Vol 69 Issue 14

Mr. Wigger is an elder in the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. School Activities Our Christian schools continue to grow and expand with the growth of our congregations: The evidence of this is seen in recent school developments in three different congregations. In the first place, the Board of Covenant Christian School in Lynden, WA announced recently that it had approved a constitution for a new high school society. The organization of this society took place back in early February. In the second place, the Randolph (WI) PR School Society, along with its Board, continues to meet on a...

Dear Readers, The R.F.P.A. Permanent Book Committee takes this opportunity to acquaint our readers with the latest work and plans in the publishing of our books. We do so in the hopes and with the prayers that our God will bless these labors as good Reformed literature is distributed in our churches and among those who hold like precious faith with us. As many of our readers know, two new and important books have recently been offered to the public. One is Mrs. Gertrude Hoeksema’s fascinating and exciting book about the history of our, Protestant Reformed Churches. It is published...

Rev. Heys is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. A shadow always gives evidence of the existence of an object on which the light is falling. That object is between the light and the shadow. An illustration of that we find in II Kings 20:9-11, where we read of a shadow cast by a piece of wood or metal on a sundial. Further, inColossians 2:16, 17 we read that the Sabbath days are “a shadow of things to come.” And in the old dispensation we find shadows of things that are coming, that are presented to us in the New...

Rev. Kortering is a Protestant Reformed minister-on-loan to Singapore. It was my privilege to be present at the annual meeting of the Classis of the Evangelical Reformed Churches of Singapore which met at Covenant Church on Saturday, February 27. It was with great joy that we could observe as well as participate in the discussions which led to the decisions which had to be made. Besides the delegates, Pastor Mahtani was also present to participate. The Lord has greatly blessed these churches, and there is abundant evidence of their increasing ability to handle ecclesiastical matters. Though the denomination consists of...

Mr. Lanting, a member of South Holland Protestant Reformed Church, is a practicing attorney. Equal Pay Act Applies to Church-Operated School The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) brought a federal suit against the First Baptist Church in northern Indiana for alleged violation of the federal Equal Pay Act. The Act prohibits discrimination “between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees . . . at a rate less wages paid to employees of the opposite sex . . . for equal work….” The EEOC claimed that the Baptist school, which serves preschoolers through eighth graders, paid male...

Rev. Woudenberg is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand.  I Corinthians 15:1 The Declaration of Principles was up for final adoption at the synod of 1951; and as the time for this session approached, the tensions began to build. It was not as though the Declaration itself caused the breakdown in relations between us and the Liberated churches. For all practical purposes, that was accomplished before the Declaration ever appeared. If there was any one...

Rev. Cammenga is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Loveland, Colorado. In places where the consistory is to be constituted for the first time or anew, this shall not take place except with the advice of the classis.  Church Order, Article 38 Introduction This article concerns the re-organizing of congregations and the organization of new congregations. Originally the article referred only to the reconstituting of congregations. This was necessary in the early history of the Reformed churches because of persecution. Often congregations were scattered, sometimes even forced to flee to foreign lands. When conditions improved, many of these believers...

Rev. Lubbers is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.  I Timothy 2:9, 10 Some general observations on the text and context: 1. We ought to keep in mind that Paul is writing in the remainder of Chapter 1 (vv. 9-15) concerning the proper, God-ordained role of both men and women in the “house of God.” This house by its distinctive character is nothing less...

Prof. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Introduction William Farel, first generation Reformer, is remembered especially for his work with John Calvin, the great Reformer of Geneva. Into this darkness Farel burst, roaring like a bull, flinging about without regard for personal safety the great truths of Scripture which he had learned to love. He appeared on the scene as a meteor, smashing by his oratory and preaching of the gospel all the carefully fashioned practices of the false church from which he had broken. These labors led him to Geneva. Contact...

Preaching the Catechism My question pertains to the proper or best method of preaching on the Lord’s Days of the Heidelberg Catechism. The question is, Is the selecting of a text or passage of Scripture as the basis for the sermon a proper or better method than basing the sermon on the Lord’s Day itself? Garrett Flikkema Lansing, IL Response: Ministers in the Protestant Reformed Churches have no choice in this matter. Article 68 of The Church Order states, “The ministers shall on Sunday explain briefly the sum of Christian doctrine comprehended in the Heidelberg Catechism so that as much...