Vol 71 Issue 02

The will of God governs the church’s worship. According to that will of God, at the heart of worship is to be the preaching of the gospel. The Reformed faith gives the central place in worship to the ministry of the Word. We must worship God aright. But the right and proper worship of God is the worship of God through His Word. This is expressed in the well-known Reformation creed, the Heidelberg Catechism. The first question and answer of Lord’s Day 35 teach that the Second Commandment requires that we worship God in no other way than He has commanded in His...

Rev. Cammenga is pastor of Southwest Protestant Reformed Church in Grandville, Michigan. The will of God governs the church’s worship. According to that will of God, at the heart of worship is to be the preaching of the gospel. The Reformed faith gives the central place in worship to the ministry of the Word. We must worship God aright. But the right and proper worship of God is the worship of God throughHis Word. This is expressed in the well-known Reformation creed, the Heidelberg Catechism. The first question and answer of Lord’s Day 35 teach that the Second Commandment requires that...

Rev. Cammenga is pastor of Southwest Protestant Reformed Church in Grandville, Michigan. The will of God governs the church’s worship. According to that will of God, at the heart of worship is to be the preaching of the gospel. The Reformed faith gives the central place in worship to the ministry of the Word. We must worship God aright. But the right and proper worship of God is the worship of God throughHis Word. This is expressed in the well-known Reformation creed, the Heidelberg Catechism. The first question and answer of Lord’s Day 35 teach that the Second Commandment requires that...

Mr. Wigger is an elder in the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Congregational Activities The membership of the Adult Bible Study of our First PRC in Holland, MI invited their entire congregation to a week-long camp-out at Muskegon State Park For those who could not make the camp-out there was a special invitation extended to join the group of campers on the last night for a potluck supper. Each year the members of First in Holland kick off their society year by holding an Inspirational Meeting. Each society takes a turn hosting this event. This year’s meeting was sponsored...

September 14, 1994 Classis East met in regular session on Wednesday, September 14, 1994 at Hope Protestant Reformed Church, Walker, MI. Each church was represented by two delegates. Rev. Ronald VanOverloop was welcomed back to Classis East as he has now taken up his duties as pastor of Georgetown PRC. The session was chaired by Rev. W. Bruinsma. Most of the business of classis was routine. Reports were heard from the stated clerk and the Classical Committee. Classical appointments were granted to Byron Center. The following schedule was adopted for Byron Center (evening service only, unless otherwise designated): September 25—Joostens;...

Sermons on Job, by John Calvin. Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1993. 751 pp. $49.95 (hardcover). Calvin’s Old Testament Commentaries: Daniel I (Chapters 1-6) by John Calvin. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company and Carlisle, Cumbria: The Paternoster Press, 1993. 300 pp. $24.99 (paper). Calvin’s Old Testament Commentaries, by T. H. L. Parker. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster/ John Knox Press, 1993. 239 pp. $16.99 (paper). Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries, by T. H. L. Parker. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster/ John Knox Press, 1993. 257 pp. $16.99 (paper). [Reviewed by the Editor.] Several important, profitable books by and about John Calvin have recently been published. The...

Rev. VanBaren is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Loveland, Colorado. “Day of rest faces test,” said the headline in theHolland Sentinel of July 25, 1994. Neither the headline nor the accompanying article presents any surprises. Clearly there is a wide divergence of views concerning Sunday as a day of rest. Clearly also, rapid changes in views and practices have taken place in the past five to ten years, especially in those communities which honored Sunday as a special day of rest. The different views (quoted in this paper) of Sunday as a day of rest varied between those of...

Prof. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary.

Rev. Kuiper is pastor of Southeast Protestant Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25 How striking, that while the apostles were still living there were church members who neglected some or all of the worship services. The writer to the Hebrews makes clear that it is the calling not only of the elders but of the membership in general to exhort in regard to this spiritual laxity. Urgency is sounded in...

Prof. Decker is professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. John Calvin condemned the Mass of Roman Catholicism in no uncertain terms. “Of all the idols, he knew none so grotesque as that in which the priest called down Christ into his hands by ‘magical mumblings’ and offered him anew on the sacrificial altar, while the people looked on in ‘stupid amazement.'”1 Calvin proceeded to formulate his ideas on worship (liturgy) by basing them on the clear warrant of Scripture and appealing to the invariable custom of the ancient church.2 The Reformer concluded, “No assembly of the church...