Geography Facts Alas, in the November 15, 2016 issue, this column incorrectly placed the Limerick Reformed Fellowship in Northern Ireland. Shame on us! Did our readers notice? Those in Limerick certainly did! With a smile, some questioned our knowledge of the geography of their region. And rightfully so. You see, the Limerick Reformed Fellowship, a mission congregation of the Covenant Protestant Reformed Church of Northern Ireland is in the Republic of Ireland, a different country. Not Northern at all! Due apologies rendered and a pledge to visit them some day to see their beautiful country! Trivia Question While we are...
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This is the second part of the text of the speech that Rev. Engelsma delivered at the RFPA Annual Meeting on September 29, 2016. Previous article can be found in the January 1, 2017 issue, p. 158. The Fact of Our Witness Earlier we examined where we are, where we have been, and where we are going with the sexual revolution. Now, what is our calling in light of these developments? There is a calling that comes first and foremost to the instituted church, and that is to continue to preach and teach the Word of God with all boldness....
Previous article in this series: November 15, 2016, p. 87. With this article I begin to explain the principles that the interdenominational Psalter Revision Committee is using to evaluate the musical selections in our Psalter, and on the basis of which it decides whether to recommend changes. The committee reported these principles to the respective synods, and each synod expressly approved them.1 The Importance of These Governing Principles My purpose in this and following articles is to demonstrate that the revision committee is consciously asking the right questions and striving to find good answers. Evaluating music and poetry is inherently...
“Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:16 Picture this: a gavel coming down. Not the gavel of a judge, but that of an auctioneer. “Going once! Going twice….” If you are a buyer with the lower bid, you feel an urgency. If you do not name your price now, you will lose your chance! What is up for sale? What does God urgently call you to purchase? Time. “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” The word “redeem” is easy for us who live in this consumer society to relate to. The businessman buys equipment, real...
Previous article in this series: September 15, 2016, p. 490. Necessity “I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” So writes Job in Job 23:12. Food is necessary, absolutely necessary for us. Without food we die. So it is and even more so, teaches Job, spiritually. What corresponds in the spiritual realm to food in the natural realm is the Word of God, our meat and drink to life eternal. As necessary as food is for the body, so necessary is the Word of God for our souls. We are at present considering Scripture’s perfections....
Previous article in this series: February 15, 2016, p. 227. (Note: Because it has been almost a year since the last article in this series appeared in print, a quick reminder of where we were at might be helpful. We were considering the types and shadows of the old dispensation. We noted that David, in Psalm 51:16, though reflecting first of all on the place of sacrifices in his own day, was also saying something about their end in the dispensation to come. A remarkable prophecy, we said, especially in light of how difficult it was for the saints of...
Peeking Through Hubble David L. DeBruyn reports that images from the Hubble Space Telescope show galaxies that man has never seen before.1 The discoveries are “unlikely to explain burning scientific questions about the origins of dark matter or why the universe appears to be accelerating.” But the discoveries do demonstrate how enormous the universe is. DeBruyn writes, A widely used analogy is that there are more stars within the Milky Way than there are grains of sand on all the beaches of Earth. That is a mind-boggling concept to be sure, but now consider this: The announcement earlier this month...
Previous article in this series: January 1, 2017, p. 148. Believing parents understand the weighty responsibility before God to train up their children in the fear of the Lord. When possible, Reformed parents band together to establish and maintain Christian schools to assist them in this high calling. The teachers are the heart of these Christian schools. This being the case, the importance of qualified—highly qualified—teachers cannot be overstated. The past couple of editorials have focused on some of the essential qualifications for Protestant Reformed teachers—natural, spiritual, and theological qualifications. The theme has been that Protestant Reformed schools need excellent...
“By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Hebrews 11:9, 10 Abraham is a prominent figure in the list of heroes of faith in Hebrews 11. Abraham could be considered from many points of view, but here in Hebrews 11 the emphasis falls upon the faith of Abraham. In verse 8 we are told that this faith was manifest in his obedience to the...
