But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water…. And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced—John 19:34, 37 The victory cry of our Savior sounded forth from the cross, “It is finished!” It was a cry God’s people long needed to hear. Jesus-Savior by His death on the cross powerfully accomplished the salvation of those given Him of the Father in eternity. At the cross, He saved everyone who looked in faith to Him for that salvation in the Old Testament. He saved everyone...
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But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly—Psalm 22: 9, 10 Forsaken and alone, David probably sat in some cave or in a tent in Philistia while writing this psalm. He was pursued by Saul the king of Israel, fleeing for his life, alienated from family, friends and his fellow countrymen. In his anguish David pours out his lament to God, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken...
Rev. Wilbur Bruinsma, minister-emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches and member of the PRC in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Rev. George Lubbers began his mission labors in Hope Reformed Church of Loveland, CO in May of 1955. This church had before this time severed its ties with the Evangelical and Reformed denomination, the Reformed Church in the US (RCUS), and now existed as an independent congregation under its own constitution and elders. Missionary Lubbers, therefore, actually performed the work of a pastor in this congregation while carrying out the duties of a missionary in other places. During the years 1956 and 1957,...
Rev. Wilbur Bruinsma, pastor-emeritus of Pittsburgh PRC in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania About 100 miles northeast of the Badlands of South Dakota, tucked away between two Indian reservations, the Standing Rock Indian Reservation on the north and the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation on the south, lies a small grain-farming community with the name Isabel. This small town in western South Dakota was established in 1910 and named after a railroad employee’s daughter. Through the years this town has dwindled in size so that today it numbers 145 people and about 38 families. In the 1950’s, however, it numbered a little over 500...
Rev. Wilbur Bruinsma, pastor of Pittsburgh PRC in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Previous article in this series: September 1, 2023, p. 471. It was the 1950s. The aftershocks caused by the split of 1953 were still rumbling throughout the denomination. The churches were in a turmoil. Struggling to survive, the remaining men on the Mission Committee knew it to be the calling of the churches to send forth men into the harvest. Missions is an integral part of the work of the church of Christ. Neglecting the work of spreading the gospel was not an option. The committee approached the...
Rev. Wilbur Bruinsma, pastor of Pittsburgh PRC in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Rather than addressing the subject of preaching on the mission field from an abstract point of view, I intend in this article to exemplify what I write by using some of my experiences on the mission field both in a foreign country and in the United States. Though I have preached in several third world countries (Ghana, India, and the Philippines), I can best draw from my labors for several years on the island of Jamaica. Likewise, though I have preached in several different cities in the U.S., I...
Previous article in this series: February 15, 2023, p. 228. After the split in 1953, the Mission Committee was left to pick up the splinters left behind in its mission work. The Mission Committee reported to the 1954 meeting of synod that Rev. Andrew Cammenga was removed from his position as missionary due to his insistence that Rev. DeWolf along with the men of First Protestant Reformed Church (Grand Rapids) who followed him were the legal consistory of First PRC. It was also reported to this synod that “the Revs. Blankespoor, Kok, Knott, and elder Bouma were not present (at...
Previous article in this series: February 15, 2022, p. 230. The morning of June 6, 1951 was a typical summer day. Very few are alive in the Protestant Reformed Churches who remember the events that began on this day some 70 years ago. Sixteen men met in Fourth PRC (now Southeast PRC) to conduct the business of the synod. Tensions were running high. The adoption of the famous (or infamous, depending on what side of the issue one stood) “Declaration of Principles of the Protestant Reformed Churches” was to be decided at this synod. Since the 1950 Synod, ministers, consistories,...
Introduction Satan is a ruthless enemy of the church of Jesus Christ. In Revelation 12 we learn that Satan is filled with great anger because of the victory over him that Christ achieved at the cross. In that anger he has turned against the bride of Christ to make war with “the remnant of her seed which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (vv. 12, 17). In this war with the church Satan uses every means possible to obliterate her name from the earth. His intent is to be rid of her and the...
Rev. Wilbur Bruinsma, pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Previous article in this series: February 1, 2022, p. 205. Nurturing involves discipline. Discipline is necessary to cultivate in our children a sense of what is right and wrong. There are various forms of discipline, of course—from an angry, disapproving look to a good, sound spanking. The latter of these is frowned upon and even condemned by the unbelieving world as abuse. The world does not take into account what God requires for the careful nurturing of children. But, as is always the case, our unbelieving society exerts...
