Wow! Our IT brother, Seth (on the right), and the brother Jay (left), have just completed upgrading a new “switch” for the internal network of Puritan Reformed Seminary. The amount of wires and configurations involved (right side of picture) boggles my mind—and we couldn’t use Internet only for one day! Thank God for people with these kinds of gifts.

Where there is life, the Spirit is at work. Where there is light, the Spirit is at work. Wherever the might of human sin and evil is limited by divine providence, the Spirit strives with men. Where there is faith, the Spirit is at work in the hearts of men, fulfilling both individually and corporately a variety of goals in redemptive history that will lead to His fuller ministry in the Lord Jesus Christ and the present New Testament age.

Learn more about Puritan Reformed Theology here.

I am excited to receive today my brother’s newly and substantively revised edition of “Bible Doctrine for Older Children” (James W. Beeke, 2 volumes condensed into 1, Reformation Heritage Books , 381 pages). Pray that this volume will continue to reach tens of thousands of children in age range of 10-12, and be a great blessing to them.

Learn more here.

From the sermon last Lord’s Day morning on the “Defiled Heart” from Mark 7:14-23.

Find the whole sermon here.

Today I received John Fesko’s “Galatyalilar” in Turkish (published by Ahit Yayinlari)—that is his “Lectio Continua” series of sermons on Galatians, edited by Jon Payne and me, and published in English by Reformation Heritage Books. Pray that this book will reach many Turkish people and do them much good.

Tickets are now available for the 2022 Puritan Reformed Conference. Register today and pay a discounted rate of $115. This $35 off discount is active through Aug 16, 2022. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to attend the Puritan Reformed Conference at this amazingly low price.

Click here for more details.

Last evening Mary and I had a great time taking Henk and Margaret Kleyn out to eat at PF Chang’s for Henk’s retirement from Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary after 17 years of faithful service. The thoughtful waitress brought out a free chocolate-with-ice-cream dessert with four spoons and a flaming torch in honor of his PRTS-retirement. Pray for him and Margaret as he continues to spend the bulk of his time now doing pastoral work in their church.

God’s biblical design for marriage is totally contrary to the world’s ideas, so don’t try to blend them together. The world says, “Marriage is supposed to make me happy. I want my spouse to please me. I will stay in this marriage as long as I am happy, but when the joy is gone, I am gone.” This is the essence of a me-driven, self-centered marriage. It’s like walking in quicksand. Each spouse tries to keep from sinking, sometimes by dragging the other down to do so. The more they struggle, the deeper they sink. But when Jesus Christ reaches out His hand and pulls them out of the mire and sets their feet on the solid Rock, they begin to thrive together. A gospel-driven marriage begins with self-denial, putting God first and your partner second. The believer says, “I was a lost sinner; now I’m a saved sinner redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus. My spouse is too. I love God because He first loved me. He gave me my beloved spouse. I am so grateful to God for His gifts that I want to love and serve Jesus Christ and my spouse for my whole life. I have deeper joy from loving and serving God and my spouse than I ever did when I served myself.”

Learn more about How Can We Build a Godly Marriage? here.

Today the continuation of the HRC Synod took place (the last sessions will be on October 25-26 later this year). The highlight today was the acceptance of Andy Gruswitz as a Heritage Reformed denominational student to be trained at PRTS for the ministry. Here he is with his very supportive wife, Trish. They are blessed with five children and are a family with many musical gifts. Andy feels a heavy burden for evangelism in our churches’ neighborhoods and for training our own church members in how to evangelize. Pray that God will bless his family, his studies, and his evangelistic efforts abundantly (Eph. 3:20-21).

Last evening Mary and I thoroughly enjoyed the Christ-centered wedding and outdoor homestead reception (replete with a horse-drawn carriage, photo 1) of two of our young church members, Ethan Thies and Julia Engelsma (photos 2 and 3). Their uncle, Dr. Jerry Bilkes (also my good friend and colleague), delivered the wedding message from 1 Corinthians 13:8a on love that never fails. Pray that God will bless them abundantly with Christ-centered love as they strive to serve the triune God in a hostile world.