Volu 100 Issue 10

Rev. Stephan Regnerus, pastor of Hull PRC in Hull, Iowa And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together growth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. Ephesians 2:20-22 Her foundation Every carpenter understands the importance of a good foundation. A sturdy foundation is necessary to hold up the weight of the building that later will be constructed upon it. If the foundation should fail, it will...

Prof. Brian Huizinga, professor of Dogmatics and Old Testament in the Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary and member of Grandville PRC in Grandville, Michigan A conference on abuse Last weekend (I write mid-January), in the midst of a furious winter storm, I joined hundreds of others in attending a two-day conference in Hudsonville, Michigan hosted by Haven of Mercy on the subject, “A Biblical and Compassionate Response to Abuse in the Church.” Due to the snowstorm, the majority of people stayed home and tuned in via livestream, and during the twenty-four hours in which the video-recordings were posted on the web...

After the release of booking forms only a few weeks ago, excitement is building for what looks to be a fabulous conference this summer in England. What follows is an announcement of some of the important details. Place: Cloverley Hall, described as “a Christian Confer­ence Centre set on 9 acres of its own grounds in the beau­tiful Shropshire countryside. Within the grounds there is a lawn suitable for volleyball, a football pitch, a hard tennis court (which will also be used for pickleball and football tennis), an indoor heated swimming pool, a games room, and a creche.” Shropshire is a...

Rev. Daniel Holstege, pastor of the Wingham PRC in Wingham, Ontario, Canada Rumblings on the Canadian-American fault line of the CRC To one who is not too familiar with the history of the Christian Reformed Church in Canada, like myself, the lead article in a recent issue of the Canadian-based periodical Christian Courier came as a bit of a surprise: “Dreaming of a Canadian Synod: New group calls for the end of Christian Reformed Church binationalism.”1 What is “binationalism”? The basic idea is that the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) is a denomination that spans two nations, the...

Rev. James Laning, home missionary in the Protestant Reformed Churches and member of Zion PRC in Jenison, Michigan If a random group of those who attend some church were asked why they attend the specific church that they do, one would suspect that a relatively small percentage of them would make a reference to the marks of the true church. Some would perhaps mention their upbringing. Others might talk about the friendliness of the people, the activities that take place during the week, or the mission-mindedness of the people. Yet there would likely be relatively few who would mention the...

Rev. Wilbur Bruinsma, pastor-emeritus of Pittsburgh PRC in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania About 100 miles northeast of the Badlands of South Dakota, tucked away between two Indian reservations, the Standing Rock Indian Reservation on the north and the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation on the south, lies a small grain-farming community with the name Isabel. This small town in western South Dakota was established in 1910 and named after a railroad employee’s daughter. Through the years this town has dwindled in size so that today it numbers 145 people and about 38 families. In the 1950’s, however, it numbered a little over 500...

Prof. Cory Griess, professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary and member of First PRC, Grand Rapids, Michigan Previous article in this series: February 1, 2024, 230.   Introduction We are currently examining the three main arguments transgender activists make in an attempt to deny the clear scriptural teaching regarding gender and sex. So far, we have examined transgender activism’s deceitful appeal to Galatians 3:28 and its wrong interpretation of the creation narrative. In this article we will examine transgender activism’s appeal to Matthew 19:12, where the Lord Jesus says, “For there are some eunuchs, which were...

Rev. Jacob Maatman, pastor of Southeast PRC in Wyoming, Michigan Strength The rubric under which this article appears is “Strength of Youth,” and therefore it seemed fitting to write an article that commends weakness. It is a strange way to go about the subject, but we have the approach on good authority: the apostle Paul boasted in his weaknesses (quite something to boast in!) and concluded thus: “For when I am weak, then am I strong” (II Cor. 12:10). Strong, when weak! All this, because of what the Lord Jesus Christ said to him: “My grace is sufficient for thee:...

Mr. Nathan Vis, member of Cornerstone PRC, Dyer, Indiana and a practicing attorney The scene is Bremerton (WA) High School, and the year is 2015. Following a game, football coach Joseph Kennedy kneeled on the 50-yard line in silent prayer. He understood that this action would likely result in a termination by the public school district for which he worked. After months of repeated requests from the school district that Coach Kennedy cease his public prayers, he did, indeed, lose his job. The coach, in turn, sued the school district.1 After his case worked its way through layers of the...