Bulkington Church History Lecture Anne Steele

It was good to be in Bulkington Congregational church up in the Midlands last night once again. It is remarkable how they are able to gather a score or two people from various churches in the area with an interest in church history. The pastor Peter Mckenzie chaired and I spoke on Anne Steele and got over the story quite well, I hope. It was good to chat with people over a cuppa afterwards as well. It was a pleasant drive up in the sunshine too.

Broughton in Hampshire

Had a nice afternoon down in Broughton last week.

Huguenots at the Evangelical Library

G.Garitan, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>,
via Wikimedia Commons

We had an excellent lecture this afternoon at the Library from Norman Hopkins at the Evangelical Library on the Huguenots in Kent. Norman has addressed this subject many times and has quite a knowledge of it. Some of us are quite ignorant and it was fascinating to get some of the background to the story of French Protestants and how the fled persecution. The word refugee is from this language and period and so the whole thing had something of a contemporary ring about it. Very many avenues were explored - their faith, their skill, their history, etc. Recordings are always made and can be obtained from the Library if you are interested. I noticed it was also videoed and a vdeo would be the ideal. We had a good crowd and as it was Philip's birthday we celebrated afterwards with a cake that someone had kindly provided.

Peter du Moulin above is one of several Huguenots mentioned specifically.

Interesting news from the John Owen Centre

Dear Friends,

I am very pleased to announce that we have established a Doctoral Study Centre at the John Owen Centre affiliated with Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The Doctoral Study Centre provides a gateway for those studying at London Seminary to the considerable primary and secondary sources held at PRTS in their Puritan Research Centre, specializing in the Dutch ‘Second Reformation’, English Puritanism, and American Puritanism.

Alongside that wider access for students, the Doctoral Study Centre offers a PhD programme in Reformation and Post-Reformation historical theology. The programme is distinctive for its evangelical and Reformed theological approach, its concern to blend academic rigour with biblical piety, and, compared to a UK PhD, its significant taught component.

To find out more about the shape of the PhD programme, click here. For the full details, visit the PRTS site.

The PhD programme is suitable for pastors pursuing higher level study, so it takes its place among our diverse range of activities at different levels, including Study Days, Study Projects, and the ThM with Westminster Theological Seminary.

Do join us in praying that, as with all our activities, this new venture would serve the goal of enriching ministries for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ in his church.

Every blessing,
Garry Williams.

Lord's Day April 9 2017

I began yesterday apologising for my face, which I could do every Sunday I guess but I didn't want people to be sat there thinking "What's he done?" Of course, by the time of the sermon another dozen or so had arrived so I went through it again.

Numbers were good in the morning even though several stalwarts were away. We had four Iranians (we seem to have lost some), plenty of Nigerians and all sorts of others, including ladies from Pakistan and India who I always love to see talking together (our lady from Bangla Desh was away). I preached from the first half of Acts 3 and was basically evangelistic.

We had lunch together, about 30 or more of us. That was a nice time. Lots of nice chats including an interesting one with a business woman about her tribal history and the fact she cannot even go to her home territory these days due to a political problem with a long history. I forget how privileged I am sometimes. One of our new people discovered to her surprise that Eleri is my wife (I told her she just thought Eleri is out of my league!) I also discovered that one of our ladies has been sending her love to a new attendee's wife not realising they are actually divorced.

In the evening we were down to about 13. I thought we might have been more. I preached a one off from Mark 10:13-16. I was very pleased to see a child in the congregation (ie under 10). It was a short sermon, which is something nobody ever complains about.

It was only when I put the news on later that I recalled it was Palm Sunday.

Ooops!

Don't cross the road using your 'phone

Midweek Meeting April 5 2017

With several away, I was mot expecting a good turn out tonight and so I decided to preview a paper I am preparing on the hymn writer Anne Steele. As it turned out we were 10 altogether, seven women and three men, including some who'd not been there in the past. I tried to say something helpful about singleness and suffering. We had a good time of prayer with most leading in prayer.There was plenty to pray about.

10 Shakespearean American Cities

Several places in America have names used by Shakespeare in his plays. Here are ten

1. Alexander Troilus & Cressida North Dakota
2. Cicero Julius Caesar Illinois
3. Desdemona Othello Texas
4. Mountjoy Henry V Illinois
5. Oberon Midsummer nights dream North Dakota
6. Orlando As you like it Florida (see pic of Shakespeare theatre there)
7. Paris Romeo & Juliet, Troilus & Cressida Texas
8. Tamora Titus Andronicus Nebraska
9. Helena Midsummer Night's Dream, All's Well that Ends Well Montana
10. Montague Romeo & Juliet Massachusetts

Lord's Day April 2 2017

It was quite sunny on Sunday. We began, as we do at the beginning of the month, with communion. We had a large congregation in the morning (we ran out of Bibles again must get more) and a decent one later at 6.30 pm. Our Iranians were back, four of them anyway, and several others but there were still some missing (Iranians and others). There were two new ladies in the morning, one from Colombia and one who had gone before the end.  In the morning I dragged them all out for a photo outside. I preached on the final part of Acts 2. I had multiple points disguised as five main points. In the evening we had another go at 1 Peter 2:7, which went okay. My father-in-law turned up in the evening, so I had my son and father-in-law there.

Appropriate song for today

Defenestration of Prague and the Missouri Compromise

I was reading two history books recently when I came across two phrases I know and have known for years. If you woke me at 4 am, however, I couldn't give you an adequate explanation.

I refer to

The Defenestrations of Prague is an incidents in the history of Bohemia in which multiple people were defenestrated (ie thrown out a window). It happened in 1618 (but can refer to an earlier incident in 1419). It helped trigger prolonged conflict, within Bohemia and beyond.

The Missouri Compromise is the title generally attached to the legislation passed by the 16th Congress of the United States May 8, 1820. The measures provided for the admission of the District of Maine as a state free to ratify a state constitution that both did not recognise and prohibited slavery within the state. Further, it provided that the Missouri territory was free to enact a state constitution that both recognised as legal and permitted (through affirmative state legislation and state government regulation), the institution of chattel slavery. In addition, it outlawed as a matter of Federal law both the recognition and legality of the institution of chattel slavery in the Federal territory that remained of the Louisiana Purchase that was still unorganised and north of the 36°30′ parallel (excluding Missouri, hence "Missouri Compromise") within the Purchase lands.

It is one of the events that led to the Civil War.

Lament for the 82 bus

O bus! Red bus sublime!
Up whose steep steps I'd climb,
Looking for a seat (having stood before);
When again will you arrive on time?
No more - No, never more!

Not in the day or night,
Our bus has taken flight;
In spring and summer, and winter hoar,
The 82 that used to come – delight!
No more - No, never more!

(From April 1 the 82 bus has stopped running).

Hacked

Google have been in touch with me today about the blog and apparently I've been hacked. For the last 12 months every time anyone accesses this blog their microphone is immediately activated. I am sorry this has happened. Apparently it is not that unusual.

Google have sent me some of the recordings the hacker captured and to be honest it is a bit embarrassing. Some of you I can hear saying the harshest things. "Oh no, another one of those videos from Youtube" I caught someone saying. Another was unkind enough to wonder aloud whether I was on some sort of drug. There seem to be a lot of "where does he find the time?" and "does he think that's funny?".

Google reckon they can sort the problem out but meanwhile, for my sake, if you have anything harsh to say when looking at the blog try not to say it out loud.

Midweek Meeting March 29 2017

We were a good number last Wednesday as we tackled the next of the five solas - this time sola fide, by faith alone. It is a basic doctrine but it was good to go over it again, especially the emphases rediscovered in the Reformation. I found Tom Schreiner's book on the subject very helpful. We had a good prayer session.

God is king

It was good to be at the Evangelical Library last Monday for the most recent lunch time lecture. Dr Ian Densham gave us a very helpful lecture on the sovereignty of God. We had a good number present too including at least one person who had just turned up at the Library to do some work and found there was a lecture on. Serendipity. I love this quote from Professor John Murray

These are days when international conflict has taken on staggering proportions. Men’s hearts fail them for fear. Barbaric tyranny has brought its cruel heel upon millions of our fellowmen. In words that Calvin wrote four centuries ago, “the turbulent state of the world deprives us of our judgement”. In such days there is inexpressible comfort in the sovereignty of God. The world has not been abandoned to cold and relentless late, nor has it been given over to the totalitarianism of man or devil. God’s counsel still stands and He still does all His pleasure. It is still true, “Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand” (Isa. 14:24). Through all the disquieting events of our history there runs the sovereign and holy purpose of the Lord God omnipotent. Justice and judgement are the habitation of God’s throne even though clouds and darkness are round about Him. He fulfils His righteous purpose through the unrighteous wills of wicked men. He holds the reins of universal government and not a sparrow falls to the ground without His knowledge and ordination.

In this let the believer take solace, for it is the secret place of the Most High and the shadow of the Almighty. It is the absolute sovereignty of the eternal God. It is the absolute sovereignty of none other than the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it is even with equal universality the mediational sovereignty of the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man, the incarnate Son, the Saviour-King, the King of kings and Lord of lords

“Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth” (Rev. 19:6).