Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary

Did you miss the PRTS conference?

You can download the addresses here.  You will not be disappointed with these messages that focus on the beauty and glory of Christ!

HT: Maarten Kuivenhoven

My Thanks to PRTS

Not sure how many are interested in reading my short graduation speech. However, I thought I’d post it for the few of you that would like to read it. I am posting this at 5:15pm, 2 hours before I’ll actually be giving it.

PRTS Graduation Speech May 14^th, 2010

On behalf of the graduating class of 2010, I have been asked to spend the next few minutes thanking Dr. Beeke and the seminary (PRTS) for what they have done in the past two to four years in our lives. Needless to say the time is not nearly sufficient, and we owe a great debt to all of you who make up the PRTS community. We would like to say thanks to all of those who have helped us along our way at seminary.

#1 First, we would like to thank Reformation Heritage Books. We cannot even imagine what PRTS would be without having RHB right there. It’s like Luther and Melanchthon, Calvin and Beza, and Ursinus and Olevianus – they go hand and hand in ministry. We would like to thank Steve, Jay, and others that run the store on a daily basis; we thank you for your hours and ministry that you have put into RHB. We thank you for ordering our text books, we thank you for the discounts you give, and yes, Steve we thank you for the times that we can barter back and forth and get just a little more of a discount from time to time.  

#2 The PRTS Board. We know you do a lot of work behind the scenes, and we are most certainly thankful for the decisions you make in leadership, the guidance you bring and the direction, and the scholarships you help distribute among the PRTS students. Thank you.

#3 We would also like to thank all the supporters of PRTS. Many of you are here tonight. Without your prayers and your faithful generosity, PRTS would not exist, and we would not stand here tonight. It’s our prayer that God will richly bless you and your gifts, perhaps even through the ministry of some of us who have benefitted from your support. So thank you for your generous giving.

#4 The Library Staff . Where would we students have been without the library staff? We thank Fred, Laura, Kim and the others for all of the countless hours you have put into categorizing our library. For without your help, we would have been in seminary for eight, nine, maybe ten years and would still be using the JRB system. We thank you for making out studies easier.

#5 The Food pantry volunteers, what would we have done with out the food pantry, I honestly have no idea. Thank you for serving us while we were in seminary.

#6 The PRTS Staff – Chris Englesma, We thank you for your countless hours and headaches that you have put into the growth of the distance-learning program while we have been here. Chris Hanna, we thank you for all that you do in development, marketing and helping the seminary to continue to grow. Ann Dykema, we thank you for all that you do behind the scenes, working away in front of your computer. From managing time sheets, paying bills, to even giving us our bills, and reminding us that we need to have them paid in order to graduate. Henk Kleyn, Henk, if it were not for you, I honestly do not know what a good number of us would have done from time to time. You are simply the glue that holds PRTS together. From figuring out my GPA 10 times a semester, to helping new students find a place to live, to preparing that place yourself, the scheduling of classes, speakers, and adjunct professors, you simply seem to do it all for us. No matter what we may have needed as students, we knew that you were the one to go to.

#7 PRTS Adjunct Professors. We thank the adjunct faculty, including the various ministers from the Heritage Congregation and the Free Reformed denomination, for the time they make in their own schedules to come and teach us God’s Word and to prepare us for our future ministry.

#8 Dr. Murray, a number of us (Maarten, Marty, Scott, Tim and myself) of this graduating class knew what PRTS was before you came. However we would never want to remember PRTS without you. We thank you for your preaching, and no, it is not only your accent that captures our attention, but it is your words of wisdom and proclaiming the gospel that captures our hearts and we pray will forever change both our lives and future ministry. Dr. Murray, thank-you especially for teaching us the importance of preaching Christ from the Old Testament.

#9 Dr. Bilkes, right away I think of your witty 3-point sermons that you can just makeup on the spot after reading a text from the Bible. We all wish we had a mind like that. No matter what the issue – our grades, scheduling classes, praying together about a matter, or simply to talk about life, we thank you for always having an open office. Dr. Bilkes thank you for teaching us the importance of staying true to the text, and preaching what is in the text and not wondering away from the text.

#10 Dr. Beeke, thank you for your zeal in making preachers of the gospel. Your warm and gracious heart has taught many of us how to preach the Bible with application, which we have all come to know as experiential preaching. Dr. Beeke thank you for your example of workmanship for the gospel. Your work ethic as a minster and teacher, we are grateful for – was there ever a night that we as students ever had to worry about who would turn the lights at seminary? Most nights, you were always the last one out the door.

#11 Lastly we want to give thanks to our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Who has allowed sinners like us, to know him, study His Word, and forever serve Him until our blessed hope. Thanks be to God for allowing us to study at PRTS and thanks to all of you who help and make PRTS what it is today. Thank you.

On behalf of the graduating glass of 2010, I would like to present this donation to the PRTS library, so that it can continue to purchase the books that fuel much of the study at PRTS. Thank you.

The Beauty and Glory of Christ Conference

Online registration is now available here

Conference Pricing (per participant):

Early Registration (through August 14th): $65.00

Regular Registration (August 16th-24th): $90.00

Students (includes college and seminary students and their spouses): $25.00

Single Day: $25.00

Registration closed at the end of business day August 24, 2010

Conference accommodations at the Prince Center are limited to 450 attendees, so sign-up early to avoid disappointment.

Send all questions and/or comments related to the Puritan Reformed Conference to Chris Hanna or call at 616.977.0599, ex. 138. You may write the seminary at 2965 Leonard Street NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49525.

Online registration is now available for the 2nd Puritan Reformed Conference

(Posted by Joel Beeke)

Dear Friends,

I am excited to invite you to the second annual Puritan Reformed conference. We are delighted to be hosting this year’s event August 26 – 28, at the beautiful Prince Conference Center, on the campus of Calvin College and Seminary, in Grand Rapids. Last year’s turnout was tremendous, and the response to the conference was overwhelmingly positive. Many of you said you were looking forward to coming back this year.

We feel deeply about our conference theme this year: “The Beauty and Glory of Christ.” By the Spirit’s grace, we long to saturate your mind and soul for two and a half days with this glorious theme of Christ, who is the hope of our glory and the glory of our hope.

As a Reformed Christian, I am convinced that to be truly evangelical, one must embrace doctrinally and experientially the Reformation’s major tenets: sola gratia, sola fide, solus Christus, sola scriptura, and soli Deo gloria. At the heart of these stalwart truths is solus Christus (Christ alone). “Christ alone” is our life and salvation, our beauty and glory.

Please join us at the Puritan Reformed Conference, August 26-28. Hear some of the world’s finest speakers on the grandest of all subjects. Plumb the depths of God’s holy Word with us on the beautiful, glorious Savior and Lord, whose “legs are as pillars of marble” (Song of Sol. 5:15), for He is strong and steadfast and is “altogether lovely” (v. 16). As Thomas Brooks said, “Christ is lovely, Christ is very lovely, Christ is most lovely, Christ is always lovely, Christ is altogether lovely. Christ is the most sparkling diamond in the ring of glory.”

If you are new to the Reformed faith, you will find no better way to meet likeminded believers and to find encouragement in your walk with Christ than to attend this year’s Puritan Reformed Conference. Once again, we have kept your cost of the conference well below our cost, not wanting to hinder anyone from attending. Donations to help cover our shortfall are most appreciated.

Pray for Chris Hanna and our team at Puritan Reformed Seminary as we prepare for another wonderful conference. Pray that God will do far more than we can ask or think (Eph. 3:20) to revive our souls at this conference with His superlative Son.

As I write this in late January, we are going to press with a beautiful book, Calvin for the 21^st Century,containing edited versions of last year’s fifteen conference addresses. As editor of this 300-page book, I know its worth. If you sign up for this year’s conference by the early registration deadline and include $10 extra, we’ll send you this $25 book.

I hope to see you in August, Lord willing.

Upcoming Events at PRTS

(Guest Post by Chris Engelsma)

In the coming days, there will be several significant events at PRTS which you can participate in even if you can’t be present.  The most significant is the 2009 PRTS graduation ceremony.  We intend to video tape the ceremony in such a way that you can watch the event as it is happening.  If you are interested in this, you can go to this site (click students) and view this event as it happens.  Dr. Sinclair Ferguson is delivering the keynote address.  Dr. Ferguson will also be speaking Thursday night.  This event can be viewed using the same procedure as the graduation.  There is no charge for these events.

We also remind you of two classes which are being taught this week.

• Dr. Godfrey will be teaching a class on The Reformation in the Netherlands.  For many of us, our Dutch heritage remains locked in history books inaccessible to us since they are written in the Dutch language.  Here is a golden opportunity to get into this history even if you cannot read Dutch.
• Dr. Ferguson and Dr. Murray will be team teaching a course on the Westminster Assembly. 
• There is a $40 charge for viewing these courses.

If you would like to browse the other courses that PRTS offers, you can go here.  At the same site, you can see syllabi of various courses and listen to that course’s first lecture as well as see some sample videos.  Contact the director of distance learning if you would like further clarification.

PRTS Update May 2009

If you look closely enough you’ll find the shortest sentence in the whole flyer done by me. 🙂

May 09 Update

PRTS Distance Learning

(Posted by Chris Engelsma, Director of Distance Learning at PRTS)

Those of you who always wondered what goes on in a seminary classroom can now have your question answered.  Anyone can now purchase a PRTS course for $40 per course.  You will receive access to the course homepage where you can download all the materials a normal student would.  If you go to the seminary’s course website  you can browse a list of courses, read descriptions of the courses, listen to the first lecture, see the syllabus, and make a purchase.  Check it out!

Puritan Reformed Journal, Vol. 1

In this inaugural issue of the Puritan Reformed Journal, Joel R. Beeke provides the appropriate doorway of introduction by emphasizing our great need for God-centered ministry.

Contributors include: PRTS professors, Dr. David Murray on “Preaching Christ from the Old Testament” and Dr. Gerald Bilkes on “Ezra as a Model of Continuing Reformaiton; PRTS students, Antoine Theron on “The Christology of Adolphe Monod, Jonnie Serafini on “The Command against Eating Blood” and Daniel Hyde on “Preaching the Heidelberg Catechism”; there are also articles by Michael Haykin, John J. Murray and others.

We pray that this unique journal, which is aimed at both scholars and laymen will add to the body of rich literature that has been used to build the Body of Christ