Vol 86 Issue 18

May 12, 2010 Hope Protestant Reformed Church Classis East met in regular session on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at the Hope PRC in Walker, MI. All the churches were represented by two delegates. Rev. A. Spriensma was the chairman for this session. Two agenda items occupied the time of this classis: 1) The report of the Study Committee to advise classis on what procedure to follow when a minister resigns from the Protestant Reformed denomination, and 2) The report of the Classical Committee regarding their inquiry into whether Grace PRC gave proper admonition to Rev. M. Dick upon his leaving....

Evangelism Activities The Evangelism Committee of the Kalamazoo, MI PRC encouraged their congregation to get involved by asking friends, family, co-workers, or any others God had placed in their paths, to a Spring Lecture on Friday, May 21, at their church. The topic was “Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt,” and the speaker was Prof. R. Dykstra. He spoke on the assurance of how God takes care of His people with everyday matters. Rev. R. Kleyn, pastor of the Covenant of Grace PRC in Spokane, WA, spoke at a lecture on May 21 sponsored by their Evangelism Committee. Rev. Kleyn...

Previous article in this series: May 15, 2010, p 379. The dispensational view of a pretribulation rapture is rooted in the erroneous idea that God has two separate peoples (Israel and the church), and that His second people (the church) must get out of the way before God will return to dealing with His first people (Israel). In fact, Dispensationalists will admit that if God really does have only one people, then there is no way to defend the pretribulation-rapture position. They say this because they know that Scripture states explicitly that there is an elect people who will be...

Young people and young adults in our Protestant Reformed Churches, you have a tremendous gift! That gift is the ability to discuss the Scriptures intelligently and rationally with your fellow young people, your parents, and others in the church of Jesus Christ. Do not take that gift for granted, but give thanks to God for it. To help appreciate this gift, you might consider a couple of miserable alternatives. For example, you could be a true believer in a false, apostate church. Somehow, in that case, God was pleased to make you one of His children, giving you a lively...

Previous article in this series: May 15, 2010, p. 371. “No church shall in any way lord it over other churches, no minister over other ministers, no elder or deacon over other elders or deacons.” Church Order, Article 84. Introduction The “Anti-Hierarchical Article,” as it has often been called, has a long and honorable history in the Dutch Reformed churches. It was the very first article of the Church Order drafted by the very first regular synod of these churches, the Synod of Emden, 1571. For logical reasons, it was later moved to the section of the Church Order dealing with...

In the Standard Bearer, Volume 86, pages 272, 320, 324, the clash between science and the biblical accounts is evident. Being a person for whom science was easier to grasp than history and politics, I like to defend the integrity of scientists. Take the laws of kinematics and gravitational pull for example, the understanding of which has enabled humanity to visit the moon. Take the laws of electronics and magnetism, the understanding of which has provided communication media and data processing. Nobody will deny the law of mathematics that one plus two equals three. A clash between science and the biblical...

Though the agenda of this year’s synod was not as large as last year’s synod, due to the issue of controversy dealt with last year, this is not to say that this year’s agenda did not have its weighty issues, issues that gave occasion to no little debate on the floor. At synod’s conclusion, all agreed there had been no lack of deliberation on various matters ranging from the rewording of the constitution of the Contact Committee adopted last year, to debating whether the time was ripe to divide our denomination into three classes, replacing the present two-classes division of...

This meditation is the text of the pre-synodical sermon delivered by Rev. Key on June 7, 2010, in Southeast PRC. “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:1-3 Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians is a good reminder to us that doctrine and practice go hand in hand, inseparably connected where the truth is embraced. What tremendous blessings God has bestowed upon...