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Preface by Rev. Kenneth E Wieske

In the first chapters of Genesis the foundations of the gospel are laid out: God teaches us about His perfect, holy creative work; He reveals to us the cause of our sin and misery (the Fall); and He sets before our eyes His merciful response of sovereign grace in Christ, the Seed of the woman.

If you've been raised in a Reformed home, you could possibly run the danger of considering these matters so basic that they no longer merit much time for reflection. Could it be sometimes that many years of handling and hearing the Scriptures produces a familiarity which threatens to dim our eyes to the glorious power of God’s revelation?

It is striking to see the impact of these simple yet profound truths in the lives of those who do not know them. In our weekly theological lectures at the Reformed Reading Room we witness this first-hand. The group (which fluctuates between 30 to 50 people per evening) is made up of all kinds of people, many who even consider themselves Christians when they first attend. After all, more than 90% of Brazilians are nominally Christians. Yet, they have only a faint notion of a God who made the universe (at least on Sunday: during the week they tend more towards Darwin’s explanation); they have a faint notion that not all is well with the creation and the human race, but they’re not quite convinced that the Fall was a total disaster; and they have a faint notion that Jesus is fairly important (especially in the area of health care and job security), but they’re fairly certain that they can go a long way towards undoing the Fall and its effects by their own efforts.

It is marvellous to see the effects when the glorious truths of the Biblical, Reformed faith come crashing into their lives, exploding the petty humanistic creeds and superficial religiosity which had been guiding their minds and hearts. Sinners learn to wonder at the sovereign majesty and glory of Almighty God who created all things and upholds them by the word of His power; they learn to tremble, detest themselves and humble themselves before God as they discover the real depths, horror and the foulness of sin; and they are compelled to seek their cleansing and salvation outside of themselves as they hear of the One who was bruised for our transgressions when He crushed the head of the Serpent.

It is no exaggeration to say that we see the Holy Spirit use these simple, powerful Gospel truths to produce a radical transformation of lives, hearts, marriages, and families. Directly or indirectly, the work of the Reformed Reading Room has contributed to over 80% of the growth of the Reformed Church in Recife over the last 10 years. It has also contributed to lesser or greater reformations of liturgy and preaching in many so-called “evangelical” churches in this city and in the state of Pernambuco.

We are thankful that Rev. Holtvlüwer has generously offered to direct any funds raised from the sale of this book to support the work of the Reformed Reading Room. We are hopeful that, if the Lord permits, enough funds might be raised to finance the translation and printing of this book in Portuguese. If these published sermons will be a great blessing for reading elders and personal and group Bible studies in Canada, how much greater the blessing will be for God’s people in Brazil, where there is a terrible dearth of solid, Reformed material on the Old Testament.

Peter H. Holtvlüwer is currently serving as minister of the Word in the Spring Creek Canadian Reformed Church in Tintern, Ontario. Previously he served the Canadian Reformed Churches in Aldergrove, BC and in Carman (East), MB. He received his training at the Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary in Hamilton, ON. He and his wife Erica together with their six children reside in the Niagara peninsula of southern Ontario.