Episodios

  • Two Hymnwriters
    Jul 28 2025

    To learn the backstory of a hymn can be a richly rewarding exercise. The same applies with hymnwriters. This week we consider the life and faith of two wonderful hymnists of yesteryear: Isaac Watts (1674–1748) and Frances Ridley Havergal (1836–1879).

    Featured Resources:

    – Mark S. Shuttleworth, 'Isaac Watts: The Man Behind the Hymns', The Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 221, February 1982.

    – Pamela D. Bugden, 'Sweet Singer and Poet of Worcestershire', The Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 503, August–September 2005.

    Worthy of note:

    The Havergal Trust has been set up by David Chalkley to make the complete works of Frances Ridley Havergal available to the body of Christ in our own day. To date, a number of the titles have appeared as paperbacks, and there is a strong desire to see all volumes published in due course. If you would like to browse the books, or find out more about the project, see below:

    https://www.havergaltrust.com/about/about-the-havergal-trust/

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

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    29 m
  • Dying in the Lord (3/3): A Time to Die
    Jul 21 2025

    There is, writes the Preacher of Ecclesiastes, 'a time to die' (Ecclesiastes 3:2). The believer in Christ is called to be mindful of this time, to prepare for it, and then, when it comes, to commit his or her soul to a faithful Heavenly Father.

    Featured Resources:

    - Toni Saad, 'Life at all Costs?', The Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 738, March 2025.

    - Excerpt from Iain H. Murray, David Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The Fight of Faith 1939–1981 (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1990, 2024), Chapter 35, 'Dying ... He Worshipped', pages 746–748.

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

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    30 m
  • Dying in the Lord (2/3): Preparation
    Jul 14 2025

    How can a Christian prepare for death? It is a question pertinent to us all, and yet it is asked earnestly by so few.

    This week we seek guidance on this question from the work of the seventeenth-century minister George Swinnock and the nineteenth-century pastoral theologian Archibald Alexander.

    Featured Resources:

    - Excerpt from 'The Fading of the Flesh' in The Works of George Swinnock, Vol. 3 (1672; repr. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1996), pages 466–471.

    - Excerpt from Archibald Alexander, Thoughts on Religious Experience (1844; repr. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1978, 2024), pages 277–280.

    Related resources:

    The Works of George Swinnock (5 volumes, 2526 pages, clothbound)

    The Works of George Swinnock, Volume 3 (source of today's excerpt from The Fading of the Flesh, a work contained in volumes 3 and 4 of Swinnock's Works)

    Archibald Alexander, Thoughts on Religious Experience

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

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    Leave us your feedback or a testimony: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

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    29 m
  • Dying in the Lord (1/3): Perspective
    Jul 7 2025

    In this, the first of three episodes on the subject of dying in the Lord, we ask what the Bible teaches about death, and apply it to the case of the unbeliever and the believer.

    Featured Resources:

    - George Curry, Preparing Unbelievers for Death, Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 317 (Ferbruary 1990).

    - Excerpt from 'The Christian Man's Calling' in The Works of George Swinnock, Vol. 3 (1672; repr. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1996), pages 84–86.

    - Excerpt from 'The Christian Man's Calling' in The Works of George Swinnock, Vol. 3 (1672; repr. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1996), page 46.

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

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    23 m
  • Christ, the God of Christians
    Jun 30 2025

    Meditating on the Lord Jesus Christ is a high privilege of the Christian. It strengthens his faith, deepens his love, and calibrates his hope. The Lord Jesus Christ is the One in whom we, by the power of the Spirit, see the glory of the Father.

    This week we take time not to pursue another aspect of Christian living, or another profile from church history, but to think about 'God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side' (John 1:18).

    Featured Resources:

    - Excerpt from John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (1541), (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2014).

    - Charles Hodge, Christ, the God of Christians, Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 590 (November 2012).

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

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    20 m
  • The Revival of Religion
    Jun 25 2025

    New this summer from the Banner of Truth is a unique collection of lectures on revival from nineteenth-century Scotland.

    In this brief bonus episode, we read a portion of the Publisher's Introduction by Banner trustee Donald John MacLean to see just why this collection warrants republication today.

    Read the entire Publisher's Introduction: https://banneroftruth.org/resources/book-excerpts/2025/the-revival-of-religion-publishers-introduction/

    Buy your copy of Revival of Religion: https://banneroftruth.org/store/uncategorized/revival-of-religion/

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

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    12 m
  • Bad Reasons to Become a Pastor
    Jun 23 2025

    Pastoral ministry isn't for everyone. Indeed, it isn't for the many. 'Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers', writes James, 'for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness' (James 3:1).

    This week's readings spell out and explore some bad reasons for going into ministry, hopefully serving men considering the pastoral office, as well as those who advise and support them.

    Featured Resources

    – Rebecca Vandoodewaard, Five Bad Reasons to Go Into Ministry, Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 698 (November 2021).

    – Albert N. Martin, Wrong Reasons for Entering the Christian Ministry, Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 208 (January 1981).

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

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    23 m
  • George Whitefield
    Jun 16 2025

    'He did not get up to talk about his party, his cause, his interest or his office', wrote J. C. Ryle of George Whitefield. 'He was perpetually telling you about your sins, your heart, Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost, the absolute need of repentance, faith, and holiness, in the way that the Bible presents these mighty subjects.'

    This week we turn our attention to a man who, by God's grace, became a means in the salvation of thousands of souls in the eighteenth century.

    Featured Resources:

    – David Campbell, 'George Whitefield: The Power of the Gospel', Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 699 (December 2021).

    – Bob Thomas (collator, introduction), 'Encouragement from the Eighteenth Century: Extracts from Arnold Dallimore's Biography of George Whitefield', Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 737 (February 2025).

    Resources on Whitefield:

    Dallimore, Arnhold, George Whitefield: The Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the 18th Century Revival (2 volumes, clothbound, 1232 pages, also available as single volumes)

    Philip, Robert, The Life and Times of George Whitefield (paperback, 588 pages)

    Vandoodewaard, Rebecca, The Man Who Preached Outside (board book)

    Select Sermons of George Whitefield, With an Account of His Life by J. C. Ryle (paperback, 200 pages)

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

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

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    30 m