A publication of the Renewal Fellowship

A publication of the Renewal Fellowship

Channels

Introducing Channels Magazine

The Renewal Fellowship within The Presbyterian Church in Canada was founded in May 1982, and during the next year, plans were made to begin a magazine to reassure isolated and sometimes discouraged Presbyterians in Canada who wanted renewal that they were not alone. Word associations with media, communication, and television channels resonated with the old hymn, “Channels only, blessed Master”, and suggested the name Channels. And so, Channels – intended to be an instrument of blessing for The Presbyterian Church in Canada – debuted in the fall of 1983.

Over the next 23 years, some 66 issues were published. Channels succeeded in placing the Renewal Fellowship within a broader national and international context. Publishing articles written by internationally known authors such as Eugene Peterson, James I. Packer, Michael Green, Darrell Johnson, and John G. Stackhouse Jr. helped members of the Renewal Fellowship to realize that they were a part of a much wider movement.

Recognizing the high quality of this magazine prompted a desire to make a digital archive of all 66 issues. Each article is presented in text format, and at the bottom, a searchable, downloadable PDF copy of the issue opens at the page where the article originally appeared. Enjoy!

Reviews Worship

A Consumer’s Guide to Preaching, by Jay Adams

Reviewed by Blaine W. Dunnet. Here is a book for your church library. No! It is a book for every worshipper in your church. Put it in their hands, librarians. It is subtitled “How to Get the Most Out of a Sermon.” Preachers expend energy in the preparation of sermons, but did you know that as a listener you must expend energy too? The author, Jay Adams, claims that his book is the only one devoted to genuine concern for preaching from the listener’s point of view. During Sunday lunch have you ever found yourself saying: “I couldn’t get the drift of the sermon” … Read more

Daily Faith

Conquering Fear

By Edward P. Mason — FEAR! That is a word which conjures up events or incidents in life which are gladly and hopefully forgotten during one’s life-time. Of course, some fearful long-past event is remembered, still causing feelings of fear and anxiety. The word “fear” itself denotes “sudden calamity” or “danger.” It involves the emotions of pain or … Read more

Worship

Open to God

Calvin Brown explains that in all varieties of religious expression that he has experienced where he has been open to receiving God, His Spirit has ministered to him. The congregations that are alive and hopeful all have a desire to be open to God. … Read more

Daily Faith

Rescue Us!

By Darrell Johnson. In the sixth petition of the Lord's Prayer, the Greek word translated "temptation" can mean "test" or "enticement to sin". While God never entices us to sin, the evil one can turn a test, designed to prove and improve a person's character, into a temptation. … Read more