Vol 82 Issue 09

Mr. Wigger is a member of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan.   School Activities  This past December the students and teachers of Heritage Christian School in Hudsonville, MI were given an opportunity to contribute towards a cause that will, the Lord willing, assist fellow saints in need. This year’s Christmas collection was to assist the Herrick Presbyterian Covenant School in Tasmania. The students of the South Holland, IL Protestant Reformed School presented their annual Christmas program on December 21 at the Cornerstone PRC in Dyer, IN. The students developed the theme, “His Star: Light for the Gentiles.” Congregation...

Rev. Stewart is a missionary in the Protestant Reformed Churches, currently serving in the British Isles. The British Reformed Fellowship (BRF) is holding its eighth biennial Family Conference at Cloverley Hall, Whitchurch, Shropshire, England, Saturday 5 to Saturday 12 August 2006. The conference theme is “The Five Points of Calvinism.” Professors Herman Hanko and David Engelsma of the Protestant Reformed Churches are the speakers. Reformed believers from the US and Canada and all over the world are heartily invited to join us for what promises to be a week of rich Christian fellowship with ample time for sightseeing and relaxation....

Rev. Smit is pastor of the Immanuel Protestant Reformed Church in Lacombe, Alberta, Canada. Not only must the believing child of God possess a spiritually healthy reverence and fear towards God and His Word as Psalm 119:161 shows; but, according to the next verse in Psalm 119, he ought also to approach the Word of God with delight. This healthy joy is summarized by the psalmist’s confession in Psalm 119:161: “I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.” This beautiful attitude towards God’s Word is quite the opposite of the terrible attitude of King Jehoiakim king of Judah towards the Word,...

Prof. Hanko is professor emeritus of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary.   Introduction Outside of fundamentalist Christianity, the social gospel has come to dominate the thinking of the church. Characteristic of the social gospel is the idea that the work of the church can best be described as a concentrated effort to make this world in which we now live a better place, so that the kingdom of God can be realized here on earth. If the church fails to work towards the alleviation of the sufferings of the poor, the oppression of the downtrodden,...

Rev. Hanko is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington. Previous article in this series: December 1, 2005, p. 111.   The First Disputation: Chapter 1:2-5 (continued)  5. And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel. Why does the prophet speak in this first disputation of the wrath of God and its eternal source (Malachi 1:2-4)? The answer lies here in verse 5. God’s eternal hatred in reprobation and its results are not an end in themselves. Reprobation is always subordinate and serves another purpose. Here that...

Mr. Hanko was secretary of the RFPA at the time this report was presented to the Association last September. The RFPA has had its booth set up at several recent conventions of distributors of Christian books. There are hundreds of distributors who set up their displays of books, pamphlets, and CDs, as well as pictures, gadgets, and trinkets, all designed to promote the work of churches. A man who had observed many of these displays came finally to the little RFPA booth. After examining some of the RFPA materials, he said to those who staffed the booth, “Your material is...

Rev. Van Baren is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. *This was the address given at the annual RFPA meeting held on September 22, 2005. Several months ago Mr. Fred Hanko called and asked me to speak at this meeting on the subject: “All Around Us.” I hesitated. But Mr. Hanko is a persuasive man. Finally I agreed. Yet I could hardly imagine crowds of eager and anxious people coming to hear a moving speech about “All Around Us.” By way of introduction, I give you a bit of information about the rubric and its origin. The rubric...

Rev. DeVries is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church in Wingham, Ontario, Canada.   No Services on Christmas Sunday??  It seems churches today are willing to bend over backwards in an attempt to accommodate their members. The mega-churches typically have multiple services with various worship styles. But who would have dreamed that several of the largest congregations in the United States would actually cancel their services on Christmas Sunday in an effort to be “lifestyle friendly” and not be a hindrance to family Christmas activities? Elaine Spencer reports in The Christian Post on December 7, 2005: This year, Christmas may be cold...

In 1951, the synod of the Protestant Reformed Churches formally adopted a document entitled “A Brief Declaration of Principles of the Protestant Reformed Churches.” The document had four parts, which can be briefly summarized as follows: 1) Common grace; 2) Salvation by sovereign, particular grace; 3) The covenant; and 4) Church government. Perhaps 75% of the document consisted of quotations from the Reformed confessions. The synod also approved a preamble, which sheds a little light on the document. The preamble reads as follows: DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES, to be used only by the Mission Committee and the missionaries for the organization...

Rev. VanOverloop is pastor of Byron Center Protestant Reformed Church in Byron Center, Michigan. “And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.”  Isaiah 54:13 Believing parents commit themselves to the instruction of their children in the knowledge and fear of the Lord. But all believing parents who are wise know that, except the Lord bless their efforts, they can teach twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and nothing will enter the understanding, let alone the heart, of their children. Therefore, wise parents pray as they instruct their...