Letters From Alistair Begg

Dear Friend,

Pastors:

I was recently asked, “Why is the Bible difficult to understand?” In responding, I referenced the part in the Westminster Confession which explains that “not all things in Scripture are equally plain in themselves or equally clear to all,” while the things which are needed to be known, believed, and observed for salvation are clear and may be understood by all. Later on, as I thought about the question, it occurred to me that I might have answered, “So that I have a job!” It is an immense privilege to labor in preaching and teaching. On behalf of the fellow pastors, I say thank you to our congregations for their prayerful encouragement. Perhaps this should be a month of appreciation for pastors’ wives. They play a huge role in keeping us from the perils of conceit or despair.

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Dear Friend,

I recently noticed in a Scottish newspaper a letter from a Free Church minister in which he maintained that an increase in ferry breakdowns is a sign of “God’s displeasure” for sailing between the mainland and the islands on Sundays. The Free Church is calling on the ferry operators to “cease their breaking of the Lord’s Day for the sake of their business and the community as a whole” because it is the desecration of the Sabbath!

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Dear Friend,

Few if any of you will have heard of Canon Thomas Harford-Battersby. (Don’t Google, I’m going to explain!) He was once the vicar of St John’s Church in Keswick, a market town in the Lake District of England. He, along with his friend Robert Wilson, began the first Keswick Convention in 1875.

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Dear Friend,

It so happened that this past weekend I was in the UK during the celebration of the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. I was speaking at a conference in the town of Kilmarnock, which is in Ayrshire. It was there, in 1956, that I stood with my mum and waved my Union Jack as the Queen passed through town. For the past sixty-six years I have enjoyed the privilege of being one of her subjects.

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Dear Friend,

Learning how to swing a golf club successfully is not easy, but it is straightforward. One of my heroes, Byron Nelson, entitled his autobiography How I Played the Game. In 1945 he won 18 tournaments, 11 of them consecutively. The key to his success lay not in spectacular displays of individual talent but in his ability to “do the basics” well and with consistency. As in golf, so too in marriage: it is not easy, but it is straightforward, and learning to “do the basics” is vitally important.

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Dear Friend,

Today The Times of London announced, “Ilkley, West Yorkshire, named best place to live in the UK 2022.” The article declared that the town, with its top-class schools, a buzzing high street, and breathtaking views, offers everything you need.

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Dear Friend,

Have you ever wondered how you would have reacted to the discovery of the empty tomb? If you are tempted to believe that you would have assembled the scattered disciples and led them in the singing of “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today,” then you are in a class of your own! When Mary Magdalene announced to the bewildered disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” the news did not inspire faith. Instead, John tells us, “on the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews…”

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Dear Friend,

In 1976, when I was assistant to Derek Prime at Charlotte Chapel, Bruce Milne was a guest speaker for a special weekend. I can still recall his sermons and the manner in which they were delivered. As a young man, hoping to learn how to preach, I paid careful attention, as he provided a model of humility, clarity, and warm persuasiveness. In due course, he moved to Canada to lecture alongside the late J. I. Packer at Regent College. His best-known book has been a staple diet for the leadership here at Parkside. Know the Truth is of immense help in understanding basic Christian doctrine. The very fact that, half a century on, we are offering it to you this month suggests that it is already a classic.

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Dear Friend,

I have recently, for a variety of reasons, been thinking about the seventh verse of Hebrews chapter 13, which reads, “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” A couple chapters earlier, the writer gives a list of the names of “people of old” who “received their commendation” (11:2) because they lived trusting in God’s Word and promises. They serve as a “great cloud of witnesses” so as to encourage us to keep on looking to Jesus.

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Dear Friend,

Happy New Year!

It feels strange for me to greet you in this way, since I am writing in December. I must admit that I have very strong traditional views when it comes to the passage of one year into the next. It is customary here in Ohio for people to say “Happy New Year” at any point in time leading up to the first day of January. Instinctively, I refrain from returning the greeting. I should explain.

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