Fall is upon us. As the days get shorter and the nights get colder, you have in your hands another issue of Sword and Shield, so that you can settle into your favorite chair on a cold night for a good read. Perhaps light a little fire in the hearth to add to the ambiance.

The Reformed Protestant Churches’ family conference was held this year in August at the beautiful Gull Lake in Hickory Corners, Michigan. The subject of the conference was the all-important topic of the elect sinner’s union with Jesus Christ. Our salvation consists in that union with Christ. The conference speeches explored the fact and implications of that union. These speeches are in some form represented in this issue of Sword and Shield in the editorial and in the rubrics Understanding the Times and Our Doctrine.

Reverend Pascual continues to send informative and doctrinally sound articles from the Philippines. This month he writes about the doctrine of infant baptism as found in the Reformed creeds and other confessions. The rubric Running Footmen, staffed by a dedicated team of laymen and laywomen, contains an article this month by Mr. Joel Langerak Jr. titled “A Footman’s Polemic.”

We trust that you will find all the articles both edifying for your faith and uplifting for your spirit.

Remember that we are always looking for submissions from our readers to slip into the magazine from time to time to add variety and to give the perspectives and insights of our readers. Sword and Shield is a believer’s paper!