Vol 87 Issue 13

School Activities On the night of February 17 the parents and teachers of Heritage Christian School in Hudsonville, MI were invited to their annual Spring PTA meeting. Rev. G. Eriks, pastor of the Hudsonville PRC, spoke on the topic, “Covenant Communication with our Children.” Following his speech, teachers and parents, over cookies and coffee, were encouraged to continue the discussion on how we communicate with our children. One week earlier, on February 10, the supporters of the PTA of Hope PR Christian School in Walker, MI were invited to gather together to hear Mrs. Tina Mingerink speak on how children...

March 2, 2011 Classis West convened in regular session on March 2, 2011 in the beautiful new facilities of the Protestant Reformed Church in Crete, IL. Rev. James Laning chaired this meeting of classis. Much of the business of this classis was routine. Classis heard reports from, and approved the work of, its stated clerk, reading sermon committee, classical committee, and church visitors. Classis provided classical appointments to Edgerton PRC. It also approved subsidy requests for 2012 for the congregations of the Bethel, Covenant of Grace, First Edmonton, Heritage, Immanuel, and Lynden PRCs, and will forward these requests to Synod...

For quite some time, the articles I have submitted for the Taking Heed to the Doctrine rubric have been on Dispensationalism. In my judgment, there is quite a bit that still needs to be written on this— not only because the error is so prevalent today, but also because it seems God is using this error to get us to consider a number of centrally important passages found in the prophecies of Scripture. So, the Lord willing, I do plan to continue to submit articles on this subject from time to time, but no longer under this rubric. It seems to me...

Previous article in this series: March 1, 2011, p. 257. A Case Study in Working Hard not to Exercise Discipline In a previous article we noted that three governing bodies of the Presbyterian Churches in America (PCA) have recently dealt with ministers accused of teaching or defending views consistent with the heresy of the Federal Vision (FV) and have refused to take decisions condemning these ministers and their views. In that article the actions of the Presbytery of the Siouxlands (SLP) were examined. This article focuses on the actions of the Standing Judicial Commission (SJC), which represents the General Assembly...

Previous article in this series: March 15, 2011, p. 273. Unconditional Covenant  Neither are election and covenant different with regard to their unconditionality. As a Reformed theologian, Bavinck held unconditional election. As a Reformed theologian, Bavinck also confessed that the covenant of grace is unconditional. Because the issue of the unconditionality or conditionality of the covenant is controversial in the Reformed churches, and because the vast majority of Reformed theologians like to leave the impression that the Reformed tradition overwhelmingly has taught that the covenant is conditional, dismissing the doctrine of the unconditional covenant as a “radical” aberration, it will...

Christian College…or Secular  I’m writing to you in regard to your recent short series in the SB issuing a warning to students attending a Christian college. Before I comment on that, I should tell you that I graduated from Calvin College and then spent three years at the University of Michigan earning a master’s degree. So I have personal experience both with a small, Christian college and with a large, public university. It is my opinion that we PR folks are woefully deficient in education. Our modern society requires that we compete for jobs and that we be educated well enough for...

Previous article in this series: March 15, 2011, p. 268. God’s covenant of grace is essential both for life and for doctrine. Doctrinally, it is the crown jewel of the Reformed faith, uniting, demonstrating the harmony of all the doctrines, particularly the doctrines of salvation. The importance of the covenant in practical terms cannot be overstated—it defines our relationship to God. What, in all the world, can be more important than a man’s relationship with God? Nothing. Understanding that vital significance of this doctrine, and knowing that the doctrine has been discussed by the children of the Reformation for almost...

But be not thou far from me, O Lord: O my strength, haste thee to help me.  Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. Psalm 22:19, 21 Psalm 22 speaks directly and exclusively of Jesus Christ. It is His words as He hung upon the cross. Matthew Henry aptly writes: “In singing this Psalm we must keep our thoughts fixed upon Christ, and be so affected with his sufferings as to experience the fellowship of them, and so affected with his grace as to experience the power and influence of it.”...