T&S Revisited
Moving Forward by Looking Back.
The aim of this website is to revisit past articles from Trowel and Sword magazines which were published between 1954 and 2010. For a brief introduction including reasons for starting this blog Click here .
(Click on the title to read the full article)
I Love Christmas!
Rev. J. de Jonge. Trowel & Sword. Dec. 2010 Preamble: Christmas can mean many different things for different people. In this article Rev. de Jonge takes us through his own experiences growing up and ultimately, what Christmas means for the Gospel story and the message of salvation. I Love Christmas! “For [God] chose us in…
Christianity or Churchianity?
Rev. J.W. Deenick. Trowel & Sword. Jan/Feb 1955 Preamble: This is the last of four articles John Westendorp looked at in his walk back through history. In it Rev J.W. Deenick responds to the suggestion by an unnamed but apparently well-known Christian worker that the world needs Christianity but not the plethora of denominations which…
Catechism Classes
Rev. Prof. K. Runia. Trowel & Sword. Jan/Feb. 1965 Preamble: This is the third instalment of John Westendorp’s look back through time in 1995, “This Month in Trowel And Sword History” and he found that thirty years earlier, in the Jan/Feb. 65 edition, Prof. K. Runia wrote this article about Catechism classed. In it Runia…
The Agony Of Our World and Our Lifestyle
Rev. J.J. Van Wageningen. Trowel & Sword. Jan/Feb 1975 Preamble: In Jan/Feb 1975, the second decade of John Westendorp’s walk back through history, we encounter this offering by Rev. J.J. Van Wageningen which even today gives us much to think about. Did we get caught up this weekend in the great money splurge euphemistically referred…
New Zealand Elders Conference Labour Weekend 1984
Jack E. de Graaf. Trowel & Sword. Jan/Feb 1985 Preamble: In 1995 Rev. John Westendorp looked back through old Trowel & Sword magazines to see what had been written about back then. Ten years earlier T&S reported on a New Zealand Elders conference and the wide variety of topics discussed make for interesting reading. It…
This Month In Trowel & Sword History
John Westendorp. Trowel & Sword. February 1995 Preamble: Was this the fore-runner of Trowel & Sword Revisited? Thirty years ago John Westendorp, as the editor of T&S must have thought it would be interesting to look back through past T&S’s to see what was being written about in the February of 1955, ’65, ’75 and…
Christmas – Its Origin And Its History
J.W. Deenick. Trowel & Sword. December 1963 Preamble: Once again the countdown has begun – “ONLY SIX WEEKS TO CHRISTMAS”. “Avoid the last minute rush and get your Christmas shopping done early”. Cost of living crisis? There’s no such thing when it comes to Christmas – that comes later when the credit card has to…
Reflections On Life And Faith
Harry Burggraaf. Trowel & Sword. August 2000 Preamble: What does the future hold? This question may well have been on the minds of Adam and Eve as they were “shown the gates” of Eden. It may also have been on Harry’s mind as he wrote this reflection. Does Leonard Cohen, (I’ve heard of him), have…
Sheep and Shepherds
John Westendorp. Trowel & Sword. June 1999 Preamble: While he is obviously trying to make a point, John’s opening statement that, “The Lord God isn’t paying us a compliment when He calls us ‘sheep’, would seem to be rather unfair, not only to sheep, but also to His people. Yes, in the 20th/21st centuries, sheep…
Hudson Taylor
Dr. K. Runia. Trowel & Sword, August 1959 Preamble: Books! Ecclesiastes 12 tells us that… “of the making of books there is no end”. If that was true 3000 years ago, assuming that its traditional authorship and date are correct, how much more true is it today? With so many books to choose from, how…
A Revival Of Mysticism
Rev. J.W. Deenick. Trowel & Sword. March 1964 Preamble: As the charismatic movement was expanding in the early 1960s, Rev. Deenick wrote this article to warn Reformed members of the dangers of seeking experiences outside of the light of Scripture. He warns us that we cannot live a healthy spiritual life that is not anchored…
The Two Olive Trees
Prof. G. van Groningen. Trowel & Sword. May 1964 Preamble: Question – Where in the Bible do we find the book of Zechariah? If you could without hesitation answer that it is the second last book of the Old Testament, Well done? My guess is that most of us would have to think about it,…
The Scientist And The Bishop
Prof. K. Runia. Trowel & Sword. November 1963 Preamble: The battle between science and religion has been going for a long time. In essence, it is a battle (if one can use that word) between God and Satan – the wannabe god, which started in Eden with Satan setting out to recruit his first disciples,…
Prof. J. A. Schep Professor-Emeritus The End Of An Era.
Prof. K. Runia. Trowel & Sword. K. October 1964 Preamble: It would be fair to say that the majority of articles in Trowel and Sword were written for the purpose teaching or informing readers about Reformed faith and/or doctrine. This article does neither. It is instead a nostalgic piece written in recognition of the services…
The Cadets.
The Van Groningens. Trowel & Sword, September 1965 Preamble: Four week’s ago we published “Jesus Christ Lord of Life and Cadets” by Prof. George van Groningen, which appeared in T&S in November 1967. It was a passionate defence of the Cadet movement introduced into Australia two years earlier, also by Prof V.G. This article tells…
What Does Our Youth Think Of The Ministry?
Stephen Voorwinde. Trowel & Sword, March 1977 Preamble: When speaking of “The Ministry” it has been generally understood that one is referring to a pastor/minister of a church, so it is interesting that the questionnaire mentioned below was given to both male and female participants at a state camp, particularly as fifty years ago the…
The Debate Goes On
Rev. J.W. Deenick. Trowel & Sword. December 1976 Preamble: Bill Deenick was passionate about many things and Parent Controlled Christian Education (PCCE) was high on his list of priorities. To him Christian Education was never about creating schools that ran parallel to the state system with a bit of Bible teaching thrown in as an…
Are Our Congregations Really Active?
Rev. Prof. K. Runia. Trowel & Sword, August 1959 Preamble: Take note of the date of this article – 1959! As with so many previous articles re-published in TSR, it is hard to escape the thought that Dr. Runia could just as easily have been writing also for 2025. In doing so he is not…
Jesus Christ Lord of Life and Cadets
Prof. G. van Groningen. Trowel & Sword. November 1967 Preamble: VAN GRONINGEN – remember that name; especially the younger members (under 50) who may not have heard it before and do not know the significant part that both George and Harriet played in the development and growth of the Reformed Churches in Australia and New…
Let’s Keep Our Sunday Evening Worship
Paul H. Alexander. Trowel & Sword. Sept.1999 Preamble: Following on from last week’s article – “Why Do We Need To Go To Church Twice? – we take a further look at the current trend towards one service per Sunday for most churches. Is this an adequate response in showing gratitude through worship to God for…
Why Do We Need To Go To Church Twice?
Rev. Allan Quak. Trowel & Sword. September 1999 Preamble: Our world is changing; our world has changed. The same is true of the Church – our Church. A mere 25 years ago Rev. Allan Quack wrote passionately about the need for believers to attend church twice on Sundays. Today, in most churches, this is no…
What Marriage Does Not Give
John Haartsen. Trowel & Sword, Jan/Feb 1985 Preamble: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” (Romans 7:15). This verse came to mind as I read through this article from John Haartsen on marriage breakdowns, particularly between Christian men and…
Why Do The Churches In The West Decline?
Trowel & Sword. Dr. K. Runia. April 1971 Preamble: The decline of the Christian Church in the West has been the subject of many articles in Trowel and Sword as well as other Christian magazines and books over the years, both before and after this particular article by Dr. Runia. Despite his optimism that this…
Evangelism In Reverse – Turning Men From Christ
Prof. T.L. Wilkinson. Trowel & Sword. April 1965 Preamble: How better to follow an article by Mrs. Olive Wilkinson, than with an article by her husband, Prof. Tom Wilkinson; a man of extremely dry humour and matching wit. In his inimitable way, “Prof Wilkie” tackles the issue of evangelism in a way that only he…
The Roaring Forties – Or Are They?
Mrs. Olive M. Wilkinson. Trowel & Sword. Nov. 1972 Preamble: Mrs. Olive Wilkinson, wife of Rev. Tom Wilkinson, Professor at RTC, was a Gem. She was a woman of grace, poise and intelligence who often gave lectures on counselling and marriage guidance to students at the college. I still find it hard to comprehend that…
‘Reconstruction’ Or ‘Destruction’ Of The Christian Faith
Trowel & Sword. Prof. K. Runia. April 1971 Preamble: You have most likely heard the expression: “We live in a fast changing world so we must learn to change with it.” In many areas of our lives this is undoubtedly true. But can the same be said of our beliefs; our theology? We worship an…
Sowing
John Westendorp. Trowel & Sword, June 2000 Preamble: “Make disciples….” What does this mean? What is our responsibility and how should we go about it? It sounds simple – just like the Nike add used to say: “Just do it”. But what does that really mean? In this article John sets out some of the…
What About The Pew Sitter (2)
Kieth V. Warren. Trowel & Sword. June 1981 Preamble: This is part two of last weeks article. What About The Pew Sitter (2) I read a story the other day of a theological student who had been asked to take a service somewhere. When he stepped into the pulpit a neatly lettered sign caught his…
What About The Pew-Sitter?
Kieth v. Warren. Trowel & Sword. May 1981 Preamble: Forty-four years have passed since Kieth Warren wrote this, the first of two articles on preaching. Has anything changed? We can confidently predict that there will be many sitting in the pews today who would answer “NO” to this question. Perhaps after this article was written…
‘And A Little Child Shall Lead Them’
Mrs. Jean Sietzema-Dickson. Trowel & Sword. March 1992 Preamble: How often do we stop and actually think about what we do in our worship services? Is attendance just a part of our weekly activities where we turn up, go through the same routine week after week and then go home again. Has it become a…
“Things We Couldn’t Say” – Book Review
REV. J.W. Deenick. Trowel & Sword. May 1995. Preamble: It’s bizarre that today, eighty years after the horrors of WW2, the word “Nazi” is thrown around so casually, often as an accusation against someone we may disagree with. But the holocaust was no casual affair. Despite his obvious reluctance to again bring it to the…
Of The Making Of Many Bibles Will …. ?
Prof. G. van Groningen. Trowel & Sword. September 1974 Preamble: “Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.” (Ecclesiastes 12:12). It has been said that one of the greatest inventions of the modern era is the printing press; although…
Tempting, Isn’t It?
Robert Meischke. Trowel & Sword, July 1993 Preamble: When we think, and ministers/pastors preach about the Easter story, one aspect that may be overlooked is that of the temptation of Jesus. In this article Robert brings it to the fore, reminding us that we have a saviour who knows what we experience because He too…
A Parent’s Mission Field
Margeeske Davies. Faith in Focus. May 2024 Preamble: While our stated purpose is to reprint past articles from Trowel and Sword, we have made the occasional exception, reprinting articles from other sources. Speaking of other sources, we have also stated that we are willing to publish previously unpublished articles submitted by Reformed Church members. Following…
Faith In Focus
John Haverland. Trowel & Sword, March 1993 Preamble: In 1993 John Haverland, the then editor of Faith in Focus, the magazine of the Reformed Church of New Zealand, sent the following article/advertisement to be included in Trowel and Sword. In it he refers to the history of the two magazines and various reasons CRC members…
All Of Life For Christ
Rev. Leo Douma. Trowel & Sword. December 1995 Preamble: It is a commonly held view in our society that there should be a separation of church and state. It is one of the main reasons Christian Political Parties have never succeeded in Australia. If all people claiming to be Christians voted for a Christian Party,…
Living In The Light Of Easter
Rev. John Westendorp. Trowel & Sword. April 2000 Preamble: Once again Christians are preparing to celebrate Easter. In churches around the world the Easter story will be told in detail perhaps starting with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the last supper, the betrayal, the trials of Jesus, Peter’s denial, the crucifixion, the burial, the resurrection,…
The Whole Is The Sum Of Its Parts
Rev. Dirk van Garderen. Trowel & Sword, September 1995 Preamble: What do ants have to do with the Bible; or the Amazon river; or university; or sport; or the temple; or Christian Schools; or love? In this post Rev. van Garderen takes us on a wide-ranging journey of discovery and ties it all together to…
A Non-Apology From A Student Of Theology
Rev. Peter Koster. Trowel & Sword, August 1975 An Important Message From Bert & Pieter. “For the edification and Defence of the Reformed Presbyterian Faith and Life in Australia and New Zealand.” Why Revisit Trowel & Sword? The above statement, which appeared in every issue of T&S, clearly outlined the purpose of this magazine. Through…
One Thing Very Necessary
Prof. George van Groningen. Trowel & Sword, March 1968 Preamble: Prof. van Groningen (and his wife) were passionate about christian education. In this article he backed up his convictions by citing statistics from a report on the beliefs held by young people in the UK, and by extension, also in Australia and New Zealand. Christian…
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T&S Revisited 