All Articles For Hofman W.

AN APPRECIATION Under the Book Review volume in The Banner of September 21, we found1 the following: FIVE BOOKS, by the Rev. Herman Hoeksema; namely, The Royal Sufferer, The Amazing Cross, The Mystery of Bethlehem, In The Sanctuary, and Whosoever Will. Published by Wm. B. Eerdman’s Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Mich. The first two volumes are books for the Lenten season. The titles of the chapters of The Amazing Cross are as follows: (They follow). These two books are among the very best that I have read on the general subject of our Lord’s suffering. They have the following commendable...

Since the complete proceedings of the Conference between the ministers and students of the Reformed Church in the U. S. and the ministers and students of the Protestant Reformed Churches will be published, we intend to give only a brief resume of the meetings. Our own Churches were well represented by all the ministers, except one, and all the students, plus several consistory members and visitors from our various Churches. The Reformed Church in the U. S. also had a sizable representation of ministers and an especially large number of lay members present. The average attendance throughout the two days...

Commendable If members of the Presbyterian Church in the II. S. A. take the advice of the leaders of their presbyteries and synods, they will postpone all plans to build new buildings or to add to old ones until their denomination becomes able to extend help to fellow Christians in the devastated areas around the world. This policy was decided upon recently at a meeting held in Chicago. Leaders asked that all local building plans be deferred until the denomination reaches its goal of raising 27 million dollars for restoration and assistance of Churches abroad. German Protestants Reorganize Both the...

RETROGRESSION!! The following notice appeared in The Banner of November 9, 1945: “Classis Kalamazoo takes great pleasure in announcing to the various churches of our denomination the union that has been affected between the Protesting First Christian Reformed Church and the Christian Reformed Church on the evening of November 1, 1945. We are deeply grateful to God that He has led this congregation to unite with us, in the bonds of Christian love and fellowship and on the basis of the Holy Scripture, our common confessional standards, and our church order. It is our sincere prayer that the union may...

The Synod of 1944 had received an overture from Classis West that Synod “investigate the possibility of establishing an outlet for Foreign Mission Endeavor in the way of supporting some reputable Mission, now, and, in case this proves to be impossible, that a fund be established for this work in order that when the opportunity presents itself, either to support some reputable Mission or to establish our own Foreign Mission, we will be prepared to make use of it”. The Synod of 1944 adopted this overture and gave the matter to the Mission Committee for study. It was also decided...

Most of our readers will remember Dr. G. Ch. Aalders, professor in the Free University of Amsterdam, in connection with the letter, which he wrote to inform and enlighten the American public, concerning the controversy in the Netherlands, and which appeared in the August 1945 issue of the “Missionary Monthly”. At that time, as you recall, he severely criticized and condemned Dr. K. Schilder, and others, and blamed them for the breach in the Churches of the Netherlands. In that letter, among other things, he wrote as follows: “Perhaps you have not as yet heard of the great trouble which...

Introduction. . . . The Second Annual Conference between the ministers and students of the Protestant Reformed Churches and the Reformed Churches in the U. S., met in Hull, Iowa, from October 1 through October 3. The Conference was well attended; we noticed especially a goodly number of lay members from both denominations. Rut since this represents only a small portion of the total membership we will extend our space in the next few issues to give a rather detailed review of the proceedings. Our people have shown their interest, if not by attendance, through their financial and moral support...

Second Session…. The second session of the Conference, on Wednesday morning, was opened by the Rev. W. Grossmann, pastor of the Reformed Church at Hosmer, South Dakota. He introduced the first speaker of the day, the Rev. H. Veldman. In further development of the general theme, “The Church”, Rev. Veldman spoke on: “The Tension of the Church”; which subject had been assigned to him by the Conference Committee. Resume…. “The doctrine of the Church is a fascinating subject. We believe her to be a unified whole yet instead of being characterized by unity we see dissension throughout the history of...

Third Session…. The Wednesday afternoon meeting of the Conference was opened by the Rev. G. M. Ophoff. He introduced the speaker, the Rev. E. Buehrer of green Bay- Wisconsin. Rev. Buehrer further developed the theme of the Conference “The Church” in his lecture on the topic: “The Commission of the Church”. Resume of Lecture…. “The Church is the body of God’s elect gathered from all ages and nations, redeemed by the atoning blood of Christ and gathered by Christ through His Word and Spirit. To that Church has been given a commission. It is hers alone and no other organization...

Fourth Session…. The Rev. J. De Jong led us in the opening exercises on Thursday morning. The speaker at this session was the Rev. R. D. Steubbe, pastor of the Reformed Church in the U. S., at Garner, Iowa. Rev. Steubbe had been assigned the subject: “The Distinguishing Marks of the Church’”. Resume of Lecture…. “In developing our subject we take our focal point from the words of the Apostle Paul, “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his, and let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from...