Doctrine for Life
Several PRTS graduates, faculty members, and Dr. Michael Haykin, commencement speaker
Dr. Michael Haykin gave the commencement address to our 14 graduates from 5 continents on Friday evening from 2 Timothy 1, stressing their dependency on the Holy Spirit. I gave the charge from 1 Corinthians 14:1, “Follow after charity,” stressing that the graduates should love their Savior, their sanctity, their sheep, and their specialty of being preachers of the Word.
With Rev. Michael and Aubrey Ives and FamilyAfter feeling helped in speaking seven times in less than 48 hours, I returned home from the Southern New England Reformation Conference in Rhode Island yesterday. About 225 people attended, many of whom are recent converts who have wonderful testimonies to share. I enjoyed immensely my time with Pastor Ventura and his family, and it was great to visit with Rev. Michael Ives and his family, too. (Michael is one of our former students.) A little girl named Bethany greatly cheered my heart with her notes of assuring me that she was praying for me to have “curij” (courage) because I looked “tired and nervis” (nervous)!
Bethany with Her Notes
After arriving home, I led the funeral of one of our dear members, Mr. John Sporte. Then, when we were between the funeral and the cemetery, my dear friend Rev. Elshout called that his dear wife Joan had just passed away, shortly after crying out, “Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.” (I hope to fly to New Jersey on Saturday, serve my “former church” there on Sunday, and lead the funeral service on Monday, D.V.) On the way home after leaving the cemetery, we received a call that yet another member from our church appears to be dying—a dear sister, Alice Dole. Please pray for all these families, and let us ever remember that we lie in the midst of death and need to be prepared to meet our Maker.
St. Helen’s Church—Ashby-de-la-Zouch: The parish church of Ashby where Hildersham preached throughout his ministerial career as lecturer and vicar.
Arthur Hildersham (1563–1632) was an influential Puritan preacher in late Elizabethan and early Stuart England. Though little known today (his works have not been reprinted in modern times), his preaching was quite popular. He gave his hearers solid, doctrinal sermons that perhaps did not move the emotions as much as more gifted speakers but fed their souls. His published sermons include 108 messages on John 4. He also suffered for his Reformed convictions, first when his Roman Catholic parents disinherited him, and then later when the Church of England’s bishops had him suspended from ministry and imprisoned. Reformation Heritage Books recently published a biography of Hildersham, and its author, Dr. Lesley Rowe had an opportunity to give an address at Hildersham’s parish in England.
Interior: Since Hildersham’s time, some aisles have been added and the pews replaced. Hildersham is buried in the chancel, toward the top of the photograph.
Dr. Rowe shares, “Over 100 people attended the lecture in St Helen’s Church, Ashby-de-la-Zouch (Hildersham’s church), which was a great encouragement. Some had travelled from as far afield as Rochdale, London, and Cambridge to be present, but most of the people came from the Midlands, with a good number from Ashby itself. The current vicar of Ashby, Brian Robertson, introduced the evening by reading Hildersham’s prayer of 1625, which he prayed before his lectures in 1625, and by reading Psalm 51:1–7, on which Hildersham had delivered 152 lectures. I then spoke for about 40 minutes, describing Hildersham’s life and ministry in Ashby and explaining why he was so loved and revered in the town. Afterwards I took questions. At the end, I signed and sold nearly 40 copies of the book. Many people expressed their appreciation, and also said they had not realised what an important figure Hildersham was.”
God’s Word is sweeter than honey and richer than gold! If you are looking for more ways to feed on the Word, our church offers opportunities through the radio and the internet. Sermons preached by various pastors and guests speakers at Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregation can be downloaded from SermonAudio here. This helpful website also hosts messages from the chapels and conferences of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. My sermons on Genesis are being aired on the radio locally in the greater Grand Rapids area on WFUR (102.9 FM) on Sundays from 9:00 to 9:30 p.m. So turn on your radio or plug in your iPod, and may God bless you through His Word!
