Posts by William Boekestein

  1. Posts by
  2. Posts by

Posts by

Do They Know You By Your Suit?

William Boekestein
Jun 22, 2017
Speaking on the matter of Christian freedom John Calvin said, “This is a slippery place, and there is great danger of falling on either side.”1 Too true! Christians face the duel temptation of excessive rule-making and inappropriate freedom-flaunting when it comes to matters that the...

O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

William Boekestein
Apr 14, 2017
“They don’t write songs like that anymore.” It is not uncommon to hear an elderly man or woman utter these words whenever he or she thinks back on the “good ol’ days” of music. In a sense, this phrase is every bit as applicable in the church as it in the secular...

Delighting in Deacons

William Boekestein
Mar 2, 2017
How do church deacons help establish God’s kingdom? Many of us might struggle to answer that question. For a number of reasons, the diaconate is often viewed as a non-spiritual administrative committee. Because deacons oversee church money and property we might mistake them simply for...

Welcoming Your Minister

William Boekestein
Dec 22, 2016
When Jesus sent out his twelve disciples to minister the gospel he told them how they should conduct themselves as kingdom servants (Matt. 10:5–15). But he also spoke of the responsibility of the people to receive these ministers as his official representatives. Jesus insists that the way...

Resisting Traditionalism

William Boekestein
Sep 20, 2016
The woman had conspired with her husband to commit a slew of treasonous murders. Now, as she looked at her hands, she wondered if she would ever again have a clear conscience. “What, will these hands ne’er be clean?” She asked. “Here’s the smell of the blood still. All...

Little One Lost: Living with Early Infant Loss

William Boekestein
Oct 4, 2014
"Little One Lost" by Glenda Mathes (Reformed Fellowship, 2012) is greatly needed today precisely because there doesn't seem to be a great need for it. I certainly wouldn't have felt its importance if not for a personal trek through the valley of the shadow of infant death. When our son was born my...

The Doctrines of Grace

William Boekestein
Sep 3, 2014
Shane Lems, The Doctrines of Grace: Student Edition. Phillipsburg , NJ : P&R Publishing, 2014. 143 pp. $9.99/₤6.99 In recent years the so-called Five Points of Calvinism have received increased attention and adherence. The Five Points seem to have a growing number of defenders, or at least...

The Doctrines of Grace

William Boekestein
Sep 3, 2014
Shane Lems, The Doctrines of Grace: Student Edition. Phillipsburg , NJ : P&R Publishing, 2014. 143 pp. $9.99/₤6.99 In recent years the so-called Five Points of Calvinism have received increased attention and adherence. The Five Points seem to have a growing number of defenders, or at least...

Lady Jane Grey

William Boekestein
Dec 26, 2012
Simonetta Carr, Lady Jane Grey (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2012), $18.00, hardcover. One of the most encouraging trends in Christian children's literature is the publication of more stories that our kids will not like. If our children like all their books in the same way they like...

Weight of a Flame: The Passion of Olympia Morata

William Boekestein
May 21, 2012
Simonetta Carr, Weight of a Flame: The Passion of Olympia Morata (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2011). In the interest of disclosure this review was written by a thirty-something-year-old man with the help of two young ladies under age five and a six year old boy. I mention this because...

Good Friday: Christ our Great High Priest

William Boekestein
Apr 6, 2012
In 1941 Winston Churchill stood before an eager audience at an all-boys school in war-torn England and spoke these famous words, "Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in." (1) Churchill's words echo the thrust of the...

Good Friday: Christ our Great High Priest

William Boekestein
Apr 6, 2012
In 1941 Winston Churchill stood before an eager audience at an all-boys school in war-torn England and spoke these famous words, "Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in." (1) Churchill's words echo the thrust of the...

Effective Group Bible Study

William Boekestein
Jan 23, 2012
It's six o'clock Wednesday evening. Your church's mid-week Bible study starts in one hour but you don't feel like going. The trouble is, you can't think of a fresh excuse and you don't dare to say what you, (and several others) would like to say: "Is this really what a Bible Study is supposed to be...

Effective Group Bible Study

William Boekestein
Jan 23, 2012
It's six o'clock Wednesday evening. Your church's mid-week Bible study starts in one hour but you don't feel like going. The trouble is, you can't think of a fresh excuse and you don't dare to say what you, (and several others) would like to say: "Is this really what a Bible Study is supposed to be...

A Model Sermon:

William Boekestein
Mar 21, 2011
Learning from Peter's Preaching If you have young children or grandchildren in your family, perhaps you've seen the Disney-Pixar film, A Bug's Life . The movie imaginatively portrays life in an ant colony which is visited annually by a group of marauding grasshoppers who consume the food...

Avoiding Chronological Snobbery

William Boekestein
Oct 13, 2010
A Call to Add Church History to a Healthy Spiritual Diet Many of us may struggle with the feeling that the church is already too old-fashioned. If so, why should we study church history? Shouldn't we stop looking backward to the 16th century and start living in the 21st century? Contrary to our...

Avoiding Chronological Snobbery

William Boekestein
Oct 13, 2010
A Call to Add Church History to a Healthy Spiritual Diet Many of us may struggle with the feeling that the church is already too old-fashioned. If so, why should we study church history? Shouldn't we stop looking backward to the 16th century and start living in the 21st century? Contrary to our...