All Articles For Gritters M

Morning Session Rev. Verhil conducts the usual opening exercises after which the credential let­ters are brought to the table. It appears that there are delegations from all the consistories with the exception of Bell­flower, whose delegates were not able to attend, and Redlands. A letter was read from Rev. Vos expressing his regrets that due to a death in his congregation he could not be present. Rev. P. Vis assumes the presidency for the day and Rev. Verhil masters the minutes. The committee anent the Testi­mony to certain churches has finished its work of distributing its former report, in mimeographed...

The origin of family worship is very beautifully described in Genesis, the book of Beginnings. The Covenant People were a family and divine worship was family worship. Hence, as the Book of Beginnings describes the beginning of heaven and earth, it also depicts the beginning of that blessed relation of love between God and His people and that is a relation of worship. For worship is love in action. And therefore there is also such a thing as family worship, the love of God in the family induces the family to worship, where that love is lacking family worship is...

MORNING SESSION Rev. P. Vis, president of the former Classis, opened the meeting with usual preliminaries. Delegations appeared from all the congregations with the exception of Bellflower. Rev. Vos is chairman of the day and Rev. Vis scribe. After extending a word of welcome to the delegates the classis gets down to its routine business. First there appears the report of the committee which was to examine the matter of correspondence with other churches. After hearing the report and weighing tire various matters involved, in such correspondence, Classis decides to table the matter indefinitely. Next the committee on travelling expenses...

By corporal punishment is meant the literal use of the rod, i.e. applying it to the body so as to produce pain. In short, it means to give the child a beating. Perhaps most of us have experienced corporal punishment at one time or another, and somehow that is something which seems to linger long in the memories. The subject deals with corporal punishment for the child, that is, under twelve or thirteen years of age. The subject is touchy enough without having to discuss the pro and con of whippings for children who are older than twelve or thirteen....

Another page of valuable Standard Bearer wasted, someone will likely say as he pages through this issue and finds there an article on the Sunday School. I can almost hear such an one mumble about, “Dat ongereformeerd ding” . . . and our Prot. Ref. magazine writing about it . . . waar gaat het heen enz etc. I am so sorry to have disturbed you. But the Standard Bearer has a way of writing about all kinds of things and that is perhaps as it should be in a country such as ours. Besides that, there are many people...

He appeared in the civics class, and He said: “My Kingdom is not of this world.” Some mocked with this, others skeptically shrugged their shoulders at that term “kingdom” for we have a democracy. If that kingdom moreover is not of this world we shall have to rethink our position on civics, it might mean a new civics book and a new philosophy of sociology and ethics. That is all so revolutionary it seems. And who will write such a new book and where will we get teachers to teach it if such a new book should be written. In...

The Rev. Gerrit Vos opens the meeting with prayer after the brethren sing a psalter number and the chairman reads Gen. 28. From the credentials coming to the table of Classis it appears that ten consistories are represented with nineteen delegates. Bellflower was absent with the opening but the Rev. L. Doezema came in the afternoon, having experienced travelling difficulties. The Rev. Blankespoor assumes the presidency and Rev. Vos masters the minutes. Advisory vote is extended to Rev. L. Vermeer who visits with us. Minutes of the previous meeting are read and their transcription approved. Church visitors are called upon...

This statement, as you will all realize, is taken from the first of the three questions to which the parents must answer affirmatively, when they seek to have their child baptized. The parents are asked whether they acknowledge that, although their children are born in sin, are nevertheless, sanctified in Christ. This statement of question and its corresponding answer is based chiefly upon a passage from God’s Word, found in I Cor. 7:14, Let me quote that text in this connection: “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the wife and...

God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man. It is in this word of James that God is presented to us as the Holy being, Who cannot have fellowship with anything which is impure. It is contrary to the nature of our Holy God to seduce or allure men with evil designs. In that sense the Bible speaks of God as never tempting anyone. God is pure in His purposes and designs. But, again, God DOES tempt us, and have us tempted. With the purpose of demonstrating the superior quality of His work in the saints. Then...

The heart of man is deep. Its depth challenges but at the same time defies description. It has (depths which no man can sound and which no pen, however ready, can fathom. Only God knows the heart. He knows all hearts and He only knows all hearts. Inasmuch as only God knows the hearts, we will not turn to the medicos and surgeons for a descrip­tion of the heart, but we shall have to turn to God and His Word. We surely cannot turn to the philosophers and modern educators, since they dwell much on the mind and the will...