Resources

Shepherding God’s Flock1 When I was a student fifty years ago I came under the influence of a group of Welsh ministers. I was greatly impressed with them, considering them to be great gifts to the church of Jesus Christ and peerless pastors. My feelings about that have increased with the passage of time. Some […]

How are imbalances in doctrine and defects in faith and practice rightly to be addressed in the Church? One way that is often employed is that of reaction to the problem while another way is the way of reformation. These are not two equally valid and effective responses to problems of ecclesiastical faith and life. […]

Haven’t we all sympathised with Martha? Haven’t we all been there before? Here am I, slaving away in the kitchen preparing the food while my lazy sister is doing nothing to help me. You can imagine her saying, ‘There’s just so much to do!’ It’s all very well sitting and listening to Jesus teaching – […]

Of all the dangers that can overtake a Reformed church, pride is surely the worst and most serious. There is, of course, a right kind of pride, a thankfulness to God for our history and heritage. But the pride I am thinking of, is that ugly, self-righteous, self-preening brute that says with the Pharisees, ‘God, […]

Never was a more bitter or blasphemous accusation made against the Lord Jesus Christ than the one reported in Luke 11:15: ‘He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons.’ During Jesus’ ministry the attitude of the religious authorities towards him had mushroomed from curiosity, to annoyance, to rivalry, to envy, and now to […]

Let the rich man glory in his humiliation (James 1:10). My reading on revivals over many years has led me to observe at least two characteristics which all of them hold in common. This is true of the revivals or awakenings we find in the book of Acts.1 It is also true of the mighty […]

There is nowhere in the Bible where we will find an expression of higher, more exalted joy, than in 1 John 3:1: ‘See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.’ It is as though the elderly apostle John is gathering […]

4. ‘God Has Given Me All Things’1 We have been considering some of the many passages throughout the Bible where, although the doctrine of creation may not be developed to any great extent, it is clearly assumed to be true and is made the foundation of some further thoughts. It should thus be clear that […]

3. The Consistent Scripture Testimony1 In the Old Testament period, when God’s revelation was largely confined to the Jews, we might not expect many instances of them communicating the truth about their God to Gentiles. Yet we do have the example of Jonah when the seamen quizzed him about his background; he told them: ‘I […]

It was the first day of July 1866. As John Kennedy stood ready to preach on that Sabbath, in the pulpit of his Dingwall church, he gave out as his text: ‘For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better’ (Phil. 1:23). […]

‘A wonderful book . . . a real treasure. Here are lessons for preachers and pastors, lessons for churches and lessons also for all those who seek to grow in grace! (Stephen Richardson on Iain Murray’s A Scottish Christian Heritage) Below are links to selected online reviews of Banner titles posted (mainly) during September and […]

What about reading?1 1. I would read more systematically. What I mean is I would always be reading something in a planned way, setting aside time for scheduled reading regardless of my situation or schedule. On family vacations or trips away, I would choose a specific book you have been wanting to read and haven’t […]

The 9th and 10th of October saw a good number of Christians from all over the North West of England gathering at the Emmaus Church Centre in Warrington for this year’s ‘God’s Glory our Joy’ conference. The conference has been running each year since 2000, and is subtitled ‘Building Biblical Churches for the 21st Century’, […]

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:6). We must preach Christ crucified. This is not limited to pastors and missionaries.1 It is clear that disciple-making, including the task of evangelizing, is part and parcel of our sanctification. We are commanded to […]

1. Where do you place the importance of preaching in the grand scheme of church life? As far as I can see from the Word of God, preaching must be central to the life of the church. This can be seen from the way the church started in the New Testament. As soon as the […]