Christian Heritage News

Rev. Williamson served almost 71 years as a minister of the gospel in Reformed churches in the U.S. and New Zealand, 47 of which were in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Written by Archibald A. Allison | Thursday, April 13, 2023 He was converted after the war while a professional saxophone player, attended Hope College, graduated from Drake University and Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary, where he was blessed by the teaching of Dr. John Gerstner, was ordained in the United Presbytery Church of North America on June 1, 1952, and served almost 71 years as a minister of the gospel in Reformed churches in the United States and New Zealand. On April 12, 2023, the Lord called his servant the Rev. G. I. Williamson into his presence, where, with all the saints who have gone before, he now beholds the face of God in light and glory and rests from his labors. He was born on May 19, 1925, in Des Moines, Iowa, grew up in the United Presbyterian Church of North America (UPCNA), and served in

By Dr. R. Scott Clark - Posted at The Heidelblog : Most adults probably know by now that the story of the first Colonial Thanksgiving was a little more complex than that learned as a child. To catch up see Robert Tracy McKenzie, The First Thanksgiving: What the Real Story Tells Us About Loving God and Learning From History (2013). There are young people, however, who have learned an equally simplistic (and even malevolent) story in which the colonists and pilgrims were genocidal maniacs. Check your child’s history books. If one of them is Howard Zinn’s, A People’s History of the United States your child is being taught one of those discredited narratives. Apart from cultural and political arguments over American colonial history, however, Christians do well to appreciate the necessity and power of being thankful. Even among Reformed people gratitude as a motive for the Christian life seems to have fallen on hard times. One need not look far to see various alternatives being s

By Pastor Sam Powell - Posted at My Only Comfort : In the past few weeks there have been two streams of stories that have dominated Christian circles. The first is the debate concerning Sola Fide and the second is the #metoo campaign in light of the fall of serial rapist, Harvey Weinstein. As women around the world told their stories of assault, we saw that sexual assault and rape are not just something happening “out there” but right in the middle of our churches. More often than not, church leadership purposefully and ignorantly looks the other way. You can read a small sampling here , remembering that these are only the tip of the iceberg. As I read these stories from Christian women, I see a connection. The connection is subtle and hard to glimpse at first, but it is there. If you are unfamiliar with the debate concerning Sola Fide, you might want to take a few minutes to get up to speed. The historic doctrine of the reformation is summarized simply and beautifully in the Heid