Acts of the National Synod of Dort, 1618-1619 – English translation The Seventeenth session On the 30th November, Friday morning, Is read the decision of the Synod regarding the further catechetical instruction of young and old, as extracted and put together from the written advice of both the foreign and domestic delegates as follows. In… Continue reading Synod of Dort – from the Acts
Reading: Psalm 42, 43 It is remarkable when we read the New Testament, that when it speaks about showing our thankfulness, that often the congregation of Christ takes an important place in that. In the Old Testament, the people showed their thankfulness by bringing their tithes, to Jerusalem, and from time to time also to… Continue reading Meditation: Psalm 42 + 43 (2)
Reading: Psalm 42, 43 In the light of the current events, now that it is not possible for churches in Australia to have worship services in a church building, and many services are being live streamed, it is important to remember how good it is to come together as God’s people and enjoy the fellowship… Continue reading Meditation: Psalm 42 + 43
On 13 November 1618, the synod of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands was convened in Dordrecht (in English often shortened to Dort). This did not go in the way we are used to in the Free Reformed Churches of Australia. It was called together by the ‘States’. In those days, the Netherlands officially was… Continue reading The importance of the Synod of Dort for us
From Sabbath to Sunday? Is the Sunday the Sabbath day of the New Testament? This is a question that is being discussed widely among Christians. Even among those who claim to stand in the reformed tradition[i], there are those who believe that keeping the Sunday as a day of rest is not a biblical command.… Continue reading The Synod of Dort on the fourth commandment
The Synod of Dort about Ecclesiastical Feast Days New Year’s Eve services On New Year’s Eve I was invited to preach in one of the churches in the federation. The attendance of that service was far less than usual on Sundays, certainly less than half. Six other churches in the Metro Perth area already anticipated… Continue reading Synod of Dort on ecclesiastical feast days
About a year ago the Synod of Dort (1618-1619) was remembered, with renewed attention and interest for decisions of this synod and the importance of these decisions. We’ve all learned about this synod in church history and about the decisions it made. I have heard the claim being made more than once that certain practices… Continue reading What did the Synod of Dort say?
This is the first Bible Study on the book of Revelation. It was initially made for the Free Reformed Church of Kelmscott, but others can benefit from it as well. The audio is not very good, but in the present circumstances it is just about impossible to find a better microphone. I keep looking and… Continue reading Bible Study Revelation 1:1-3
This week is the second Family Week. For information about what Family Week is, see my previous article last month. This is an initiative from and for the Free Reformed Church of Kelmscott, but I invite others to participate as well, if they want. This is the material for this week: 1. For Sunday or… Continue reading Family Week 2 – 8 August
The material for the October Family Week is available here. There is no sermon outline this time since I will not be preaching this Sunday. The Tuesday online Bible Study about Nehemiah 4 can be accessed at the YouTube site of the Free Reformed Church of Kelmscott and will be available starting Sunday evening. An… Continue reading Family Week 4 – 10 October
Due to the sudden lockdown in the metro Perth area, the family week for February 2021 in the Free Reformed Church of Kelmscott now started the 1st of February. The material is available here. Sermon outline: there is an outline of the sermon of Sunday morning, 31 January, on John 3:1-8. The outline is available… Continue reading Family Week February 2021
4 – 10 April The material for the April Family Week (in the Free Reformed Church of Kelmscott) is available here. Sermon outline: there is an outline of the sermon of Sunday morning, 4 April 2021 on John 20:1, about ‘The open heaven over the open tomb’. The outline is available here, while the sermon can… Continue reading Family Week April 2021
This week is Family Week again in the Free Reformed Church of Kelmscott. For all those who are not a member of the FRC Kelmscott: feel free to join in. The material is available online. If this is new for you, you can read about Family Week and its intention in a previous article on… Continue reading Family Week 6-12 December 2020
From 6 to 12 September we have another family week. Here is the material for this week. For those who don’t know what family week is, see my article of two months ago. The material for Family Week is available: For Monday: Nehemiah 1:5-11 A sermon outline and questions about Sunday morning’s sermon. The sermon… Continue reading Family Week 6 – 12 September
In July 2020 the congregation of Kelmscott starts a new project: family week. A document has been sent to the congregation and an article with Biblical background will be published in Una Sancta in the near future. In short, what is happening during family week is being described here. Material for the first Family Week… Continue reading Family Week 5-11 July 2020
Sunday, 1 November is the start of another Family Week. The material for this November Family Week is available here. For Sunday or Monday: Sermon discussion about the Sunday morning service, Nehemiah 6. The sermon outline with questions is available here. The sermon can be watched on YouTube, the account of the Free Reformed Church… Continue reading Family Week 1-7 November
Introduction The topic of Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) has led to a lot of discussion and confusion in our circles. What follows is an adapted version of a report which I wrote for the consistory with the deacons of the Free Reformed Church of Kelmscott, to give direction in how to judge CCM in… Continue reading Contemporary Christian Music
For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2, NKJV) Many will have seen pictures of the Notre Dame in Paris in the past week. The roof of this iconic, world famous, church building was completely destroyed by fire. Several of the media also showed a picture of the altar after the fire, with he golden altar cross seen glowing.… Continue reading Christ’s Cross and the Cross of the Notre Dame
Every year in January, the organisation ‘Open Doors’ publishes a world watch map on which it ranks several countries on this earth with regard to persecution of Christians. The latest map was published in January. It may not come unexpected that North Korea is the number 1 country if it comes to persecution of Christians.… Continue reading Persecution – World Watch Map
A Lie (1) On 17 January of this year, BuzzFeedNews reported that President Trump had directed his attorney Michael Cohen to lie to congress about the Moscow Tower project. This was what according to BuzzFeedNews was reported to the special counsel Robert Mueller who was investigating allegations of Mr. Donald Trump colluding with Russia in… Continue reading What is truth?
