All Articles For Brummel, Allen

The Belgic Confession: A Commentary, (Volume 2), by David J. Engelsma. Jenison, MI: Reformed Free Publishing Association, 2019. Hardcover. Approx. 400 pp. [Reviewed by Rev. Allen J. Brummel.] With thankfulness to God we receive the second volume of Prof. D. Engelsma’s commentary on the Belgic Confession. This second volume contains the continued solid instruction and practical counsel that we have come to expect and love from the pen of this author. Those who appreciated the first volume will eagerly embrace this second one as its companion to complete the treatment of the Belgic Confession. Although you may have some commentaries...

The work of missions is difficult. There is opposition, hardship, disappointment, and tremendous sacrifices that are required of the missionaries and their families. Then there are times when before their own eyes they see everything for which they labored slip away. John Eliot was a pioneer missionary to the American Indians. He learned firsthand the struggles of mission work. Three things served to strengthen and encourage him. First, his unbending optimism regarding God’s counsel and plan. Second, his ability to delegate work. And, finally, his confession regarding God’s sovereignty in all things, particularly the salvation of souls. The story of...

Since January of 2007, the Protestant Reformed believ­ers in Sioux Falls worshiped in rented rooms at the Holiday Inn in the City Center. With thanksgiving to God we note that, during the course of those five years, we were able to hold not only all our regular Sunday wor­ship services but also all the special worship services in one room or another at the Holiday Inn. We found the staff of the hotel to be eager to accommodate all our needs; the rooms and environment to be, for the most part, conducive for worship; and the rent cost to be...

As missionaries labored through the ages, they often faced difficulty convincing the established church to accept new converts as Christians. Differences in race and culture proved to be a stumbling block for churches whose congregations were homogenous in nationality and practice. Acknowledging that foreign converts could not be expected to relate to the same traditions, missionaries nonetheless realized that they must avoid the tempta­tion to lower the bar. Faithfulness to Scripture needed to be maintained as the standard under which these new churches were formed. The apostolic church at Jerusalem already faced these struggles. The Jews, who viewed themselves as...

Young people, do you view your parents, and specifically your fathers, as the source of your joy and happiness? It is tempting for a child, as he grows older, to despise his parents and to reject their good advice and admonitions. The wise child, according to the book of Proverbs, is a son or daughter who keeps the commandments of father and mother, receives reproof, thus making father and mother glad. The foolish child is one who despises instruction, will not hear rebuke, and turns away from the commandments of his parents. Are you living as a wise, or as...

The continent of Africa has been dubbed the “Dark Continent” by missionaries. Africa is a grand and mysterious land, full of wildlife, and having a rich history, with ancient civilizations, and intriguing geography. It is also a continent that abounds in the deepest pagan practices of witchcraft and superstition involving cruelties and dangers hard to imagine. Those who dared to explore Africa, or were sent there to do missions, more often than not were martyred or died of sickness. Ruth Tucker writes that “Black Africa, known for centuries as the ‘white man’s graveyard,’ has claimed the lives of more Protestant...

As the Christian church spread throughout the known world, the Bible was translated into various languages so that people could read it in their own tongue. By the time of the Reformation of the sixteenth century, the Bible was translated into more than thirty languages. The next three centuries saw an increase in that work to such a degree that another thirty languages were added. The missionaries who were sent to foreign fields recognized immediately the great need for the Scriptures in the native tongue. Those men, including William Carey in India, Adoniram Judson in Burma, and Hudson Taylor in...

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” I Corinthians 10:13 As young people, you face temptations every day, and every day you respond differently to those temptations. Sometimes we can be proud and think that we are not affected by a certain temptation nearly as much as other people are. We show this pride by focusing on the...

There are some things that we hear again and again, and at times we can become weary of the repetition. As young people we can chafe under the repeated warnings of our parents, teachers, and preachers. Why do they have to bring those same things up again and again? Can’t they trust us? Don’t they think we heard them the first time? As parents teach their children, there are certain themes that come up again and again. There are certain warnings that are repeated. These themes and warnings are necessary because they are areas where the devil is especially at...

On April 23, 2010 the Heritage Protestant Reformed Fellowship of Sioux Falls became the Heritage Protestant Reformed Church of Sioux Falls. The Protestant Reformed Churches once again have a congregation of Jesus Christ in South Dakota. While previously the congregations in South Dakota were located in the sparsely populated cities of Isabel and Forbes, the new church is located in the largest city of South Dakota, with a population of over 155,000 and a metropolitan population of over 233,000 residents. There is much potential for growth in the congregation both from within, since the newly formed congregation is comprised of...