Articles

The Place of the Reformation in the History of Christianity Merle d’Aubigne made a distinction between the history of Christianity and the history of the Church. In an address delivered in 1832 at Geneva he said, There are two histories, there is what we may call the ‘History of the Church,’ that is of human […]

Two hundred years ago was the beginning of the golden age of missionary expansion from Europe and North America. At that time there were 174 million professing Christians in the world which had a population of 730 million, so Christians set up missionary societies. The first was founded in 1794, plainly called the Missionary Society. […]

The following is a sermon by Brian Edwards, given February 15, 2000 at Brynygroes Conference Centre, Bala, at the annual Day Conference of the evangelical ministers of North Wales. * * * We are living in unique days. Could it ever have been so hard to be in the ministry of the gospel as today? […]

The start of the new millennium has many pundits wringing their hands about the future, but believers in Christ should he looking to the future with optimism. This may be the year in which the Lord returns. He can come at any time. Again, this may be the year in which we see the beginning […]

This letter arrived from Paul Williams, the pastor of an Evangelical Church in Swindon, which triggered off a chain of thought. Yesterday Ruth and I had some time off and went to Bristol. We were taken by friends to the George Muller museum there, and also saw for ourselves the vast orphanages. What a joy […]

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows (Matthew 10:29-31, NIV). For years I’d thought Timbuktu […]

The following report is published in the current edition of the American ‘Presbyterian & Reformed News’ [Vol. 5, No. 4, December 1999]. In October, controversial Anglican minister John R. W. Stott preached in chapel at Covenant Theological Seminary, the denominational seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) located in St Louis, and filled the […]

Almost ten years ago J. I. Packer‘s collection of articles and essays on the Puritans appeared, entitled in Great Britain, Among God’s Giants (Kingsway Publications, 447 pages). Many of the papers had been given at the Puritan Conference, and there were a number of other articles, not readily available to us before the appearance of […]

Mark Pickett of Brighton was a student in Aberystwyth twenty years ago, and for many years he, his wife, and their three children have been living, studying, and working in Nepal. He has just written a simple commentary on Genesis in one of the Indian languages — actually their first commentary on Genesis. I recently […]

The Times (Monday January 24, 2000) printed an extract from Monica Furlong’s critical biography of George Carey, the Archbishop of Canterbury (C of E. The State It’s In, by Monica Furlong, to be published by Hodder and Stoughton on February 17, £18.99). At 17 years of age Londoner Carey professed conversion in an Anglican church. […]

There is no topic of greater significance than conversion. The great mass of human beings can be divided into two groups, the converted and the unconverted. Alas, we must say that most are unconverted. The question, ‘Are you converted?’ is often asked in sermons. There is no more important and earnest question than, ‘Am I […]

Swanwick Conference Centre January 11-14. The opening session was chaired by David Kingdon. The first paper was given by Geoff Thomas. On January 6th was the 150th Anniversary of the conversion of Charles Haddon Spurgeon in 1850 in Artillery Street Primitive Methodist Church, Colchester and the theme of the paper was an examination of true […]

In the current Westminster Theological Journal (Vol 61, No 2, Fall 1999) Bob Letham, formerly of England but now a pastor with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Delaware, reviews Alister McGrath’s J. I.Packer: A Biography (Baker in the USA; Hodder and Stoughton in Great Britain). He makes many good points. He begins, ‘After Basil Hall’s […]

‘Essentially Evangelical’ is the name adopted by a group of evangelical ministers to a proposed organisation of individuals (and perhaps of churches) sharing certain convictions. The envisaged movement would not constitute a denomination with any form of centralised leadership, but would be a voluntary means of promoting co-operation. Other such groups already exist in British […]

‘For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night’ — Psalm 90:4 1. Recognise that there is more than one perspective on life. Perhaps the most basic thing here is that there is more than one way of seeing things. It […]