Vol 90 Issue 18

Minister Activities Rev. Rodney Kleyn, pastor of the Covenant of Grace PRC in Spokane, WA, declined the call extended to him from the Faith PRC in Jenison, MI to serve as their next pastor. On Sunday morning, May 18, Rev. Clayton Spronk, pastor of the Peace PRC in Lansing, IL, announced that he was led by the Lord to decline the call extended to him from the Doon, IA PRC. On May 25, Rev. Garrett Eriks, pastor of the Hudsonville, MI PRC, declined the call from the First PRC in Grand Rapids, MI to serve as their next pastor. School...

May 14, 2014 Trinity Protestant Reformed Church Classis East met in regular session on Wednesday, May 14, 2014 at the Trinity PRC, Hudsonville, MI. Each church was represented by two delegates. Rev. M. Vander- Wal was the chairman of this session. The main item of business for classis consisted in dealing with the report from its committee of pre-advice concerning an appeal from a brother concerning a consistory’s decision to change the date of the annual Prayer Day service. The committee of pre-advice submitted a majority and a minority report. The majority report prevailed as classis decided to sustain the...

A friend of mine shops at a second-hand clothing sale and finds a handsome men’s suit. Because it is priced very low, she eagerly searches the lining for the size. Alas, the tag is missing but she has a creative solution. Instructing her companion to hold the coat at a specified height, my friend wraps her arms around it in an embrace. Ignoring some stares, her companion dutifully holds on. After another hug or two, my friend is convinced the coat feels just right. She brings the suit home to her loved one and it fits him perfectly. Three thousand...

Rev. Smit is a missionary of the Protestant Reformed Churches in America, stationed in Manila, the Philippines. I recently read a book written by Prof. David Engelsma and published by the RFPA in 2013 about the history of the origin, the writing, the adoption, and the rocky reception in the PRCA of The Declaration of Principles of the Protestant Reformed Churches during the early 1950s. While reading the book, I wondered whether in our mission work with those brought out of superstition and idolatry, cults, false churches, or churches far down the road of apostasy, the Declaration has any value today...

Previous article in this series: June 2014, p. 391. Introduction In marvelous ways God reveals Himself. First, He reveals Himself in the creation, for “[t]he heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork” (Ps. 19:1). Because of God’s revelation in the creation the psalmist exclaims in Psalm 8:1, “O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!” Besides God’s revelation of Himself in the works of His hands in the creation, He also reveals Himself in the history of the world, as He orders all things that happen for the accomplishment of...

Amen is the last word of God. It is the last word of God declared in His eternal counsel. It is the last word of God to us in Holy Scripture. To everything in the Bible, from its “In the beginning” to its concluding “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all,” to every word of history and prophecy, providence and miracle, blessing and cursing, law and gospel, exhortation and promise—the faithful, true, and everlasting God adds one final word. Amen! Amen is a Hebrew word that means “it shall truly and certainly be” (H.C., L.D. 52)....

The Student Aid Committee desires to correct two misconceptions that were conveyed in your Synodical Preview article “Blessings and Opportunities” (May 15, 2014, p. 364). Both had to do with the special Seminary Student Assistance Fund administered by the Student Aid Committee. The part of our report to Synod 2014 that appeared in the printed Agenda showed a balance of more than $100,000 in this fund. And that part of our report showed no disbursements from it. Understandably, you concluded that the Seminary Student Assistance Fund is a “large, little-used fund.” But it is not. Disbursements over the last five...

I commend the SB for publishing Rev. Clay Spronk’s recent article “The Bill Nye vs. Ken Ham Debate” (May 15, 2014, p. 370). Like Rev. Spronk, I watched the debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham with great interest, and came away with an appreciation for the way that Ham defended the importance of Scripture in interpreting science. It is the Bible that must be the “corrective lens” for logical interpretation of scientific evidence by a believing scientist, as it is the only means for obtaining a true vision of the natural world around us. While I largely agreed with...

In the age of the Internet where most news travels “faster than a speeding bullet,” it’s hardly necessary for an SB editorial to report the decisions of Synod 2014. The student examination (the bulk of synod’s first two days) was streamed live, and summaries of each day’s business were given by synod’s clerk, so that for those who are interested (and have access to a computer) the news of synod is old by now. For those who would yet like to see the daily reports—and many pictures of the delegates of Synod 2014—please go to prca.org, click on “About” and...

“And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed.” Isaiah 61:9 This is the abbreviated text of the pre-synodical sermon that Rev. VanOverloop preached on June 9, 2014. The church of God in Isaiah’s day was filled with so much sin, that God commissioned Isaiah to declare severe judgment. “Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears...