Archives for March 2023

Up at 3:45 this morning to catch the early flight to Greenville, South Carolina, but the plane had mechanical problems so we missed our connecting flight. We ended up taking three flights in all and not arriving at the church until 3:00 p.m. Happily, my addresses were scheduled for tomorrow.
This year’s Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (GPTS) conference which is on the critical subject of the attributes of God, sold out early (room for 500 attendees)(photo 1). We heard that the addresses we missed went well. Other speakers include Scott Cook, James Dolezal, Jonathan Master, Ryan McGraw, Fred Sanders, and Decherd Stevens. 
We enjoyed having dinner this evening at the home of GPTS’s president and his wife, Dr. Jonathan (photo 2) and Elizabeth Master, together with all the speakers and some of their wives. Afterwards, we were blessed by Dr. Master’s edifying sermon on the wisdom of God from Romans 11:33-36, and then thoroughly enjoyed visiting with about a dozen old friends, such as Dr. Mark and Terry Emery (photo 3) and one of our PRTS graduates, Jager, and his wife, Jemima (photo 4), as well as some Brazilian friends. 
Pray for me please as I deliver the last two addresses of the conference tomorrow morning, D.V.—one on God’s holiness and the second on God’s love. 

Last night Mary and I had the privilege of attending the wedding of a couple that we love very much in Christ: Daniel Xue (a DMin student at PRTS) and Olivia Yin (daughter of our Chinese pastor, Simon Yin)(photo 1). Pastor Yin preached from Hosea 6 and spoke some warm, personal words to the couple and to the parents on both sides (photo 2). It was an edifying ceremony and a Christ-centered reception. I had the privilege of closing the meal, and at the couple’s request, gave them ten succinct commandments for maintaining a Word-based, Christ-centered marriage to the glory of God. Please pray for Daniel and Olivia that God would continue to make their lives fruitful, and that Daniel’s future ministry work would be used for the salvation of many, the maturation of believers, and the glory of the triune God.   

We had a full Lord’s Day yesterday. I preached twice in the morning to about 1400 people on “Promoting Evangelism in the Family” for Rev. Burk Parsons at Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Lake Mary, Florida (also where Dr. R. C. Sproul preached)(photo 1). Afterwards we had excellent fellowship with a number of people, including friends from Grand Rapids like Dwight and Liz Prince and other old and new friends from Florida, and then spent a few hours in a side-room at the church with Adrian and Claire Slootmaker over Claire’s delicious, homemade lunch (photo 2).

A few hours later, we drove to the Orlando Reformed Presbyterian Church (photo 3) where I preached the early evening service for close to 100 people who are being pastored by Dr. Nathan Eshelman, one of our PRTS graduates who earned two degrees from us. It was great to be with him and his wife Lydia (photo 4), to witness them in the setting of their flock, and to fellowship for an hour afterward with a goodly number of his parishioners.

Please pray for God to be the “after-preacher,” as our Dutch forefathers often said, and also to bless all the encouraging fellowship we had—including the opportunity to pray with a number of people and to hear how God has used our labors in the past to assist various souls in times of need. Those encouragements are always humbling to me. God is good!   

Today Mary and I both spoke in the fellowship Hall at Saint Andrew’s Chapel (R. C. Sproul’s former church, photo 1) in Lake Mary, Florida. I spoke to a men’s breakfast on “Spirit-Empowered Evangelism,” and afterwards Mary and I sold a few thousand dollars worth of related books. Mary and I then had the privilege of visiting for an hour or two with Adrian and Claire Slootmaker, dear friends of mine for more than four decades, hailing back to my pastorate in New Jersey in the early 1980s. It is great to be with them!

A ladies’ luncheon was held at noon. Mary had the privilege of sitting next to Vesta Sproul, R.C. Sproul’s widow (photo 2). Vesta still comes into the office every day and does editing work. She continues to be lovely and lively and very involved in Ligonier ministries. After the luncheon, Mary spoke to the ladies on the subject of “Common and Uncommon Kindness,” from Jesus’s command to love our enemies in Luke 6.

Meanwhile, I enjoyed a two-hour fellowship lunch with Pastor Stephen Adams (photo 3, on my far right), Pastoral Administrative Assistant Ben Peters (my left), and Adrian Slootmaker (my right).
This evening I am taking the Queen out to eat at a special place. Your prayers for my three sermons at Saint Andrews’ Chapel tomorrow and for the Orlando RPCNA would be greatly appreciated.

Up at 4:15 this morning to fly to Orlando with the Queen to deliver some messages for the Missions Festival this weekend at Saint Andrew’s Chapel, Lake Mary, Florida, where Rev. Burk Parsons serves as senior pastor (formerly the pulpit of R. C. Sproul). After enjoying a dinner with Chris Larson, the CEO of Ligonier Ministries, and Burk Parsons, with all three of our wives, in a fellowship hall that promoted a variety of worldwide Reformed missions, I gave my first of three addresses on “Promoting Evangelism in Various Forms” (photo 1). Afterwards we enjoyed fellowshipping with a number of people, including a godly couple from South America serving as missionaries in Paris, France (photo 2) and several young men who are interested in attending our seminary in the near future (photo 3).
Tomorrow morning I hope to speak on “Promoting Spirit-Empowered Evangelism” at a men’s breakfast here and Mary hopes to speak on “Common and Uncommon Kindness” at a Ladies’ luncheon. On the Lord’s Day I hope to preach twice in the morning on “Promoting Evangelism in the Family” at Saint Andrew’s Chapel (9:30 and 11:00 a.m.) and then preach in the evening for the Orlando Reformed Presbyterian Church (6:00 p.m.). Your prayers for this weekend are treasured.

Here is another Scottish Puritan classic by the renowned pastor and theologian, James Durham, just published by Reformation Heritage Books: “The Scandal of Undisciplined Disciples: Making Church Discipline Edifying,” freshly edited by Matthew Vogan and Catherine Hyde. It is profoundly biblical, well balanced, and much needed both for churches and individuals, as well as so very clear, easy to read, and succinct (165 pages). It is essential for ministers and elders, and deserves to be a classic: https://www.heritagebooks.org/products/the-scandal-of-undisciplined-disciples-making-church-discipline-edifying-durham.html

This morning I had a fascinating meeting with these two dear brothers from Ukraine, Pavel and Ihor, who serve as president and vice-president of a seminary in Ukraine that emphasizes Reformed and Puritan theology. Their seminary has 200 theological students and another 100 on-line students. If and when the war ends, I hope to speak at their annual conference for about 300-400 pastors. We are also exploring other ways to assist them. Pray for these brothers and this seminary, please, that God may continue to meet their every need.

I just had a sweet meeting with Daniel (on my right—a PRTS student who is marrying our Chinese pastor’s daughter next week), together with Daniel’s parents (on my left) who just arrived safely from China for the wedding. Pray for God’s blessing on this upcoming wedding and the special families involved. They are all very dear people.   

This afternoon it was a joy to meet and spend some time with Joel and JC Trinidad and their precious children from the Philippines. Joel is training for the ministry at MARS and JC manages Coram Deo Books—one of the largest Reformed bookstores in the Philippines. The family hopes to return to the Philippines when Joel finishes his studies. He’s hoping to get a doctoral degree and become involved with pastoring and eventually with much-needed theological training in the Philippines. Pray for them that these goals may be realized in due course, and that God use them mightily in the Philippines to further the cause of His truth.

I am grateful to report that Reformation Heritage Books has just released an excellent and moving new book about Spurgeon by Alex DiPrima: “Spurgeon and the Poor: How the Gospel Compels Christian Social Concern: https://www.heritagebooks.org/products/spurgeon-and-the-poor-diprima.html

This book shows us, as Thomas Kidd writes, that there “should be no artificial separation between the proclamation of the gospel and Christlike works of mercy.” And Conrad Mbewe adds, “See how the gospel Spurgeon preached fired his heart with loving zeal for the poor and needy.”