Yesterday evening I gave an address on “The Puritans and the Bible: Their Preaching and Evangelism” for a group of people that were attending the Inspired Exhibit in Muskegon, Michigan, which offers numerous artifacts, manuscripts, scrolls, and rare Bibles that tell the compelling story of the Bible’s writing and preservation and why it matters.

After I spoke, Dr. Scott Carroll, Director of the Inspired Exhibit, gave us a very informative and fascinating one-hour tour of the exhibit. The tour far exceeded my expectations. Most impressive was a fragment of Psalm 23, the original of which dates back to 200 A.D. (photo #1), a scroll of Isaiah (photo #2), and a rare Torah done in Spain during the Spanish Inquisition (photo #3).

At the end of the tour, a gentleman who made an imitation of the Gutenberg Press, gave us a fascinating presentation of it, and helped Mary print a copy of 1 Samuel 25 on the press (photo #4). The exhibit concludes tomorrow at Maranatha Bible & Missionary Conference, 4759 Lake Harbor Dr., Muskegon, MI 49441, and is well worth it.

The Queen and I arrived home safely from Brazil this noon. While in Brazil, I was surprised and humbled to receive a copy of Paul Smalley’s and my “Reformed Systematic Theology, Volume 1” in Portuguese, published by Editora Cultura Crista (www.editoraculturacrista.com.br) in 1119 pages. Please pray that God will bless this to many people in Brazil and other Portuguese-speaking countries.

We are in the São Paulo airport in Brazil about ready to take the 10-hour red eye flight to Atlanta, and then on to home. The last two days of the Old School Conference in Franca went very well, by God’s grace. Haggai Magalhaes, president of a seminary in São Paulo, and Heber Campos Jr, professor at Andrew Jumper Theological Seminary, both spoke twice; Paulo Junior, senior pastor of the organizing church, Calvary Covenant, delivered another powerful message—this one on the danger of privatizing our faith (photo #1 with Paulo); and I spoke three more times.

The Lord was good to us as speakers; in addition to the 700 attentive people present, we were grateful for the 12,000+ people who attended on line. We also enjoyed spending time with each other as speakers and with our wives (photo #2), sharing numerous meals together. We also did a Question and Answer session, and spent considerable time signing scores of books for eager book-buyers—including many books for children (photo #3). Pray that this conference will bear much fruit.

We now have two days behind us and two to go of the Old School Conference being held at Calvary Covenant Church in Franca, Brazil. There are room for only about 700 attendees (photo #1) but thousands are listening online: https://conferenciaoldschool.com.br/. (This growing church is hoping to build a new building that will seat about 1500 in the future.

Two of the first three addresses were preached movingly by Pastor Josafá Vasconcelos (photo #2), exposing the false evangelism and shallow views of sin that abound today. Josafá is a dear man of God whose transition decades ago from being a popular Arminian evangelist at mass evangelism gatherings to embracing the Reformed experiential faith while he was a preacher cost him considerable persecution. He has been one of our best friends in Brazil ever since we started coming here more than 25 years ago. (This is about my 20th conference/teaching trip to Brazil over the years. We love coming here to support the growing Reformed movement.)

I have also enjoyed my time with a new friend and one of the main speakers, Ronaldo Lidório, an evangelist missionary who focuses on bringing the gospel especially to unreached people in the Amazon. One can learn a great deal from him about missiology and church planting. He has also given both of his addresses already, the first addressing the believer’s identity in Christ from 2 Timothy 4:6-8 and the second on practicing one’s faith through evangelism and a godly lifestyle. Both addresses were superb.
Pastor Paulo Junior, the senior pastor of the host church, also gave a moving address last night. He is a gifted, powerful preacher and is on the front line of the growing appreciation in Brazil for the Reformation and the Puritans in particular. Hundreds of thousands often listen to his online sermons

And I gave my first of three addresses assigned to me on the Puritans: “The Puritans on Regeneration, Coming to Christ, and Conversion.” Pastor Paulo’s full-time assistant pastor, Pastor Danilo Santa Terra, is my able translator and also is helping us out above and beyond the call of duty with all the logistics of travel and the conference, etc. He is a very dear brother with a big servant heart and many gifts as well (photo #3, which includes his dear wife Soraya)

Brazilians love good food, so we are also enjoying a variety of meals in Brazilian restaurants (including an ice cream treat—photo #4) and on the Lord’s Day, in the homes of the leaders. The fellowship is of a high caliber. Please pray for God’s continued rich blessings for the second half of the Old School Conference today and tomorrow, D.V.

Mary and I hope to fly to Brazil today where we hope to speak at the Old School Conference, October 30-November 2, organized by pastors Paulo Junior (picture below) and Danilo, his assistant

It will be held at their church: Rua Afonso Pena, 776. Cidade Nova. Franca, São Paulo. Brazil. There will be 14 plenary sessions from Saturday evening through Tuesday evening. Among other speakers are our good friends, Josafa Vasconcelos and Heber Junior. Mary will be speaking to the women at 3:30 p.m. on the Lord’s Day, and I will be speaking as follows: “The Puritans on Regeneration, Coming to Christ, and Conversion” (Lord’s Day, 10:45 a.m.); “The Puritan View of Sanctification” (Monday, 9:15 p.m.), and “The Puritan View of the Church’s Mission on Earth: Family, Church, and Society” (Tuesday, 9:30 a.m.).

Join thousands of others, if you can, by linking up with us online: https://conferenciaoldschool.com.br/ (you need to register for the online transmission). If you can’t join us, we still covet your prayers for divine benediction on this conference.

This morning I had the privilege of speaking three Reformation chapels in a row: first, for high-schoolers; second, for elementary students (photo #1 for half of the students present); third, for the Expositors Seminary (photo #2–some of the students in the Comstock Park, Michigan campus), which has eleven campuses (photo #3 for the other 10 campuses coming in on Zoom).

For the first two chapels, I provided 12 practical lessons for life from the life of John Calvin, and for the last chapel (to seminary students) I spoke on “sola Scriptura” and its intimate connection with the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture. (Speaking at chapels is one of my favorite things to do!)

Pray that God would make young children, teenagers, and seminary students all over this nation—and the world—to become genuine sons and daughters of the Reformation!

As a teenager, God used Thomas Goodwin’s writings more than anyone else’s to bring me to liberty in Christ, and to grow me in Christ. I wept often as I read his “Christ the Mediator” at the richness and fullness of my Savior and Lord. Already then I dreamt of one day publishing Goodwin’s entire Works of 12 volumes in a beautiful hardcover edition. Half a century later that dream finally became reality today as I just received a few hours ago this handsome set of books newly published by Reformation Heritage Books. I am excited, moved, and humbled by and about this publication.

In my 23-page introduction in volume 1 of this set of Goodwin I provide you with a reading plan for the twelve volumes, suggesting that you begin with some of his smaller and more practical works (such as “Patience,” “A Child of Light walking in Darkness,” and “The Vanity of Thoughts”), then moving on to his more classic works that explain major doctrines of the faith (such as “Man’s Guiltiness Before God,” “Justifying Faith,” and “Christ the Mediator”), and finally, reading his 900-page masterful exposition of Ephesians 1 and 2.

Read Goodwin slowly, meditatively, and prayerfully, and you will reap spiritual dividends far beyond what you can imagine. You will understand as you read why Goodwin has been my favorite Puritan author for most of my life.

What better year-end gift could you give a God-fearing spouse, child, parent, or good friend than the Works of Thomas Goodwin? You can order it here: https://www.heritagebooks.org/products/the-works-of-thomas-goodwin-12-volumes-hardcover.html

May God bless this angel’s food in abundance to grow you in soul, in mind, and in life.

A welcome new arrival: I am grateful to Jan Zeeman for ably translating my book for lay people on assurance of faith (“Knowing and Growing in Assurance of Faith,” Christian Focus, 2017) into Dutch as “Zekerheid van het geloof: volgens de puriteinen,” and to De Banier for publishing it. Pray that God will bless it to many Dutch readers to assist them in their personal struggles of knowing and growing in assurance of their own salvation in Christ Jesus.

It can be purchased here:  https://www.debanier.nl/zekerheid-van-het-geloof