17th February 2025


Pray (ACts)


Read (Genesis 1-2:3 and Hebrews 11:3)


Message (Alan Burke) 


As we think of creation think of building a house, hopefully you’ll see where I’m going with this soon enough. If you begin to build a house, we have to use the materials at hand, a hundred years ago houses were built with things that were immediately available to them. Some time ago I read a book called ‘Studies in Folk life’ and in it there is a chapter that details Sod and Turf houses in Ireland and there was a picture of a turf house near ballymoney taken in 1940 and a sod cabin in Toome. The were homes that were built with what was immediately available to hand, turf or sod with thatch roofs. Now a-days we head down to somewhere like MacBlair in order what we need, the bricks, cement, sand, timber, plaster, everything in a one stop shop. We may build the house but we do not create the house, for what we build is not a creation in the same sense as God creating all things out of nothing. For God spoke, ‘let there be’ and by the power of his word there was. 


Whereas when we create we use materials that are already at hand, that already exist, we may change them from one form to another, we may though heat or a chemical process cause a change in them at the molecular level but the they still existed, we do not or indeed have not ever created in the same sense as God. This is why when many of you were at school Studying English when you did an assignment it was called a ‘composition’. As people of the Word, we must be aware of the implications of the words we choose to use. The widespread use of the word “create” as a human activity is not necessarily wrong. However, God’s creative acts should be clearly differentiated from the activity of human beings.


In the work of creation we are told how God created all things in the space of six days. Here we are left with a quandary, after all science tells us that the world was created by some kind of big bang, then over billions the process evolution took place and this is how the world and universe as we see it and understand now came into existence. And as most of you are probably aware if anyone dare disagree or say ’ah, but the Lord created the world in six days by the power of his word’ is considered at the very best just an ignorant fool but more often than not seen as a dangerous threat to society and must be dealt with. 


We try to evaluate the scriptures on our own tangible experiences, and when we do this what we do is limit God. But God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable. As we though about how God is infinite we were confronted with how as human beings that we cannot acquire a full knowledge of God because God by his very nature is infinite whereas we are finite and as a result note even the greatest minds can probe very far into the depths of God or reach his limits, there is always more to learn there is always more to understand. 


To make the point we thought about how as accomplished as we think the human race is, we are also hugely limited. We have scaled Mount Everest which has the highest elevation of any mountain above sea level 29,035 feet, yet the depts of the seas are beyond our reach and understanding, the furthest any man has delved the depths of the deep unaided by machines is Ahmed Gabr who dove over 1,000 feet below the Red Sea. Yet the deepest part of the ocean called the Challenger Deep, southwest of the U.S. territorial island of Guam, it is approximately 36,200 feet deep. Beyond our reach and beyond our understanding, if we cannot reach the extremities of the natural world never how much less can we hope to attain the incomprehensibly of God, his infinite nature.


Hebrews 11:3 reminds us how; “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” By faith we understand that the universe has been created by God’s divine power though his word the Lord Jesus Christ, fashioned by Him, not like how a potter fashions a piece of pottery out of clay but fashioned by his word out of nothing. Knowing that God created us and the world around us is basic to true religion. God is to be praised as the Creator, known from the marvellous order and beauty of His works. 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q9 What is the work of creation?
The work of creation is, God’ s making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good.
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15th February 2025


Pray (ACts)


Read (Psalm 32)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


David was a man who knew the corrosive power of sin and guilt. By David’s actions and wicked plans, he had committed adultery with Bathsheba and conspired to have her husband Uriah abandoned on the field of battle. Such actions displeased the Lord (2 Samuel 11v27) and eventually the prophet Nathan stood before David and pronounced him guilty.


You and I might turn our backs on a man like David but thankfully for us all, God treats the repentant sinner with grace. David was restored and able to sing “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” (v1-2). David’s guilt had led him once again to the glorious grace of the Gospel. But what happens next in the life of a repentant sinner? Our only right response is gratitude.


As we consider this point we remind ourselves that Christ’s obedience should always be within our sight. He actively and passively obeyed and it is by His work that we are declared right with God. Therefore we do not obey the Lord out of an attempt to save ourselves, nor do we obey Him to keep us in His good books. Even on our best day we are but unprofitable servants who only do our duty. Even so, we must seek to follow the Lord in thankful gratitude for His abundant mercy.


The Christian will not be undone by a rush of great waters (v6b) and when trouble visits us, the Lord hides us, preserves us and surrounds us (v7). Furthermore, as we pilgrim through this world, the Lord instructs us by His Word and keeps His eye upon us (v8).


We are not to respond like a stubborn mule who needs a bit and bridle to be controlled (v9). Instead as we flee from our guilt to the glorious grace of God we respond willingly with obedience declaring “what does my Lord require?”


Jesus was asked a similar question during His earthly ministry when asked by a crowd “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Christ’s answer was Christ centred “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6v28-29)


What does our obedience look like? It is rooted and grounded in the person and work of Christ. It is an obedience which understands the sufficiency of Christ’s work and the abundance of His grace. Before we run to the mission team or the prayer meeting or the pulpit we should pause to marvel at the glory of our precious Saviour. No wonder David finished his Psalm with the words “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” (v11).


Brothers and sisters, may the guilt that burdens us be daily loosed by the grace of God and in response may we seek to cling to Christ and follow Him in thankful, willing obedience. Guilt, grace and gratitude, this is the path of the child of God. 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q8 How doth God execute his decrees? God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence.
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14th February 2025


Pray (ACts)


Read (Acts 2:22-24 and Acts 4:27-31)


Message (Alan Burke)


Today I’m going to start by talking about knitting.


Honestly I’m no expert, most of my personal experience of knitting is as a wain in Bready primary school, most of you have no idea where that is, but as a punishment for being me I was made to knit with the girls which you couldn’t get away with these days and they don’t even teach knitting in schools anymore. My experience now of knitting is from when I call into the knitting group in Lissara. What stuck me when I was with in our knitting group is that some of the ladies were working from a pattern but even if they weren’t they had a plan of where they were going. For it’s not a matter of simply showing up for a couple of hours every now and again and hay presto you have the final product a beautiful blanket or jumper or hat or whatever it may be, no it takes time, working from a pattern or to a plan in order to get to the finished article. 


Even when our ladies are working from a pattern or plan there was every now and again a mistake made a stitch would be dropped and some of the stitches would need to be undone and then redone before you could continue. There are lots of things that we do that we can’t just simply come to without some kind of plan, our every day lives what ever it may be we plan out our days, we plan out our weeks, our years but you know as well as I do that it doesn’t matter how well we plan or how organised we think we are that there are times that to all just goes to pot, our plans are thrown into chaos and we just have to play it by ear and get on with it. 


As we think upon what The Lord God had decreed, resolved, decided, fixed, appointed his eternal purpose, his plan, it does not change, it has not changed, the Old Testament isn’t plan A and the New Testament plan B, one plan from beginning to end where we learn more of the greatness of God. For everything that happens in this world he has preordained, he has determined what ever will come to pass. There will never be a surprise for God, the unexpected thing that comes and throws his plans into chaos and there will never be an emergency for God to have to deal with for he knows it all he has planned it all and he’s never going to be in a tight spot because of the unforeseen that leaves him unable to act.


The bible teaches us that we have free will and it also teaches us that every decision we make, for each and every one of us, whether we are believers or not has already been planned out by God from all eternity but that we are ultimately free to make those choices, we are free to choose he allows us to do things that are contrary to his commandments, yet God already knows the choices that we ultimately make. We see this clearly in the book of Acts 2:23, it speaks of the evil deeds of those who killed the Lord Jesus our saviour. As it speaks of the reality of how those who were involved in one of the most horrifying, yet God-glorifying events in all of history were accountable for their actions. Although wicked men, both Jews and Gentiles conspired to put the Lord Jesus to death their actions were within the sovereign determination of God. God ordains the means as well as the ends of human events without violating human freedom and responsibility. 


Another example comes in Acts 4:27-31. Herod, Pontius Pilate, Gentiles, the peoples of Israel were all responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus yet all of it as verse 28 makes clear was according to the plan of God, this is a clear affirmation that nothing, not even the wrongful death of God's Son, happens apart from God's sovereign will and control. What he has purposed, he will do. Our holy and wise God is fully in control of our lives, our future, our church, his kingdom, and this world, that means good and pleasant things as well as hard and painful things we experience are all according to his sovereign purposes. Yet we know he is working all things together for the good of those who love him, we can trust him to do well. His children have nothing to fear in this life or the next. For it is all taking place according to God’s plan and his purposes, and in the midst of what you face, know that the Lord care about it all, that there is not one bit that he does not know about nor one bit of it he is not infinitely concerned about.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q7 What are the decrees of God?
The decrees of God are his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass. 
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13th February 2025


Pray (ACts)


Read (Psalm 32)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


What is necessary for me to know the comfort of belonging to Jesus? The Heidelberg Catechism suggests three things - guilt, grace and gratitude. On Tuesday we discussed the guilt that all sinners must know before they come to Christ. But then what? Will the Lord accept all who put their trust in Him?


Humanly speaking we believe that the guilty should be punished. No one likes to think that crime will go unpunished and quite often I hear talk about something called karma. The courts might let people go free but karma or the universe will catch up with them. I don't believe in karma or the universe but I do believe that in Christ justice has been and will be done.


How can God pardon sinners? Because Christ has taken their punishment at the cross. Why will God punish the wicked at the last day? Because they have rejected Christ. The finished work of Christ is all sufficient and if the guilty would be saved they most throw themselves upon the grace of God. What is grace? God's unmerited favour to those who deserve His wrath.


When David confessed his sin, God graciously forgave him (v5) thus enabling David to say "Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit." (v1-2). It is only by the grace of God that our sins are forgiven and it is only by His grace that He no longer counts our sin against us.


The wicked do not know the grace of God and their sorrows are many and will only increase (v10a). Yet the one who in the midst of guilt sought the grace of God will know His unchanging, steadfast love by faith in Christ (v10b). Spirit worked guilt leads the sinner to the unspeakably glorious grace of God. What follows? Gratitude and of that we will speak on Saturday.  


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q6 How many persons are there in the Godhead? There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.
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12th February 2025


Pray (ACts)


Read (Deuteronomy 6:1-9)


Message (Alan Burke)


If you are building a house there is a method for setting out the foundations, it’s called the centre line method. What you do is stretch a piece of string between two pegs that mark out the longest outer wall of the building, then you mark the two ends of the wall, drive two more pegs in, then using a masons square from those pegs you do the same to mark the perpendicular walls repeating until all the walls are marked making sure that angles are correct as well as measurements. It might take a bit of time, it might have to be checked and re checked but it so important, because an error at this stage is will be replicated the whole way through the build process and can end up making a big impact on the final building. A small error might not be too significant by itself but it can cause real problems. 


You are probably thinking what has this got to do with the doctrine of God but if we have a defective view of God then the chances are that our all our theology is defective, what we believe about God matters, because all of our theology flows from our understanding of God, so our understanding of who we are, our understanding of sin, our understanding salvation, our understanding of every doctrine that we have every belief that we hold to is impacted by our Doctrine of God. Just as the foundations of the house matter, getting them right matters to the final construction, getting the foundations of our faith right matters to every part of our faith. Small errors can have a big impact, it has been said that in the Christian Faith all errors ultimately can be traced back to a defective view of God.


Here in Deuteronomy 6:1-9 the Lord through Moses was teaching his people how they were to live as they prepare to enter the promised Land. The Lord had given them the Ten Commandments in chapter 5, and here in this passage the Lord though Moses gives his people one of the greatest commandments, namely in verse 5 to love God will all your soul with all your strength, God is wanting his people to keep him at the centre of who they are and keep him at the centre of all that they do and their lives, he is giving them a fundamental teaching that should impact then who they are, if they live in light of this then their lives will be rightly orientated. Look to what verse 4 teaches us, that comes before this commandment, ‘The Lord our God the Lord is one’. Remember what we read in these verses is the direct revelation from God to his people, the directly revelation from God to us, we learnt that in verse one. 


So what is being said here to the Israelites and to us is truth that God has revealed from Himself, just as all of scripture is, and here it is God who is the one revealing his very nature to his people, and here he not only expresses his uniqueness but also his unity. The uniqueness of God but and the unity of God. 


As one God, he is also the unique God, when he spoke there was no other to contradict him nor are there today, there was no other gods to challenge him nor are there today, when he promised there was no other gods to revoke what he had promised, nor are there today, when we warned, there was no other gods to provide refuge from that warning nor are there today, he was not nor is he merely first among a number of gods as some would like to believe or as some teach, no he was and is the one and only God and as such he is omnipotent meaning that he is all powerful, it means that our God is the unique all powerful God. All other gods are wood and stone, the imaginations of man but not the Lord our God. 


We believe in one God, the bible teaches that there is one God, we are monotheists. Mono meaning one, and theist meaning God, we believe that the God we worship, the God of the bible, the God who has revealed himself to us, is one! There is one living and true God. No truth is more emphatically or persistently taught in scripture than this, that there is one God who really exists. The self-revealed creator who must be worshiped and loved exclusively.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q5 Are there more Gods than one?
There is but One only, the living and true God. 
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11th February 2025


Pray (ACts)


Read (Psalm 32)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


I can’t remember when I first discovered the Heidelberg Catechism but I do remember the blessing it was to my soul. I know that any sort of catechism is often viewed poorly in modern Christianity but whether you know it or not all of us have our own in-built catechism. What do I mean? Imagine coffee with your unbelieving friend who asks you the question “Why did Jesus die?”. I hope you would be able to give some sort of Biblical answer. That’s essentially a catechism in a nutshell, a question about the faith and a Biblically rooted answer.


The Heidelberg Catechism opens with the famous question “What is your only comfort in life and in death?” Which is answered by the beautiful statement “That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.”


Such an answer is worth meditating upon and committing to memory. What often gets lost in the sweeping majesty of question one is that it is followed by an incredibly practical question two which asks “What must you know to live and die in the joy of this comfort?” If you and your friend were still drinking coffee and time was running out to give a useful description of the Christian life then the answer to question two is gold, it states “Three things: first, how great my sin and misery are; second, how I am set free from all my sins and misery; third, how I am to thank God for such deliverance.”


The “three things” of question two can be usefully stated as guilt, grace and gratitude, and these categories are then used to structure the entirety of the Heidelberg Catechism. The Christian knows guilt for their sin, flees to Christ for grace and then lives in humble gratitude as our only right response.


Sin is a rotten thing and the worst of all things. It is corrosive, wretched and nasty. Everyone born by natural means is conceived and born in sin and this sin is an affront to a holy God. Paul would say “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.” (Colossians 3v5-6). Did he cover the entirety of sin? By no means but God’s wrath burns against all manner of sin and His wrath is coming and that right soon.


David knew sin’s ugly face and when he kept quiet it started to eat him from the inside out. He said “For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.” (v3-4) David knew his guilt and his misery and it left him in a wretched spiritual condition. The weight of guilt is heavy indeed and made only worse if we believe that there is nowhere to turn. 


Thankfully as he was weighed down by his guilt, David turned to the Lord saying “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” (v5). You may have heard this described as repentance and it is a wonderful word. Perhaps you find yourself reading this and bear sin’s heavy burden upon you, what is to be done? My friend call upon the Lord and seek His forgiveness. To know Christ’s comfort you must know your guilt which in turn leads you slowly but surely to Jesus Christ our Lord.


Will He forgive you? Will He forgive me? Thursday’s devotion will speak of God’s grace but allow me to give you a little spoiler. The Lord will save to the uttermost the guilty who turn to Him for grace.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q4 What is God? God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.
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10th February 2025


Pray (ACts)


Read (Psalm 19:7-11 & 3 Tim 3:16-17)


Message (Alan Burke) 


This week and next I’ll be on sabbatical so I thought I’d do the devotions on the Westminster Shorter Catechism Question and Answer that we have been using every day at the bottom of these devotions. The Catechism is a succinct summary of the Christian Faith and as I have said before Scott and I both believe that in the day and age we live in it is one of the best discipleship tools available for you to grow in your knowledge and love of the Lord. Today is Q3 What do the scriptures principally teach? I’ll try to keep this succinct otherwise you might be sitting all day reading this devotion. 


I don’t know if you have ever been to Castlerock beach, but there are warning signs displayed, warning of the undercurrents and the dangers of being swept out. Last summer when I was up I wanted to go to downhill but Castlerock was the preference of the rest of the family so it won. It was fairly calm, the surfboard wasn’t going to be much use but with the wetsuit on I went for a wee paddle, and once more was confronted with why the warning signs displayed, warning of the undercurrents and the dangers of being swept out are there. I’d say I’m confident in the water but many aren’t and every year there are so many people, who end up in trouble because of those undercurrents, they go for a swim not aware of the dangers or the importance of swimming in the area that is patrolled by the lifeguards, while there are those who for some reason think the best place to swim is the Barmouth. 


The signs are there, giving directions and warnings for a good reason, they are there for the benefit of everyone and those who ignore them or who just don’t take the time to read them are most likely going to suffer the consequence. Well God has given us his word, it’s the instruction manual of life, it’s for our best, it’s to save us pain, it’s so that we as his people live life to the full, that we get the most out of life and that we bring glory to our maker. Yet there are plenty of people who just get on with life, instead of looking to the instructions, the guide book, instead they fumble about in the darkened room and they wonder why this life is far from how they would want it or desire it to be. 


The imagery of the word of God that is used in Psalm 19 of how the law of the Lord is perfect, refreshes, trustworthy, how it makes wise, it is right, gives joy, it words are radiant, pure, firm, more precious than gold, sweeter than honey is what Paul had in mind when he wrote these words to encourage Timothy in 2 Timothy 3. What it teaches is that God’s word, all of it is profitable for, it teaches us what is true it reproves us when we do things that are wrong, it corrects us about what we should believe and practice, it trains us in how to live so that we please the God who made and saved us.


This verse links believing the right things with doing the right things. It’s not enough just to believe certain facts to be true. We need to live by them and see the duty they requires of us. God that he has given us the instruction manual for life, his word, it’s for our best, it’s to save us pain, it’s so that we as his people live life to the full, that we get the most out of life and that we bring glory to Him our maker. Let’s remember those words of Psalm 19, meditate on them as we have God’s word readily available to us on our phones, tablets, on the computer, we have many different translations, we can get it in many different languages, let it teach us about God, and about our duties here on earth, let it be our manual for living.


God’s word is not just something comforting to read when you need a lift. It’s what you need to know and understand to live as you should in God’s world. It’s how you learn about the work of the Saviour who alone makes us able to understand and to do what God says. The Bible is where you learn how to glorify God and to enjoy him both now and forever. When you get asked what the bible is about you can say what we are to believe concerning God and how we are to live in light of that.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q3 What do the scriptures principally teach?
The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.
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8th February 2025


Pray (ACts)


Read (Leviticus 16v20-22)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


Christ is the propitiation of our sins, He is the sacrifice that turns away the wrath of God. Additionally in Christ we can speak of the expiation of our sins. What do we mean by expiation? Jesus has removed our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. Does the Lord keep our a record of our sin to hold against us at a later stage? By no means! Christ’s sacrifice is the means by which full amends has been made for our sin.


Consider the second goat of Leviticus 16. Aaron would take this goat and lay his hand upon it’s head, then he would confess over it all of the sins of the people of Israel. Once this act had been completed the second goat would exit the camp and be set free in the wilderness. This symbolic act attested to the people that just as the goat could no longer be seen, God would no longer hold their sin against them. They were gone. They were no more.


This “scapegoat” was not the Saviour of God’s people but years later Christ would carry our sins outside the city and make an end to them at the cross (Hebrews 13v12-14). The expiation of our sin took place at Calvary where Christ was put forward as our propitiation. That’s a wordy sentence but full of truth. Christ’s work turns God’s wrath away from us (propitiation) and His work makes an end to our sin (expiation).


This is entirely good news! Have you ever been forgiven by someone only to have your deeds thrown back in your face years later? Forgiven but not really? The Lord does not play these foolish games. By Christ’s passive obedience you and I will not perish, we will not experience the wrath of God and we will not see hell.


Christ descended into the pains of hell so that you and I never will. Glorious propitiation. Awesome expiation. Christ has done it all. Praise God! 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q2 What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him? The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.
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7th February 2025


Pray (ACts)


Read (Ezekiel 20:45-21:32 focus v8-17 )


Message (Alan Burke)


Have you ever been told, been warned and then there is a day that we realise it is too late to do anything about it? I know many people who have had such a realisation, the day has come when they have realised that it is too late. Well as we continue through chapter 20 the people had been warned, they were told to repent but they would not listen and now the sword of judgment would strike. Ezekiel is to call his hands together as a sign of the sword that will strike, not once but twice, even three times, it would flash like lightning (13-14). Destruction was coming upon them and the Lord too would strike his hands together, portraying that he is resolute in passing the judgement, only then would his wrath subside (16-17). The judgement was coming, it would be swift and sever, it would come because his people who had rejected him as their Lord, for all who reject the Lord God, who chose their sin they will face the judgement that is coming (Jer 18:1-12; Rom 3:23; 6:23; Rev 20:11-15). 


Again (v18) the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel and he is now to give them a picture, drawing out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon. There were too choices that lay ahead as the Babylonians came one was Jerusalem, the other Rabba. Rabba was the city of the Ammonites. Which one would be attacked is the question that comes? Nebuchadnezzar would seek an omen, cast lots with arrows where the arrows fell they would interpret the pattern, he would counsel idols and he would examine the liver of an animal, in effect he is looking for something to tell him what way to go, he’s looking for a sign and it would be Jerusalem that the omens would fall on.


The Lord God would sovereignly use that which is forbidden to his people to guide the pagan king in judgement upon his people. The Lord God is working all things together by his providence (Jer 27:6). Jerusalem would be laid siege to, to them all that the prophet said would seem like false omen to them for they had made treaties with Babylon, sworn allegiance to him, they couldn’t see their guilt with God nor could they see their guilt in how they had turned from what they had sworn. But they were guilty, they had shown their guilt by their open rebellion against God, the Lord was using Babylon as his divine prosector. 


The people had turned from God, they had sought their deliverance from their idols and the nations but none of these things can save us from the outstretched arm of the Lord. The only way to be saved is to call upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Rom 10:13), enter by Jesus and you will be saved (Jn 10:9). Nothing else can save you, good words, church attendance, the sacraments, letters before or after your name, generosity, the only way to be saved is through Jesus, the Lord is Sovereign and he has made a way that we can be saved and it is through his son, he is the only way (Jn 14:6). 


For God’s people there is hope even in the midst of the judgement for while it will become a ruin, a ruin, in v27 the Lord promises that it would be restored. The one who would come whom it rightfully belongs to it would be given. This is looking to what will one day come in the rule and reign of the Lord’s Christ, Jesus has come and inaugurated the kingdom but it will be consummated when he comes in judgment and will rule over all, the heaven and the earth. This is a glorious hope and promise that is given to the people, one that one day we will see come to fruition. Even in the midst of a world where the righteous suffer because of the wicked there is hope, hope of the rule of the Lord Jesus Christ where the wicked will be no more. (Ps 2:6; Jer 23:5-6; Ezek 37:24; Zech 6:12-15).


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q1 What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.
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6th February 2025


Pray (ACts)


Read (Leviticus 16v15-19)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


There is word that appears in the Scriptures that we struggle to pronounce and understand. What is it? Propitiation. I may be wrong but I pronounce the word as pro-pish-e-ation. What does it mean? It is a sacrifice that turns away the wrath of God. God’s wrath describes His righteous, holy anger towards sin and we can be assured that the Lord will pour out His judgement upon all manner of wickedness. Even Christians? No, because Christ is our propitiation.


In Leviticus 16 there were two little goats who were brought to Aaron. The first goat was killed and it’s blood was used to atone for the sins of God’s people. The blood was sprinkled throughout the tabernacle and atonement was made. The goat’s blood wasn’t magic nor was it perfect. Indeed, the Apostle would later say “But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” (Hebrews 10v3-4)


So what was going on? Without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness (Hebrews 9v22) and as the goat’s blood was sprinkled it was a clear reminder to the people of their sin and a need for a Saviour who would atone for their transgressions once and for all. Christ was the true sacrifice who has turned God’s wrath away from us. He is our propitiation.


Paul would say “ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” (Romans 3v23-25) The blood of goats cannot save but the blood of Christ is precious and powerful in it’s work.


It is in Christ’s sacrifice and His passive obedience that we see His great love for us. John said  “God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4v8-10)


We may struggle to say propitiation but we really should seek to understand it. Because of Christ’s finished work, the wrath of God no longer abides upon men and women of faith. Without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness - thank God for the cleansing blood of the Lamb.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


Q107 What doth the conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer teach us? The conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer, which is, For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen,” teacheth us to take our encouragement in prayer from God only, and in our prayers to praise him, ascribing kingdom, power, and glory to him; and in testimony of our desire and assurance to be heard, we say, Amen.
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