30th June 2026 


Pray (ACts)


Read (Genesis 4)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


Adam and Eve were blessed with a son called Cain and in response Eve cried out “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” (v1) Eve knew all too well what had happened in the garden and yet here was evidence that the Lord was going to keep His promise to destroy the works of the devil. The seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. Unfortunately Cain would prove to be of his father the devil (John 8v44).  


Cain and his brother Abel came one day to the Lord with offerings. Cain was a worker of the ground and so he brought an offering of the fruit of the ground (v3). Abel on the other hand was a keeper of sheep and so he brought to the Lord the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions (v4). The Lord only had regard for Abel’s offering and not that of his brother Cain. At first glance this seems incredibly unfair. Both brothers come to worship the Lord with their respective bounty. Both have worked hard. Both have taken the time to come. Why would the Lord accept only one offering?


Scripture interprets Scripture and in this instance Scripture tells us the problem was faith. Here’s what the Apostle writes in Hebrews “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.” (Hebrews 11v4)


The Lord accepted Abel’s offering because Abel was a man of faith. Indeed the Lord Jesus Christ describes Abel as “righteous” (Matthew 23v35). Even in the early days of human history the ancient battle between the seed of the woman and the seed of the devil was showing itself. Cain was exceedingly angry at God’s rejection and despite the Lord’s warning about his sin (v7), Cain ended up taking his brother’s life (v8).


Amazingly even in the midst of Cain’s rebellion the Lord still extended a hand of grace. Cain believed that he would also end up murdered but the Lord says “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” (v15) To confirm this promise the Lord marked Cain so that no one would attack him. God meets sinners with grace!


Later Adam and Eve are blessed with another son called Seth (v25). The promises of God would not be thwarted by sinful man and as humanity increased upon the earth, some would remain in sinful rebellion while others began to call upon the name of the Lord (v26).


Abel’s sacrifice was made with saving faith. He was looking forward to the day that the Lamb of God would come to atone for the sin of many. In this way Abel’s sacrifice pointed forward to Christ. The blood of Abel’s lamb was a shadow of the sacrifice to come for “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” (Hebrews 9v22) Christ’s blood has been shed and through faith in Him your sins have been forgiven!


Today the Lord still extends His hand of grace. You cannot please Him by your works, instead the work of the Lord is to believe on the One whom He has sent (John 6v29). Call upon Jesus, trust in Him for without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11v6).


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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 June 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (Luke 5:1-11 focus v1-7)


Message (Alan Burke) 


You know I like fishing. I don’t get to go very often because it takes a bit of time to get organised. It’s better when you’ve nothing really planned and you can take the day relaxing. I’ve taken Scott a few times since I got here, and I’ve a wee confession to make. I haven’t caught a single fish, and he has. Most people that would be enough to put them off fishing for life. Like, what’s the point of sitting on some rocks somewhere and watching a float bob up and down to catch nothing!? Well, the truth is I don’t care. There is always a chance I’ll catch something, and I love the sound of the sea against the shore. You’re forced to sit, and it gives you some headspace to think. I’m not sure that these lads, ie Peter, James, and John, and Andrew, were thinking that (although Luke doesn’t mention Andrew, we learn he was there from Mark’s gospel, Mk 1:16). 


Jesus comes to the Lake of Gennesaret (ie the Sea of Galilee to you and me), and again Jesus is surrounded by people. They are there, coming to listen to the word of God, that message of the good news of the kingdom of God. I love this scene. Jesus is crowded by the people. The people are coming, they are coming to hear the good news of the kingdom of God. They are a people who had been waiting expectantly for the coming king, the Messiah, the Christ of God, and Jesus. He’s trying to teach them, and seeing two boats at the waters’ edge, gets into one of the boats. He asks Peter to put out a little from shore, and Jesus sat down and taught the people from the boat. In effect, Jesus is using the boat as a floating pulpit to teach those who had come, who were desiring to hear the word of God. 


In the makeshift floating pulpit, anchored just a few metres from the shore, Jesus tells Peter to: “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” (V4). Think of the absurdity of what is going on here; Jesus, the son of a carpenter, telling someone who in all regards was a pretty successful fisherman who had his own vessel and business partners to in the day is telling Peter to let down the nets for a catch, with Andrew in the boat, the two of them were likely looking at each other, rolling their eyes, thinking to themselves, this guy has no idea what he’s talking about. And after all, they had been fishing at night, and the reason they had been fishing at night was because the fish are closer to the surface, feeding during the night; when it is light, the fish go to deeper water, and so Peter pushes back, saying: “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything.” 


In what was unfolding, Jesus was revealing more of who he was; he was going to reveal his glory, that he is the one who is the sovereign Lord. After his initial protest, Peter says, "But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” He had seen firsthand the power of Jesus, how his mother-in-law had been healed. Even though Peter knew that the chances of catching anything were pretty remote, he does what he had been asked; he gives it a shot, he goes out, puts down his nets, and he was in for the shock of his life, and the catch of his life. In this miraculous catch, Jesus was revealing his glory. What a day on the lake for these fishermen! God in all his power is present and expressing himself through Jesus. He was demonstrating his divine power so that these fishermen might see and know who he is. Who is Jesus, he is the Son of God, true God and true man and he revealed his sovereignty to those men that day on the lake. He is LORD of all, and one day he will reveal his sovereignty to all, for he has been exalted to the highest place, the name above every name, so that at his name, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil 5:9-11)


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Q106 What do we pray for in the sixth petition?
A. In the sixth petition, which is, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” we pray, that God would either keep us from being tempted to sin, or support and deliver us when we are tempted.
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27th June 2026 


Pray (ACts)


Read (Genesis 3)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


If you want to know why Covid 19 currently stalks the globe you can find the answer in Genesis 3. Our God made all things out of nothing and He made it very good. He even made humanity to whom He gave a soul and appointed as His image bearers on the earth. The Lord willingly lowered Himself and entered into the Covenant of Works with the first man. This man called Adam was promised everlasting life on the condition of his personal and perfect obedience.


Yet as Genesis 3 begins, Satan enters the picture. The origins of Satan are mysterious and Scripture does not spend too much time on the finer details of his rebellion. Nevertheless we can say that Satan was an angel created by God who at some stage rebelled against the Lord.


In today’s passage he comes with lies upon his lips and leads the first woman to sin against God. Soon Adam follows the lead of his wife and the most tragic moment in history takes place. Sin enters the world and death follows sin. The relationship between God and man is ripped asunder and the impact of Adam’s rebellion is still seen everywhere today. Every pandemic, every war, every death, every illness, every broken relationship, every alcoholic, every bomb, every gossiper…all of it can be traced back to the garden where our distant ancestors decided that they knew better than God.


Thankfully the Lord in a wonderful yet mysterious way was not overtaken by the events in the garden. Even as the Covenant of Works lay in ruins, the Lord spoke of another covenant…the Covenant of Grace. To Satan the Lord declared “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (v15)


In the moments after the fall of humanity, the Lord preached the Gospel to Satan. Throughout the rest of human history there would be conflict between those with Satan and those with the woman. We could speak here about the Kingdom of God against the Kingdom of Man. Or we could speak of the City of God against the City of Man. Or we could speak of Jerusalem against Babylon. However we describe this conflict it has raged throughout human history and will only end at the return of Christ.


The offspring of the woman will battle against the offspring of the devil and, praise be to God, the outcome of the battle has never been in doubt. Christ would come in the flesh and at Calvary His heel would be struck. This certainly does not downplay the horror of the cross, but just as a wounded heel would not be considered a fatal wound, so Christ is not defeated upon the cross. Satan however would be categorically defeated by Christ. His wound would be to the head - a fatal wound and so today we can say that Satan may bark but he has been utterly defeated and his time is short.


Genesis 3 should cause us to pause and consider the gravity of sin. Our rebellion has unleashed a tidal wave of agony and depravity that has swept through human history. Walk through any graveyard and you are reminded of the fall. Visit any hospital and you are reminded of the fall. Watch the news from Afghanistan and you are reminded of the fall. Yet even as this chapter fills the sky with dark clouds, the light of the Gospel shines.


Adam and Eve are banished from the garden but before they go, in an act of extraordinary grace, the Lord clothes them in animal skins. The imagery shouldn’t be missed. They stand guilty before Almighty God. They are both naked and ashamed but God clothes them in garments that are not their own.


Once more a little signpost points us to Christ. He is the Saviour and friend of sinners and if we have received Him by faith then we are clothed in His righteousness. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.” (Revelation 22v14) Thank God for the Gospel!   


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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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26th June 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (2 Samuel 2:1-11 focus v4b-11)


Message (Alan Burke)


You gotta love the unfolding circus with the Labour Party. Things seem to be spicing up for poor Keir, but to be fair, if you’re Prime Minister, you’re not ever going to be Mr Popular, and there seems to be a lot of politicking going on. If you’re unsure what politicking is, it is the action or practice of engaging in political activity, and there is a sense in which you might think that is exactly what David was doing here with the people of Jabesh Gilead. That he is a shrewd politician who is trying to grease the wheels in an attempt to become king over Israel. That, though, isn’t what is going on. Instead, David’s actions come out of his genuine affection for Saul, for when he heard of the death of Saul, his grief is clear, ordering that his lament concerning Saul and his son Jonathan be taught to the people of Judah (2 Sam 1:17; see also 1 Sam 26:17–19). 


David’s message for the people of Jabesh Gilead in v5 is really a prayer. He desires that the LORD bless them for doing what they did. He desires that the LORD would show them kindness and faithfulness, and he would show them favour for what they have done.  These people were on the wrong side; they had aligned themselves with Saul as their king, but David now that Saul is dead is inviting them to come and join with him. This is an invitation to follow David as king. The LORD God in this was working out his great plan of redemption; it foreshadows the gracious invitation that goes out to all people to come and follow the true king, the LORD Jesus Christ. He calls us to follow him, to leave our old life and allegiances behind, to be part of his kingdom that will last for all eternity. 


The king had come; he invited those who had aligned themselves with Saul to align themselves with him, but Abner, son of Ner, Saul’s cousin and commander of his army, made Ish-Bosheth king over Israel. From a human perspective, Ish-Bosheth was the rightful successor of Saul, but Abner, who had been with Saul throughout his reign (1 Sam 14:50-51), who was the right-hand man of Saul’s closest advisers, military and political, and he would have known that Saul recognised David was to be king. 


From then until David was recognised as the true King of Israel, there was war between the house of David and the house of Saul. It is tragic; there is much blood shed before finally David is made king over all Israel, for the attempts of Abner to subvert the plans of the LORD God were futile. There is only one victor in human history; it is the LORD and his king, for King David’s greater son has come, and he is coming again to judge the living and the dead. For those who reject his gracious invitation, they have set themselves as his enemies, for when this king returns as David foresaw by the work of the Holy Spirit in Psalm 110, he prophetically looked to when King Jesus returns. There we are told he will crush kings on the day of his wrath, he will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. (Ps 110:5-6). 


We are either on the side of the LORD and his king or we are his enemy; there is no neutrality, so which kingdom are you in, the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of the world? Is your allegiance to King Jesus or is it to Satan? The Roman Empire has fallen; it was nice to go back, but nations will continue to rise and fall, but God’s kingdom is an everlasting one (Job 12:23), and what matters above all is our allegiance with the King that the LORD has set over all, King Jesus. If he is your King, then know the great hope of how in the midst of all that is unfolding, he is working out his great plan of salvation that will see us joining with a great multitude before the throne, and every tear will be wiped from our eyes (Rev 7:9-17). 


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Q104 What do we pray for in the fourth petition?
A. In the fourth petition, which is, Give us this day our daily bread,” 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.
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25th June 2026 


Pray (ACts)


Read (Genesis 2)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


As the Lord God completed His work of creation, He rested on the seventh day (v2). This doesn’t mean that God was tired and needed a break, instead we say that God’s creating work ceased and He blessed the seventh day as a day of rest. This would later be republished on tablets of stone with the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20v8-11) and to this day Christians spend the Lord’s day putting away trivial issues and attending to the things of God. All of this reminds us that we look forward to an eternal, heavenly rest (Hebrews 4v9).


With creation complete the Lord planted a garden in a place called Eden (v8). It is correct to say that Eden was a region where the garden existed rather than Eden just being a garden. We see this as a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden and this source divided into four rivers called the Pishon, Gihon, Tigris and Euphrates (v10-14).


It was in the garden that the first man would find his place of employment, working and keeping that which God had made (v15). Additionally it was in the garden that the Lord entered into a covenant with the first man. It is by way of covenant that the Lord deals with humanity. We are not like the Lord. We are not His equal. We cannot sit around a table with Him and thrash out a deal. Instead the Lord willingly lowers Himself to us and enters into a relationship. He covenants or promises and He is always faithful to what He says.


In Eden we speak of God entering into the “Covenant of Works”. God set the terms and allowed the man to eat from every tree in the garden but not the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If the man broke these terms he would surely die (v16-17). In the beginning there was no death in God’s creation but later Paul tells us where death came from. He teaches that sin entered the world through Adam and death entered through sin (Romans 5v12). So as long as Adam obeyed the terms of the Covenant of Works, he and all those after him would enjoy everlasting life.


As we know, the story ends in tragedy. Adam falls into sin, the Covenant of Works is in tatters and humanity is without hope. Thankfully, even in the earliest chapters of the Bible we see Christ. He is the second Adam who perfectly obeys God’s commands. He is the true Adam who in flesh and blood pays the price for sin at Calvary. He is the perfect man who stands again from the grave putting death to death. Just as the first Adam became a bridegroom when God made woman (v22), so the second Adam is our bridegroom who lays down His life for His Bride the church. Adam fell in the garden to sin, Christ fell in Gethsemane and prayed “not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26v39)


Christ succeeded where Adam failed and all who trust in Him will be saved “for as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5v19) 


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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.

24th June 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (2 Samuel 2:1-11 focus v2-4a)


Message (Alan Burke)


The view from the top of the Colosseum in Rome is amazing. It is a monument to the height of the Roman Empire that has since gone the way of the Dodo. Yet all of history’s every part of it is being played out according to God’s plan of salvation; every event is part of a divine purpose leading to redemption and reconciliation with humanity. This plan is rooted in God’s hesed love. He has been working out the promise of salvation that was first declared to Adam and Eve in the midst of the fall, of one who would come and crush the head of the serpent and ultimately restore creation to redeem sinners and bring them to salvation. Today we focus on another step in the fulfilment of his gracious plan to redeem sinners. David sought the LORD and, in obedience to the LORD’s will, David, his men, and their families went, and there in Hebron the men of Judah came and anointed David king over the house of Judah. 


While David had been anointed by Samuel (1 Sam 16:1-13), he is now publicly anointed and recognised by the men of Judah as their king. The king has come, and the count of David begins to move from the promise to the fulfilment of that promise. Things were far from plain sailing for David in what lay ahead, but the LORD was indeed fulfilling his promises, not only to David but to Abraham. It is easy to miss in all of this that this was the LORD fulfilling his promises to Abraham all those years before. For it is not to Jerusalem that David was enthroned; it was Hebron. At this stage in salvation history, Jerusalem was inhabited by the Jebusites, who were a Canaanite tribe; it is not until chapter 5 and 6 that David establishes Jerusalem as the seat of his throne and the capital of Israel (2 Sam 5:6). Hebron was hugely significant in the history of salvation. 


After Abraham was given the promises of God in Genesis 12, he went off to Egypt, but he returned, and in Chapter 13 we have Abram at that stage, before he was named Abraham, and we are told in Genesis 13:18, “So Abram moved his tent and came to settle near the Oaks of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.” Then in Genesis 18, there at the Oaks of Mamre at Hebron, the LORD appeared in what is known as a theophany, a visible manifestation of God to Abraham while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day ( 18:1). The LORD reveals that Sarah around this time next year would have a son, Isaac, the one through whom the covenant promises given to Abraham would continue. It is where Sarah died and was buried (Gen 23:1,19), it is where Abraham was buried along with Sarah (Gen 25:8-9). 


Hebron became a symbol of God's covenant promises to the patriarchs. This made Hebron the birthplace of David's royal rule and an important step in the establishment of the Davidic kingdom. This was another step in the fulfilment of the promises of God that were given to Abraham, for the LORD had promised to Abraham, “I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you” (Gen 17:6). As Matthew 1 opens, it says: A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham: (Mt 1:1). All that was unfolding here was part of the unfolding of the covenant of grace, God’s plan of redemption that he would send his son to establish an eternal kingdom, fulfilling the promises to Abraham, that all the earth would be blessed through the one who would come, Jesus Christ. The Colosseum, as wonderful as it is, is now nothing more than a monument to a failed empire. An empty cross is the symbol of God’s faithfulness that will ultimately see a restored creation as sinners are redeemed and brought into a new creation.


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Q102 What do we pray for in the second petition?
A. In the second petition, which is, Thy kingdom come,” we pray, that Satan’s kingdom may be destroyed; and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced, ourselves and others brought into it, and kept in it; and that the kingdom of glory may be hastened.
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23rd June 2026 


Pray (ACts)


Read (Genesis 1)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


My mother once gave me some crafts that I’d produced for her back in the day. One of them is a painting of Santa which must be about 35 years old. I know why my mum kept it (I’m her favourite) but honestly the quality is poor! I’m no Monet that’s for sure. I’ll not lose any sleep - even the greatest artist in human history doesn’t compare to the Lord.


In the beginning our Triune God made all things and He made them out of nothing. The fancy phrase for this is “ex nihilo”. God made everything out of (ex) nothing (nihilo). The Lord didn’t begin with a storehouse full of stuff. Before there was anything there was only God. He didn’t gather the atoms and start joining them together - the atoms didn’t exist. Once more, in the beginning there was only our eternal Triune God.


We need to stress too that our God has always been one yet three and three yet one. The Father didn’t create the Son and nor did the Spirit begin at Pentecost. As Genesis begins we see the Triune God moving in the mighty work of creation. We can say that the Father took the initiative (v1), the Spirit hovered over the face of the waters (v2) and the Word of God went forward. The Father, Son and Spirit, in perfect harmony created and preserved all things.


So what did God make? On day one the Lord created light out of darkness (v3-5). The sun would be made later but the glory of God filled the universe with His radiance. On day two the Lord created the heavens (v6-8). On day three the Lord caused the dry land to appear and for vegetation to grow (v9-13). On day four the Lord created the sun, moon and stars (v14-19). On day five the Lord created the fish in the sea and the birds in the air (v20-23). Then on day six the Lord created the animals and the pinnacle of His creation which was humanity (v24-31).


Only humankind was made in the image of God and blessed with a soul. Humanity was to represent God on earth with Adam, the first man, being the head of mankind. As humans we have greater abilities than the animals and as humans made in God’s image we have great responsibilities. We and our children are blessed with living and eternal souls and we are to have dominion over the earth, caring for the creation as God’s ambassadors.


God made everything in the space of six days and He declared it to be good, but why? All of it was for Jesus. Paul said “For by Jesus all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1v16-17)


So the Lord didn’t move in creation because He lacked something. God wasn’t lonely or bored and I’m sorry to pop our bubbles but we don’t complete God or add to Him. Creation was God’s gracious act and every inch of it was for the glory of Christ. No wonder David wrote “the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” (Psalm 19v1)


Creation shows us God’s invisible attributes. We see His eternal power and we see that He is God (Romans 1v20). When the Mournes take our breath away, when the storm causes us to tremble and when the sunset stirs our heart, remember, all of it is by Christ and for Christ - praise the Lord!


“Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised! The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens! Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?” (Psalm 113v2-6)


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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.
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22nd June 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (2 Samuel 2:1-11 focus v1)


Message (Alan Burke) 


I’m in Rome, not of course as I write this but likely as you read it, as long as you’re reading this somewhere between the 22nd-24th. Although if you’re one of those keen people who read this devotion at 6 am on Monday 22nd as soon as it’s posted, well Scott and I are hopefully boarding the plane at Dublin and will be there by 11 am. As many of you know, we went last year too, and we had a Senior member or Presbytery with us. He doesn’t want to be named because it would ruin his street cred, and he vowed never to go back. With all its history, Rome is a fascinating place to visit; the Colosseum in my mind is one of the highlights, although when you think about it, it is a monument to how nations will rise and fall. But the good news is that God’s kingdom is an everlasting one (Job 12:23). What matters in this life is not whether your allegiance to nation, to a flag or an ideal, is whether or not your allegiance is to King Jesus and that you are a citizen of the kingdom that will last into all eternity. 


I begin this way because we come to a passage where there are attempts to thwart the plans and purposes of God, but they would fail. We will get to that later in the week, but for now, we focus on v1. In it, we learn that David enquired of the LORD. Time has passed; we don’t know how long, but David, in the midst of his self-imposed exile, had found strength in the LORD once more and had learnt to trust in the LORD (1 Sam 30:6). Before, he relied on his own wisdom; this time, David looks to the LORD, enquires of him. This is now a David who is fit to lead the people of God, a David who, rather than relying on his own wisdom, enquired of the LORD. What had happened to him while living among the Philistines had served to better equip him to be king. David was still a man like you and I; he was still a sinner, he would still fail, but the years in the wilderness as Saul had pursued him, the time in self-imposed exile had all served to refine David, to make him more of the man that he was supposed to be. David is not the same man that he was; the LORD has used what he faced to sanctify David, and with the death of Saul, there is nothing barring David’s return to Israel. But unlike how Saul lived his life, David here inquires of the LORD, and he asked; “Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” (See 1 Chron 10:14). We’re not told how David enquired of the LORD, just that he did. The LORD tells David to go up, and David asks where, and the LORD says Hebron. Hebron was in Judah, and so David, in a sense, is returning home, for he was from the tribe of Judah. But there is much more going on, for the LORD was working out the fulfilment of his promises right in the midst of all that was unfolding. 


How quick are we just to do things without a second thought, or think to ourselves as David did that led him to live amongst the Philistines? We are far too quick to do things without a second thought or do things in our own wisdom as David. Like with the job opportunity, retirement plans, holidays, new cars, maybe a house move. How many of us look to the LORD and his Word, letting him be the one who rules and guides our lives and decisions? He has given us his Word which teaches us what we are to believe concerning God and what duty that he requires of us. And if we want to know the will of God for our lives, then it is his Word that we must look to, and it means that we must know his Word; we must know our Bibles. And when we know it, in order to live in response to it, to trust in it, enquiring of the LORD through prayer and his Word. We should be those who look to the LORD in all things, knowing the call of God in our lives and responding to the amazing grace we have been shown through Christ.


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Q100 What doth the preface of the Lord’s Prayer teach us?
A. The preface of the Lord’s Prayer, which is, Our Father which art in heaven,” teacheth us to draw near to God with all holy reverence and confidence, as children to a father, able and ready to help us; and that we should pray with and for others.
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19th June 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (Titus 1:10-16)


Message (Alan Burke)


Having laid out the qualifications for an elder, Paul now moves to denounce those who proclaim a message that is anything other than the truth, to protect the church from the Father of lies, to protect it from Satan’s attacks, and so that they would not be taken in by that which is fake, that which is false, that which will deceive the flock under their care. Paul warns Titus, how, v10; …there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. 


In Crete, there were those who were doing the work of Satan, rebellious, talkers, deceivers, and especially those of the circumcision group. We don’t know all the ins and outs of what was going on, but from what is said, the lack of elders and those rebellious people were causing issues, ruining households, doing what they did for dishonest gain. They rejected the truth, they are corrupted and do not believe, they claim to know God, but their actions deny him. From how Paul mentions, especially those of the circumcision group, gives us an indication that at least some of those who were like this wehirre Jewish converts (Acts 10:45; 11:2; Gal 2:7-9, 12). And Paul says that they must be silenced, they are to be rebuked sharply, even using a quote from one of their own prophets, Epimenides, in v12: “Even one of their own prophets has said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.’” 13 This testimony is true.


We may wonder if Paul is not just egging it a little bit, you know, like with a national stereotype, like British people queue, the Irish fight, Italians are passionate, Germans love rules, the French are rude and only eat frog legs and snails. Well, no, he is not. Cretans were not regarded well across the empire; we have many historical sources that make this clear. For example, from Polybius, Histories 6.47, it is “almost impossible to find … personal conduct more treacherous or public policy more unjust than in Crete” (Histories 6.47), and Plato’s Republic: “Moral principles are so divergent that the Cretans … consider highway robbery honourable” (Republic 3.9.15). 


I want you to notice what Paul did here. As he quotes from one of the Cretans’ own prophets, Paul doesn’t say what his opinion is; rather, he quotes from a six-century BC reformer from Crete. This is not Paul’s own opinion but the stereotype of the people of Crete. Nor is he saying that every single person is like this; rather, it is the general perception. Cretans had a reputation. By using this quote, he is making the point that these false teachers are showing the words of Epimenides to be true. They were false teachers using Jewish myths; they were preoccupied with ritual purity. It wasn’t the gospel, and because of it, they had rejected the truth; they were corrupt, claiming to know God by their actions but denied him and were detestable, disobedient, and unfit for doing anything good. There is an urgency to what Paul is saying; there is a seriousness that we shouldn’t dismiss; it is because when lies come into the church, when false teaching, that which is anything but the truth, then what happens is when the truth is perverted, the church is in great danger, in peril. 


We’re not in Crete, and while the challenges may seem different, the nonsense spouted may be different; nothing has changed. The Lord wants elders who will protect the flock, those who are qualified, whose character is blameless, who hold fast to the truth, who believe in the gospel, and elders who will watch and rebuke. Those are the kind of elders the church needs, elders who will watch over the flock under their care, who will seek the spiritual health for those whom they have oversight. John Calvin writes: A good elder ought therefore to be on the watch, so as not to give silent permission to wicked and dangerous doctrines to make gradual progress, or to allow wicked men an opportunity of spreading them (John Calvin Commentary on Titus 1:11). Having godly elders, elders who are qualified, elders whose character is blameless, who hold fast to the truth, are what we need. You need to pray for your elders and submit to them. They have been appointed because they are needed, needed so that you, the church, would be protected from Satan’s attacks, from his lies, so that if you were to stray into believing something other than the truth, that you would be corrected, reproved, restored to the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness, a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q98 What is prayer?
A. Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.
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17th June 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (Titus 1:6-9)


Message (Alan Burke)


We need elders. Of course, today in our individualistic society, we need no one; we don’t like being told what to do, but Paul has left Titus, and it is so he might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as Paul directed him. We’ll get to more about the reason why we need elders in Friday’s devotion, but for now, we’re going to focus on how we need elders who are qualified. In the passage here before us, Paul gives Titus a list. It isn’t exhaustive, for it is meant to imply the kind of personal qualities that are necessary in our elders, who will act to safeguard the congregation here. Even if we were to include 1 Timothy 3 (v2-7), there are many other things that we could add, but they are a good starting point when we consider who is qualified to be an elder. The qualifications here are laid out in these verses and fall into two general categories: Firstly, they are to be those whose character is blameless, and secondly, they are those who hold fast to and believe the gospel. 


Firstly, they are to be those whose character is blameless. Now, you might hear that word blameless and think, “Wow. I’m sure if you spoke to my wife, she above all would be able to put the blame for many things firmly at my feet.” Although I’m sure that I’m not unique in that. The character of the elder is to be blameless. What, though, does blameless mean?


Well, let’s start with what it doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean that an elder is sinless or morally perfect. For we know that on this side of glory, that is an impossibility. We are not blameless, we are not sinless or morally perfect. You might like to think you’re like Mary Poppins and that you’re practically perfect in every way, but that isn’t the reality. The Greek word translated as blameless means above reproach; to be blameless means that for an elder, that we, for all who are elders, live in such a way that no charge may legitimately be levelled against us. That is why Paul focusses on an elder’s wife, their children, that they would not be overbearing, quick-tempered, not one for drunkenness, or violent, or pursuing dishonest gain. The life of an elder should be seen as one who acknowledges their sin and is quick to repent of it, who lives a life characterised by self-control, loves good, is upright, holy, and disciplined. 


Secondly, elders are those who are to hold fast to and believe the gospel, and we see this in v9; “He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it”. So an elder is to hold firmly to the trustworthy message, the message that Paul has proclaimed that he began to speak about as he wrote to Titus in v1-2, where he’s said: ‘the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— 2 a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life (Tt 1:1–2). Titus is to appoint elders who are holding firmly to the knowledge of that truth that rests on the hope of eternal life. 


Elders, we are not playing games here; eternity is at stake. They are to refute, rebuke, correct; you are to have an unwavering commitment to the gospel, holding fast to it, believing in it, defending it, and fighting for it. This is so that they can v9; encourage others by sound doctrine, refuting those who oppose it and what is false, what is fake. They are to protect the church from the Father of Lies, to protect it from Satan’s attacks, and so that the flock under their care would be protected from Satan’s attacks, from his lies, so that if you were to stray into believing something other than the truth, you would be corrected, reproved, restored to the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness, a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q96 What is the Lord’s Supper?
A. The Lord’s Supper is a Sacrament, wherein, by giving and receiving bread and wine, according to Christ’s appointment, his death is showed forth; and the worthy receivers are, not after a corporal and carnal manner, but by faith, made partakers of his body and blood, with all his benefits, to their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace.
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