Articles

When I was in my first months of campus ministry, two young men came to my house one night to tell me that a student was pregnant and was going the next morning with her boyfriend to New Orleans for an abortion. To make a long story short she ended up not having the abortion. […]

Brian Robinson Pastor of Faith Baptist Church, Scarborough, Ontario I was having a cup of coffee, and an early morning read of the national newspaper, before heading for the study, when I happened to glance out of our kitchen window. ‘What is this?’, I thought, ‘a sign on my neighbour’s lawn bearing happy smiling faces?’ […]

William Beveridge, a theologian from the 19th century, said these words near the end of his life: “The older I grow – and I now stand upon the brink of eternity – the more comes back to me the first sentence in the Catechism which I learned when a child, and the fuller and deeper […]

Paul’s farewell message to the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:18-35) is warmly affectionate, yet full of solemn warning. Acts 20:28 is the heart of that message, and shows how we ministers must overcome wrong attitudes toward ministry with regard to ourselves and to our work. Acts 20:28 says, “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all […]

Continued from Part I of this article. So ask yourself, What are the critics saying that might help me improve myself and my ministry? Is there a kernel of truth in this particular criticism that, if changes are made, will make me a better minister? If critics say something constructive, absorb it, confess your fault, […]

Malcolm H. Watts of Emmanuel Church, Salisbury Chairman of the General Committee of the Trinitarian Bible Society According to Acts 11.26 ‘the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch’ and this would have been about AD 43, some ten years or so after the Lord Jesus left this world. What the Bible does not tell […]

When our Lord Jesus came to the tomb where Lazarus lay dead, he wept. Our Lord knew better than anyone that God is sovereign. He knew that Lazarus’ death was not an unfortunate happenstance, but part of God’s sovereign plan. He knew that everything God does is good and right. But when he came to […]

This sounds so simple. In principle it is. But in practice we sinners are wired to trust in means, not God. Over and over I devise plans, and then find my initial enthusiasm rise or fall as the plan seems smart or not. This is trust in plans, not trust in God. There is no […]

Mark 8:36&37 “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” There was an occasion on which John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim’s Progress, was preaching at Pinner’s Hall, London. Whenever it was announced that Bunyan was […]

Continued from Part I Others destroy their souls with false religions, humanism, New Age philosophies, evolutionism, the cults, and all the inventions of men that exalt man and have no place for the saving work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. They are all soul-killers. It is not enough that you are sincere. It […]

Last week on Monday through Wednesday, we took a trip to Upper and Lower Galilee with Baruch and Bracha Maoz. We began early Monday morning by driving up the easternmost four-lane highway, (highway 6) in Israel. This highway is actually just inside the territory of Israel. To our right were the Palestinian territories and communities […]

Do ministers in particular know what Robert P. Martin has done in compiling his "Guide to the Puritans" (Banner of Truth)? The subtitle informs the reader of what this books consists: "A topical and textual index to writings of the Puritans and some of their successors recently in print." The bulk of the book consists […]

Preaching in Grace and Truth Church was a new experience. It was helpful to have been teaching a number of hours prior to preaching. When speaking with an interpreter, ideas must be broken into smaller sentences. I speak to them in English, the words are repeated in Hebrew, then in Russian (Signing is going on […]

Gary North [Forty years ago Gary North, Jonathan Chao and Geoff Thomas were students living together in Machen Hall at Westminster Seminary, Philadelphia.] Jonathan Chao has died of cancer at age 65. This will mean nothing to most of you, and even less to the "New York Times," which, I predict, will not publish his […]

How far have we to go?Erroll Hulse The well known great commission recorded in the last paragraph of Matthew (28:16-20). If you put yourself in the shoes of one of the eleven disciples that event will come to life. To start with you would have made a four day journey of 80 miles from Jerusalem […]

How far have we to go?Erroll Hulse (Continued from Part 1) Paradigm five , the Modern Missionary Movement 1800 to 1970 The revivals of the first part of the 18th century as explained by Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) must be seen as the watershed of a movement which led to the great world-wide missionary movement that […]

The Bible is the only book in the world that speaks authoritatively on this subject and it has a lot to say about death and dying. Before writing these thoughts I looked up every verse in the Bible that mentions death or dying—it was a profitable exercise. I began to write these thoughts about death […]

[The doctrine of eternal justification, a chief tenet of Antinomian Hyper-Calvinism, is dealt a crushing blow by the Puritan John Flavel in an appendix to his Vindiciarum Vindex. Flavel rightly describes it as an attempt to fight against the free grace of God under grace’s own colours. Hence its success in deceiving the unwary. The […]

In recent months I have attended the funerals of two dear friends and much-respected ministers of the gospel. Both their funerals were deeply moving occasions, as hundreds gathered to honour the lives and ministries of two of God’s choicest servants. As I have reflected on their funerals, one feature common to both has indelibly impressed […]

Introduction One of the Sovereign Grace Union’s current pamphlets bears the title The Centrality of the Cross. It bears witness to the solemn truth that the religion of our Lord Jesus Christ is the religion of redemption by His crucifixion. In the words of Herman Bavinck: "the cross of Christ is the focal point" of […]

Some thoughts prompted by ‘Genius, Grief and Grace,’ by Dr Gaius Davies, (Christian Focus Publications; 2001; £8.99) written by Stephen Clark in the ‘Evangelical Magazine’ of September 2003, and January 2004 and reprinted by permission. Dr Gaius Davies is a Christian psychiatrist, whose involvement with the Evangelical Movement of Wales goes right back to the […]

Old Testament Readings: Leviticus 13: 45,56; Numbers 5: 1-3 Gospel Reading: Mark 1:40-45 “Will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honor, and keep her in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others, keep […]

Gospel Reading: Mark 1: 21-28 Two weeks ago we had a man most had never met come into our congregation to preach God’s Word. We knew that Dr. Derek Thomas was a seminary professor, an author, and a staff minister who preaches regularly at a large Presbyterian Church. But we have never experienced him as […]

D.Martyn Lloyd-Jones and British Evangelicalism by Stephen Clark Book review article of “Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) and Twentieth Century Evangelicalism” by John Brencher (Paternoster Press 2002, 267pp). Let me begin by articulating some biblical principles upon which all Bible believing Christians are (at least in theory) agreed. First, there is not a perfect man on the […]

150 or so people, including 35 women, were present at the Carey Conference with representatives of 15 nationalities. Praise Hymns were sung; both mornings began with prayer meetings; the report sessions from men living in a dozen countries was one of the high spots. Geoff Thomas: "The Remarkable Jonathan Edwards." I spoke on Edwards. A […]