Articles

Perhaps the highest and loftiest acts a Christian can have toward God are worship and prayer. These two acts are uniquely vertical – they are the only things a believer does that are directly toward God and that directly bring him or her into relationship and communion with God. The one exception is the reading […]

Dementia is one of the hardest afflictions of old age, both for the sufferer and their carers. When our bodies are sick, we can call upon mental resources to help us cope. The essential person remains the same. But when the mind is lost, it is our very self that is decaying. When Ronald Reagan […]

One of the most sobering verses in the Bible is Hebrews 2:3 – ‘How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?’ The Letter to the Hebrews was written to Christians who were being tempted to turn back to some form of Judaism. Perhaps the pressure and cost of ‘being different’ was beginning […]

I. From the Fathers to the Reformation1 We are familiar with the concise, scriptural definition of The Shorter Catechism: ‘Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein He pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone’ […]

In Deuteronomy 13:8 God tells Israel to show no pity. The situation is this: a dear one, whether father, mother, brother or sister is enticing other family members ‘to go and worship other gods’. God tells Israel, ‘. . . do not yield to him or listen to him – show him no pity.’ We […]

Yes, it is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he who will bear the honour and sit and rule on his throne. Thus, he will be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices. (Zechariah 6:13) One of my favorite books is entitled […]

‘But, Mum, you don’t know how hard it is to be a Christian today.’ ‘Oh, Dad, things were much simpler in your day.’ Every generation of Christians thinks it is more difficult to be a Christian in their day than in the past. Well, the present generation now has the New York Times on their […]

Luke 12:16-21: ‘And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there […]

It was good to be at the Westminster Conference again at the American Church in Tottenham Court Road. 1 Our first session, chaired by Phil Arthur, was taken by Garry Williams from the John Owen Centre, on the subject The English Reformation – Revise, Reverse or Revert? 1. Revise Historians like Christopher Haigh (English Reformations) […]

You know what Christmas is about. A very special baby was born. That special baby is God himself, the Son of the Father. It’s not about Santa is coming to town, it’s about God is coming to town. Sometimes God seems far off, but he came down to be with us. Isn’t he kind? But […]

. . . often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented thus far). (Rom. 1:13) Steve Johnson, a wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills, dropped five passes recently [Nov 28, 2010] in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The most damaging drop, however, occurred in overtime when he dropped a perfectly […]

Achill Island lies off the west coast of Ireland. It is a small place, now reached by a bridge from the mainland. In the mid-nineteenth century this island was the scene of a remarkable work of God’s grace in which hundreds of islanders were drawn to saving faith in Christ. The ethos of the island […]

The subtitle of this conference is ‘Building Biblical Churches for the 21st Century’, which is a summary of the nature of the conference. It is directed to all Christians who are actively working in their local churches to bring glory to God. This year the theme was Confronting the Culture, and the addresses were all […]

Genesis 15:7-21: He also said to him, ‘I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.’ But Abram said, ‘O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I shall gain possession of it?’ So the LORD said to him, ‘Bring me […]

He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of […]