The Magazine Podcast

Puritans and Covenanters alike have garnered a reputation for being austere and glum. Sometimes that reputation is deserved, but often it is a most unjust caricature.  In this week's bonus episode we meet a jovial Covenanter - a man who, although serious and earnest in ministry, was approachable and joyful. He was also not averse to casting a fly.  William Guthrie of Fenwick was cousin to James Guthrie, who is the subject of the first episode in our four-part series, The Covenanter Story, which is now available to watch.    Featured resource:  Blaikie, William G., The Preachers of Scotland: From the Sixth to the Nineteenth Century (1888, repr. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2001), pages 122–129.    Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Leave us your feedback or a testimony: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

The Lord has given fathers and mothers a solemn responsibility in relation to their children. It is their high calling and great privilege to hold out the word of life to their sons and daughters by their gospel-sharing words—crucially—and in their gospel-displaying deeds, their example and personal piety.  This week's meditations from John Flavel and Ernest Reisinger awaken us to the gravity of this call, and highlight some practical ways we can work it out in our own families.    Featured Resources:  John Flavel, The Works of John Flavel (1820, repr. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1968, 2023), Volume 4, pages 373–5.  Ernest Reisinger, 'The Family and Evangelism,' Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 298 (July 1988) and 491 (August–September 2004).     Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Leave us your feedback or a testimony: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast    

In the month of February we hope to focus on the story of the Scottish Covenanters. To help us grapple with the topic we sat down with David Whitla, Professor of Church History at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, PA. Dr. Whitla is a trustee of the Banner and did his doctoral work on the Covenanting lawyer Archibald Johnston of Wariston (1611–1663), and so he is well-placed to aid us in getting to grips with this important movement.    Find out more about Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary   Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Leave us your feedback or a testimony: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

How can we judge which books will be most profitable to us? Should a minister pursue breadth in reading or depth of reading early in his ministry?  These and other questions are addressed in this week's reading from Iain H. Murray's 1996 address, 'The Preacher and Books.'    Resource read:  Iain H. Murray, 'The Preacher and Books,' Banner of Truth Magazine Issue 389 (February 1996).    Similar resources:  The Preacher and Books (Part 1) The Pastor and His Study    Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Leave us your feedback or a testimony: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

What is the proper relationship between a preacher and his books? How can a minister prioritise the most helpful kinds of reading and study?  These and other questions were addressed by the Rev Iain H Murray in his address to the Bethlehem Pastors' Conference in early 1996. We read part of his address this week.    Resource read:  Iain H. Murray, 'The Preacher and Books,' Banner of Truth Magazine Issue 389 (February 1996).    Similar resources:  The Pastor and His Study    Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Leave us your feedback or a testimony: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

We were saddened to hear of the recent death of Paul Helm (1940–2025). Paul, who is perhaps best known for his work in philosophical theology, has had a long and fruitful association with the Banner of Truth.  Daniel J. Hill, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Liverpool, has written a tribute to Paul. We are grateful to Dr Hill for reading it for us on the podcast.    Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Leave us your feedback or a testimony: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

J. Gresham Machen (1881–1937) is noted for his earnest and powerful contending for the truth of the Bible and of the historic Christian faith in the early part of the Twentieth Century. Early on in his life, however, he almost fell prey to the liberalism that was sweeping through the seminaries and churches of the Western world. This encounter with liberalism, and the grace of God in preserving him from it, set him in good stead to warn others of its dangers.  This week, with the help of Nick Needham, we delve deeper into the story of J. Gresham Machen, a man whose courage and love of the truth we desperately need today.    Featured Resource:  – Nick Needham, 'Shapers of Christianity: J. Gresham Machen (1881–1937),' Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 713 (February 2023).    Read more like this:  Nick Needham, Shapers of Christianity (paperback, 112 pages)   Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Leave us your feedback or a testimony: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

In this standalone short episode, we provide some details of an exciting opportunity at the Banner of Truth Trust. With our General Manager nearing retirement, the trustees are prayerfully seeking a Chief Operations Officer to guide the work into the future. Could that be you, or someone you know? Will you pray for the right person to be appointed?  Read more about the role: https://banneroftruth.org/uk/resources/announcements/2025/retirement-recruitment-and-a-unique-opportunity-to-serve/    To apply:  Please email your CV and a covering letter describing your suitability for the post and your interest in the ministry of the Banner of Truth Trust to: jobs@banneroftruth.co.uk. The closing date for applications is Friday 16 January 2026. It is expected that interviews will be held in Edinburgh in the week of 26 January 2026. Please note: only those with the right to live and work in the UK should apply for this role. 

A hundred years ago, the great New Testament scholar J. Gresham Machen sounded the alarm about educational freedom in America. He believed that the state had begun to encroach in a most grievous way upon the sphere of the family, assuming duties it had no warrant to perform.  Machen's words of caution are most timely for us. We live in an epoch in which, informed by UN policy goals, western governments are showing fresh determination to become arbiters and guarantors of the education of each and every child. This week we look in detail at what is happening in the UK, and consider what a faithful Christian response to these pressures might look like.    Featured resources:  – Excerpt from J. Gresham Machen, 'Shall We Have a Federal Department of Education?' – Excerpt from Ned B. Stonehouse, J. Gresham Machen: A Biographical Memoir (1954, repr. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1987, 2020), p. 468.  – Joshua Kellard, 'When the State Presumes to Educate', Banner of Truth Magazine, Issues 743–4 (August–September 2025).    Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Leave us your feedback or a testimony: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast  

In this short bonus episode, we read an apt New Year meditation from the pen of Professor John Murray: 'Memory and Prospect.'    Featured Resource:  – John Murray, 'Memory and Prospect', Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 172 (January 1978).    Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Leave us your feedback or a testimony: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

This week we review some of the ground we have covered on the podcast in 2025, and read an article from our editor, Mark G. Johnston, 'When Preachers Sing the Blues'.  The article reminds us that the charge to preach God's word is often, perhaps always, accompanied by a heavy spiritual burden. While the Lord's grace is sufficient for every preacher, that sufficiency is proved in and through very trying times. May this editorial be a spur to all to pray for ministers and elders, and an encouragement to them to keep going, even in the darkness.    Featured resource:  – Mark G. Johnston, 'When Preachers Sing the Blues,' Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 748 (January 2026).    Most-downloaded episodes of 2025:  5. The Life of John Newton 4. A Holy Minister: Robert Murray M'Cheyne 3. The Seafarer's Friend: John Flavel 2. The Prince of Puritans: John Owen 1. Let's Study Romans, with Sinclair B. Ferguson   Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Leave us your feedback or a testimony: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast  

Maurice Roberts, who edited the Banner of Truth Magazine for many years, is noted for his poignant editorials. This one, from the December 1994 issue of the magazine, is typically probing and helpful. Are we battle-weary? Are we disappointed? Are we, dare we admit it, spiritually sleepy?  If so, Rev. Roberts' article can help us see our need and seek the Lord for the grace of repentance and the gift of renewal.    Featured Resource:  – Maurice Roberts, 'Are You Battle-Weary?', Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 375 (December 1994).    Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Leave us your feedback or a testimony: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

The gospel of God is to be offered freely to all. Accordingly, all who hear the gospel have a warrant to believe it. As Samuel Rutherford wrote, 'reprobates have as fair a warrant to believe as the elect have.' This week we consider the offer of the gospel made freely by God, addressed to every sinner—indeed, addressed to you and to me.    Featured resources: – Iain H. Murray, 'The Free Offer of the Gospel,' Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 11 (June 1958).  – Robert Murray M'Cheyne, excerpt from his sermon 'The Acceptable Year of the Lord' on Isaiah 61:1–3, found in Andrew Bonar, Memoir and Remains of Robert Murray M'Cheyne (1844, repr. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1966, 2024), pages 583–4.    Banner Resources on the Free Offer of the Gospel:  Andrew Fuller, 'The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation' in The Works of Andrew Fuller (clothbound, 1012 pages) Iain H. Murray, Spurgeon vs. Hyper-Calvinism: The Battle for Gospel Preaching (paperback, 168 pages) John Bunyan, The Jerusalem Sinner Saved (paperback, 144 pages) John Murray, The Free Offer of the Gospel (booklet, 32 pages)     Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Leave us your feedback or a testimony: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

This summer the Trust brought out a new, retypeset edition of William Cunningham's Historical Theology (1863). This week we read its new introduction by Banner Trustee Donald John MacLean, to find out why this work is of unique value to the 21st Century reader.   Read Material: – 'William Cunningham's Historical Theology – An Introduction', Donald John MacLean, in William Cunningham, Historical Theology (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1960 and 2024). First edition 1863.   Buy the work (2 volumes): https://banneroftruth.org/store/theology/historical-theology-3/   Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Leave us a voice message: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

The poor are a priority to God, and must be a priority for us, too. This week we focus on this aspect of the biblical witness with the help of Peter Barnes (Revesby Presbyterian Church, NSW, Australia) and Thomas E. Peck, the nineteenth-century Southern Presbyterian minister and teacher.    Featured resources: – Peter Barnes, 'Looking After the Poor: Biblical Principles', Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 502 (July 2005).  – Thomas E. Peck, 'The Gospel Preached to the Poor' in The Writings of Thomas E. Peck (repr. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1999), Vol. 1, pp. 25, 27–8.      Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Leave us your feedback or a testimony: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

There are many pitfalls in preaching. One area which many preachers struggle with is application. And yet, in a sense, application is the whole of preaching. David Vaughn's letter to a fellow Christian leader in the December 2025 issue of the magazine addresses this very subject.    Featured resources: – David Vaughn, 'What can we learn from John Knox?', Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 514 (March 2006). Excerpted from A Scottish Christian Heritage.      Resources Mentioned by David Vaughn:  D. A. Carson and J. D. Woodbridge, Letters Along the Way (Wheaton: Crossway, 1993), p. 99-100. Available free as a pdf.  A. T. Pierson, The Divine Art of Preaching, (New York: The Baker and Taylor Company, 1892), pp. 24-27.  Jay Adams, Review of John Stott's Between Two Worlds in The Journal of Pastoral Practice, Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (Vol. VIII, No. 2, 1986), p. 62.  The Works of Jonathan Edwards, (repr. Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1987), vol. 1, p. cxc.  Ron Taylor anecdote from an article in The Journal of Pastoral Practice, Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (Vol. 4, No. 4, 1980), p. 109.  John Broadus, A Treatise on the Preparation and Delivery of Sermons (New York: A. C. Armstrong and Son, 1896), p. 230.      Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Leave us your feedback or a testimony: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

This week's normal Magazine Podcast episode will be delayed. In the meantime, we are publishing Iain H. Murray's address, The Benefits and Dangers of Controversy from the Ministers' Conference in Leicester in 2012.     

This week, by kind permission of Dr Robert Tracy McKenzie, we read his insightful piece on the motivations of the Mayflower Pilgrims. As we mark 405 years since they made landfall in Provincetown, Massachussetts, what can we learn of spiritual benefit from their reasons for going to the 'New World'?    Original article:  https://faithandamericanhistory.wordpress.com/2017/11/12/why-the-pilgrims-really-came-to-america-2/    Books by Robert Tracy McKenzie: The First Thanksgiving: What the Real Story Tells Us About Loving God and Learning from History We the Fallen People: The Founders and the Future of Democracy   More on the podcast about the Pilgrims:  Episode II: The Congregation on Two Continents   Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Leave us your feedback or a testimony: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast  

Part II of Warren Peel's preaching on Proverbs 4:23 from the 2025 Australia Conference.   Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Leave us your feedback or a testimony: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

Of all of the great imperatives found in Scripture, few are more crucial than that found in Proverbs 4:23:    'Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.'   If we fail to do this, all else will be in vain. This text was taken by Warren Peel, pastor at Covenant Christian Fellowship in Galway at the recent Banner Conference in Australia (February 2025). The conference theme was 'A Lifetime in Ministry.' We will post both instalments of this message on the podcast in the next week.    Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Leave us your feedback or a testimony: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast