The Magazine Podcast

Hearing Sermons: an Exhortation and a Testimony

Much has been written and said about how sermons are to be prepared and delivered. Little, by contrast, is said about how sermons are to be heard and received. This is a gaping hole in our practical instruction, since the very best sermons may be heard without profit.

This week's selections are from Peter Barnes (Revesby Presbyterian Church, NSW, Australia), who writes about hearing sermons, and Paul D. Wolfe (New Hope Presbyterian Church, Fairfax, VA), who decribes how the steady, faithful teaching of God's word over many years prepared him for the horror of a cancer diagnosis. Heard together, we trust they'll encourage and equip you to receive the preached word of God with fresh expectation and renewed focus, to the glory of God and the good of your soul.

 

Featured Content:

– 'Hearing a Sermon', Peter Barnes, Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 653 (February 2018).

– Excerpt from My God is True!: Lessons Learned along Cancer's Dark Road, Paul D. Wolfe (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2009).

 

Buy 'My God is True!: Lessons Learned along Cancer's Dark Road': https://banneroftruth.org/store/christian-living/my-god-is-true/

 

Explore the work of the Banner: www.banneroftruth.org

Subscribe to the magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine

Leave us a voice message: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

 

The Ligon Duncan Interview (BONUS)

Between the Banner Youth and Ministers' Conferences we had the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. Ligon Duncan, Chancellor/CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary. We discussed his early years, training for ministry, the mission of RTS, and some of the Banner books he has benefitted from over the years.

 

Ligon's Banner Picks:

Brooks, Thomas, Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices

- https://banneroftruth.org/store/christian-living/precious-remedies-against-satans-devices/

Bucer, Martin, Concerning the True Care of Souls

- https://banneroftruth.org/store/church-ministry/concerning-the-true-care-of-souls/

Marlorat, Augustin, Prayers on the Psalms: From the Scottish Psalter of 1595 (Pocket Puritans)

- https://banneroftruth.org/store/devotionalsdaily-readings/prayers-on-the-psalms/

Warfield, B. B., Faith and Life (note especially the address 'The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Acts 2:16, 17)

- https://banneroftruth.org/store/theology/faith-life/

Warfield, B. B., The Saviour of the World

- https://banneroftruth.org/store/sermons-and-expositions/the-saviour-of-the-world/

 

Other Resources Mentioned:

Blair Smith, D., and Miller, Matthew, eds., From Generation to Generation: Writings in Honour of Douglas F. Kelly (Christian Focus, 2023).

- https://www.christianfocus.com/products/3162/generation-to-generation

Cunningham, William, An Introduction to Theological Studies (edited and introduced by J. Ligon Duncan III)

- www.abebooks.co.uk/9781884416026/Introduction-Theological-Studies-Lectures-William-1884416020/plp

Garretson, James, ed., Princeton and the Work of the Christian Ministry: A Collection of Addresses and Articles by Faculty and Friends of Princeton Theological Seminary (2 Vols, in Vol. 2 of which can be found Warfield's 'The Religious Life of Theological Students').

- https://banneroftruth.org/store/church-ministry/princeton-and-the-work-of-the-christian-ministry-3/

Witsius, Herman, The Character of a Genuine Theologian (some of the lecture, but not all, accessible here):

- https://books.google.com/books?id=MVQAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA158&dq=witsius+character+theologian&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1)

 

For more information:

Dr. Ligon Duncan: https://ligonduncan.com/

Reformed Theological Seminary: https://rts.edu/

 

Explore the work of the Banner: www.banneroftruth.org

Subscribe to the magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine

Leave us a voice message: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

'Uncle Ernie': The First Principal of London Bible College

Ernest Kevan is not likely to be mentioned in a list of the most significant British evangelicals of the 20th Century. Yet, as a pastor and then as the first principal of London Bible College, he exercised a profound and wide-reaching influence on those who worked and studied with him. Earnest, hard-working, and disciplined, his could be an intimidating presence. But those closest to him saw clearly his tremendous love for the Lord and genuine care for the students in his charge. In this week's episode we take a closer look at Kevan's life and labours and uncover something of how this retiring man became 'Uncle Ernie' - a guide and inspiration to so many.

 

Excerpt taken from Paul E. Brown, Ernest Kevan: Leader in Twentieth Century British Evangelicalism (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2012).

 

Paul Brown's biography of Ernest Kevan: https://banneroftruth.org/store/history-biography/ernest-kevan/

 

Coupon code to get 30% off Paul Brown's biography (valid to June 12th, 2024): Ernest24

 

Explore the work of the Banner: www.banneroftruth.org

Subscribe to the magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine

Leave us a voice message: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

The Bible of our Lord

Does what we believe about the Bible really matter? Isn't it enough simply to embrace Christ? This week, we spend some time with two articles that address, in different ways, the relationship between our faith in Christ and our trust in the Scriptures. We begin by thinking about the Lord Jesus's own attitude towards the Scriptures...

 

Featured Content:

– 'The Bible of our Lord', entry for January 31 in Robert Macdonald, From Day to Day: Helpful Words for the Christian Life (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2024). Originally published in 1856.

– 'Inerrancy Matters... to the Man in the Pew', Ian Hamilton, Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 618 (March 2015)

 

Purchase 'From Day to Day: Helpful Words for the Christian Life' by Robert Macdonald: https://banneroftruth.org/store/devotionalsdaily-readings/from-day-to-day/

 

Explore the work of the Banner: www.banneroftruth.org

Subscribe to the magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine

Leave us a voice message: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

 

 

A Bad Evangelical Habit

Are we saved by grace, or by faith? Does it matter? If these questions have ever exercised you, then Paul Helm's article 'A Bad Habit' may be of help. Revisiting some of B. B. Warfield's thoughts on the subjects of grace and faith, Helm shows that how we think and talk about the ground of our salvation matters enormously.

 

Featured Content:

– 'A Bad Habit', Paul Helm, Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 128 (May 1975). 

– The prayer 'Amazing Grace' from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions, edited by Arthur Bennett. https://banneroftruth.org/store/devotionalsdaily-readings/the-valley-of-vision/

 

Explore the work of the Banner: www.banneroftruth.org

Subscribe to the magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine

Leave us a voice message: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

 

 

The Matthew Roberts Interview (BONUS)

Matthew Roberts joined us at the Banner Ministers' Conference 2024 to discuss the vital importance of a biblical understanding of sin, the challenge of the sexual revolution, and the Greater Love Declaration, which articulates an orthodox Christian position on marriage and sexuality in a spirit of self-sacrificing love.

 

More Info. on the Greater Love declaration:

www.greaterlove.org.uk

 

Resources Referenced:

Calvin, John, Institutes of the Christian Religion (1539 edition), Clothbound, 920 pages.

https://banneroftruth.org/uk/store/theology/institutes/

Flavel, John, Preparations for Sufferings (Puritan Paperback), 176 pages.

https://banneroftruth.org/uk/store/christian-living/preparations-for-sufferings/

Owen, John, Searching our Hearts in Difficult Times (Puritan Paperback), 160 pages.

https://banneroftruth.org/uk/store/christian-living/owen-searching-our-hearts-in-difficult-times/

Roberts, Matthew, Pride: Identity and the Worship of Self, paperback, 184 pages.

https://www.christianfocus.com/products/3074/pride

 

 

The Home under Christ

The godly governance of the home is a subject of vital importance in any age, and has special resonance in our troubled times. To help us consider it, this week we read A. W. Pink on the Christian home, and Don Stephens on the neglected privilege of family worship.

 

Featured Content:

– 'Christian Homes', A. W. Pink, reprinted in the Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 7 (June 1957)

– 'Family Worship: A Neglected Privilege', Don Stephens, Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 651 (December 2017)

 

Explore the work of the Banner: www.banneroftruth.org

Subscribe to the magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine

Leave us a voice message: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

The Pastor and His Study

This week's selections are powerful reminders of the importance of ongoing and focused study in the lives of pastors and teachers in Christ's church. Far from being a luxury, ministerial study is a necessary part of a fruitful, growing ministry that feeds Christ's sheep.

While this episode concerns pastors primarily, it is for all of us, as we all have a role to play in facilitating and supporting the ministry of those who teach us the word of God.

 

Featured Content:

– 'Ministerial Study', J. W. Alexander, The Banner of Truth Magazine: Issue 8, August 1957.

– 'The Pastor as Attorney', David A. Sherwood, The Banner of Truth Magazine: Issue 369, June 1994.

– Quote from J. C. Ryle can be found in a brief address entitled 'Ministerial Duties', given before a large ministers' meeting in Western-Super-Mare in 1858. The address can be found here [N.B. The Banner of Truth cannot be held responsible for content on third-party websites]: https://www.gracegems.org/Ryle/ministerial_duties.htm

 

Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org

Subscribe to the Magazine (Print/Digital/Both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine

Tell us your thoughts on this episode: https://www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast