31st July 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read - Mark 12:38-40


Message Alan Burke 


In a sense todays passage belongs to what we were focusing on last week with Jesus in the temple courts and asking the question “How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David?” (35) yet at the same time it is connected to what comes immediately after and it also stands on its own. These three verses as Jesus warns about the teachers of the law are a warning about ‘Appearance vs Reality’. Appearances can be deceptive, appearances do not show the reality. Now what makes this teaching of Jesus just so shocking is what we already know, how back in 11:18 the teachers of the law were looking for a way to kill Jesus and rather than keeping the head down he now blatantly attacks the very character of  teachers of the law. 


Look what he says, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces, 39 and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.” (Mk 12:38–40).


Again I’m going to make a point that I’ve made before that the idea many people have in their head of ‘Gentle Jesus, meek and mild’ of a Jesus who would never offend anyone or taught about hell or addressed sin is just wrong. There are many things that Jesus teaches and said things that we often gloss over, this is not how many imagine Jesus to be, you’d describe Jesus here in this passage as arrogant, unteachable, or if you want to use a good Ulster Scott’s words which I think I prefer, Jesus is being ‘Thran’. Why is Jesus being like this, why does he find it necessary when the teachers of the law are already desiring to kill him to choose to teach against them, it’s like the preverbal red rag to the bull. 


Well I think that above all else it is because of just how egregious the behaviour of the teachers of the law was. For that is what we are about to learn, as Jesus addresses those who are there, he deals with the behaviour of the teachers of the law. What I want us to see straight off is that Jesus wasn’t one for institutional coverups, he wasn’t interested in keeping the good name of the church or the peace and concord between its members while allowing things that were egregious to take place and not being dealt with. 


No Jesus was wiling to address the sin of the teachers of the law, brining it out to the open, warning those who would hear for their protection and for the benefit of all, even for the benefit of the teachers of the law themselves. You know it is now use ignoring the issue, never dealing with the elephant in the room, it doesn’t help you or me when we ignore sin and when we fail to call it out for what it is. For Jesus while calling out the teachers of the law may have led to his own crucifixion it was all according to the plans and purposes of God, so that he might be glorified, rising from the dead and ascend to the right hand of the Father. 


While on Wednesday we will get more into what Jesus says I want to leave you with the warning 6th Jesus gives at the end of v40 how Jesus concludes this warning about the teachers of the law at the end of v40, “Such men will be punished most severely.” James gives a similar warning for those who are teachers in the church that they can expect stricter judgment (James 3:1) because of the position that they hold, the trust that is put in them. These teachers of the law had status, they loved it and abused it. And for those who abuse their position in the church they need to be warned. All of us will stand before the Lord our God, there is nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known (Lk 12:2) all of us will stand before our Lord and he is judge of all but those who trust in him, who have repented and believed he is their saviour.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q5 Are there more Gods than one?
There is but One only, the living and true God. (Deut. 6:4, Jer. 10:10)
​

29th July 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read (Hebrews 2.14-18)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


First posted 20th September 2022


A remarkable Christian truth is that God is glorious above all things and yet at one moment in history God the Son stepped into creation and took on flesh. We consider this at Christmas but truthfully it deserves our attention every single day. Christ is eternal, He always has been and always will be. All things were made through Him and for Him but He still He grew in a virgin’s womb and became like us in every way, yet without sin.


This was absolutely necessary because Christ’s church consists of sinful but redeemed humans. Just as you and I have blood pumping around our bodies and oxygen in our lungs, so too did Jesus take on the same things (v14). Indeed, even now, Christ continues in flesh and blood and the God man stands at the right hand of God. We should be humbled by this because in order for sinful humanity to be saved we needed a perfect human representative to pay the price for us.


Only Jesus could do it for only Jesus is true God, true man and without sin. Christ’s life was perfectly obedient. At no point did He sin, but at every point He kept God’s law perfectly and even when He received the punishment for sinners, He faced it willingly. The perfect man, our glorious representative died at Calvary and has categorically defeated death. 


Satan on the other hand is the enemy of humanity. Some fools worship him by name whilst others unknowingly serve him. Bob Dylan had it right when he sang “You’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed. You’re gonna have to serve somebody. Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord. But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” We either serve the Lord or we serve Satan, there is no in-between.


Since the fall humanity has been in the grip of sin and death meaning that everyone who has ever been born has also died. We have wept in graveyards, we have worried about our health, we have done our best to avoid Covid and all because death is the enemy of humanity and we try to flee from it. Satan understands this and wishes to keep as many as possible in spiritual darkness.


But Christ's work has robbed death of it's sting. Christ called Satan "the strongman" but Christ was stronger by far. Satan has been bound and although he continues to rage, Christ has set his people free. Christians no longer need to fear death, we are no longer slaves to sin, Christ has delivered us (v15).


By taking on flesh and completing His work, Jesus has helped not the angels but "the offspring of Abraham" (v16). If we belong to Jesus then by extension we also belong to Abraham. We are his spiritual descendants by faith and it is as Paul writes "If you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise." (Galatians 3v29)


My friends, today may be incredibly hard and there may be difficult days still to come but we would do well to daily contemplate the result of Christ's work. He became like us to help us and to destroy the works of the devil and sin. As a result, by faith in Christ, we are truly free. Death will still come but for the child of God it is followed by glory. Thanks be to God!


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q4 What is God? God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.
​

28th July 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read - Mark 12:35-37


Message Alan Burke 


Ok we have spent the last two devotions working up to this question of Jesus as he quotes from a Psalm of David from 110 the most quoted in the New Testament. And look what David writes inspired by the Holy Spirit in Psalm 110:1 “The LORD, says to my Lord”. You see the way the first LORD capitalised that it is the personal name for God that is used in the Hebrew, Yahweh. And here Yahweh speaks, not to David, but to David’s Lord. The word that is used for the second Lord is Adonai in the Hebrew usually used to refer to the Lord himself or one greater that you are addressing. Now remember David is the King, ask yourselves this who was greater than him? If you are King no one, and you are only second to God but David’s LORD says to David’s Lord. David here is the author he is speaking of another, he is singing of another, The LORD says to my Lord. 


What we have in Psalm 110, that Jesus quotes in Mark 12, is David looking forward to the promised Christ, the Messiah of God. The teachers of the law and the people understood this Psalm as speaking of son of David that the Messiah would be a royal descendant of David. But Jesus then teaches the that this ‘Lord’ of which David speaks is not a greater son, a special human that descended from his line, rather it would be David’s Lord, one who was greater than David, it would be the Christ, the Messiah of God who was God. Their view was inadequate, their view was merely that the Messiah would be a great man but he would be and was the son of the most high God. 


David in writing this psalm in the power of the Holy Spirit, was looking to the day that one would come from his line, one of his descendants that would be greater than him, his Lord, as the words of the Psalm put it. If we were to translate this literally it would be… “Yahweh, says concerning my (David’s) Lord". David is looking to the future, the one who would come from his line who would rule over the LORD’s people, the promised deliver of the people of God the Messiah. Jesus didn’t just quote from the opening line of the psalm, he continued, The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”


Let’s think of the first bit of that verse; “Sit at my right hand”. The psalmist here is speaking of what would happen in the future, how David’s Lord, the Christ would sit at the right hand of the Father. When did this happen? Well in Acts 2 in that great sermon at Pentecost Peter uses these words and speaking of what happened at the ascension, how God raised Jesus up and how now he is exalted at the right hand of God (Acts 2:34-35). What has happened is that Jesus has been exalted, after his death and resurrection Jesus now sits at the right hand of the Lord and this is what David foresaw. At that point Jesus was given authority that over all the earth. In this exalted position Jesus is crowned Lord of lords and king of Kings, which is shown in how His enemies, all those who are in opposition to him will be made a footstool and a metaphor that recalls how a victorious king would place his feet on the neck of the foe that he had defeated in battle.


Jesus at the right had of God the Father is there in the seat of ultimate authority, it is God’s anointed King who is there. One thousand years before the coming of the LORD’s Christ, this Psalm which Jesus quotes pointed forward the arrival of the Lord Jesus Christ in the heavenly throne room, that took place forty days after the resurrection, after he ascended into heaven.Now while the act of sitting normally indicates that the work is done, and in a sense it is for Jesus has done everything that needed to be done to secure our salvation. He has provided purification for our sins and only when it was complete did he sit down, this is the Son of God that is revealed as he enthroned in power governs and rules over all (Heb 1:3). When he returns his enemies will be put under his feet. 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
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. (2 Tim. 1:13, 2 Tim. 3:16)
​

27th July 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read (Hebrews 2.5-13)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


First posted 17th September 2022


As we have already seen, angels are God's servants sent out for the sake of Christ's church. They are mighty and glorious beings who were present at and involved in the delivering of God's law. Indeed the Lord has even given the angels some authority over this present world. In Deuteronomy 32v8 we read "When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God." In this verse the angels are described as "the sons of God" and it would appear that they have some role to play in God's providential governing of the nations.


Angels are truly majestic creatures and yet Christ is superior to them. With that stated we must remember that in the humiliation of Christ He was for a little while made lower than the angels. The Apostle quotes from Psalm 8v4-5 “What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honour, putting everything in subjection under his feet.”


Jesus took on flesh and became like us in every way, yet without sin. For a little while He left His heavenly home and walked among us. He had to learn how to speak and walk. He attended funerals and weddings. He had brothers and sisters with whom He grew up. He learned a trade and willingly submitted to His earthly parents and earthly authorities. He was made lower than the angels for a time but by His death, resurrection and ascension He has been crowned with glory and honour and everything is in subjection under His feet.


What does this "subjection" look like? The Apostle explains that Christ is the King and nothing is outside His control (v8). We believe this to be true and although we don't yet see everything in subjection to Him (v8b) we do see Christ (v9). He was humiliated and exalted and because of His suffering and death, He has put an end to death for His followers (v9). In the age to come, the world, the universe and everyone in it will be under the glorious rule and reign of Christ Jesus. In that day there will no more sin or death. All wickedness and evil will be put away and Christ will walk with His people in a kingdom where righteousness dwells. If the angels are involved in this present age, the world to come will not be subject to them, only to Christ (v5).


Christ is the only One who deserves this lofty position. His exaltation is fitting and the subjection of all things is deserved because Jesus is the One who made all things and who owns all things (v10). He is the One who has brought many sons and daughters to glory by the merit of His suffering and death (v10b).


Jesus is the only begotten Son of God sent by the Father to redeem and sanctify a multitude. That multitude have been chosen by the Father from before the foundation of the world. Therefore the sanctifier (Christ) and those sanctified (the Church) have the one source (God the Father) and so Jesus is not ashamed to call Christians His brothers and sisters (v11). The finished work of Jesus is sufficient to save a people for His own possession and by faith we are adopted into the family of God and enter into an unbreakable union with Christ.   


Christ has fulfilled Psalm 22v22 “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.” by coming among His people and making known the Father. Christ took Isaiah 8v17 “I will put my trust in him.” and fulfilled it by trusting in God even in the midst of being forsaken at Calvary and again it was Christ who fulfilled Isaiah 8v18 “Behold, I and the children God has given me.” by gathering His people to Himself by the Word and Spirit.


As we take all of this together we are again convinced of Christ's superiority over the angels. We are thankful for God's heavenly servants but only Jesus is our elder brother and by faith in Him we have been given the right to be called children of God. Thanks be to God!


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
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.

26th July 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read - Mark 12:35-37


Message Alan Burke 


The Christ the Messiah, two words that mean the same thing. The Greek word Christ comes from the Hebrew word Messiah, whether the Greek word is used or the Hebrew word, both mean that it is the anointed one, the Messiah is the Christ, the Christ is the Messiah. What we are thinking of though is how the teachers of the law were teaching that the Christ was the son of David. We need to go to the book of 2 Samuel. Now we trace the Messianic hope from Genesis to Samuel and we get to David and what is known as the ‘Davidic covenant’. The Davidic covenant is a covenant that God made with David that there would be an eternal throne, that one of his offspring would rise up to succeed him. This passage is key to the understanding of who Jesus was and is, that he would be the son of David and that the kingdom would ever reign (see 2 Samuel 7:11-13;


But a couple of generations after David the kingdom was over and just a footnote on the pages of history. David’s rule was seen as the golden age of Isreal, but from the time of its peak in David’s reign it dwindled and the promises of God remained unfulfilled. This is what why the teachers of the law taught that the Christ would be David’s son but it was all wound up with much of their cultural baggage, for the kingdom that they were expecting was a return to the golden age of Isreal. This is what was taught and this is what the people were looking and longing for, this golden age to be restored, that David’s son would come, one of his offspring would come and establish the kingdom forever. The question Jesus asked here in Mark wasn’t going to ruffle any feathers, because for generation after generation of God’s people they had been looking and longing that the son of David would come. 


But the Christ that would come and had now come would not be what the people were expecting, and it was much greater and wonderful than the people had understood for their baggage had got in the way of seeing just how wonderful the promises of God were. Jesus then quotes to the people as he teaches them from the Psalmist, Psalm 110 one of the most frequently cited passages from the Old Testament in the New Testament. It on the face of it seems like a contradictory passage, but notice what he says there before he quotes it in v36;


“David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit”


This is one of those things that we can easily take for granted, that we can think, “ok yep we know that”, let’s get to the next bit, that we can passover it without a second thought. But there is something that we should take note of, that we need reminded of continually because it is so important. What we are reminded of is that, well David is the author, it isn’t written about David or on his behalf but by David, the opening of Psalm 110 testifies to that for it begins with ‘A Psalm of David’. Jesus here reminds us not only about this Psalm that he quotes of but of all of Scripture, it is inspired by the Holy Spirit. 


The word of God, the scriptures that we have before us is an inspired book, it is inspired by God, Timothy puts it as breathed out by him (2 Tim 3:14-17) God used human authors and worked in them by the Holy Spirit, God used them to communicate his revelation they spoke as they were carried along but the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). 


Jesus understood this, this is why he makes it clear that this was David speaking by the Holy Spirit, and there are a few implications for us; it is the word of God, there is no bit of it that is uninspired, all of it is his word to us and it is the only rule to direct us how to glorify and enjoy him. We can also say that it is clear, it was written that ordinary people could understand, sometimes it takes work to understand the fullness but it is so that even those without learning can understand, young and old. Some say it is unstable for children but it speaks directly to them, it is for them as much as us. It is also sufficient, some people think that they need more, another revelation, that God is speaking new words today but he has given us everything we need. What we need to know is that as Jesus makes the point, he has a high view of scripture, likewise we should have a high view of scripture, it is the very word of God, his revelation to us. How high though is your view of Scripture?


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q1 What is the chief end of man?
Man’ s chief end is to glorify God, (1 Cor. 10:31, Rom. 11:36) and to enjoy him for ever. (Ps. 73:25–28)
​

25th July 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read (Hebrews 1)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


First posted 6th September 2022


By the grace of God over the next few months my devotions will focus on the book of Hebrews. At times it is a difficult book to understand and it is certainly the source of much head scratching over the issue of who actually wrote it. It has always been a controversial topic but in recent times the accepted wisdom was that the book was written by the Apostle Paul thus giving him fourteen New Testament books. Indeed if your Bible isn't a modern publication you might find the following words "The Letter of Paul to the Hebrews"


Newer Bibles tend not to have that statement and if you have ever listened to Hebrews preached you will probably have heard Paul's name replaced by something like "the author to the Hebrews" What's the problem here? Quite simply today's scholarship suggests that Paul wasn't the author of the letter. Paul's fourteen letters have become thirteen and Hebrews is a little bit like the planet Pluto which has now been relegated to dwarf-planet status.


Why the controversy? As simply as I can put it, Hebrews contains many of Paul's ideas but not Paul's language and style. You'll notice as you read Hebrews that it is anonymous and there isn't the usual greeting that accompanies Paul's other letters (there is however a suggestion of his usual farewell in Hebrews 13v16-25). Additionally we read in Hebrews 2v3 "The Gospel was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard" but Paul seems to say the opposite in Galatians 1v12 "For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ." Also Hebrews was originally written in Greek and the style used is noticeably different from Paul's other works. Everything seems to suggest that Paul didn't write Hebrews.


But who did? Many candidates have been put forward including Barnabas, Apollos, an unknown author or perhaps one of Paul's companions who wrote down a sermon preached by the Apostle. At this stage the majority position rejects Paul as the author without naming for certain a replacement. In this regard nothing has changed. Church councils in the late fourth century rejected any notion that Paul wrote Hebrews and later at the time of the Reformation both Martin Luther and John Calvin denied that the book belonged to Paul.


So what do I think? I've always preached Hebrews as from Paul. I'm aware of the difficulties of this position and I'll not fall out with you if you think I'm wrong but I do see Paul's fingerprints in this great book and I'm encouraged by ancient voices from the church. Origen (185-253AD) wrote "If any church, then, regards this epistle as Paul’s, let it be commended on this score; for it was not for nothing that the men of old have handed it down to us as Paul’s.” and Clement of Alexandria (150-215AD) stated confidently “Paul wrote the Hebrews in the Hebrew language and that Luke carefully translated it into Greek.”


Therefore these devotions assume that Paul was the author of Hebrews but needless to say Paul won't be the subject of these devotions. We can make a gentle case for Hebrews being a letter to Christians from a Jewish background probably in the city of Rome at sometime before the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70AD (although all of this is as disputed as the authorship). It seems that these Christians were tempted to return to their Jewish roots and the focus of the letter was to turn their gaze upon Jesus.


Christ should still be our focus. We can fight and argue over trivial matters but as the Apostle shows us in Hebrews, Christ is supreme. He is greater than the angels, greater than Moses, greater than Melchizedek, greater than all. I trust we'll see that in vivid colours as we walk our way through Hebrews. Did Paul write Hebrews? Only God knows for sure but ultimately the Lord is the author of the Bible. May He speak powerfully to our souls and may we realise again that Christ alone is our supreme and greatest good.


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.
​

24th July 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read - Mark 12:35-37


Message Alan Burke 


There is a wee book that is ‘Called Why Johnny Can’t Preach?’ written by a man called T. David Gordon while he was undergoing cancer treatment which he didn’t think he’d survive so he doesn’t pull any punches. If you want a fuller review of his conclusions search for Kevin DeYoung’s review and it’s in two parts or even better get the book and read it. In the main Gordon’s conclusion for why Johnny can’t preach is because Johnny can’t read. Johnny doesn’t read carefully, nor does he read literature or poetry, he doesn’t read for enjoyment but that is indicative of the wider culture with its image based entertainment and trivialities which means we read and often just skim over what is before us without engaging with the words on the page. We can all do that and there are times that we come to read something and when something we missed is pointed out to us think to ourselves ‘How’d I miss that’. While it is also true that our own expectations, culture, desires, also play an impact on how we read. Well here Jesus teaches from scripture and he does so he basically makes the point that the baggage that they brought to the text had made the miss something really significant, it wasn’t because they didn’t read, or that they skimmed over it but because of their own blindness. 


A couple of things as we come to this passage that I want us all to take note of. Firstly where this comes in the narrative, for this is still the day after Jesus had cleared the temple where we were told in 11:18 “The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him”. That sets the tone for all that has followed, confrontation after confrontation, and while the last encounter was different as the teacher of the law asked a question not to trap Jesus but with a genuine desire to have his question answered. At the end of that account we are told that verse 34, “And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions” (Mk 12:34).


The question that Jesus begins with here, saying that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David, wouldn’t have ruffled any feathers, it’s as uncontroversial as saying our minister wears glasses, you’re not going to ruffle any feathers with that statement although what you say about the glasses that they wear might. But there are a couple of things that I want to draw to your attention, you likely already know them but it’s important that we understand them as we get more into this question as the week goes on. Firstly from time to time you’ll hear me talking about the Christ (hopefully at least once in every sermon), then the Messiah, you might even hear me use Christ and Messiah interchangeably and the reason is mean the same thing, they are titles that can be used interchangeably. The Greek word Christ comes from the Hebrew word Messiah, whether the Greek word is used or the Hebrew word, both mean that it is the anointed one, the Messiah is the Christ, the Christ is the Messiah. 


Well secondly the teachers of the law were saying that the Christ, the Messiah is the son of David. This hope of the Christ, of the Messiah can be traced right from the fall, the Messianic hope that the people would come. It comes first in the midst of the fall, of the serpent crusher that would come (Gen 3:15 often referred to as the protoevangelium) and from there we can trace it through, stage by stage, throughout the Scriptures until the coming of Jesus, the Christ the Messiah. Our hope is in the Messiah, the Christ and who is the Messiah, the Christ is Jesus the one who came to take away our sin, and there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Thanks be to the Father that in His eternal purposes that he decreed to send Son would come for our salvation.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
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)

22nd July 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read (Matthew 28v1-20)


In a play called "The Cobbler of Preston" a famous idiom was born. Which one? It's "impossible to be sure of any thing but death and taxes." I suspect many of us have said these words and many of us believe them. I can't help you with your taxes but today I proclaim to you that death has been defeated. Christ became a substitute for His sinful people at Calvary's cross where He was crucified and breathed His last. His resting place was Joseph of Arimathea's new tomb and His guard was a cohort of Roman soldiers whose task was to prevent the theft of Christ's body.


The Romans were wasting their time. Christ's followers were distraught at the Lord's death and none of them made any plans to steal His body. Instead Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the Lord's tomb to mourn (v1) but got much more than they could have possibly imagined. A great earthquake shook the earth, a mighty angel descended from heaven and the heavenly messenger rolled the stone away from the tomb and sat on it (v2). The guards hadn't counted on the angelic visitor and they "became like dead men" (v4).


However the angel's message was not one of fear but hope. He said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” (v5-7)


Can you imagine the excitement, adrenaline and nerves? These ladies had just encountered an angel and his message was the extraordinary "Christ is risen!" and if that weren't enough, as the women ran to tell the disciples, Jesus Himself met them and declared "Greetings!" causing the ladies to fall at His feet in worship (v9). Christ informed the women that they were not to be afraid but were to go and tell the disciples to meet Him in Galilee.


The message of the risen Christ didn't just get reported to His disciples. Some of those guarding Christ's tomb went into the city and told the chief priests what had happened (v11). Sometimes in life we all have to accept that we've got something terribly wrong and so make amends. The chief priests however decided that the best approach was not to back down but to double down. They paid a "sufficient sum" to the soldiers and offered them propaganda laced with a promise. They said “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” (v13-14). This "fake news" quickly made its way among the local populous and Matthew tells us "this story has been spread among the Jews to this day." (v15).


Nevertheless, as the guards spread lies around the city, the disciples met with Christ (v17). Matthew's account of their interaction is brief but he records for us Christ's final words of command. The Lord charged His disciples in this way “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,   teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (v18-20)


The disciples were to go and make other disciples. The Gospel was for "all nations" and soon the Gentiles would hear the miraculous message of the crucified and risen Christ. The sign of baptism was to be applied in the name of the Triune God and those believing the Gospel were to observe the teaching of Christ. It sounds so simple and yet at that moment I'm sure the eleven felt overwhelmed. Their enemies were many and the world so huge - would the mission be a success? It would and it continues to bear fruit to this very day. But doesn't Satan rage against the church? Yes he does, but he can do nothing to stop the advance of the church. Jesus is with us to the end of the age, He builds His church and the gates of hell never prevail against it.


It's a desperately bleak life if only death and taxes are certain and so I'm incredibly glad for the Gospel. Jesus died for my sin and was raised for my justification. Christ has put death to death and all who believe in Him will be saved. Brothers and sisters, pay your taxes and then rest in Christ, because of Him death has lost its sting. Thanks be to God! 


Message (Scott Woodburn)


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


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.
​

21st July 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read - Mark 12:28-34


Message Alan Burke 


Today we come to the ‘Golden Rule’, what is often seen to be one of the most important commandments for a believer and how they are to live but without knowing and understanding the ‘Greatest Commandment’ of how "you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” we will fail to know what it is to love our neighbour. What often happens though is that the so called golden rule has been detached from the context, it has been removed from its source and has become a platitude just like many others that without the context that it is spoken removes much of its meaning. 


When we try to love our neighbour removed from loving God then we will fail. Remove God, remove his law, which is what the culture that we live in is trying to do, then morality that which distinguishes between right and wrong and ethics those principles that govern our behaviour are void, the true and inescapable conclusion is that when we remove God from our thinking the only alternative is that we base everything on pure emotion, emotion that can unravel, emotion that today say one thing and tomorrow another. Take away God from ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ and you will not be loving, the only way that we know how to love, what is loving is because of our God who first loved us. 


Let’s think about that for a moment, there are people today who think that loving your neighbour is telling them that what is sinful is good, that they can harm their bodies in their preferred desire for the same sex and sure as long as they are two consenting adults what does it matter, or that you can mutilate your body by taking chemicals that will have an irreversible impact and have parts of it removed and be celebrated as being brave, the pure contradiction in our society is clear, we are so afraid of our children seeing an advert for a pizza or a packet of crisps that we ban them before 9pm so our kids don’t get fat but the sectary of state has pushed abortion lessons in schools and things that would make your granny blush to be taught and behaviours that will damage their bodies if they choose them, but as long as they don’t see the advert for a pizza or a packet of crisps then all will be fine. 


When you remove God from the equation, when you try to understanding loving your neighbour as yourself without God you will fail, and you will not show love for you do not know how to. In Luke’s gospel where Jesus taught about the greatest commandment and loving your neighbour as yourselves he told a parable after. The parable was of the good Samaritan, Samaritans were enemies of the Jews and the Samaritan had mercy, in the end Jesus said go and do likewise. For the believer our enemies are our neighbours, that’s something that many of us could do with understanding, there is no one who is not our neighbour.


For while we are unable to to love the Lord our God with all out hearts and our neighbours as ourself, it should not lead us to despair of that inability, instead it should drive us to the law giver, and to look to his Son, who was the only one who has kept the law perfectly, he has done it for us his people, as we repent and believe then his righteousness is given to us. The scribe was so close to the kingdom of God, all he needed to do was to trust in the beloved Son who was going to die for the sin of many.  


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
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)
​

20th July 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read (Matthew 27v32-66)


I have sometimes wondered what Barabbas did with his new found freedom. Did he go straight home and embrace his mother? Did he realise that he had been given a second chance and immediately change his ways? Did he go and sharpen his sword and return to the fight against the Romans? Whatever Barabbas was doing in the hours after his release, his substitute was making His way to the place of crucifixion.


As the Lord made His way to Golgotha, Jesus in His weakened condition fell beneath the weight of the cross He carried. The Romans forced a man by the name of Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross the rest of way (v32) and when they arrived they crucified Jesus. Crucifixion was sheer, degrading torture, reserved for the lowest of the low. Jesus was placed upon the cross and nails were driven into His feet and hands in order to keep Him in place. As the Saviour struggled to breathe, as His blood flowed and as every second became a struggle - Jesus had become a curse for our sake (Deuteronomy 21v23).


Perhaps the crowd would disperse and allow the Lord to die in peace? No. His garments were divided out (v35), those crucified with HIm were robbers and even they mocked Him (v38,44), many passed beneath the cross and hurled insults (v39-40) and the chief priests taunted Jesus by saying “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” (v42-43). Was Barabbas sleeping at this stage? Eating a meal? Celebrating with friends? We do not know, but His substitute was dying in supreme agony and mocked every step of the way.


If humanity responded to Jesus in petty indifference, nature became black, with darkness falling upon the land for three hours (v45). In the midst of the darkness Christ called out “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (v46) The Son of God quoted Psalm 22v1 in the depths of His abandonment. The obedient servant had been forsaken, the sinless Son had become sin for our sake. The Lord was offered sour wine (v48) while others continue to gawp (v49) and as Jesus cried out once more be breathed His last (v50).


The shockwaves of the Lord's death drew an incredible response. The temple curtain was torn in two, symbolising the new way to God that Christ had opened by His death (v51). There was an earthquake and many of the dead were raised, coming out of their tombs and appearing to many witnesses (v53). Even a Roman centurion who witnessed the events declared “Truly this was the Son of God!” (v54)


Later the Lord's body was removed from the cross and entrusted to Joseph of Arimathea who buried the Lord in a brand new tomb (v60). A great stone was rolled in front of the tomb and a guard was placed at the entrance to ensure that none of the Lord's disciples could steal His body in an attempt to fake a resurrection (v63).


None of this would have caused Barabbas an anxious thought. I'm sure he was sleeping soundly or recovering from a night of debauchery or already up the road to reunite with his fellow insurrectionists. Why should we care? Because Barabbas was swapped for Christ - an exchange had taken place and a guilty man was set free whilst an innocent man was brutally executed.


As I consider the fate of Barabbas, I am reminded of Christ and the great exchange at Calvary. It was there that Jesus became sin for my sake. It was there that He was crushed for my sake. It was there that His life was taken and the wrath of God poured out - for my sake. Jesus took our sin and made an end of it at the cross and it is this great exchange that sets guilty sinners free.


Brothers and sisters, take time to read these old familiar verses and allow them to bathe your soul in Gospel truth. Once, you were like Barabbas, dead in sin and without hope. But now you stand forgiven by the blood of Christ - His life was swapped for yours and the work is glorious indeed! Behold the Lamb of God who comes to take away the sin of the world.


Message (Scott Woodburn)


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


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.
​