, Alice Reitsma and Eileen Slopsema. No judges were needed because the Messr. Piersma and Hofman capitulated to the negation in their closing speeches. In order that the views expressed might have a wider circulation, the debaters have...

(Because of lack of space, this article has been delayed until this number.—H.H.) The members of the Protesting Chr. Ref. Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan, were very much surprised on Sunday morning, Oct. 19, to be treated to, what evidently was meant to be a “vindication-sermon” by the Rev. H. Danhof. Preaching on Matt. 12:33, he informed the congregation, that according to his fruit bearing, he is a good tree. This is a strange affair indeed. Why should a consistory instruct its minister to preach such a sermon? If anything had been brought against Rev. Danhof this should have been treated...

Submitted by Ruth Nobel and Judy VanTil Unity. What a beautiful name! At the organizational worship service on October 30, 2019, Pastor A. Lanning (Byron Center PRC) gave three reasons why this name is wonderful: when we say unity, it is a confession of an attribute of the church—its oneness, as described in the Apostle’s Creed, an holy catholic church; when we say unity, we point to the church’s head, Christ, since He is the foundation of uni­ty; when we say unity, we are reminding each other of a well-known text and its calling to keep the unity of the...

Compiled by Jan Westra, edited by Brittany Gritters The history of the Hull Protestant Reformed Church goes back to the beginning of the Protestant Reformed denomination. On March 16, 1925, just a few weeks after a temporary organization called the Protesting Christian Reformed Churches had been organized in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the Protesting Christian Reformed Church of Hull, Iowa, was organized under the leadership of Rev. H. Hoeksema with a membership of 32 families. After only five months, a new parsonage was ready and occupied by Rev. B.J. Danhof. And after only three more months, the congregation met for the...

Dear Editor: Please let me have a little space to give expression to something which has been on my mind for some time. In this day of high cost of living, most of ns have obtained higher wages, salaries, or business returns to meet the greater layout for daily necessities. Some of us, who are working in war industries, even receive much more than is needed to meet the higher cost of living and “profit” greatly by the terrible conflict in which also our nation is involved. But while for most of us the increases in income are proportionate to...

I, the undersigned, B. Kok, have this to say, 1) Rev. Ophoff has taken exception to my statement in the Standard Bearer of January which reads as follows: “I also wish to inform our readers that we were both limited by the editor to five typewritten pages which is equivalent to about four columns of the Standard Bearer. But lo, instead of four, my opponent used up more than eleven columns, or about three times the space allotted him. By taking such undue advantage he has really forfeited all right of expecting an answer from me.” The brother maintains that...

Appreciation for the RFPA and the Standard Bearer Greetings. I was so thankful to read that dear Annemie Godbehere’s work on the Reformed Baptismal Form has been published. She was working on it during the two years or so when I corresponded with her prior to her going to glory. Also, may I express my thanks for Rev. Michael De Vries’ meditation on “Sowing and Reaping” [Oct. 1, 2017]. Like the rest of your pastoral articles, it is both sobering and timely. It was good, too, to see Martyn McGeown’s report of the vindication of the Bristol street preachers. I...

Bethel PRC—Roselle, IL PRC Evangelism Committee Reports The Bethel PRC Evangelism Committee seeks to equip its members to “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (I Pet. 3:15) by the following activities: 1. The committee maintains a church webpage which includes information about our beliefs and practices, as well as recent sermons and lectures (bethelprc.org). 2. The committee provides denominational pamphlets for our members and visitors. 3. The committee has written two pamphlets that are directed to the person who has little or no exposure...

Just to let you know how pleased I am to get your magazine, the Standard Bearer. I am greatly blessed by reading articles in them. This month’s article [January 1, 2017] by Rev. Rodney Kleyn in “Believing and Confessing: The Normal Christian Life,” I have read over and over again. A real blessing to me in my Christian walk. Thank you all. Sam Fluke, Northern Ireland

Marriage and Singleness While I did not expect that the special edition of the SB (April 15, 2016) on “Reformed Marriage” would address singleness, I was somewhat perplexed by Rev. Slopsema’s meditation “Two Become One.” Rev. Slop­sema makes two statements that, despite my reading of his article multiple times, I still find confusing. I hope that the SB will give him the opportunity to explain what he means. He writes, “Husband and wife complement each other in a most wonderful way so that together they can serve the Lord in a way that neither could achieve alone” (p. 315) and...