This special issue of The Standard Bearer is devoted to the subject of the children and young people of the church. They are in our hearts, not only because of the natural ties of flesh and blood, but also because of the covenant of God established with believers and their children. The rule concerning catechizing children in Calvin’s Geneva that appears on the cover is taken from The Register of the Company of Pastors of Geneva in the Time of Calvin, tr. by P.E. Hughes (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1966). The quotation indicates Calvin’s rejection of child-communion, as well as...

Mr. Wigger is an elder in the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Denominational Highlights On July 17 of this year, the Lord took unto Himself Prof. H.C. Hoeksema after he suffered for a brief time with cancer. For some forty years Prof. Hoeksema preached and taught the gospel of sovereign grace. He faithfully served as a minister of the gospel and was a strong leader and teacher of theology in our churches, as well as editor of this magazine. In accordance with his wishes, the family mourned his passing in a private family funeral. Then, on July 20, a...

History/Biography On Fire For God: The Story of John Hus, Victor Budgen. Evangelical Press. 14.95p God’s Outlaw: The Story of William Tyndale, Brian Edwards. Evangelical Press. 11.95p Evangelical Doctor: The Story of John Wycliffe, Douglas Wood. Evangelical Press. 11.95p Such a Candle: The Story of Hugh Latimer, Douglas Wood. Evangelical Press. 11.95p Luther and His Katie, Dolina MacLuish. Christian Focus. 4.50p Here I Stand—The Life of Martin Luther, Roland Bainton. Abingdon. 4.95p By Their Blood: Christian Martyrs of the 20th Century, James Hefley. Baker Book House. 14.95p The Men Behind the KJV, Gustavus Paine. Baker Book House. 6.95p God Made...

Prof. Decker is professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. This has to be one of the most important questions you need to ask and to which you must find the answer. God calls us to work and He calls each of us to a specific task. This is true whether we be called to dig ditches or preach the gospel; whether we be called to marry and bear children and keep house, or teach in the Christian School. It simply is not true that only ministers and perhaps Christian School teachers have a calling from God while...

Rev. Kortering is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Grandville, Michigan. The Significance of Public Confession of Faith One of the greatest treasures that God gives to the church on earth is her youth. The reason is obvious: youthful energy and expectancy brought under the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit accomplishes great things. The aged saints breathe a bit easier when they are reassured that God will preserve His church for another generation. Parents quietly thank the Lord when they see their children take on the responsibilities of the covenant. Children look up to those who stand up...

Rev. Dykstra is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Doon, Iowa. If I do not remember thee, Then let my tongue from utterance cease, If any earthly joy to me Be dear as Zion’s joy and peace. Psalter #379, from Psalm 137 Beloved young people, how important to you is Zion, your church, with all that is especially for you, i.e., society, retreats, and conventions? Have you ever sung these words—I mean, really sung them from the heart? Strong desires are expressed in this inspired song. In Psalm 137 this is written: “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right...

Miss Huizinga is a member of our Hope Church in Grand Rapids. She is a senior at Calvin College, an English major, studying to be a school teacher. The name “Christian” implies a very important responsibility. As Christians, we have a responsibility to lead a sanctified life. In other words, we are called to lead a life free from sin and worldly lusts. This calling is explicitly stated in Titus 2:11, 12: “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in...

Mr. Gritters is a member of the Protestant Reformed Church in Redlands, California. He has six children and nineteen grandchildren, and has served often as elder in the church. Probably the greatest obligations in the lives of most Christian couples are making a livelihood, homemaking, and rearing children. Regrettably, we probably approach these tasks in just that priority, too! Regrettably, I say, because life’s busyness so easily warps our perspective when it comes to raising the covenant seed. How many of us have not said, in retrospect, our children having grown up and left the home, “Would to God that...

Mr. Koole is administrator/teacher in the Loveland Prot. Ref. School in Colorado, and the father of six young children. “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (III John 4). This verse certainly states the goal of all instruction and covenant rearing. To find young people who love the truth, confess it with their mouth publicly in the church, and give evidence of it in a godly walk of life in the midst of the world is a source of great joy not only to parents but also to pastors, teachers, and older members...

One of the most powerful instruments in the Protestant Reformed Churches for the salvation of souls and the coming of the Kingdom of God is catechism. To their children and young people, the churches give sound, systematic, intensive, and thorough instruction in the truth of Holy Scripture—the history, the doctrine, and the commandments. They begin with the children at the age of five or six and continue until they are in their late teens or early twenties. The program is structured so as to correspond to the spiritual and intellectual abilities of the child at different stages of his or...