2007 Issue 1
Go ye therefore and teach all nations... That is the command that William Farr heard as a young man in 1972; a command that he answered "Here am I, Lord, send me". He has never left Ecuador for any great length of time, except when he returned to the States in 1993-94 to study under Joe Morecraft, III and immerse himself in the Reformed faith. Since that time, William has gone about his work, bringing in a circuit of pastors whose primary backgrounds are Pentecostal in nature, even though they would be considered Evangelical preachers in Ecuador. As far as is known, William's ministry is the only Reformed work in all of Ecuador.
The hustle and bustle of the city of Quevedo, a city of about 50,000 people, is not unlike that of the United States. People go about tending to the everyday affairs of life. The foreign traveler would occasionally,however, come across some unusual sights - the display of dead chickens hanging out in the, open air market; the cuts of meat exposed to the elements, exhibited for the shopper at the sidewalk butchery; the fish markets with their game proudly displayed; the grains, coffees, and rice lying out to dry - exposed to all types of strange matter. Street vendors peddle their wares from one day to the next, the children go off to school, and the business people rush to and fro. So would be the life of the majority of the people ...
The Westminster Larger Catechism is seldom mentioned or studied. In fact only one commentary has ever been written on it and that was in 1731 by Thomas Ridgeley. It was reprinted in 1993 under the title COMMENTARY ON THE LARGER CATECHISM, (Edmonton, Canada, Still Waters Revival Books). This catechism was completed in 1647 and was designed to be "a directory for ministers in their teaching of the Reformed Faith Sunday by Sunday." - Thomas F. Torrance, THE SCHOOL OF FAITH, (New York: Harper, 1959), pg. 183.
Commissioned by Parliament to produce a catechism for the instruction of the church in Biblical doctrine, the Westminster Assembly realized that it would have to write two catechisms instead of one. The Shorter Catechism was written for the instruction of the young and the new converts in Biblical Christianity. The Larger Catechism, written with equal clarity and precision, but with more exactness, detail and comprehensiveness, was for those with a more mature understanding of the Word of God.
HAVE you ever tried making a moving picture for yourself? It is good fun. No! You do not need a special camera. All you need is to make a little book. Suppose you want to draw a boy kicking a football. Well, you first draw a picture of him standing. Then you draw another picture with his foot going backwards, then another straight down, then another with the foot forwards, then another touching the ball, and last of all one with the ball in the air and the boy's leg right forward. If you look at the pictures above you will see what I mean.
I have drawn them side by side, but you must draw them on separate "pages," cut them out, put them together, as if they, were a little book. The next thing to do is to press your thumb against the edge of these pages and flip them quickly - brrr -- while you watch the pictures. You will then see the boy lift his foot and kick the ball. I think I can hear you asking, "Whatever has this to do with the Bible?" Just this. The Bible is the world's greatest moving-picture book. Of course these are real pictures, things that actually happened.
Molly and Courtney Anderson, members of the RPCUS, are second and third place winners of the 2006 Henty Essay Contest sponsored by Vision Forum (visionforum.com). The topic of this year's essay was: "How G.A. Henty's works remind us of God's providence throughout history."
First Place was won by Rylan McQuade. Rylan, age 14, is the oldest of four brothers. His family will soon have a new baby sister from China. He lives with his family near Frankfurt, Germany.
Molly and Courtney are twin daughters of Oliver "Sonny" Anderson and his wife, Melanie. They are members of the Providence Reformed Presbyterian Church (RPCUS) in the Conyers-Covington, Ga. area (www.providencepeople.org). Molly and Courtney sing "The Leech's Daughters" on Judy Rogers' recording, Guard Your Heart (judyrogers.com). They also play violin on the documentary video production, Warriors of Honor, of which Mrs. Rogers was the music producer, celebrating the Christian character and faith of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.
