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Covenant Reformed News - June 2016
- Published in Covenant PRC Ballymena, Northern Ireland
Reformed Witness Hour Messages for July 2016
- Published in First PRC Grand Rapids, MI
First PRC of Grand Rapids, MI and the Reformed Witness Hour Committee announce the messages scheduled for July 2016 on the RWH radio program.
Rev. Carl Haak, pastor of Georgetown PRC (Hudsonville, MI) begins his four-month service for the RWH program.
You are encouraged to take in these timely messages and to let others know about them too. Help spread the word about the Reformed Witness Hour, celebrating in 2016 its 75th year of broadcasting the truths of God's sovereign, particular grace!
Below is the schedule of messages, which you will also find below in flyer form and attached in pdf form.
July 3, 2016 – Freedom, Romans 8:2
July 10, 2016 – To God, My Exceeding Joy, I Will Go, Psalm 43
July 17, 2016 –Except Ye Be Converted, Matthew 18: 1-5
July 24, 2016 – Keeping the Lord’s Day Holy, Hebrews 10: 24-25
July 31, 2016 – Not Weary in Well Doing, Galatians 6:9
For stations and time of broadcast, visit the RWH website, where you may also listen to and download past messages from the archive section.
The Reformed Witness Hour | PO Box 1230, Grand Rapids MI, 49505
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Reformed News Asia - June 2016 (Issue 29)
- Published in Covenant Evangelical Reformed Church of Singapore
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Rev.D. Holstege Installed As Missionary - Friday, July 1, 2016
- Published in Doon PRC Doon, IA
This evening in Calvary PRC (see note below) Rev. Daniel Holstege will be installed as a PRC missionary, called by Doon PRC to serve in the Philippines with Rev. Daniel Kleyn.
This is the note that appeared concerning the event in Doon's bulletin this past Sunday, June 26, 2016:
The consistory calls the congregation to a special worship service on July 1 for the installation of Rev. D.Holstege as our missionary. Because of space constraints in our building, the service will be held at Calvary PRC, beginning at 7:00pm. The offering that evening will be for the Philippine Book Fund. Rev.Holstege will preach his inaugural sermon during our morning worship service on July 3.
Let us remember this pastor and his family as he takes up this new charge and prepares to take up the labors in that part of the world.
Our Newest PRC Congregation - Pittsburgh PRC - June 24, 2016 (Updated)
- Published in Pittsburgh PR Mission - Pittsburgh, PA
Update: The Pittsburgh PRC formed a trio of Revs. W. Bruinsma, C. Griess (Calvary PRC, Hull, IA), and R. Kleyn (Covenant of Grace, Spokane, WA) to call its first minister. They will extend a call on July 10, D.V.
It may also be noted the new congregation adopted the official name of Pittsburgh Protestant Reformed Church.
Rev. W. Bruinsma (missionary) and A. den Hartog (SW PRC) leading the organizational service.
On Friday evening, June 24, 2016, the Pittsburgh PR Fellowship was organized as a PR congregation, under the supervision of the SW PRC, which had been the calling church for this mission. Many visitors were in attendance, including members of the Domestic Mission Committee.
Below is a note Missionary-pastor W. Bruinsma sent out afterward:
Last night, July 24 the Pittsburgh Protestant Reformed Church was instituted as a congregation in the Protestant Reformed Churches. Keith Bauman and Peter Cnossen were chosen as elders and Anthony Bauman as deacon. We rejoice together with this small body of believers and ask God's continued care as they stand on their own in years to come. The church here greatly appreciates all the prayers and support given in the past years on their behalf. Please continue to pray for them as they begin their labors and witness as a church of Jesus Christ.
New officebearers signing the Formula of Subscription.
Below is part of the program for the evening (You will also find it attached in pdf form).
We rejoice with this latest "sister" in our PRC federation, and pray God's richest blessings on her as she shines as Christ's light in that city.
Covenant PRC Newsletter - June 2016
- Published in Covenant PRC Ballymena, Northern Ireland
Covenant Protestant Reformed Church Ballymena, NI
16 June, 2016
Dear saints in the Protestant Reformed Churches,
New Members
The youngest CPRC member is now Keagan Jude Hall, born to Philip and Susan (8 May) and baptized on 22 May. Though his grandmother, Marilyn Adams (First PRC), was over in Northern Ireland, her return flight was already booked for the day before Keagan’s birth. Babies are very hard to schedule for!
Last Lord’s Day, Marina and Helen Mawhinney were received into membership (12 June). These two ladies are the wives of two brothers: Willie John and Ivan (respectively), who joined us three years before (16 June, 2013). How often it is that enthusiastic church members are used by God to bring others into the congregation (cf. John 1:40-42)!
These recent additions mean that the CPRC now consists of 16 families, 37 communicant members, 14 baptized members, and 51 total members. This is the largest we have ever been, though we are still a relatively small church. Our numerical growth has been slow but steady, with three steps forward and two (or two and a half) steps back. Our testimony is that the Lord is faithful and that Jesus Christ alone builds His church.
Family visitation began (9 May) after the end of the church “season,” concluding with Rev. McGeown of the Limerick Reformed Fellowship (LRF) when he was in Northern Ireland, and Hilary and Timothy Spence, after he returned to Northern Ireland from his first year’s study at Cardiff University in S. Wales (8 June). In my fifteen years as minister in the CPRC, this year had the most visits (25) and was the most encouraging in terms of the spiritual condition and unity of the congregation.
AGM
Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) took place on Monday, 30 May. Excellent reports were given by Stephen Murray (audio-visual), Julian Kennedy (financial), and Rev. McGeown (LRF), and I gave a presentation under the theme of “Progress.” The AGM is always a good night of fellowship, and it helps inform the members of the various aspects of the work of the church, as well as being one way to provide accountability and opportunities to ask questions.
The last financial year saw some very large one-off expenditures: refurbishing two manse bathrooms (much needed after some 45 years), installing solar panels (on the roofs of the church building and the manse), and setting up a pension for the minister (required by the civil government). Yet, by God’s grace, the offerings and donations were so good that our bank balance is still healthy.
In the last year, our best-selling Reformed Free Publishing Association (RFPA) books were (in order): In The Beginning God by Homer C. Hoeksema, Gottschalk: Servant of God by Connie Meyer, Faith Made Perfect by Prof. Hanko, Saved by Grace by Prof. Cammenga and Rev. Ron Hanko, and Doctrine According to Godliness by Rev. Hanko. The other titles in the top ten were the five British Reformed Fellowship (BRF) books by Profs. Engelsma and Hanko: The Reformed Worldview, Keeping God’s Covenant, The Work of the Holy Spirit, The Five Points of Calvinism, and Ye Are My Witnesses (www.cprf.co.uk/bookstore.htm).
Our most popular sermon download in January - May, 2016 was “Infralapsarianism and Supralapsarianism” (Belgic Confession 16)! The remainder of the top ten were (in order): “What Sort of a Man Is This Levite?” (Judges 19:1-21; the first in a sermon series on “The Outrage in Gibeah”); “The Psalms Versus Common Grace” (a 2007 South Wales lecture); “Five Attacks on the Holiness of the Church” (Belgic Confession 27); “Outside the Church No Salvation— Historical Teaching” (Belgic Confession 28); “Be Strong and Very Courageous” (Josh. 1:6-9; a sermon at confession of faith); “The Image of God” (a 2016 South Wales lecture); “Calvin on Justification” (a 2009 conference speech in Grand Rapids); “The Real St. Patrick” (a 2003 lecture in Northern Ireland); and “Why Heidelberg Catechism Preaching?” (a sermon on Lord’s Day 1 by Rev. McGeown).
In 2015, we averaged a healthy 1,610 daily visitors on the written pages of our website (excluding the audios). The top ten countries on our main website (www.cprc.co.uk) so far in 2016 are (in order): USA, China, Indonesia, Brazil, UK, Peru, Italy, Germany, Russia, and Columbia.
Our top countries not only reflect their populations, the number of their professing Christians, and internet usage but there is also a correlation with the number of articles we have in their languages: 536 Italian, 448 Portuguese (Brazil), 156 Hungarian, 154 German, 152 Spanish (Peru and Columbia), 138 Afrikaans, 125 Indonesian and 61 Russian. We now have a total of 2,324 translations on our website (www.cprf.co.uk/languages.htm).
Others
Two new sermon box sets have been produced: “God’s Attributes of Goodness” (treating His long-suffering, grace, mercy, and love) and “Our Wise, True, Holy and Righteous God!” (covering four more divine perfections), bringing our total to 64 box sets of CDs and DVDs (www.cprf.co.uk/audio/boxsets.htm). We recently produced our first audio-visual catalogue, which also includes our free pamphlets. The box sets are classified in five categories: “Attributes of God,” “Old Testament,” “New Testament,” “Belgic Confession Classes,” and “Conferences.” Hundreds of copies of this hardcopy catalogue will be mailed out with the next Covenant Reformed News and distributed by other means, D.V.
The English Churchman carried a fine review of Gottschalk: Servant of God (15 & 22 April), which brought some sales. The May Chatterbox, a local free newspaper, printed the half-page article that I sent them, setting forth the various meetings and activities of the CPRC. The CPRC had a stall with books, box sets, and free pamphlets at the Ballymena Show (27-28 May). Bit by bit, these means of witness help to make our congregation and its bookstore— hence, more importantly, our biblical and Reformed message—better known.
As well as Marilyn Adams, other visitors from North America have included Becky Wierenga and Christine Tolsma of Lacombe, Alberta; Hank and Barb De Vries (Randolph PRC); and Jason Berkenpas (United Reformed Churches) and David Diemer (Heritage Netherlands Reformed Churches) from Grand Rapids, who stayed with us at the manse for a couple of days.
4,500 copies of Be Ye Holy: The Reformed Doctrine of Sanctification, the new BRF book, by Profs. Hanko and Engelsma have been printed in West Michigan and are due at the RFPA building today. The RFPA are kindly assisting us by seeing that the pre-ordered copies go to various bodies in our circles in the United States, Canada, Singapore, and the Philippines. Some of the saints coming from Michigan to the BRF Conference in Castlewellan Castle in Northern Ireland are graciously helping us by bringing copies to the CPRC.
The BRF conference begins exactly one month from today (16-23 July). Rev. Lanning from Singapore and Prof. Engelsma are our two main speakers on the theme, “Behold, I Come Quickly: The Reformed, Biblical Truth of the End.” Bookings are almost finalized and a good body of believers are coming. We are expecting a blessed week with the rich exposition of the Word and the sweet communion of the saints!
May the Lord be with you all,
In Christ, Rev. and Mary Stewart