Last night was PRTS’ graduation. We had 17 graduates from 13 denominations, 7 countries, and 4 continents. It was a good class. Dr. David McWilliams gave a powerful commencement address from Romans 10, exalting the ministry and its centrality in the coming of Christ’s kingdom. I gave a personal charge on faith, hope, and love (1 Cor. 13), and spoke personal words to each graduate—the 8 present for the occasion and 9 listening in who could not attend. It felt odd having only 8 students and 3 faculty present, with hundreds listening via live-streaming, but these are the days in which we live. Pray for these graduates that everyone of them may live godly and fruitful lives, and preach/teach as dying men to dying people of the living Lord of glory.

Many Christians—true followers of Jesus—are missing out on the robust fullness of their faith. This fullness, and all its accompanying fruit, comes from having full assurance of faith. In this lesson, Dr. Beeke defines assurance and explains why it is a crucial part of the Christian life.

https://www.ligonier.org/learn/daily-video/2020/04/23/assurance-defined/#

An invitation to join an international online Doctrine Study Day:

‘Preaching the God-Man: Defending and Delighting in the Incarnation’

From the Pastors’ Academy at London Seminary in the United Kingdom

The Pastors’ Academy aims to provide ongoing theological teaching and pastoral support to ministers of the gospel after their initial seminary training. We are part of London Seminary, which was started in 1977 by Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones to train pastors and preachers. You can read more about our work here.

Our Doctrine Study Days have been running for ten years now and each one visits small groups of pastors gathered in around 18 different locations in the UK. The last day was taught to around 250 pastors. Feedback included these comments from one pastor: ‘It was genuinely useful, because we explored themes that affect and regulate so much week-by-week word ministry; and it was faith-building, because we took a step back and could see once again the magnificence of Christ in the depths of his word.’

The current day is titled Preaching the God-Man: Defending and Delighting in the Incarnation. It is taught by our Director, Revd Dr Garry Williams, and by our Tutor in Biblical Studies, Dr Neil Martin. The day will be taught from within a Chalcedonian Christological perspective and both lecturers hold classical Reformed convictions. Neil brings some of the best of recent biblical scholarship that demonstrates an incarnational Christology, and Garry draws insights from the high points of patristic reflection and analytic theology to help us understand more of the coherence and implications of the biblical doctrine. We are very excited to make some of the wonderful insights in this rich literature accessible for pastors. Our desire is that we would honour the Son by speaking, teaching, and preaching rightly of him. What could be more important in our theology?

God willing, we will run the day live for three areas of the world as follows:

Europe and Africa, Monday, 11^th May: We will be teaching from 9:00 – 15:00 on British Summer Time (= GMT+1). This would be the same time in Lagos, 10:00 – 16:00 in Johannesburg, 11:00 – 17:00 in Addis Ababa and Nairobi. Book here.

Asia and Australasia, Wednesday, 27^th May: We will be teaching from 7:00 – 13:00 on British Summer Time (= GMT+1). This would be 11:30 am – 5:30 pm in Mumbai, 15:00 – 21:00 in Tokyo, 14:00 – 20:00 in Hong Kong, and 4:00 pm – 10:00 pm in Sydney. Book here.

The Americas, Tuesday, 2^nd June: We will be teaching from 15:00 – 21:00 on British Summer Time (= GMT+1). This would be 7:00 am – 1:00 pm in San Francisco, 9:00am – 3:00pm in Kansas City, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm in New York, and 11:00 – 18:00 in Buenos Aries. Book here.

The charge for the day is £40, but we are aware that this figure is pegged for a Western context, so if you are in a different context and it is too much for you to afford please do tell us and we will be pleased to offer support from our bursary fund.

We say that the days are ‘designed for pastors but open to everyone’. We do presume a seminary education but we are happy to have anyone with us who is prepared to think hard. We often have other church workers and thoughtful, reading lay elders attend the days.

You are invited to join us in watching online the 2020 PRTS graduation service, Friday, May 1, at 7:30 pm (Eastern Standard Time). The link to join us is http://sermonaudio.com/hnrc. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, this year’s graduation service has been restricted to graduates only. Please join us for this very special and unique service as we—together with the graduates—give thanks to God for His providential care in bringing each graduate to this end. Although a number of our seventeen graduates will not be in attendance, they will be acknowledged for their accomplishments. Your prayers and support for these graduates, the PRTS faculty, staff, and student body are greatly appreciated.

PURITAN REFORMED THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Graduation Ceremony

May 1, 2020 • 7:30 p.m.

Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dr. Michael Barrett

Singing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Psalter 134

Scripture Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Romans 10:14–17

Prayer

Commencement Address

Introduction of the Speaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Joel Beeke

THE URGENT CALL TO PREACH GOD’S WORD

Romans 10:14–17 | Dr. David McWilliams

Presenting the Graduates

Frank L. Bartoe IV – Master of Theology

Andrew Steven Bekkering – Master of Divinity

Brian Steven Borgman – Master of Theology

Theonikko San Agustin Del Mundo – Master of Arts

Benjamin Gordon Hicks – Master of Divinity

Hyeon Seob Kim – Master of Divinity

Soo Bin Lee – Master of Divinity

Tianpeng Lyu – Master of Theology

Philippus Jacob Matze – Master of Theology

Keya Davis Shikanga – Master of Theology

Marinus Slingerland – Master of Divinity

Brian L. Spivey – Master of Theology

Nicholas Jon Thompson – Master of Divinity

Eric Daniel Van Der Molen – Master of Divinity

Wenlu Wu – Master of Theology

Xiongzhi Yin – Master of Theology

Anqing Zhou – Master of Arts

Awarding Degrees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Jonathan Engelsma – PRTS Board of Trustees Chairman

Personal Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Joel Beeke

Closing Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dr. Gerald Bilkes

This Bible reading plan for children ages 6–12 guides them through the life of Christ over the course of a year, teaching kids what Scripture says about Jesus. In less than five minutes a day, children will get to know the life and teachings of Jesus and his offer of abundant life to all who believe in him.

We are excited to announce this exciting new resource for children is on sale at https://bit.ly/MeetingJesusMurray.

In this short, 3-minute answer about how the Puritans lived, Dr. Joel Beeke aims to show that they got it right when they focused on God, scriptural meditation, and eternity. This is the way to live and die in our coronavirus age:

https://ncfic.org/resources/10207

Dear PRTS Faculty, Staff, and Students,

I hope this update finds you all well!

The way we work, live, and learn keeps changing day-by-day as we continue to learn more about the spread of COVID-19 in our communities in Michigan, the USA, and around the world. Our desire is to join together and with others in seeking to make us as safe as possible as PRTS operates with a new Michigan order. We know that this is another adjustment that we need to make as a community even as we seek to stay connected.

As you may have heard or read by now, the Governor of the State of Michigan has issued a “Stay Home, Stay Safe” executive order (see excerpt below):

Executive Order 2020-21 prohibits all businesses and operations from requiring workers to leave their homes, unless those workers are necessary to sustain or protect life or to conduct minimum basic operations. See this link for the full communication.

Consistent with this Executive Order, the PRTS Executive Committee is requiring staff and faculty to stay and work at home, with the exception of those conducting “minimum basic operations,” who can come in as needed. Faculty will continue to teach their courses via Zoom from home (and only if necessary, teach from the empty Zoom Room), and staff are to work from home as much as possible. If staff have a question concerning their status related to “minimum basic operations,” please contact Henk Kleyn (address at bottom). Students are not able under any circumstance to study on campus or to use the library for study purposes; while the library has many electronic resources which still can be used, the physical library will not be open. However, students can contact the librarian at [email protected], for online research and reference service. Students are encouraged to collect any necessary items from their study carrels before the library closes tonight at 8:00pm.

We ask that you continue to adhere to the directives/guidelines in your context as you and your loved ones strive to stay safe. Please feel free to share prayer requests and needs with us as well. We will see how God is at work during this time through our stories and our being connected.

Send your prayer requests to: [email protected]

If you have questions, please send them to Henk Kleyn at [email protected]

Sincerely,

Dr. Barrett, Dr. Beeke, and Henk Kleyn

Executive Committee

Dear Friends of PRTS,

As we closely monitor the coronavirus (COVID-19) and seek to comply with the latest Executive Order (2020-21) issued by Governor Whitmer, the seminary will be closed Monday, March 23, through Monday, April 13, 2020.

For any questions, please contact Seth Huckstead between 8:00 am – 4:00 pm, at 616-432-3411.

May the Lord bless you and keep you in His care!

Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary
Executive Committee