21st September 2026

21st September 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (Romans 5:6-11 focus v6-8)


Message (Alan Burke) 


I was up north on my holidays, and while the sun shone for Scott for all of July when I got there, the weather was mainly wick and I only got to the beach for a swim a couple of times. It’s different when you have the wains with you, especially in the sea. I spent hours and hours before they came along in the water swimming, bodyboarding, attempting to surf. These days I go to the bit where the lifeguards are and try not to go deeper in the water than my midriff because the wains follow me and the water is dangerous. I was speaking to a fella in the summer, who lives on the coast of Donegal, who never learned to swim, nor anyone in his village even though it was right on a beautiful strand. I asked why and his response was simple. He said, “If you can’t swim, you’ll not be tempted to get in the water and risk drowning”. If you’ve ever been in difficulty in the sea, you’ll know just how dangerous it is. If you’re caught by the current when you’re struggling, you’re powerless. No matter how hard you swim, the current is stronger than you. 


Paul here uses the image of powerless to confront us with who we are, our natural condition. We were “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”“At just the right time.” You could say at the divinely appointed time, right on time, in due time, at God’s perfectly appointed time. Not early, not late, but in God’s ordained timing. When we were powerless. The ESV says “still weak”, the KJV "without strength”, whatever translation you use before you, it portrays our inability, our helplessness to do anything about our condition. When we were powerless, still weak, without strength. But added to how we were powerless, we are told the people Christ died for are the ungodly.


Who are the ungodly? The ungodly have no regard for the LORD. They reject his rule and reign over their lives. They live without regard for God. That is what we were. Yet Christ died for the ungodly. Paul then illustrates just how extraordinary this is. He speaks about a righteous man and a good man. Humanly speaking, we know people who act with integrity, stand for what is right, and keep the rules. Would you die for someone like that? Probably not. What about a good person? Someone generous, loving, warm, and caring? Someone who would do everything they could to help you? Well, maybe for someone like that, a person might possibly dare to die.


But God demonstrates his own love for us in this while we were still sinners; Christ died for us. While we were sinners. He died for sinners, the ungodly sinners! Who would die for such as this? Jesus did! Jesus died so that I, an ungodly sinner by nature, might know the love of God in Christ. He died so that you, an ungodly sinner by nature, might know the love of God in Christ. Christ died for you and me, ungodly sinners. So, brother and sister, when you begin looking at yourself and wondering whether you are worthy of the love of God, you’re not, so look instead to Christ. God has demonstrated his love that Christ died for us.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q71 What is required in the seventh commandment?
A. The seventh commandment requireth the preservation of our own and our neighbor’s chastity, in heart, speech, and behaviour.
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