Update from Ian

Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary
7418 Penn Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15208

5th March 2020

Dear Brothers, Sisters, and Friends,

It has been a few months since I last wrote to you and a lot has happened in that time. Another busy quarter at seminary has come and gone and, as you may have heard, Shelby and I got engaged! We are praising God for His goodness and would appreciate your prayers as we prepare for married life. On that note, let me thank you once more for your prayers. It has been over six months since I was last on Scottish soil and I know it can be easy for those who are out of sight to fall out of mind. However, I am often told of your prayers for me, and for Sylvester in The Gambia, and I can tell you that we are both encouraged by your prayers. Although it will be a few months yet until I return home, Lord willing, please know that although you are indeed out of sight for me at present, you are by no means out of mind. As individuals, families, and a church, you are an ever-present feature in my prayers. More importantly, you are an ever-present feature in the palm of the hand of our gracious God. As Moses testified, He is the dwelling place for all the generations of His people (Ps. 90:1), in Scotland, America, and further abroad.

The winter quarter was as busy as it was enjoyable. I had a great class on the Doctrine of Salvation in which we spent five weeks on how Christ accomplished the redemption of His people and then five weeks on how His redemption is applied to us. This class helped me more than ever to see the wisdom of Robert Murray McCheyne’s counsel, “For every look at self, take ten looks at Christ.” I also particularly enjoyed a class on the History of Reformation. It was so encouraging to be reminded that the wave of reformation came to Scotland when the nation was distinctly hard and misguided, in more ways than one. As our God is able to redeem, so He is able to reform. In the upcoming spring quarter, I will be moving on to study Modern Church History, as well as the Major Prophets, the General Epistles, and Evangelism. I will also be finishing Hebrew and a discipleship practicum which I have been part of since last autumn.

The past quarter was one of great activity and fellowship amongst the seminary community. It was tinged with sadness, however, with the passing of George Scipione, a recently retired professor. Dr. Scipione was a gifted teacher and a dear friend to many, faculty and students alike. He certainly fell into the bracket of one who ‘calls a spade a spade’ and, with that, I learnt a lot from how he approached the Lord in prayer, particularly during the Tuesday lunch-time prayer meetings at the seminary. Dr. Scipione was notably direct in prayer, not to the neglect of reverence and respect before the Lord, but out of a genuine faith that the God He was praying to was indeed hearing His prayers and well able to answer them. Christ will always be our true example in the Christian life, but praise God for how He uses
our fellow believers to encourage us in the faith.

Looking forward to the upcoming quarter, it is also tinged with sadness in a different way as there will be a very large graduating class in May. While it is very exciting that the Lord is about to send out many labourers into His harvest throughout the world, these are individuals I have grown very close to over the past few years so will be sorry to see them go, especially in light of the particular challenges some of them will inevitably face. However, as the Lord equips, He protects — what comfort is found in the knowledge that He is a help and shield to His people (Ps. 33:20). I have learnt a lot from my older classmates over the past few years and I trust that will continue in this our last quarter together. May the Lord grant them strength as they seek to discern His will and live it out to His glory.

In light of what I have mentioned, I will list a few prayer points below. I know you will all have your own burdens and petitions to bring before the Lord day by day, but if you are able to take even one of these things to His throne in prayer, I will be very thankful:

• Pray for the graduating students, that the Lord would lead them to
the congregations of His choosing and use their ministries to bring
glory to His name.
• Pray that the Lord would raise up more men for the ministry, in
Scotland and throughout the world.
• Pray for Sylvester Konteh, his family, and his congregation in The
Gambia, that he would be blessed in his studies and that a wave of
reformation would come to that land, as we pray for our own land.

I should mention that after my exams last week, I was thankful to see my
brother, Hugh, as he was working over here in the States for a few days. I now look forward to seeing the rest of you before too long! In the meantime, may you know the Lord to be that great Help and Shield, in all of your ways.

In Christ,
Ian Gillies