The Banner Podcast

The Lord has often been pleased to work through circles of men, who together have prayed, preached the word, and done exploits for the kingdom. One such circle emerged in nineteenth-century Scotland, associated particularly with people like Thomas Chalmers, Robert Murray M'Cheyne, and Alexander Moody Stuart. The Lord poured out his Spirit on these men in abundance, using them in remarkable ways. 

In A Remarkable Circle of Friends David Campbell, Banner Trustee and minister at North Preston Evangelical Church, introduces us to many of those associated with this Chalmers/M'Cheyne connexion.  

Whether you've read lots about these figures, or have not come across them before, this a book that will inform, encourage, and kindle a desire in your heart to see God pour out his blessing in similar ways, through faithful men united in Christian fellowship. 

 

The book releases next week, and you can sign up for the Waitlist below: 

https://banneroftruth.org/store/history-biography/a-remarkable-circle-of-friends/ 

 

Conversation Coverage: 

00:52 - Who is David Campbell? 

2:41 - Setting the Scene: 19th Century Scotland

6:42 - The Crucial Role of Thomas Chalmers

11:01 - Who Was in the 'Remarkable Circle'? 

14:32 - Shared Concerns: Revival

15:39 - Shared Concerns: The Conversion of the Jews

17:11 - Shared Concerns: The Lord's Day

18:10 - Shared Concerns: A Passion for Holiness

19:46 - Does David Have a Favourite? 

23:13 - David's Hopes for Readers

 

Related Resources: 

Andrew Bonar, Diary and Life

Andrew Bonar, Memoir and Remains of Robert Murray M'Cheyne

Horatius Bonar, The Life of John Milne of Perth

Thomas Chalmers, The Letters of Thomas Chalmers

 

Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org 

Leave us your feedback or a testimony: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

This week we move from the ‘what?’ of our chief end to the ‘how?’. It isn’t enough to know that we were made to glorify and enjoy God—we must also know the Lord’s will for how we are to do so.

In this week’s instalment of Westminster Wednesdays we discuss Question and Answer 2 of the Shorter Catechism:

‘Q. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?

A. The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.’

Joining us to discuss the Scriptures, and how they function as the rule of our lives in glorifying and enjoying God, is Dr. Ligon Duncan III. A long-time friend of the Banner, he is Chancellor and CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary, based in Jackson, Mississippi, and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America. Among other titles, Ligon is the author of Fear Not! (Christian Focus, 2008) and Should We Leave Our Churches? (with Mark Talbot, P&R, 2004). He is married to Anne and they have two children.

 

Recommended Resources:

A. W. Pink, Profiting from the Word

https://banneroftruth.org/store/christian-living/profiting-from-the-word/

 

Sinclair B. Ferguson, From the Mouth of God: Trusting, Reading, and Applying the Bible

https://banneroftruth.org/store/christian-living/from-mouth-god/

 

Derek Thomas, The Bible: God’s Inerrant Word (Banner Mini-Guides)

https://banneroftruth.org/store/evangelistic-resources/the-bible/

 

Noel Weeks, The Sufficiency of Scripture

https://banneroftruth.org/store/pastors-special/the-sufficiency-of-scripture/

Martin Luther, like King David before him, knew what it was to battle for faith in the context of great opposition. It should not surprise us, then, that Luther found great solace in the Psalms.

Our article for this week, from our magazine Editor Mark G. Johnston, encourages embattled believers to look to God, whose word never fails. 

 

Featured Resource: 

Mark G. Johnston, 'A Very Lutheresque Psalm' Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 749 (February 2026). 

 

 

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 Westminster Shorter Catechism? Who wrote it, and why? How can it help us?

As we begin our journey through the Shorter Catechism, with a view to using it to enrich our Christian lives and equip us to teach others, we need to know a bit about the document itself and how it was shaped. 

In this bonus Westminster Wednesday episode, Dr Chad Van Dixhoorn of Reformed Theological Seminary helps us go 'behind the scenes' at the Westminster Assembly, the historic gathering of Christian ministers who cared so much about the unity of Christ's church in the truth of Christ's word. 

Dr Chad Van Dixhoorn is Professor of Church History and Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, North Carolina. He is the editor of The Minutes and Papers of the Westminster Assembly, 1643-1652 (Oxford University Press, 2012) and author of Confessing the Faith: A Reader’s Guide to the Westminster Confession of Faith (Banner of Truth, 2014). Chad is married to Emily, and they have five children. 

 

N.B. For more on the catechist Thomas Lye and his 'Seven Rules for Catechizing,' see below: 

https://banneroftruth.org/resources/articles/2026/seven-rules-for-catechizing/

Recommended Resources: 

Chad Van Dixhoorn, Confessing the Faith: A Reader's Guide to the Westminster Confession of Faith

https://banneroftruth.org/store/theology/confessing-the-faith/ 

Emily Van Dixhoorn, Confessing the Faith Study Guide

https://banneroftruth.org/store/theology/confessing-the-faith-study-guide/

#WestminsterAssembly #WestminsterWednesdays #Catechism

The Shorter Catechism begins with an end—our end, in fact—where ‘end’ means our ultimate purpose or reason for being. 

In the first instalment of Westminster Wednesdays we discuss Question and Answer 1 of the Shorter Catechism: 

 

‘Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?

A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.’ 

 

With us to discuss this question and answer is Dr Chad Van Dixhoorn, Professor of Church History and Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, North Carolina. Chad is the editor of The Minutes and Papers of the Westminster Assembly, 1643-1652 (Oxford University Press, 2012) and author of Confessing the Faith: A Reader’s Guide to the Westminster Confession of Faith (Banner of Truth, 2014). 

 

Be sure also to watch or listen to our launch-day bonus episode with Dr Van Dixhoorn: 

https://youtu.be/oKeEJQQaPdw

Recommended Resources: 

Chad Van Dixhoorn, Confessing the Faith: A Reader's Guide to the Westminster Confession of Faith

https://banneroftruth.org/store/theology/confessing-the-faith/  

Emily Van Dixhoorn, Confessing the Faith Study Guide

https://banneroftruth.org/store/theology/confessing-the-faith-study-guide/ 

Thomas Brooks, An Ark for All God's Noahs in a Gloomy Stormy Day

https://banneroftruth.org/store/christian-living/an-ark-for-all-gods-noahs/ 

Brooks opens up, for the instruction and comfort of the true Christian, what it means to have God himself as our portion. 

 

#WestminsterWednesdays #Catechism #Purpose