Prof. Engelsma once again did a radio interview with Chris Arnzen, the national, religious radio host of Iron Sharpens Iron. The broadcast was an interview on a book that Engelsma co-authored and edited, The Sixteenth-Century Reformation of the Church. This interview was of special significance since this year is the five hundredth anniversary of the Reformation.The interview was broadcast live March 30, from 4-6 pm on Chris Arnzen’s website: (http://www.ironsharpensironradio.com). The following is taken from the "About" page on the "Iron Sharpens...
We are excited to announce another writer who is joining the existing pool of writers for the RFPA blog. Mike Feenstra is a member of the Protestant Reformed Church in Crete, Illinois, and also teaches fifth grade at the Protestant Reformed School in Dyer, Indiana. This is his first blog post. _________________________ The existence of the Protestant Reformed Christian Schools is a testament to the covenant faithfulness of our Heavenly Father. As an educator in these schools, I thank God for godly...
Prof. Engelsma will once again be doing a radio interview with Chris Arnzen, the national, religious radio host of Iron Sharpens Iron. The broadcast will be an interview on a book that Engelsma co-authored and edited, The Sixteenth-Century Reformation of the Church. The interview is TODAY starting at 4 pm and will be broadcast on Arnzen’s website: (http://www.ironsharpensironradio.com). Be sure to tune in later today! The following is taken from the "About" page on the "Iron Sharpens Iron" website. If you’re...
Prof. Engelsma will once again be doing a radio interview with Chris Arnzen, the national, religious radio host of Iron Sharpens Iron. The broadcast will be an interview on a book that Engelsma co-authored and edited, The Sixteenth-Century Reformation of the Church. The interview is scheduled for this week Thursday, March 30, from 4 to 6 pm and will be broadcast on Arnzen’s website: (http://www.ironsharpensironradio.com). Be sure to tune in tomorrow!
Do you remember the story of Joseph’s brothers when they went down to Egypt to buy corn because there was famine in the land of Canaan? Joseph, knowing who they were, tested them by accusing them of being spies. To prove they weren’t spies, the brothers had to go back to Canaan and bring their youngest brother Benjamin with them. Oh, and to keep them honest, Joseph held Simeon in Egypt. If they brought Benjamin back, it would prove to Joseph...
The question of suffering has exercised philosophers and theologians for centuries. The issue has always been: “If God is good and almighty, he would not allow his creatures to suffer, and there would be no evil in the world.” However, the statement of the question is problematic, for it presupposes that we can determine what a good and almighty God should do. The answer of the Christian is not to philosophize about what God should do, but to ask what God has revealed about himself...
I provide below some guidelines, this time for individual prayer. The list is not exhaustive. I encourage the reader to add more guidelines.
1. find a good place
2. choose the right time
3. color your prayers with God's Word
4. address personal needs
5. pray from the heart
Such a prayer life requires discipline. Such worship of God requires commitment and resolve. Consistent, heartfelt prayer is hard work, and not without its challenges, as any child of God will testify. But God will give grace. Pray for that grace—the grace to pray! Pray, for prayer is “the chief part of thankfulness which God requires of us; and also, because God will give his grace and Holy Spirit to those only who with sincere desires continually ask them of him, and are thankful for them” (Lord’s Day 45, A. 116).
I enjoy enthusiastic people. I enjoy them because they have positive zeal. They have a sparkle in their eye. They have an air of energy around them. Do you have enthusiastic friends or family? Are you moved by them? I read an article last month by the late Henry Beversluis called Then Gladly, Madly Teach. Mr. Beversluis was a professor of education at Calvin College. In this article, Mr. Beversluis highlights the importance of enthusiasm in the work of teaching. He...
We are excited to announce another writer who is joining the existing pool of writers for the RFPA blog. Rick Mingerink is a member of the Protestant Reformed Church in Grandville, Michigan, and also the principal at a Christian school in West Michigan. In his writing for the blog Rick will bring a perspective from the pew. This is his first blog post. _________________________________ God is God. That is an interesting phrase, isn't it? In logic class, we would call that...
Many readers of the RFPA blog live in West Michigan. What follows is a news item from the Grand Rapids area that illustrates the growing anti-Christian spirit of the world in which we live and how believing a basic biblical truth can quickly get one in trouble with the federal government of the United States. Donald and Ellen Vander Boon own West Michigan Beef Company Co., LLC , a meatpacking plant in...
I suspect that we all know the need for these private devotions, and the need to read the Bible by ourselves. But perhaps we do not always know how to go about this reading of scripture. And if we do not know how, we become discouraged before we even start. The following is some practical advice on how to read and study the Bible in our private worship.
What’s your attitude toward the church? How highly do you value your membership in her? How seriously do you take the responsibilities that you have as a member of her? I intend with this post to begin a series of articles on church membership, in particular the callings that we have as active, living members of the body of Christ. The subject is significant because the calling is significant. Christ, as King of the church, has given to us important callings...
On January 13 (blog post: Islam 11), we considered the death of Jesus on the cross, explaining why only he is qualified to be the Mediator and substitute for his people. On February 2 (blog post: Islam 12: Christianity Quiz), we reviewed the doctrines of the Trinity, the Incarnation, and sin and salvation. Christianity would not be good news if Jesus had remained in the tomb. A dead Lord Jesus is neither Lord (for a Lord rules) nor Savior (remember: Jesus...
A sun is Jehovah God! Wonderfully significant is the sun in nature as an image of the Lord our God. With relation to our universe, that golden bridegroom of the day, issuing forth from his chambers and going on his way through the firmament rejoicing, is radiating with fullness of life and blessing for every creature. When in the still and dark hour just before dawn of a day in June you repair to a favorite spot—where gentle zephyrs lisp, the...
