On Wednesday, 17 August, Brackenhurst Baptist Church will be privileged to host Dr. Joel Beeke, who will be speaking on the subject: “Living a Godly Marriage: Learning from the Puritans.”
The Puritans believed that godly marriages were foundational for the future life of families, churches, and nations. Therefore, they wrote prolifically on the subject of marriage, seeking to bring biblical reformation to this subject in a comprehensive way. Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other previous Reformers had begun this task, but the Puritans took it much further, writing a number of detailed treatises on how to live as godly spouses.
Though quaint on occasion, the Puritans are amazingly contemporary in their understanding of living a godly marriage for God’s glory. In fact, in some ways they are far beyond us. For example, in expounding Ephesians 5:21ff, they stress that the secret to a very good marriage is when both spouses are minding their own business—that is to say, when the husband does not pay attention to how his wife is treating him (because that is her business), but is wholly devoted to loving his wife the way Christ loves the church, and the wife does not pay attention to how her husband is treating her (because that is his business), but is wholly devoted to showing respect and submission to her husband the way the church does to Christ.
Out of the wealth of material available to us from the seventeenth century, Dr. Joel Beeke will present insights from the past and summarise them in a contemporary form in order to encourage modern-day couples to glorify God in marriage.
Entrance is free. All are welcome. Christian Book Discounters will have a book table available, making Dr. Beeke’s books available at greatly discounted prices.
Date: Wednesday, 17 August 2016
Time: 7:00 PM
Venue: Brackenhurst Baptist Church
Address: 76 Roy Campbell Street, Brackenhurst, Alberton, 1448
Dr. Joel R. Beeke is president and professor of systematic theology and homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, a pastor of the Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids, Michigan, editor of Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth, editorial director of Reformation Heritage Books, president of Inheritance Publishers, and vice-president of the Dutch Reformed Translation Society. He has written, co-authored, or edited seventy books (most recently, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life, Living Zealously, Friends and Lovers: Cultivating Companionship and Intimacy in Marriage, Getting Back Into the Race: The Cure for Backsliding, Parenting by God’s Promises: How to Raise Children in the Covenant of Grace, Living for the Glory of God: An Introduction to Calvinism, Meet the Puritans, Contagious Christian Living, Calvin for Today, Developing a Healthy Prayer Life, and Taking Hold of God), and contributed 2,000 articles to Reformed books, journals, periodicals, and encyclopedias. His Ph.D. is in Reformation and Post-Reformation theology from Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia). He is frequently called upon to lecture at seminaries and to speak at Reformed conferences around the world. He and his wife Mary have been blessed with three children: Calvin, Esther, and Lydia.