Vol 99 Issue 09

What is published here and in the next issue are part of the history Mr. Cal Kalsbeek wrote originally and primarily for the benefit of the descendants of his father, the late Mr. John M. Kalsbeek (1913-2005). We thank him for sharing some of the history he has researched and written concerning his family. Cal offered the following explanation to his family members: “It will soon become obvious to the reader that ‘Dad’ is the focus of what I have written. This happened largely because the vast majority of the material I had at my disposal was obtained from him...

PRC news (denominational and congregational) With all the vacant churches in the PRC, numerous calls have been made and responded to in the last few months. We only provide the most recent here. Back on November 20, 2022, Rev. J. Laning accepted the call from Zion PRC to serve as home missionary. On January 1, 2023 he preached his farewell in Hull PRC, and on February 5 he is to be installed as home missionary. He plans to take some special missions classes and do some writing as Zion determines where best to have him begin his labors. Also on...

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:34, 35 Jesus was with His disciples in the upper room in Jerusalem eating the last Passover supper. After dismissing Judas Iscariot to set in motion the events that would lead to Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion, Jesus informed His disciples that He would be with the disciples only for a little while. And where He was going,...

Peace in the church is enjoyed in the way of repentance and forgiveness, so that when members of the congregation sin against each other they confess their faults one to another (James 5:16; Matt. 5:23-24) and forgive each other (Matt. 6:12, 14-15; 18:21-22; Eph. 4:32). Therefore, when your heart desires the peace of the church, you pray that God’s mighty grace will work in the church so that all those who have sinned against their neighbor will confess those injuries and wrongs, and so that all those who have been sinned against will forgive the neighbor his trespasses. But how...

“Young, Restless, and Reformed” today Back in September of 2006, the year I started seminary, Collin Hansen wrote a feature article for Christianity Today entitled “Young, Restless, and Reformed.” That phrase became the watchword for a movement of young people who were taking a greater interest in Reformed theology, many of whom were from the Baptist persuasion. In 2009, even Time magazine noticed and spoke of “The New Calvinism” as one of the most influential movements in the United States at the time. The heroes of the movement include John Piper, John MacArthur, Mark Dever, R.C. Sproul, Tim Keller, D....

Previous article in this series: January 15, 2023, p. 175. But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him. Habakkuk 2:20 In Habakkuk 2 God is addressing the prophet’s concern over God’s sovereign use of wicked Babylon to punish Judah’s sin. Habakkuk had complained that Judah’s sin needed chastisement (1:2-4) and God had informed him that the Babylonians, a bitter and hasty nation, terrible and dreadful, were on the way (1:6-7). God would use them to punish Judah’s sin. God’s answer only increased Habakkuk’s concern, for though Judah had sinned grievously, the Babylonians...

Marriage is a permanent bond—for life. When God joins you in marriage to your husband or wife, He forms a bond that cannot be dissolved except by God Himself in death. Not even divorce dissolves a marriage so that you are free to be married again to another while your spouse lives. When God joins you to a wife or husband, He makes for you a lifelong bond. And He calls you to glorify Him by living with each other in the true love of God, which is faithful, sacrificial, and enduring—a love that seeks not your own but seeks...

On the third day God clothed His new world with living green (Gen 1:11). Standing tall among these plants are the “trees of the Lord,” full of sap and fruitful (Ps. 104:16). God gave the trees “several offices” (Belgic Confession, Art. 12). He created them to yield lifenourishing fruit, “good for food” (Gen. 2:9), to supply the needs of man and beast. “Behold, I have given you,” God told Adam, “every tree…to you it shall be for meat.” God made the trees to serve as shelter for His creatures. In the trees the birds build their nests (Ps. 104:17). Under...

When the Lord determined to establish a Reformed church in Singapore, He chose the men and women who would be members in that church. And in His wisdom, He determined wise and gifted men to lead and guide the church. None have been more instrumental in God’s work in the Covenant Evangelical Reformed Church than Leong Fai Chong. The First Evangelical Reformed Church of Singapore was organized in 1982. In 1987, a daughter congregation was organized and adopted the name Covenant Evangelical Reformed Church. One of the first men elected to the office of elder was Leong Fai Chong, who...