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    Why Should I Be Interested in Church History?
    Why Should I Be Interested in Church History?
    Why Should I Be Interested in Church History?
    Ebook38 pages34 minutes

    Why Should I Be Interested in Church History?

    By Joel R. Beeke and Michael A. G. Haykin

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    About this ebook

    The Word of God exalts history and calls us to study it, yet the prevailing attitude among many Christians today is that the study of the past is good for only collecting bits of entertaining trivia. Asserting that "meditating upon God's works and servants in history is not optional for the Christian but an important part of covenant faithfulness to the Lord", church historians Joel R. Beeke and Michael A.G. Haykin present seven benefits for the Christian who studies church history, and they provide practical suggestions for how they get started.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherReformation Heritage Books
    Release dateMar 24, 2017
    ISBN9781601785084
    Why Should I Be Interested in Church History?
    Author

    Joel R. Beeke

    Dr. Joel R. Beeke is president and professor of systematic theology and homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, a pastor of Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids, Mich., and editorial director of Reformation Heritage Books. He is author of numerous books, including Parenting by God’s Promises, Knowing and Growing in Assurance of Faith, and Reformed Preaching.

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      Book preview

      Why Should I Be Interested in Church History? - Joel R. Beeke

      WHY SHOULD I BE INTERESTED IN

      CHURCH HISTORY?

      JOEL R. BEEKE

      AND

      MICHAEL A. G. HAYKIN

      REFORMATION HERITAGE BOOKS

      GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

      Why Should I Be Interested in Church History?

      © 2017 by Joel R. Beeke and Michael A. G. Haykin

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Direct your requests to the publisher at the following address:

      Reformation Heritage Books

      2965 Leonard St. NE

      Grand Rapids, MI 49525

      616-977-0889 / Fax 616-285-3246

      orders@heritagebooks.org

      www.heritagebooks.org

      Printed in the United States of America

      17 18 19 20 21 22/10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

      ISBN 978-1-60178-507-7

      ISBN 978-1-60178-508-4 (e-pub)

      For additional Reformed literature, request a free book list from Reformation Heritage Books at the above regular or e-mail address.

      CULTIVATING BIBLICAL GODLINESS

      Series Editors

      Joel R. Beeke and Ryan M. McGraw

      Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said that what the church needs to do most of all is to begin herself to live the Christian life. If she did that, men and women would be crowding into our buildings. They would say, ‘What is the secret of this?’ As Christians, one of our greatest needs is for the Spirit of God to cultivate biblical godliness in us in order to put the beauty of Christ on display through us, all to the glory of the triune God. With this goal in mind, this series of booklets treats matters vital to Christian experience at a basic level. Each booklet addresses a specific question in order to inform the mind, warm the affections, and transform the whole person by the Spirit’s grace, so that the church may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.

      WHY SHOULD I BE INTERESTED IN

      CHURCH HISTORY?

      In Jane Austen’s novel Northanger Abbey, the character Catherine Morland says history tells me nothing that does not either vex or weary me.1 In many respects that statement is a reflection of the contemporary Western attitude toward history. Generally speaking, men and women in the West today rarely think of consulting history for wisdom, direction, or encouragement. History, at best, contains interesting and entertaining bits of trivia. But wisdom? No, that is found by looking to the present and the future. We should also keep in mind that people living in North

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