All Articles For Address at Annual Meeting of Reformed Free Publishing Association (RFPA)

This is the text of the speech that Rev. Engelsma delivered at the RFPA Annual Meeting on September 29, 2016. We are presently living in the midst of a sexual revolution of monumental scope and unheard-of influence. Our society shamelessly bows before the goddess Sex and has committed herself wholeheartedly to the promotion of her worship.1 Wherever the Reformed Christian turns, the evidence of this revolution stares him in the face. He sees it when he turns on the TV. He sees it when he opens the web browser. He sees it on billboards as he drives down the highway....

This is the edited text of the speech Rev. Smit gave at the annual meeting of the RFPA on September 24, 2015. I had the privilege to experience firsthand the topic of tonight’s lecture. I was not involved with Reformed literature on the mission field in the Philippines to the extent that Rev. and Mrs. Daniel Kleyn have been. They established and organized the “Reformed Bookshelf ” in order to fulfill a goal of our mission work in the Philippines, which is to promote the spread of Protestant Reformed literature in the Philippines in a financially accessible way. They continue...

Rev. Spronk is pastor of Faith Protestant Reformed Church in Jenison, Michigan. This is the edited text of the speech Rev. Spronk gave at the annual meeting of the RFPA on September 25, 2014. First article was in the November 15, 2014 issue, p. 89. We have to know church history because it is required by God (see the previous article). We also want to know church history because of the rich benefits the knowledge of this history affords us. Of the numerous benefits of knowing church history I have chosen to highlight four in this article. First, knowledge of...

 This is the edited text of the speech Rev. Spronk gave at the annual meeting of the RFPA on September 25, 2014. Introduction One purpose of this article is to convince you that you must know the history of the church. You must know, and should be interested in, the history of the church that is recorded in the Bible. You must know and should be interested the history of the church after the closing of the canon of Scripture—from the first century A.D. to the present. Maybe you are wondering if it is really necessary to make the case that...

This is the text of the speech Rev. Huizinga gave at the annual meeting of the RFPA on September 19, 2013. Previous article in this series: December 15, 2013, p. 129. What Can We Do? The Ten “P’s” Now what can we do to encourage and promote the reading of sound, spiritually-edifying literature, particularly among the next generation? 1. Support the Preaching Deliberately we begin here. Were I not a preacher but a cobbler, I would still begin with preaching, as every Re­formed man should. Pray for the seminary, support the seminary, pray for the minister, see to it that...

This is the text of the speech Rev. Huizinga gave at the annual meeting of the RFPA on September 19, 2013. Previous article in this series: November 15, 2013, p. 88. Reading’s Great Significance in God’s Covenant The next generation must be encouraged to read. The necessity, even urgency, of doing so is twofold. First, reading has a significant place in the covenant of grace as an instrument of God for the fulfilling of His promises. That reading has a significant place in God’s covenant can be demonstrated from Scripture. First of all, Exodus 24:7 (and all similar Old Testa­ment passages):...

This is the text of the speech Rev. Huizinga gave at the annual meeting of the RFPA on September 19, 2013. Picture a banqueting table—not round, but rectan­gular in shape, like that at which a wedding party typically sits. There are five positions at the table, that is, five chairs and five table settings. In position five is seated a man who has before him an empty plate. Next to him, in position four, is a man who has before him a plate on which sits a good hearty meal. Next to him, in position three, is a man who...

Previous article in this series: December 15, 2011, p. 129. * Fourth installment of the text of the address given at the annual meeting of the Reformed Free Publishing Association (RFPA) on September 22, 2011 at Faith Protestant Reformed Church, Jenison, MI.

Previous article in this series: December 1, 2011, p. 106. *Third installment of the text of the address given at the annual meeting of the Reformed Free Publishing Association (RFPA) on September 22, 2011 at Faith Protestant Reformed Church, Jenison, MI. Specific Contents As to its format, the Declaration is set out in outline form. It consists of a preamble (which was added to the Declaration after its provisional adoption in 1950, at the synod of 1951) and of four distinct sections. Between the preamble and the first main section there is what might be called a brief introduction. This...

Previous article in this series: November 1, 2011, p. 62. * Second installment of the text of the address given at the annual meeting of the Reformed Free Publishing Association (RFPA) on September 22, 2011 at Faith Protestant Reformed Church, Jenison, MI. General Observation The Declaration of Principles of the Protestant Reformed Churches, adopted by the synod of 1951, is an eight-page document in the back of the Acts of Synod, 1951 and a twenty-page document (because of bigger print) in the back of the book, The Confessions and the Church Order of the Protestant Reformed Churches.1 It is a...