Vol 63 Issue 08

Ben wigger is an elder in the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Rev. den Hartog and his family have returned to the United States, and the Lord willing, the family will be moving to Randolph, Wisconsin where Rev. den Hartog will take up his labors as pastor of the congregation there. In preparation for their move there, the congregation recently held a general housecleaning of the parsonage. And also in connection with the return of the den Hartog family to a much colder climate than Singapore, the students of Heritage Christian School in Hudsonville, Michigan, collected money in what...

Robert C. Harbach is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. In the sixteenth chapter of John’s Gospel we have two sections: (1) warning (John 16:1-6), and (2) encouragement John 16:7-33). In the latter section we have these words, “Do ye now believe? Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me” (John 16:31-32). Jesus’ “disciples (had) said unto Him . . . ‘Now we are sure that Thou knowest all things, and needest...

Ronald L. Cammenga is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Loveland, Colorado. One of the most joyful occasions in the church is the public confession of faith of the young people. For the pastor and elders there is no more joyful occasion than when young people come to the consistory room to make confession of faith before the consistory, when that confession is approved, and when young men and young women stand up in the congregation publicly to acknowledge faith in Jesus Christ. This joy is shared by the parents of the young people, and by the whole congregation,...

Robert D. Decker is professor of New Testament and Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Reformed Churches in Netherlands Unite: The Reformed Ecumenical Synod News Exchange(December 9, 1986) reports: Despite numerous objections, which belied the actual outcome of the voting, the combi-synod of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (GKN) and the Netherlands Reformed Church (NHK, State Church, R.D.) approved a document which declares that the two denominations are now in a “state of reunion.” Objections were raised especially by representatives from the Reformed Alliance (GB) in the NHK. Ten members of the Reformed Alliance declared in an open...

Herman C. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. In our discussions of the moral aspects of medical technology we have come to the point in which we must judge in Scripture’s light the various ways in which medical science has made it possible for childless couples to have children. Many different techniques have been developed, techniques which we described in our last article. We shall briefly mention them once again to bring them before the minds of our readers. Artificial insemination of the wife is one such technique. Sometimes the semen of...

December 16, 1986 Dear Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ: The fact that we have no seminary students and only one pre-seminary student does not mean the Seminary faculty has little or nothing to do. Prof. Hoeksema is teaching Dutch Grammar to our pre-seminarian, Leonard Holstege, who is in his sophomore year at the college level and to two others interested in learning Dutch. Prof. Hoeksema is also writing his Old Testament History Notes and working on a new book on the history of our Protestant Reformed Churches. In addition to his Wednesday evening class on the Canons...

John A. Heys is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. It worked! The method the all-wise God chose, and used through His servant Jonah, succeeded in getting the elect in Nineveh to repent, turn from their evil ways and cry out for salvation. There was no “free offer” proclaimed unto these Ninevites. No “altar call” was voiced. Neither God nor Jonah pleaded with the Ninevites to accept the “gospel invitation”. The love of God was not held up before their eyes and used as the approach to attempt to get conversion and faith. Instead there was an announcement...

Herman Veldman is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. We were busy in our preceding article with a discussion of the basic purpose of the providence of God. And we called attention to the fact that this basic purpose is certainly not to realize the kingdom of God in the postmillennial sense of the word. Neither is this basic purpose to be viewed as maintaining a sort of interval period. It was particularly the latter conception with which we were busy as we concluded our article. We noted that it surely was not the devil’s intention to destroy...

Gise J. Van Baren is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Every Christmas, Alice made a great deal of giving presents to her nieces and nephews of high school age and younger. When she was well, she found pleasure in shopping for each present—and watching later the reaction of each child who received it. This last Christmas that Alice was with us, she would also give presents—but the parents were instructed by her to buy presents for their own children with money she provided. The children must be told that the present was from Aunt Alice. The...

A recent issue of The Banner (12/1/86) carried reports of two instances of ecclesiastical rebellion. No,The Banner did not call them ecclesiastical rebellion. That characterization is mine. The first instance is reported on page 22 under the heading “Eastern Avenue Invites Women to Pulpit,” as follows: Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan, has told its classis that it has had and plans to continue to have “women preaching for services occasionally.”  In the statement, made to Classis Grand Rapids East on Sept. 18, Eastern Avenue said that the church wishes to “recognize the ordination to the ministry of women from other...