30th March 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (Ecclesiastes 9v11-12)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


Imagine the peace of mind we would have if we could honestly and accurately predict the future? We would be able to plan for the certain events of 15th March 2047 just as we would be able to prepare for the difficulties of 3rd October 2030. Nevertheless, it is not within our remit to predict anything with certainty.


Solomon looked and saw life’s unpredictability. The race was not won by the swift (v11a), the battle wasn’t won by the strong (v11b), the wise person didn’t always have bread (v11c), the intelligent didn’t always enjoy riches (v11d) and the one with knowledge wasn’t always blessed with favour (v11e).


None of this seems to make sense and we would much prefer it if life worked simply. In what way? A good person does good things and gets good rewards while a bad person does bad things and gets bad consequences. But we know all too well that this is not how things work. Indeed, life is full of events which come come by “time and chance” (v11f) or in other words, the moments that trouble us come unexpectedly and out of the blue.


Both death and trouble come at a time we do not expect (v12). We are like a fish happily swimming along before being caught in a net (v12b) or a bird hunting for worms before having our leg caught in a snare (v12c). The human experience is as Frank Sinatra once sang “riding high in April, shot down in May”.


In response we should flee from all arrogance. James would once say “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” (James 4v13-14). It is good for us to consider our frailty. Our lives aren’t forever and soon we like vanish like a morning mist.


Years before Solomon took his throne, Moses pondered some of the same issues and came to the conclusion that the Lord should teach us to number our days so that we might be wise (Psalm 90v12). That remains an important prayer. What have you been putting off until tomorrow? From whom have you withheld forgiveness? Have you settled accounts with the Lord? Take time right now to consider those questions and to remind yourself that you may not have the next fifty years or even the next fifty days. The reality of life has been accurately summarised by a billboard in Portrush “Life is short, death is sure, sin the cause, Christ the cure.”


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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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29th March 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (John 20:1-18 focus v12)


Message (Alan Burke)


The emotion of all that is playing out here is intense, the pain of loss mixed with the body of Jesus haven for all that Mary knows been taken by grave robbers. There she stood, weeping, looking into the tomb. Anyone near would have heard the sound of Mary with the pain of grief. Looking into the tomb she saw two angels where the body of Jesus had bene laid. In our haste to get to the resurrection of Jesus we often miss the wonder of what is being shown to us in the empty tomb with the angels where Jesus’ body had laid. We are told that one at the head and the other at the foot (12), only in John’s gospel are we told this detail of the angels sitting where Jesus’ body was laid with one at the head and the other at the foot. John wants us to see something, he wants something to register with us, of who Jesus was and is, of what he had done for us, otherwise there is no need to tell us so clearly the position of the angels in the tomb. 


What we have here is a profound truth that is being conveyed to us that we can just passover without giving much thought to. After the fall God placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. (Gen 3:22–24). The Cherubim there were set to guard the way to the tree of life, they were placed there to protect God’s holiness, to prohibit sinners to access the Lord. Later God when giving the instructions of how to approach Him in worship in the book of Exodus make it clear that he is to be worshiped not by the imaginations of man but as he reveals in his word. In chapter 25 the Lord gives details for how the tabernacle is to be constructed and how his people are to approach him. In the most holy place was to be placed the ark of the covenant, it was a box that that was overlaid with gold, atop of the ark was a gold slab which was known on the mercy seat, on that mercy seat there were two cherubim of hammered gold, one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other (Ex 25:19). It was here between the cherubim that the Lord met his people, he declared to them, There I will meet you (Ex 25:22)


Surrounding the most holy place was a curtain that separated the presence of God from the people of God. Once a year on Yom Kippur, known as the day of atonement, the high priest entered the Most Holy place. Blood was spilt to make an atonement for the sin of the people and blood would be sprinkled on the ark of the covenant on the mercy seat between the cherubim to atone for the sins of the people. What John wants us to see that we often miss in our haste is that Jesus has atoned for our sin, for the angels sitting where Jesus’ body was laid with one at the head and the other at the foot that Mary saw before her as she wept pointed to how Jesus had provided the atonement for sin. He was the true propitiation for our sins, the sacrifice of bulls and goats on the day of atonement needed to be reacted every year but the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross atoned for sin, he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world (1 Jn 2:2). 


Though the death of Jesus Christ came victory. Only a true man could make atonement for the sins of man. The Old Testament sacrificial system shows us this. The animals could not satisfy completely for the sins of men. Only a man, a man who was without sin, could satisfy God's justice. But man is not without sin, and therefore could have no hope in making atonement for himself. So God would, if he were to redeem man and uphold the covenant of grace, have to provide a way for a true man to make atonement for the sins of God's elect. And he did. Christ is our propitiation, he is the one who made amends for all our sin. This is the wonder of the resurrection, though this atonement we have access to God through faith because of Jesus and his atonement for us. 


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Q106 What do we pray for in the sixth petition?
In the sixth petition, (which is, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, (Matt. 6:13)) we pray, That god would either keep us from being tempted to sin, (Matt. 26:41) or support and deliver us when we are tempted. (2 Cor. 12:7–8)

28th March 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (Ecclesiastes 9v7-10)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


Simon the Stylite was born in the year 390 and lived over half of his life on a small platform at the top of a column. He chose this path in order to devote himself to an austere yet God-centred life. He had essentials passed up the column regularly but he was so committed to his simple life that he refused to see his mother. Instead he told her that if they were worthy they would see each other in the next life.


Some might see Simon as a true Christian man who took seriously a life devoted to God whilst others might consider him an extremist. I’m not going to mock Simon nor will I condemn him. The evidence suggests he was a man utterly committed to Christ and many were deeply challenged by his devotion. But is Simon’s example one that we should follow?


I don’t think so. What does the Christian life ordinarily look like? May I describe it as extraordinarily ordinary? What do I mean? Solomon painted a wonderful yet ordinary picture of a joyous life. He urges us to eat and drink with joy and a merry heart (v7). We are to wear white garments with oil upon our heads which symbolise one’s happiness (v8). We are to delight in our husband or wife (v9) and we are to work as hard as we possibly can (v10). He makes no mention of austerity or life on top of a column.


But my description of the Christian life was that it is “extraordinarily ordinary” There’s nothing desperately extraordinary about eating our dinner with joy and working hard. So perhaps a Christian’s deeds should be extraordinary? Should we travel the earth preaching the Gospel? Should we swap our homes for a column in the wilderness? Maybe but not usually. The Christian life is extraordinary because it is a life that has been transformed by Christ.


Jesus has taken us from spiritual death to life. He has caused us to be born again and with new hearts we freely and willingly choose Christ. Jesus no longer counts our sins against us and His righteousness has been credited to our account. Furthermore, He has given us a place in His church where we experience the extraordinary yet ordinary means of grace. As the Word is preached, as God’s people pray and as we enjoy the sacraments - we grow.


The Christian life is extraordinarily ordinary. Brothers and sisters, rejoice in the magnitude of the glorious Gospel of Jesus and in response eat your dinner with joy, love your partner and work as hard as you can.     


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Q105 What do we pray for in the fifth petition? In the fifth petition, which is, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” we pray, that God, for Christ’s sake, would freely pardon all our sins; which we are the rather encouraged to ask, because by his grace we are enabled from the heart to forgive others.
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27th March 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (John 20:1-18 focus v1-9)


Message (Alan Burke)


Many of us have known the grief that comes with loss first hand, death comes to all and we have stood at the grave side of those whom we have known and loved all too often. As we are introduced to Mary Magdalene here in John’s gospel she was on her way to the tomb early on that first Lord’s day morning while we are told it was still dark, she was in the midst of the grief that we all know too well. She knew sins curse acutely that day, the punishment of sin that befell on the human race in the fall it overshadowed her in a very real way as she made her way to the tomb, little did she know that that grief would soon be dispelled to joy. We read these words and they are familiar to us, we know them well, in a sense they have lost their wonder but for Mary that first Lord’s day what greeted her was totally unexpected. 


Nothing is mentioned of the soldiers who had been appointed to guard the tomb, why had the stone been moved, had the tomb been robbed, had someone taken the body of Jesus. The last thing on her mind would have been that Jesus had been raised from the dead. While John doesn’t tell us if Mary looked or entered the tomb, Luke does (24:2). We know that Mary entered and did not find the body of Jesus. In response she ran to find someone who could come, to do what though? The first thought of Mary was that someone had taken the body of Jesus, the body of Jesus had been stolen. In this the emotion of those involved is clear, the grief, the distress, anguish, after hearing what Mary had said Peter and the disciple Jesus loved, John ran to the tomb. 


Both men found the same thing, the body of Jesus has gone, all that was left were his grave cloths, nothing is told to us except that they believed but they did not understand from the scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead (9). Their expectation and grief had blinded them to the reality of what was occurring before their very eyes. John in this account gives great detail to the grave cloths, almost unnecessarily so, why would John focus on the grave cloths in such a way if they were not significant. But they are significant for they testify to how that although the body of Jesus was gone that his body had not been stolen. No grave robber would have stolen the body and left the linen strips that the body had been wrapped in there. Look at what we are told as Peter who was playing catchup went in ahead of John who was stooping down (v5) looking into the tomb, seeing the grave cloths. 


We are told Peter v6 that Peter; …he saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. But then as John went inside we are told he saw and believed. Believed what? For we are told in v9 that they still did not understand from scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead, so what did believe, what had changed in the midst of this all, it was that now the penny was starting to drop, for what they had seen in the tomb was proof that Jesus body had not been stolen, no grave robber would leave the linen strips that wrapped the body of Jesus, and we are told that the face cloth that had been around Jesus head was folded up was separate from the linen. Even the way that the grave cloths were laid were a sign to the followers of the truth that he had risen, that he was alive. 


While hey did not understand fully at this stage they would, but in the mean time they return home, unable to make sense of it all, still to an extent filled with grief and loss. But in what had unfolded they were being exposed to the truth of the resurrection for themselves, in time they would begin to piece together all that Jesus had taught them and what the scriptures had been teaching. The grave cloves were helping to open the door of understanding that would give them a grasp of all that had taken place so that they could articulate their faith fully. Jesus had risen, he on the cross faced the full weight of sins curse and the wrath of God for sin so that we who are sinners might be forgiven. Jesus has done all that was required for us. 


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Q104 What do we pray for in the fourth petition?
In the fourth petition, (which is, Give us this day our daily bread, (Matt. 6:11)) we pray, That of God’ s free gift we may receive a competent portion of the good things of this life, and enjoy his blessing with them. (Prov. 30:8–9, Gen. 28:20, 1 Tim. 4:4–5)
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26th March 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (Ecclesiastes 9v1-6)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


There are currently around eight billion people on this planet and all of them are unique. Did you know that there is no one in this world with the same fingerprints as you? Humans come in all shapes and sizes with a wonderful diversity but nevertheless, humans are united by the fact that they will all know death.


There is a famous phrase that says in life only death and taxes are guaranteed but that’s not strictly true. Some people never pay taxes and others do their very best to avoid them. This isn’t the case when it comes to death. Every human is guaranteed to die. We can do all we can to avoid death but we will never outrun it.


Solomon understood this completely. Every person’s life is in the hand of God (v1) and regardless of how they live, each one of them will die. Humans walk a multitude of roads. They choose love or hate, righteousness or wickedness whilst some worship while others don’t (v2). But each one will experience the same event of death (v3).


It has been this way since the first man and woman rebelled against God and it will be this way until Christ’s return. Indeed what makes death even worse is it’s finality. Solomon declared that the dead know nothing and soon they are remembered no more (v5). It doesn’t matter how they lived, death brings an end to their love, hate and envy with the dead playing no further part to life under the sun (v6).


What a bleak picture! No wonder we find Ecclesiastes a difficult read! Yet even in the grim shadow of death there is hope. As far as the wise King was concerned a living dog was in a better position than a dead lion (v4). In Solomon’s day dogs were vermin and nothing like your modern precious pooch. The lion on the other hand was a fearsome beast who rightly earned the title “King of the jungle” Even so, a living dog has more hope than a dead lion or in human terms even the most wretched person has more hope than a dead king. How so? Because while there is breath in a body, there is room to call upon the Lord.


Ecclesiastes can be a tough and uncompromising read but while we often prefer “fluff”, Solomon gives us meat. Death cannot be avoided but the wise person prepares for their inevitable demise by doing business with the Lord. The one who repents of their sin and puts their faith in Christ will not perish but have everlasting life. Tragically whilst all will die, not all will believe the Gospel. Ensure that you are not on the wrong side of the Lord. Remember you will die and in turn, remember Jesus.


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Q103 What do we pray for in the third petition? In the third petition, which is, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven,” we pray, that God, by his grace, would make us able and willing to know, obey, and submit to his will in all things, as the angels do in heaven.
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25th March 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (John 20:1-18)


Message (Alan Burke) 


What happens in the past defines us more than we often care to think, that is our past as individuals as well as this nations past and while it is waining for the society we live in, the impacts of what happened on Calvary’s hill near two thousand years defines the believer and is their hope in this sin cursed world. This coming Lord’s day, one of fifty two which celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ we turn to the account of the Resurrection in John’s gospel that reminds us that although we were brought forth in iniquity, in sin did our mothers conceive us (Ps 51:5), we are by our nature sinners each and every one that we have been reconciled to God through a meditator, his only begotten Son the Lord Jesus Christ who being both God and man in one person made an atonement that was acceptable to God for us. In this first encounter with the risen Lord Jesus in our haste we often just want to get to the wonder that Jesus had risen but this week we are going to slow down a little and draw some truths out that we can easily miss with a passage we have heard a hundred times or more. 


Strikingly as John beings his account of the resurrection there is nothing mentioned of the intervening days, from when Jesus was laid in the tomb. There is nothing mentioned of the reality that the family and followers of Jesus had found themselves in, nothing of their sorrow, their despair. The Jewish Sabbath that had come would have exacerbated their sense of loss, of sorrow, of despair, there was nothing to distract from the painful reality that everything they had hoped and believed about Jesus in those hours was left in shatters, the in-between time that the scriptures are silent on would have no doubt been a time of great grief. Those emotions, of loss, sorrow and despair are ones that all of us can relate to at least to some extent, the loss of someone we love, the grief that comes, the pain of deaths sting. What makes the death of Jesus different is that he had come to deliver all those through fear of death were subjects to life long slavery (Heb 2:15). He came to deliver us from that fear that is natural to all, for through Adam’s sin all of us are condemned to death.


For the family and followers of Jesus, his death would have been a painful reminder to them all that this life was far from how we would want it or desire it to be. They simply did not understand at this stage that the death of Jesus was a necessary part in God’s plan of salvation that was first announced in the garden as the Lord preached the gospel to the devil of one who would come to crush the head of the serpent, who is Satan, the Devil himself (Gen 3:15, Rev 12:9). That very first Lord’s day as every Lord’s day since declares to the world that Jesus the Christ is risen. From the beginning of the world to this day, the resurrection of Christ God had appointed the seventh day but ever since it is the first day of the week, and will continue to the end of the world (WLC 116 paraphrased). 


From a cultural perspective, a human point of view, for Mary to have be the first eyewitness undermines this account. In the culture at the time she was a woman with no standing in society or a court of law who in a state of distress, her testimony would have been unreliable, unbelievable, but Mary was the one. She was the one who was the first eyewitness of his resurrection, John if he was trying to convince his first readers of the reality of the resurrection then he would have not had Mary, he would have had Peter, John but it wasn’t, Peter or John it was Mary. John isn’t trying to convince us, he wants us to know the reality of what took place. And while there were others with Mary he wants us to focus on Mary and her encounter with the risen Lord Jesus. How are we made right with God? It is only through the Lord Jesus Christ. If you know him then know he has done for you everything required to reconcile you to God so that you have a sure and steadfast hope of eternal life with him. 


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Q102 What do we pray for in the second petition?
In the second petition, (which is, Thy kingdom come, (Matt. 6:10)) we pray, That Satan’ s kingdom may be destroyed; (Ps. 68:1,18) and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced, (Rev. 12:10–11) ourselves and others brought into it, and kept in it; (2 Thess. 3:1, Rom. 10:1, John 17:9,20) and that the kingdom of glory may be hastened. (Rev. 22:20)
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23rd March 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (Ecclesiastes 8v16-17)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


It doesn't matter how long you live or how many books you read - you will never be able to figure out the ways of God. Solomon applied his heart to know wisdom and even denied himself sleep (v16) but he was convinced that "finding out" God could not be done (v17). The Lord cannot be found out (v17b) and if a wise man ever pretends to have mastered God he should be rejected, for God cannot be found out (v17c).


It is a good thing for the Christian to consider that God is both knowable yet incomprehensible. He is knowable because He has revealed Himself in both nature (Romans 1v20) and the Bible. We differentiate between these by speaking of general and special revelation. The stars in the sky proclaim that a God exists and this is a message to all people everywhere - this is general revelation. However while the Word of God can be read by everyone it is opened to a much smaller number as the Holy Spirit works - this is special revelation.


Even so, despite the testimony of both nature and Scripture, God is incomprehensible or in simple terms, we can never know Him fully. The Apostle Paul once wrote "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 'For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?' 'Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?'" (Romans 11v33-35)


The Lord has never needed advice from anyone and He doesn't owe you or I a single thing. We can know Him but we'll never master Him. Brothers and sisters, I trust that these words will perhaps still your heart and settle your worries.  You don't need to figure everything out and you don't need to be on a fruitless quest for illegitimate religious certainty. You have come to know God by faith in Christ and your future is secure. May your restlessness be replaced by rest in Christ.


"But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him." (Habakkuk 2v20)


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Q101 What do we pray for in the first petition? In the first petition, which is, Hallowed be thy name,” we pray, that God would enable us, and others, to glorify him in all that whereby he maketh himself known, and that he would dispose all things to his own glory.

22nd March 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (1 John 5:18-21 focus v21)


Message (Alan Burke)


Where on earth did idolatry come from, like if you’ve been following along with these devotions you will know that there is not one reference to idolatry in this entire epistle and then all of a sudden at the every end John says “21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.”. What a way to end the epistle, if it had have been me I’d have written something like; “I hope to see you again soon, until then my you know the love of Christ more and more”, but John just drops this in at the very end, “keep yourself from idols”. This wasn’t that John had just ran out of paper it is his pastoral heart warning those whom he wrote to, dear children keep yourselves from idols.


Most of us though don’t have a shrine to an idol or idols hidden in our homes, we don’t give offerings to idols, nor do we bow down to them so we might imagine that we are safe from John’s final exhortation. But this exhortation of John to keep ourselves from idols comes because as the reformer John Calvin put it “man’s nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols” (Institutes, 1.11.8).


In the book of Romans where the Lord God speaking through Paul speaking about his wrath that is revealed from heaven. We are told verse 19, what may be known about God is plan to them, speaking of all people, since the creation of the world, God’s invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen since the creation of the world. But what happened verse 23 is that they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and reptiles. People engage in all kinds of false religion and idolatry (v22-25). 


But our idolatry is not only that which is make to look like moral man and birds and reptiles, it is also what we are devoted to. In the Sermon on the mount Jesus explains to his disciples the reality of discipleship that is lived in the everyday world. The teaching within this section gives practical and ethical teaching for the believer. Within that we read the words; “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” (Mt 6:24).


These words of Jesus help us to better understand the idea of idolatry. I’ll start by saying the issue Jesus makes with money isn’t money per se, it’s the devotion of the one who has money. As Jesus uses the word service, it is the service that is denoted by the work of a slave, being bound to something, and Jesus explains we cannot have divided loyalties, we are either a slave to God our money. What I want you to see from this is that we can be bound by something, we can give our service, our devotion to something that is not God, something that is not a false religion or the making of images, it’s not one or the other. Whenever we exchange the glory of the immortal God for anything else in the created order and are devoted to it then that becomes our idol. 


Our hearts are idol factories, it may not be with wood or stone, it may not be with images made to look like mortal man and birds and reptiles, but it may be our stomach or anything so subtle the temptation is to replace the glory of the immortal God. Nothing should rule our lives or become the centre of our attention other than our Creator, our marriages, work life, home life, our shopping, our free time, our money, that romantic interest, the list goes on and on. Idolatry is putting anything in our lives in the rightful place of God. If there are things in our lives that mean we are unable to worship the Lord with his people have we put that thing in his place in our lives, has it become an idol? What about how much time we spend fixating on things that are of no value. Instead of putting things in the place of God we should be those who cling to the hope we have in Jesus Christ, the kingdom that we belong to. Clinging to Christ is the cure for our idolatry, when we put him in the rightful place in our lives.


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Q100 What doth the preface of the Lord’ s prayer teach us?
The preface of the Lord’ s prayer, (which is, Our Father which art in heaven, (Matt. 6:9)) teacheth us to draw near to God with all holy reverence and confidence, as children to a father, able and ready to help us; (Rom. 8:15, Luke 11:13) and that we should pray with and for others. (Acts 12:5, 1 Tim. 2:1–2)
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21st March 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (Ecclesiastes 8v10-15)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


It’s accepted wisdom that there isn’t any justice in the world. I’m old enough to remember the trial of OJ Simpson back in the mid nineties. It seemed absolutely clear that OJ murdered his wife and her friend but after weeks of high drama, OJ Simpson was pronounced innocent. Mr Simpson would eventually end up in prison but not for the murder of his wife. To this day no one has been held accountable for the murders of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman. Justice has not been done.


Solomon was all too aware of this tragedy. He had seen wicked men going in and out of the temple and receiving the praise of their peers (v10). Wickedness seemed to abound because the sentence against wicked deeds was not executed quickly and humans continued to do evil things (v11). Furthermore, although the wicked would die and be buried (v10a), it often appeared that they had much longer lives than the righteous (v12). 


Even so, Solomon was convinced that justice would eventually be done. The wicked person does not fear God and therefore all will not go well for such an individual (v13). When will justice be done? At the final day. It may seem like the righteous are punished in life while the wicked go free (v14) but this will certainly not be the case when Jesus comes. When Jesus appears all will stand before Him to give an account and those who did not fear God in life will be sent away to everlasting punishment (Matthew 25v41).


We can be sure Christ will return as judge because Christ was raised from the dead (Acts 17v31). If we are confident of the resurrection, then we can be confident of the day of judgment. The Christian fears God and therefore doesn’t need to fear the final day. This isn’t to say that the Christian ignores the last judgement. The Westminster Confession of Faith tells us that the reality of the judgement should cause us to shake off any security or confidence we have in this fading world. More than that, we are to be always watchful and always prepared for the arrival of Jesus.


These things would be a positive response when we believe that justice has not been done and additionally I think Solomon would also commend joy. As we wait for Jesus we are to know joy in our food, drink and work (v15). This isn’t the first time Solomon has pointed us in this direction and so perhaps we should start to listen. Brothers and sisters, find joy in your life and rest assured that Christ is coming soon when every evil deed will receive its due reward. Even so, come Lord Jesus (Revelation 22v20).


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Q99 What rule hath God given for our direction in prayer? The whole Word of God is of use to direct us in prayer, but the special rule of direction is that form of prayer which Christ taught his disciples, commonly called, The Lord’s Prayer.
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20th March 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (1 John 5:18-21 focus v19-20)


Message (Alan Burke)


I’m standing here looking out the window as I write this, standing because I’ve wrecked my back and looking out just marvelling at the beauty at what is before me, it is raining and now there is nothing out of the ordinary about that, but I can see the ran droplets falling, there are birds in the air and some resting on the electricity lines, the fairway and the greens of the golf course look lush but there is no one braving the conditions and everything seems to be once more springing to life once more with the buds on the trees, such a variety of greens displayed with the grey rain filled clouds above. All of it is declaring the glory of God, all of it is his creation. Yet as we continue we are told we know that we are the children of God, and the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We are the children of God through faith in Jesus Christ and this world ever since the fall the world we live in changed its alliance, or rather because of the fall it was that this world was given over to Satan! 


Satan became the ruler of the world in its present fallen sinful state and established a reign of sin on this earth. We were handed over to Satan, this world was handed over because we by our nature, that sinful nature belong not to God but to Satan for we are God’s enemies. God gave to Satan what had become his by the fall. This world is Satans kingdom, Ulster is Satans, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Russia, the United States, Ukraine all Satans, yet Satan is on a leash, God will only allow him so far. Likewise in respect to the acts of sinful men God will only allow so much before the sinner meets the judgement of God. While this world is ruled by Satan, while it is his kingdom, while he is a formidable enemy who prowls like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour (1 Pet 5:8) God rules sovereignly rules over all and only lets him go so far, and God uses that which Satan meant for evil for His glory and His purposes.


As Jesus proclaimed the time has come the Kingdom of God is near (Mk 1:15), he was announcing how the time had come, their long awaited king was among them although it was not how they expected which can be seen in the expectations of even his disciples. This proclamation was that God was decisively acting on behalf of his people bringing about the Kingdom in the person and work of Jesus Christ in this age. And this kingdom is both now and not yet, it is present and future. The coming of Jesus marked the inauguration of the promised kingdom, for the king dwelt among his people, God was with his people, it is a present reality, for God’s kingdom consists of God’s rule over his people, as the Spirit works within us, when we are freed from our slavery to sin and the flesh. Through faith we are moved from the kingdom of Satan to the Kingdom of God as we are born again of the Spirit and are the children of God. 


And the son of God has given us understanding, not because we had it by our nature for we were blind to the things of God but with the work of God within us we have understanding. When we were redeemed by Christ Jesus then we are set free from that slavery bought with a price, we have been purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ that was spilled for us, he bore the wrath that we deserve and we now belong to him, we are the possession of Christ Jesus, we are born of God the children of God. All of this was so that we might be given understanding, that we may know him who is true. For those who have this understanding then they are in him, he is true God and eternal life. Those who are born of God are kept safe by Him from the evil one and have eternal life. Our God keeps us safe and will bring us to dwell with himself eternally, that is our confidence even though all of what I look out on today has been handed over to Satan. 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q98 What is prayer?
Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, (Ps. 62:8) for things agreeable to his will, (1 John 5:14) in the name of Christ, (John 16:23) with confession of our sins, (Ps. 32:5–6, Dan. 9:4) and thankful acknowledgement of his mercies. (Phil. 4:6)