When Christ taught in Jerusalem, the Jews marveled at his teaching because Jesus had not been educated in the rabbinic schools (John 7:15). The Lord replied, “My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him” (vv. 16–18). God the Son came with supernatural revelation from God the Father. No man can discover these truths by rational deduction or empirical observation. God must reveal them through Christ. Therefore, the work of learning true theology is more than an intellectual enterprise; it requires faith in Christ, submission to God’s will, and pursuit of God’s glory.

Learn more about Reformed Systematic Theology Vol. 1 here.

This quotation has been selected from my sermon last Lord’s Day evening titled “Paul’s Sublime Doxology about God’s Able Grace” on Ephesians 3:20-21.

Find the whole sermon here.

Some very good news from our Heritage Reformed Synod which met for 25 hours in two days: The first three brothers from left to right on the photo below—Darryl Dedert, Isaac Epp, and John Byl—after completing their four year MDiv program at Puritan Reformed Seminary, and preaching a trial sermon before Synod and being examined by Synod in a variety of subjects, have been accepted as candidates for the ministry and are declared callable by the churches. The brother on my right, Luis Llano from Colombia, has completed his MDiv as well, and has been accepted as a HRC theological student and preached his trial sermon before Synod, so he hopes to preach for the HRC churches now and pursue his ThM degree as he waits on the Lord for further direction. To the right of Luis, is Hao (Daniel) Xue, a HRC student, who preached his trial sermon before Synod and has received permission to preach in the HRC churches. Please pray for all five of these brothers that God will use them mightily to the building up of His church, the salvation of the lost, and the glory of His name.

This week the Heritage Reformed and Free Reformed annual synod meetings are transpiring at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids. The synods are sharing devotional times, meal times, and break times, and then each synod is deliberating on its own agenda. Please pray that God would guide both synods in the numerous important decisions we need to make to the glory of His name, the maintenance of His Word, and the good of never-dying souls.

Last night was an evening of joy as 21 students from our church’s Christian school, Grace Christian Academy, graduated from senior high school—among them a set of twins (photo 1). Valedictorian Hanna Sweetman and salutatorian Meghan VanDalen gave meaningful thanksgiving-laced addresses, after which I gave a commencement address on “Who are you going to be?” rather than the typical “What are you going to do?” question, pointing them to the necessity of being born again and running the race set before them, looking to Jesus as the author and finisher of faith who can enable them to serve Him as prophets who confess His name, as priests who intercede for others and live sacrificially and thankfully, and as kings who fight against sin and Satan and will reign with Christ forever. Afterwards, the seniors watched an enjoyable 30-minute video of themselves, and then we all walked to a downtown park where we had space and opportunity to congratulate them, and take photographs (photo 2) and pray individually with them and their families (photo 3). Pray that these graduates—and thousands more—will be bright lights for Christ in this desperately needy, confused, and sinful world.

I’m looking forward to being the commencement speaker for our 12th grade graduates from Grace Christian Academy in Grand Rapids on Friday evening. I love graduation messages—and the opportunities they bring to speak into the lives of our dear young adults.

In the Reformed churches in Grand Rapids there is also the custom of having large picnic celebrations of well wishes (usually combined with pulled pork and coleslaw) for each of the graduates. Sometimes two or three of the graduates celebrate together at one picnic. Often a few hundred people come out for these celebrations (photo 1); the fellowship is always robust. As a pastor, my wife and I have the privilege of being invited to many of them from near the end of May to mid-June, so my wife gets out of cooking for many a night during these weeks! Tonight we went to the first of many of these picnics that we were able to attend, so here I am with three of our graduates, Kyle, Samuel, and Nathan (photo 2). It is always a delight, too, to have a private time of prayer with the graduates—and we love to give them great books that, with the Spirit’s blessing, can impact their lives in major ways. These are happy times; please pray that God will convert them all and use them mightily in His kingdom.

On Monday, Mary and I drove back home to Grand Rapids from Ontario. We lost some time at the border, but made it back just in time to go to our family picnic (photo 1), which was wonderful (a few dozen in all from four generations). One highlight for me was having a grandchild falling asleep on me—literally (photo 2)!

On the Lord’s Day, I had the privilege of preaching for three of our Heritage Reformed Congregations in Ontario with each service having between 200 and 300 attendees. I preached first on Christ as our office-bearer (Luke 22:31-32) in Jordan, Ontario in the morning. After church, I had the privilege of meeting a Spanish brother (photo 1, second from left; my brother John is to the right of him) who wanted me to sign four volumes of my Reformed Systematic Theology in Spanish (I had never seen the last two volumes yet, so that was a pleasant surprise) and a young man named Trevon (photo 1, furthest on right)—a very able basketball player who had a seemingly “bright future” but was suddenly converted by God, gave up his basketball, and is now deep into the Scriptures and the Puritans. Second, I preached on Paul’s identity in the resurrected Christ (1 Cor. 15:10a) in the afternoon in Tillsonburg, Ontario. There I met a friend who told me that he wanted to share with me that back in 1994 a sermon that I preached on John 9:25 (“One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see”) was used for his conversion. How humbling his testimony was—God is so good! There too I was encouraged to meet a very young reader of The Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth—our denominational periodical that I have had the privilege of editing for decades (photo 2)! Finally, I preached in the evening on Christ coming again to take His people home (John 14:2-3) in Burgessville, Ontario.

Afterward the Queen and I enjoyed visiting for a few hours with Rev. Ian Macleod, pastor of our Tillsonburg, Ontario flock, on his 40th birthday, at the home my nephew, Jason Beeke, and his dear wife Heather, where we stayed overnight (photo 3: a selfie with Jason and Heather).

I enjoyed my meeting with John Hultink in Ontario on Saturday. Half of our time we spent talking about theology and the other half he gave me a tour of his remarkable business, the Book Depot, which sells millions of remainder books each year—an impressive operation indeed (photo 1).

Saturday evening was family time at my brother’s home in Pelham, Ontario. My brother and sister-in-law, John and Miekie Beeke, who have 13 children, 55 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren, invited their children to drop in to see us anytime they wanted to throughout the evening. It seemed like every 15-20 minutes or so someone else was dropping in (see photo 2 and 3 for just some of them that came by). Here I am in photo 4 with my namesake, Joel Beeke. I can’t put into words how good it felt to see my brother and sister and nephews and nieces after three years of not being able to see them due to Covid. The evening was packed with spiritual conversation, fond memories, and family laughter as nostalgic stories of the past were re-told just like old times. What a blessing a God-fearing family is!