Vol 96 Issue 20

And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant. —Genesis 33:5 Jacob was returning to Canaan after twenty years with his uncle Laban. He had fled Canaan because of the wrath and threats of his brother Esau. Having learned that Jacob had stolen the birthright blessing by deceiving his father, Esau vowed to kill Jacob. Jacob had fled to his uncle Laban alone and empty. He returned twenty year later full. He had large herds of sheep,...

We can truly say about our good Christian schools, “The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad!” (Ps. 126:3). The more I think about what God has given us, I want to say this. Even the heathen, if they would look at our schools carefully and judge honestly, would say, “The Lord hath done great things for them” (Ps. 126:2). We have twenty good Christian schools, in which communities of like-minded parents and supporters are banded together to teach the covenant youth the world and life view they embrace, teach all the subjects of the curriculum...

Introduction “Black Lives Matter” (BLM) is not only a slogan but also a movement and an organization that the Christian cannot support. The founders of the movement are Patrise Cullors, a “queer activist” married to a woman; Alicia Garza, another “queer activist” married to a transgender man, that is, to a woman who identifies as a man; and Opal Tometi, a Nigerian-American human rights activist. Two events, both perceived injustices, sparked the creation of the organization: the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting of African- American youth, Trayvon Martin, in Florida (July 2013); and the shooting of Michael Brown,...

Peace is obviously precious. For the Old Testament saints, their hello was “Shalom!” Peace! Every time they worshiped, they received this blessing: “The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace” (Num. 6:23-26). And almost every New Testament epistle begins, “Peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Our God, who put enmity between two seeds on earth, is yet the God of peace (Rom. 16:20). Christ, who came not to send peace, is yet the Prince of Peace who came into this world preaching peace, and departed it leaving us with...

Childcare: volumes have been written on this subject. Many of them are produced by secular (unbelieving) sociologists and child psychologists. Many others are generated by “Christians” who write with a religious flare but ignore the truth of Scripture while imbibing the unbelieving mindset of this world. Magazines are displayed on the table in doctors’ offices and immediately sent to the home free of charge as soon as a publisher finds out from the hospital that a mother has had her baby. Books, magazines, blogs, and videos on parenting are available everywhere. They are downloaded, read, or listened to with the...

As we have been considering what it means to be a true man of God, we have examined different relationships and circumstances in which God calls Christian men to live. We have looked at sexuality and single life, dating, marriage, and family. In this article we take up a different sphere of life in which men must be men: the workplace. This is an important subject for men to consider. Women also are called to work, but typically that work is done in the sphere of the home and family. The sphere of the man is the workplace and providing...

On June 15, 2020 the United States Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case of Bostock v. Clayton County.1 This case involved the question of whether the Civil Rights Act of 1964 should be construed to prevent discrimination against homosexual and transgender people, and others with varying sexual orientation. The Court ruled that the Civil Rights Act does apply, in a landmark decision that has far-reaching implications for our churches, schools, and individual believers. The background for the case The decision actually involved three different cases, each with relatively simple facts. In each case, an employee was terminated...

On July 19, 2020 Hope PRC in Redlands, CA assembled together for corporate worship—outdoors. The occasion for this outdoor worship service was the executive order of the Governor of California, prohibiting all indoor religious services due to recent increase in COVID-19 cases statewide. In light of this order, the church council made the decision to worship together outdoors, for this would enable the congregation both to worship God corporately on the Sabbath as He commands and to obey the civil government at the same time. So on July 19, the members of Hope PRC gathered together for a very special...

Trivia question Grace PRC in Standale, MI is approaching an important anniversary. Do you know what that special date is? See the church profile. More trivia next time. Minister activities Unity PRC called Rev. G. Eriks. God led Rev. Eriks to accept this call and he plans to become Unity’s first pastor! First Edmonton PRC called Rev. N. Langerak. Rev. Langerak declined this call. Edmonton’s new trio became Rev. J. Engelsma, Rev. R. Kleyn, and Rev. M. VanderWal. Rev. VanderWal received this call. Kalamazoo PRC called Rev. C. Spronk. On August 9, he declined this call. Rev. R. Kleyn declined...

In January of 1994, a meeting was held in the basement of Hope PRC to discuss the possibility and feasibility of forming a new congregation. On June 5, 1994, we began separate services at the Grand Valley Orthodox Christian Reformed Church on the corner of 8th Avenue and Lake Michigan Dr. We had to work around Grand Valley’s services, which were 9:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. We met at 1:00 in the afternoon and 7:30 in the evening. Our pulpit was always supplied by either visiting ministers or seminary students. Rev. P. Breen consented to preach three Sunday evenings each...