Vol 99 Issue 10

At 8:00 a.m. on January 11, 2023 thirty-eight delegates from the nineteen member churches gathered together in Grandville PRC to conduct the business of Classis East (CE). The meeting began with Rev. J. Maatman, chairman of the previous meeting, reading I Peter 5 and opening with prayer. He read the names of the delegates from the credentials sent by their consistories and asked for a motion to accept the credentials. After the motion carried, Rev. Maatman declared classis properly constituted and turned the chair over to Rev. J. Mahtani (next in line alphabetically). Rev. Mahtani presided over the rest of...

The spirit of rebellion against God is manifested in every sphere of earthly life, one of which is the area of medicine and healthcare. What follows demonstrates this, as we consider three articles on the purpose of medicine, the goal of science, and the rise of assisted suicide. The first article, found on World Magazine’s website, is titled: “A Complete Divorce of Medicine from Healthcare.”1 It explains the implications, if passed, of proposed new non-discrimination regulations under Section 1557 of the Patient Protection Act. The basic idea of the regulations is that medicine no longer has as its purpose the...

Previous article in this series: February 15, 2022, p. 230. The morning of June 6, 1951 was a typical summer day. Very few are alive in the Protestant Reformed Churches who remember the events that began on this day some 70 years ago. Sixteen men met in Fourth PRC (now Southeast PRC) to conduct the business of the synod. Tensions were running high. The adoption of the famous (or infamous, depending on what side of the issue one stood) “Declaration of Principles of the Protestant Reformed Churches” was to be decided at this synod. Since the 1950 Synod, ministers, consistories,...

I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning…. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I John 2:13 A Christian novelist whose books I enjoy reading once in a while made the striking comment that a child is born into this world with a hole in his chest in the shape of a father. That hole needs to be filled, but only a father can fill it. In other words, a child has a profound need for a loving relationship with a father. If that need is not...

How many are the days of thy servant? when wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me? Psalm 119:84 This text records the earnest cry of an individual who has endured many difficult experiences in life. It is the desire of one whose eyes have beheld numerous evils, whose name has been slandered, and whose flesh has been hurt. This is not the cry that normally comes forth from the lips of a child or even a teenager. The young person, filled with youthful optimism for the future, has little interest in knowing how many days he has left...

Speaking is fundamental to the life of God’s church. The speaking God creates us with a tongue and sanctifies that little member for service in His church. Thus you find in a faithful church the preaching of the whole counsel of God, the prophesying of Spirit-filled sons and daughters, cheerful and edifying discourse among the saints, open conversations to clear up misunderstandings, as well as the good instruction, wise counsel, brotherly admonitions, and sharp warnings from our brethren and all in authority over us. Speech is good. However, there will never be peace in the church if all we do...

I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also. Romans 16:1-2 Lists of names in Scripture have great value and importance. We often have the tendency to view these lists as laborious and insignificant, but the opposite is true. Examples include the lengthy lists recorded in Ezra and Nehemiah, where names of returning captives point us...

What is published here and in the previous issue (Feb. 1, 2023) is part of the history Mr. Cal Kalsbeek (retired Christian school teacher and member of Hope PRC, Walker, MI) 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...

Mr. Charles Terpstra, member of Faith PRC in Jenison, Michigan and full-time librarian/registrar/archivist at the Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary The following book is reviewed by Mrs. Cherith Guichelaar, pastor’s wife and mother in Grace PRC in Standale, Michigan. Is It Abuse? A Biblical Guide to Identifying Domestic Abuse and Helping Victims by Darby Strickland. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: P&R Publishing, 2020. 352 pages, paperback. $19.99. There is a light shining on sexual abuse. Scandals continue to leak. Not just from “other churches,” but from within our own. Articles have been written. Videos, podcasts, and books are being watched, listened to, and...