Rev. Kuiper is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Byron Center, Michigan. A Reformed view of language must begin with the assertion that the ability to express thoughts by means of language comes from God. This means that the original language which Adam spoke was not invented or discovered by Adam, but was given by God to Adam. This means also that God created man with the ability to use language. That language is a gift from God is a matter of our faith. In the last article I mentioned three theories regarding the origin of language which do...

Rev. Hanko is missionary to Northern Ireland. The following notice appeared in a recent issue of the periodical, Reformation Today, whose editor is the gentleman mentioned in the article, Mr. Erroll Hulse: Hyper-Calvinism in Northern Ireland  The very essence of hyper-calvinism is the denial of common grace and the free offer of the gospel. A magazine with the title the Standard Bearer (from Grandville, MI, USA) is a vigorous opponent of common grace. A church has been started in Larne, Co Antrim which is sending out a news sheet which propagates erroneous Calvinism. Hyper-calvinism denies the Reformed faith. Among the...

Mr. McAuley is a member of the Covenant Reformed Fellowship in Northern Ireland. The Covenant Reformed Fellowship here in Northern Ireland have been greatly blessed by our God over the past few years. We now enjoy regular live preaching of the gospel in our worship services, our children receive full catechism instruction, and we ourselves enjoy continuous study in our Father’s precious Word. All this is so because the God who loves His people from before the foundation of the world has provided us with a missionary pastor through the Protestant Reformed Churches, in the person of Rev. Ron Hanko....

Rev. Mahtani is pastor of Trinity Protestant Reformed Church in Houston, Texas. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:14 Christmas draws near. The church of Jesus Christ celebrates the birth of her beloved Savior, Jesus Christ, the Lord! The season is usually filled with visits among families and friends, exchange of gifts, and words of cheer. Tables are laden with food and drink to make the festive season memorable. Often the poor are especially remembered, and even the non-Christian seems moved to generosity. It is a time when carols are heard,...

Rev. Kortering is a Protestant Reformed minister-on-loan to Singapore. A few words that have come to mean more to me while working in Singapore are these taken from the Form for the Lord’s Supper: “… all those who invoke deceased saints, angels, or other creatures, all those who worship images, all enchanters, diviners, charmers, and those who confide in such enchantments.” Such sinners are forbidden the use of the sacrament. Amazing, isn’t it, that in one breath our Reformed forefathers put apostate Rome in the same category as the heathen. They both pray to the wrong sources for life and...

Rev. Hanko is missionary-pastor of the Protestant Reformed Churches, in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Whether God has made two or three (or even four) offices in the church is an important question. Nevertheless, too great a concentration on this question may sometimes have diverted our attention from a question of greater importance for our times: Has God given to elders (or ruling elders, as they are called among the Presbyterians) authority to teach? Does teaching belong to their office? Are we to distinguish sharply between the offices of teaching and ruling, pastor and elder? That the elders must teach if the congregation...

Prof. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Many events have taken place in the work of the Committee for Contact With Foreign Churches, and it is time to report to our people on some of these activities. In the latter part of August and the first part of September, Prof. David Engelsma traveled with his wife to England to speak at a Family Conference in Wales on August 31 to September 2. On the Sunday of August 26 Professor Engelsma preached for the Covenant Reformed Fellowship in Lame, Northern Ireland. While there...

Rev. Bekkering is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Pella, Iowa. Grief is the keen suffering that one goes through because of an affliction or loss. It can be looked at as God’s way of healing a broken heart. Grief is universal and natural. Sooner or later everyone has a time of grief in his life. We want to explore the pattern in grief, our dealing with grief as Christians, and God’s work in our grief. Most people who are hurting, no matter what the cause, go through a similar grieving pattern. On the other hand, each person’s loss...

Rev. Hanko is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. Spiritual complacency is an ailment that creeps upon us unawares. It takes hold of us exactly when we least expect it. If anyone were to ask us, “How do you feel?” we likely would respond, “Fine, I’m in the peak of health.” But if we were to follow up the question with a bit of self examination, we would realize that we had given our spiritual health little thought. Recent soul searching we have not done. Like Israel of old we are content to say, “The people of the...

Rev. Moore is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hull, Iowa. In this article we consider a very important text for the church of Christ, especially in the day in which we live. There are many reasons for us to wonder why the Lord tarries. In the evil days in which we live, there arise even in the church questions concerning the wisdom of bringing forth the covenant seed. But the church does bring forth that seed, and she does so trusting in the promises of God. It is with confidence that the Lord is not slack concerning His...