Church discipline is a gracious institution of the Lord Jesus Christ for the honour of His name, the purity of His Church, and the eternal salvation of His people.

This week's episode focuses on this neglected topic. An excerpt from Jeremy Walker helps to unpack some of the reasons why church discipline matters. Drilling down on 'corrective' or 'restorative' discipline, we read a section from Stuart Olyott's article 'Church Discipline' to help guide us through a difficult area.

Featured Content:

– Excerpt from 'Called to be Holy' by Jeremy Walker sourced from pages 19 to 24 of that booklet.

Buy the booklet: https://banneroftruth.org/uk/store/christmas-bulk/called-to-be-holy/

– First part of 'Church Discipline', Stuart Olyott, Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 163, April 1977.

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We live in trying times, when it often seems as if the 'foundations are destroyed' (Psalm 11:3). How are believers called to live in a dark day? This week's readings, from Mauric Roberts and John Flavel, address dark days and preparations for trial. 

Featured Content:

– 'The Believer's Duty in a Dark Day', Maurice Roberts, Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 678, March 2020.

– Excerpt from Chapter 4 of John Flavel's 'Preparations for Sufferings, Or, The Best Work in the Worst Times' (Puritan Paperback, 161 pages).

Buy the book: https://banneroftruth.org/store/christian-living/preparations-for-sufferings/

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We had the great pleasure of talking with Stuart Olyott at the Banner of Truth Ministers' Conference. A much-respected Bible teacher and pastor, Stuart discusses his formative years, his time at London Bible College, and subsequent journey in ministry. He even has occasion to describe a Homburg hat for the benefit of the uninitiated!

Banner Books by Stuart:

– I Wish Someone Would Explain Hebrews to Me! (https://banneroftruth.org/store/sermons-and-expositions/i-wish-someone-would-explain-hebrews-to-me/)

– Ministering Like the Master: Three Messages for Today's Preachers (https://banneroftruth.org/store/church-ministry/ministering-like-the-master/)

– Preaching That Gets Through: God's Words and Ours (https://banneroftruth.org/store/church-ministry/preaching-that-gets-through/)

– Reading the Bible and Praying in Public (https://banneroftruth.org/store/church-ministry/reading-the-bible-and-praying-in-public/)

– You Must Read: Books That Have Shaped Our Lives, Various Authors, Stuart writes an entry on reading Spurgeon's Revival Year Sermons. (https://banneroftruth.org/store/theology/you-must-read/)

Other Resources from Stuart:

– Stuart's sermons for download: www.knowyourbiblerecordings.org

– Preaching: Pure and Simple (https://epbooks.org/product/preaching-pure-and-simple-by-stuart-olyott/)

Watch the interview on Youtube:

https://youtu.be/lyEr8S0da2U

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The ministry of John Angell James, favoured though it was, marked the end of an era at Carrs Lane Congregational Church. When it came to ministerial handover, we observe a weakness of judgement in James which made room for a less than orthodox ministry at the church. The upshot was that sadly James's ministry legacy was not extended and built on with gospel vision by his successor, R. W. Dale.

From noting this sad turn of events, we remind ourselves of the crucial nature of truth in a victorious Christian pilgrimage with a reading from Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress.

Featured Content:

– 'John Angell James', Peter Seccombe, Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 220 (January 1982). 

- Excerpts concerning Mr Valiant-for-truth from 'Part the Second' of John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress (Banner of Truth ed., 1977, current ed., 2017), pages 348–350 and 373.

Buy The Pilgrim's Progress: https://banneroftruth.org/store/christian-living/pilgrims-progress/

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Pastor, author, and missionary motivator, John Angell James (1785–1859) was one of the most gifted and respected of Independent church ministers in 19th-century Britain. From humble beginnings as a draper's son in Dorset, he went on to become minister of Carr's Lane Congregational Church in Birmingham. His ministry there was greatly blessed, as were his literary labours, with over 3 million copies of his works being published within his lifetime.

Angell James's ministry was marked by earnestness, a note sounded in the title and text of his book on ministry, 'An Earnest Ministry: The Want of the Times'. In this week's episode we look at the life of this outstanding servant of God, and consider his abiding interest in the work of gospel advance in China.

Featured Content:

– 'John Angell James', Peter Seccombe, Banner of Truth Magazine, appearing in two parts in Issues 219 and 220 (December 1981 and January 1982, respectively).

– 'John Angell James', Alec Taylor, Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 619 (April 2015).

– 'God's Voice from China', John Angell James, reproduced in the Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 166 (July/August 1977).

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

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Francis Turretin of Geneva, if he is known at all, is often thought of as a Protestant 'scholastic', where this is shorthand for an ivory tower theologian given to excessive hair-splitting. Such a caricature, however, does not do justice to the man himself. An earnest preacher, and a devoted disciple, Turretin placed his scholarship at the service of the church. While he was a thorough and careful theologian, Turretin sought to go only as far, and no further, than the Scripture warranted, and to do his theology in a spirit of charity.

This week's episode introduces us to Turretin the man and theologian, and to Volume 1 of his Institutes of Elenctic Theology, which has been published by Presbyterian and Reformed Publishers since 1992.

Featured Content:

– 'Shapers of Christianity: Francis Turretin (1623–87)', Nick Needham, Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 716, May 2023.

– 'Francis Turretin's Institutes in English', Robert Sheehan, Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 368, May 1994.

Resources Mentioned:

- The Institutes of Elenctic Theology, Francis Turretin (1992–1997, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing)

Volume 1 (surveyed above): https://www.prpbooks.com/book/institutes-of-elenctic-theology

Three-volume set: https://www.prpbooks.com/book/institutes-of-elenctic-theology-3-vol-set

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

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The Revoice Conference was founded in 2018 in order to 'support and encourage gay, lesbian, bisexual, and other same-sex attracted Christians—as well as those who love them—so that all in the Church might be empowered to live in gospel unity while observing the historic Christian doctrine of marriage and sexuality.' (Revoice, Mission Statement).

A year after the initial event, aware that the movement was only just beginning, Dr. Jonathan Master wrote a 'Letter from America' in the Banner Magazine. With the help of the analysis of David Wells, he notes the weakness of the postmodern vision of spirituality that informs Revoice's commitments. He points us back to classical Christian spirituality, founded on a commitment to the holiness of God and a seriousness about sin which is well reflected in our second selection, from Geoff Thomas, entitled 'Take Sin Seriously'.

Featured Content:

– 'Letter from America: The Revoice Conference', Jonathan Master, Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 667 (April 2019).

– 'Take Sin Seriously', Geoff Thomas, Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 678 (March 2020).

Resources Mentioned:

- 'When Christians Adopt Sinful Identities' (segment from Matthew Roberts interview): https://youtu.be/QmFkWDCixXg?si=PecUoJdy5vTIAbsp

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

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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

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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/

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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

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