Volu 101 Issue 10

pastor of Immanuel PRC in Lacombe, Alberta, Canada   …for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted—Luke 18:14 According to the parable of the Pharisee and the publican in Luke 18, there were two celebrations taking place in the temple on one particular day. The Pharisee had a grand celebration of sorts. And the publican had a very different celebration. The one was a wicked and proud celebration. The other was a good and humble celebration. Over the course of the next few weeks we commemorate God’s faithfulness to us as...

professor of Dogmatics and Old Testament in the Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary, and member of Grandville PRC in Grandville, Michigan   CENTENNIAL This year marks the centennial of the Protestant Reformed Churches in America, a denomination made up of thirty-two congregations in the USA and Canada. A special anniversary event, PRCA100 (prca100.org), is being planned for next month with an invitation to sister churches and contacts throughout the world. This issue of the Standard Bearer is the magazine’s own contribution to the centennial. A centennial is a 100th anniversary. 100 years is a long time on the earth. Scripture says...

pastor of Randolph PRC in Randolph, Wisconsin   In thankful commemoration of Jehovah’s goodness and mercy to our Protestant Reformed Churches in America through the past century, this article takes a bird’s-eye view of the living organism of our doctrinal heritage that Jehovah graciously has preserved among us. Since this article can only be an overview, a complete exposition of the Reformed doctrines that the PRCA has sought to maintain as our living biblical confession can be found in the many writings of Protestant Reformed theologians. This exposition of Reformed doctrines may be found in their books published by the...

professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary, and member of Trinity PRC in Hudsonville, Michigan   The Protestant Reformed Churches in America (PRCA) began on January 29, 1925, when the combined consistories of the Christian Reformed Churches of Eastern Ave., Hope, and First Kalamazoo held their first informal meeting. They considered their meeting of March 6, 1925 to be their first official meeting. Which institutions connected to the PRCA are as old as the denomination? The three founding churches, of course, were older than the denomination. And, the Reformed Free Publishing Association and the...

home missionary in the Protestant Reformed Churches, and member of Zion PRC in Jenison, Michigan   It has been a joy and a privilege for us as churches to promote the preaching of the gospel in various nations around the world. In this article we look specifically at the work over the past twenty-five years. During these years the Protestant Reformed Churches have been busily engaged in mission work, both foreign and domestic. I take a moment to explain what we mean by foreign and domestic, seeing as in mission work we use those terms in a way that differs...

professor emeritus of Dogmatics and Old Testament in the Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary, and member of Southwest PRC in Wyoming, Michigan   CELEBRATING SYNOD The year was 1940. The date was Wednesday, May 22. Very few took notice of the momentous event that took place in Grand Rapids, Michigan that day. It was not the lead story on the evening news. It did not capture the headlines of the local newspapers. The few who did take notice were members of the Protestant Reformed Churches in America. After fifteen years of existence as a separate denomination, they had grown sufficiently to...

professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary, and member of First PRC in Grand Rapids, Michigan   GOING TO THE SERMON During the Reformation period, if a Roman Catholic person was on his way to church and someone asked him where he was going, he would say, “I am on my way to the mass.” If the same question was put to a Reformed person, however, it was widely known that he would respond, “I am on my way to the sermon.” The preached word was central to the worship services of the Reformed even as the...

pastor of the Wingham PRC in Wingham, Ontario, Canada   A lot has happened in the Protestant Reformed Churches since the last major anniversary celebration in the year 2000. I was a teenager attending the Protestant Reformed Young People’s Convention at Calvin College, just down the road from where I grew up, when the 75th anniversary was celebrated at the same time on the same campus. As a young person at that time, I believed that the PRC were the purest manifestation of the true church in this world and other churches were apostatizing. I thought our ministers were strong...

former editor of the Standard Bearer, professor emeritus of Dogmatics and Old Testament in the Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary and his wife, members of Trinity PRC in Hudsonville, Michigan   For those to whom he is Father the church may also be Mother—John Calvin, Institutes 4.1.1 This article is a heartfelt expression of gratitude to the PRC as our faithful and dear spiritual mother. To her as a body of true churches of Christ, we owe much, and we here publicly express our thanks. There is the danger that we neglect to express our thanks to our earthly mother. When...

former editor of the Standard Bearer, professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary, and member of Hudsonville PRC   Luther reportedly once said that if he were told the world would end tomorrow, he would still plant an apple tree today. Some have taken from this Luther’s love of gardening, or of his care for the environment, but if Luther indeed said this, I take him to be teaching that Christians ought to be faithful today, planning for the future, even if they believe Christ will return tomorrow. The Protestant Reformed Churches (and the whole church of...