The Magazine Podcast

This week we consider the Christian's relationship to revolution. In the first reading, we ask how the Christian is to relate to the 'spirit of Revolution' embodied in the French Revolution (a movement that is still with us, bearing fruit in our own politics and society). Towards the end of the episode we consider Francis Schaeffer and Samuel Rutherford in their arguments for civil resistance to u...

John Murray was one of the outstanding Reformed theologians of the 1900s. Earnest and serious, he was also deeply affectionate and much beloved of his students and colleagues. On the 50th anniversary of his death in 1975 we take time to consider his life, theology, and legacy to us today.   Featured Resources: – Excerpt from Iain Murray, 'John Murray: A Memorial with Tributes' in Banner of Truth M...

Robert Murray M'Cheyne died at the age of 29. Yet his life continues to inspire the servants of Christ today, and his passion for holiness, and sincere godliness, stand as a testament to the grace of God made effective in an otherwise weak man.  This week we look at M'Cheyne from three angles, taking in the shape of his life, the character of his labours, and finally the special love he had for th...

Christian believers will be tempted to sin. How are we to understand what goes on in temptation? Where is God when we are tempted? How do we lay hold of the resources to resist and come through these times of agony? These and other crucial questions are considered in this week's episode.   Featured Resources: – 'Lead Us Not Into Temptation', Sinclair B. Ferguson, Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 14...

Described as 'perhaps the greatest British theologian of all time', John Owen was far more than a theoretician. As a pastor-scholar, Owen showed that his great concern was to promote holiness in his hearers and readers, to the glory of God and their lasting joy. This week's episode constitutes an introduction to Owen and many of his chief works which, it is hoped, will be of help to those new to h...

We caught up with Geoff Thomas at the recent Banner Ministers' Conference in Staffordshire. Geoff, who ministered at Alfred Place Baptist Church for over fifty years, has been a faithful friend of the Banner of Truth Trust. It was a joy to talk with him about his varied associations with the Banner, his friendship with Iain Murray, preaching through Romans, and pastoral visitation, among other top...

David Dickson (1583–1663) was a living testimony to the grace of God in Christ. In bearing suffering (he was deprived of his living and exiled for a time), in counselling convicted sinners, in preaching, and in writing he demonstrated the gifts and graces of a true under-shepherd of Christ's flock. This week we explore some of the details of his life, and hear a contemporary appreciation of his va...

The practice of pastoral visitation in homes has fallen on hard times. For many of our forefathers in the faith, however, it was deemed an essential part of ministry, enabling effective oversight of the souls of the people of God. This week, we 'revisit' the area of pastoral visitation, although for many of us, it may be the first time we've considered the nature and benefits of this practice for...

William Perkins, like Laurence Chaderton, was a Puritan of the Elizabethan age. As such, he lived before that golden generation of Puritans in which the likes of Flavel, Goodwin, Owen and Baxter ministered.  He was part of a pioneering generation that set to work applying the newly-recovered doctrines of the Reformation in the English context. Although he died at the age of 44, Perkins—a 'man of p...

This week's episode is a little different, as we bring you a conversation with a great friend of the Banner, Dr Sinclair B. Ferguson, ahead of the release of his latest contribution to the Let's Study series: Let's Study Romans.  We asked him about his own history with the Letter to the Romans, advice for pastors and preachers seeking to teach and preach the book, and what his hopes are as this ne...

The United Kingdom has a rich Christian heritage, a standing testimony to the Lord's saving mercy and transforming grace. How can visitors to the UK trace some of these movements of God's Spirit? What if the Banner were to put together a suggested itinerary? Interestingly, the Banner did—back in 1978!—and it still makes for interesting and useful reading. We bring it to you this week as a podcast...

Many Puritans, even leading Puritans, did not proffer much for publication and thus remain little known today. One such (relatively) unpublished leader of the Puritan movement during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I was Laurence Chaderton (1536–1640). A gifted preacher, college Master, and Bible translator, his life and legacy repay careful attention.    Featured Article: – 'Laurence Chaderto...

In this short, encouraging meditation, David Campbell reminds us that the Lord is sovereign over all of our days, and that it may be in our latter years that we discover new avenues of fruitfulness for Christ's kingdom.   Featured article: – 'God's Intriguing Timeframes', David Campbell, Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 690 (March 2021).   David Campbell ministers at North Preston Evangelical Churc...

Tarry any length of time with evangelical and Reformed Christians, and one is likely to hear the name of Martyn Lloyd-Jones. ‘The Doctor’ as he was affectionately known, had a ministry that was used by God in a quite unique way in the mid to late twentieth century. This week’s articles provide a stimulus to engage with Lloyd-Jones through two distinct types of media: his letters and his books. Jer...

The second instalment of our Puritan mini-series looks at John Flavel, the great evangelist and pastor-theologian of Devon, in England's southwest. A man who knew the Lord's blessing as a disciple, an evangelist, a pastor, and a writer, he also knew great hardship and government-sanctioned opposition.   See map of Devon (the county where Flavel ministered).   Featured Resources: – 'John Flavel', p...

In May of 1871, Charles Haddon Spurgeon contributed an article to The Sword and Trowel on the kind of ministry, and the kind of minister, needed by the churches, and how such ministers might be raised up.  Spurgeon's blend of sanctified common sense and discerning, even wry commentary on trends current in his own day will, it is hoped, stimulate thought on the sort of ministry the Scriptures encou...

The Puritans were a diverse group of evangelically-minded, confessionally reformed pastors of the seventeenth century whose great priority was to glorify God in their personal lives, in their families, and in the churches they served. This week we introduce two lesser-known Puritans from the north of England, Thomas Jolley (or Jollie) and Oliver Heywood, along with some of their brethren. In the c...

'Religion was first hatched in families', wrote Thomas Manton, 'and there the devil seeketh to crush it.' It behoves us, then, as believers, to be watchful, and to guard the spiritual vitality of our families. This week's podcast episode is an extended encouragement to all fathers and mothers to pursue family piety.   Featured Resources: – 'Epistle to the Reader' by Thomas Manton, found in The Wes...

The hearts of Christian parents should long for the salvation of their children. This week, we read J Gary Aitken's digest of some of the letters of James Henley Thornwell (1812–1862). These touching letters manifest Thornwell's watchful concern for his children's eternal happiness, encouraging and challenging believing parents today.   Featured Article: – 'Readings from a Covenant Father's Heart'...

'This book will make a traveller of thee...' So begins John Bunyan's classic The Pilgrim's Progress. Many Christians of the past four centuries would testify that it is indeed a book to stir up the heavenbound pilgrim – offering encouragement, challenge, warning, and hope to the man, woman, or child, who desires to attain to the life to come. But the book has its critics, even prominent ones, and...

Many are the paradoxes of the Christian life. One such paradox is that it is often in times of suffering that we gain the most, from a spiritual standpoint. As we stand at the gate of the year, we must prepare ourselves for suffering. We have been told to expect it as a built-in feature of the heavenward life. Such preparation is an exercise of faith, as we trust that God is able to turn the worst...

There are few, if any, earthly sorrows like the loss of a child. In Pain of a Particular Kind, Peter Barnes draws on his own experience to help parents (and grandparents) who have suffered such a loss. As he says in the Introduction, ‘This is not a work of apologetics, but a brief attempt to understand and work through grief, for myself, my family, and for any other readers. It has only heightened...

As 2024 draws to a close, we present a brief round-up of some of the most popular episodes of the first 12 months of the Magazine Podcast.   We then read W. J. Grier's account of the last months of John Calvin's life, an appropriate 'bookend' counterbalancing the account of Calvin's early ministry in our episode 'Calvin in France'.   We finish with a stirring meditation for a new year, also by W....

The incarnation is the central event of our faith, making possible the consummation of the New Covenant in the saving death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is utterly unique, and, as made clear in this week's first piece, utterly incongruous with anything else in history, or in our experience. It is, then, to be an object of our contemplation and a stimulus to our...

What are we to make of a book that has evidently been a blessing to many, contains truths vital for the church to recover, and which is yet unbalanced and problematic at points? Jeremy Walker shows the way with grace and discernment in his review of Dane Ortlund's Gentle and Lowly (2020). We read Jeremy's review, and then spend a little more time with Thomas Goodwin and his view of the heart of Ch...