Vol 67 Issue 05

Mr. Wigger is a member of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Ministerial Calls Rev. M. DeVries has declined the call he received from the Hope PRC in Isabel, SD. Rev. R. Cammenga has declined the call he was considering from Randolph, WI. The Council of our church in Randolph subsequently produced a new trio from which their congregation was to call a pastor: Revs. M. DeVries, R. Hanko, and R. Moore. Congregational Highlights Many of our churches sponsored Reformation Day Lectures in late October. In the West Michigan area the congregation of the Byron Center PRC sponsored a...

PURITAN CHRISTIANITY IN AMERICA: RELIGION AND LIFE IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY MASSACHUSETTS, by Allen Carden; Baker Book House, 1990; 239 pp, paper (no price included). (Reviewed by Prof. H. Hanko.) The history of the Puritans has always been a fascinating subject to Reformed and Presbyterian believers. This is partly because the Puritan experiment (as it is sometimes called) has entered into the warp and woof of our own country’s national heritage, and partly because the history of the Puritans is part of our own ecclesiastical history, though admittedly indirectly. The author takes issue in some respects with current thinking about Puritanism in...

Rev. Gritters is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Byron Center, Michigan. Entertainment. Leisure. Amusement. Recreation. Sports. Spare time. Fun. Is there any more proof needed that our day is mad for pleasure? As Matthew 24 indicates, “iniquity shall abound, (and) the love of many shall wax cold.” Paul spoke of this to pastor Timothy in II Timothy 3 when he said, “For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous…heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God….” Young people must be reminded that this is taking place as a sign of Christ’s coming. Paul made that clear as well,...

Rev. Lubbers is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them (stock, stem), when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.  Isaiah 6:13 The Hope of Israel in Their Deportation There is hope in the latter end for the Israel of God. This latter end is really the glory, the time when the whole earth shall be full of the glory of God’s sovereign grace...

Prof. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Our Lord gave commandment to the whole church when, just before His ascension into heaven, He said to His disciples, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The early history of the church of Christ is an exciting and moving history of her missionary enterprise. Scripture itself records for us how...

Rev. VanBaren is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Read and study Philippians 3:1-11 “Finally” says the apostle. It marks not the conclusion of his teachings but rather the introduction of another element or thought in the epistle. He commands them to rejoice in the Lord. This spiritual characteristic must be evident in one delivered from sin and death. Such a one can rejoice because of the glorious work of Christ for him on the cross. To these joyous ones, he has something serious to discuss, something presented to them before, that requires emphasis. But Paul would...

Rev. Woudenberg is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan. These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, nor into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not;  But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  And as ye go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  Matthew 10:5-7 Christ has commanded us, Mark 16:15, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature”; but in real and practical terms, what does that mean for us personally as Christians, as...

Rev. Kuiper is pastor of Immanuel Protestant Reformed Church in Lacombe, Alberta, Canada. Our New Testament words steward andstewardship come from a Greek word, the parts of which mean “house” and “manager.” A stewards is one who labors in the house of another, manages that house as to its business and affairs, with the calling to work for the welfare and advancement of his master. Joseph was such an overseer in Potiphar’s household, and Chuza was steward in Herod’s house. Three things stand out in this matter of stewardship. First, God is the great Master of the universe, the absolute Owner of all...

Rev. Bekkering is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Pella, Iowa. Grief is the keen suffering that one goes through because of an affliction or loss. It can be looked at as God’s way of healing a broken heart. Grief is universal and natural. Sooner or later everyone has a time of grief in his life. We want to explore the pattern in grief, our dealing with grief as Christians, and God’s work in our grief. Most people who are hurting, no matter what the cause, go through a similar grieving pattern. On the other hand, each person’s loss...

Rev. Heys is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. That wonderful covenant which God eternally decreed, and in time made known to those whom He chose in Christ to be citizens in the kingdom of heaven and to be members of the body of Christ, was presented three times in this department called The Day of Shadows. This was possible because it pleased God to make that covenant known to us in the Old Testament and New Testament, which are rightly called Holy Writ. It was sometimes spoken directly by God, but also presented through a man to...