Resources

An address (possibly by Simeon Burns) to the church of Christ meeting in the Particular Baptist Chapel, Lower Gornal, near Dudley, many years ago. The whole address is in scriptural language, sometimes quoted exactly, sometimes just the substance — so quotations marks have been omitted as in the original. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, […]

Calvin, Theologian and Reformer Edited by Joel R. Beeke and Garry J.Williams Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2010 170 pages ISBN: 978 1 60178 091 1 (paperback) List price $16.00 In 2009, the John Owen Centre in London held a conference to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Calvin’s birth, with the speeches being published […]

Adam in the New Testament: Mere Teaching Model or First Historical Man? By J. P. Versteeg Translated and with a Foreword by Richard B. Gaffin Jr. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2012 96 pages ISBN: 978 1 59638 522 1 (paperback) List price $12.99 A comparison of Romans 14–15 with Galatians reveals that we need to […]

How do you preach on a ‘God-less’ chapter of Scripture? To my shame I confess that I often don’t, I just skip on to the next chapter. But Ian Hamilton, minister of Cambridge Presbyterian Church, showed how to do it on Sunday 28 April in a sermon on 1 Samuel 27:1-28:2. In brief, you wrestle […]

Rev. John Macpherson, former Free Church minister in Dornoch and London, and missionary in Peru, reflects on the influence of Bonar’s Memoir and Remains of Robert Murray M’Cheyne on his life and ministry. I had the inestimable privilege of being brought to faith in Christ while I was young, about 14-15 years of age. Although […]

In 1977 the publication of E P Sanders’ book Paul and Palestinian Judaism began a series of publications which radically re-interpreted the gospel, alleging that Paul had misinterpreted the Truth. A ‘New Perspective’ on the background and writings of Paul dominated the mind and writings of influential New Testament scholars. The result was a radical departure from […]

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite spirit, O Lord, Thou wilt not despise (Psalm 51:17). King David wrote, ‘. . . his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law he meditates day and night’ (Psa. 1:2). But then David saw Bathsheba, desired her, took her, and […]

Recently I read the large two volume official biography of John Stott written by Timothy Dudley-Smith. The books are interesting because of the account they give of many events, organisations and people in the British evangelical scene during the second half of the twentieth century. There is no doubting the huge impact Stott made in […]

My father was Jackie Ross, a minister in Lochcarron, but best known for his work with Blythswood Care, a Christian charity he started with friends in 1966. He led Blythswood through major growth years in the nineties, and continued to be involved with the leadership team until his death in 2001. I don’t hold him […]

Christianophobia: A Faith Under Attack By Rupert Shortt London: Rider Books, 2012 320 pages ISBN: 978 1 84604 275 1 (hardback) ISBN: 978 1 84604 276 8 (paperback) Christianophobia is such an ugly, awkward word. In an age when everything is treated as a brand, Islamophobia seems to roll off the tongue. This has perhaps […]

Introduction In a highly technical article entitled ‘Philosophic Calvinism’ (Living for God’s Glory, ed. J. R. Beeke, Reformation Trust, 2008, pages 150-159) James Grier argues (using Abraham Kuyper’s Stone Lectures as his starting point) that John Calvin had a unified world view. This view was in principle comprehensive: it embraced theology, philosophy, culture, science and art. ‘The […]

The Act of Uniformity of 1662 prescribed that any minister in England who refused to conform to the Book of Common Prayer by 14th August 1662 would be ejected from the Church of England. Over 2,000 evangelical ministers left their livings rather than conform to what they saw as extra-Biblical rules and regulations. It was a sad […]

Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow (Psalm 51:7). King David had it going on. He was riding high as king of the unified, prosperous, and militarily mighty nation of Israel. He was a courageous and bold military leader, as well as being a prolific […]

The Grace and Duty of Being Spiritually Minded by John Owen is published by the Banner of Truth Trust in Volume 7 of The Works of John Owen, available from the Trust at £215 for the set of 16 volumes or £15 for a single one.1 Alternatively, a modern abridgement by R.J.K. Law entitled Spiritual-Mindedness (264 pages) is obtainable, also […]

Introduction At a time when Theological Liberalism was leading millions away from the true gospel into the pit of heresy, the Head of the Church raised up several defenders of the Faith to stand in the breach and repel the enemy. Not the least among these was John Gresham Machen, who, along with such stalwarts […]

Reading the Letters of Samuel Rutherford is to enter a world where love to the Lord Jesus Christ is the absorbing preoccupation. Writing to a lady parishioner in 1637, he said, ‘Christ is a well of life; but who knoweth how deep it is to the bottom? . . . And oh, what a fair one, what […]

. . . they will look on Me whom they have pierced (Zechariah 12:10). The return from exile, prophesied by Jeremiah (Jer. 25:11-12; 29:10) was a glorious and wonderful occasion for the Jews (Psa. 126:1-3), but it also vividly reminded God’s covenant people of their folly and its consequences. They had gone after false gods and Yahweh repeatedly […]

In August 1969 Dr. Lloyd-Jones was the principal preacher at the summer Institute of Theology in Pensacola. People today who were there still talk of the nine messages they heard him preach. They were the cream of his sermons, messages he had taken with him around the UK preaching to packed churches. They have now […]

See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant (Jeremiah 1:10). Why must we have prophetic preaching in our day? To answer this simply – because business as usual is not working. We […]

A lecture given at Bethlehem Evangelical Church, Port Talbot, Wales on Thursday 28 March, 2013. The centenary of a birth, a death or some great event does not need much justification in order for it to be celebrated. If I were giving this lecture a year from now I would certainly choose as my subject […]

. . . Jesus Christ . . . the ruler of the kings of the earth (Revelation 1:5). Tim Tebow’s recent capitulation at First Baptist Church, Dallas, begging off from his April 28 speaking engagement there, is the latest example of what happens when Christians ‘get off the reservation.’ As you no doubt know, the pro-homosexual […]

It was deeply disturbing for the disciples to realise that their Master was about to leave them. Peter, ever ready to speak out when others might have kept their thoughts to themselves, asked, ‘Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards’ […]

The name of Princeton has an honoured place in the annals of Presbyterian history. Established in 1812 by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, and located in the township of the same name in west-central New Jersey, Princeton Theological Seminary began with three students and Archibald Alexander as […]

CUBAO REFORMED BAPTIST CHURCH 23rd PASTORS’ CONFERENCE, MANILA. The conference was opened with a fine sermon by Pastor Jorge Gumop-as of the Sovereign Grace Church of San Pedro, and I also preached on Hebrews 12:1-2. This was supposed to be the closing message but in order to give relief to Dr Densham it was the […]

One of the most remarkable statements in the Bible is found in Isaiah 62:5, ‘as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you’. The prophet Zephaniah takes the thought a step further, and deeper: ‘The Lord your God is with you . . . he will rejoice over you with […]