31st July 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (John 13:1-17 focus v12-17)


Message (Alan Burke)


I’ve got a wee problem, now before you say to yourself “Burke, you have many problems” and start to list them all, would you relax a wee bit? My problem, my wee problem, is actually a big stinking problem, and you have it too; it’s my sinful heart. Many people get on their high horse when you try to tell them about their problem with sin, how every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart is only evil all the time. I seemed to have put a few noses out of joint recently when I said such a thing, even though that’s the Lord’s verdict (Gen 6:5). Because of my sinful heart, how every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart is only evil all the time, I’m not very good at doing what we are taught here by Jesus. He’d just washed his disciples’ feet, and he asks them; “Do you understand what I have done for you?” These disciples had vied for position, they had spoken and acted out of their own misconceived ambition and pride. They were looking for a place in the kingdom, expecting it to be like the kingdoms of this world, but now they were confronted with the fact that in the kingdom of God and his Christ, things are not like the kingdoms of this world. 


What Jesus had just done was a powerful lesson in servanthood, driving the point home that if he, being their Lord and Master, was willing to wash their feet, stooping before them, performing a task that would have been left to the lowest servant, how much more should they, his followers, who are for one another and for all? He then commanded his disciples to wash each other’s feet to serve one another in love according to the example he set. To refuse to serve others, to refuse to humble themselves, no matter how high their position, was to place themselves above Jesus. He had exemplified to them his love, his humility, his servant-heartedness. He was the example to follow, even though his disciples had been told they are still unaware of the full gravity of what lies ahead. For his disciples, the humility of Christ should be the pattern for their lives; that is as true for those there in the upper room as it is for us here today. Instead of aspiring to dominate, we must be eager to serve. Head knowledge, intellectual understanding, is not enough but must be backed up by a commitment of life. It doesn’t mean that our works are the basis of our acceptance by God but that they are the evidence of a true faith; they show where our hearts lie. For faith and obedience are inseparable. 


The problem is that this isn’t how the world works; it isn’t how our sinful nature is wired. We’re not being taught here that we have to start literally washing each other’s feet but that we are to serve those in the body of Christ. We serve one another. Just think how it would be if we were those as the church in this place who, desiring to bring glory to God, put aside our big heads, personalities, our self-serving attitude, and follow the example of Christ our saviour. What a witness that would be to the community around us, that we serve one another, that we leave aside our own ambition, and we are those who love each other and serve each other, that we stop getting our knickers in a twist and don’t hold on to things that were said, we don’t take offence, that we are patient with each other, forgiving as we have been forgiven through Christ Jesus.


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Q27 Wherein did Christ’s humiliation consist?
A. Christ’s humiliation consisted in his being born, and that in a low condition, made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the cross; in being buried, and continuing under the power of death for a time.

30th July 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read - Genesis 17


Message - Scott Woodburn


Thirteen years later Abram and Sarai still did not have a son. Ishmael was growing up but he still didn’t have a little brother. Abram was now 99 years old and humanly speaking was as good as dead (Hebrews 11v12). Into this scenario the Lord moved.


In this chapter the Lord does several things. Firstly, he reiterates His covenant with Abram, summed up by the wonderful phrase “to be God to you and to your offspring after you.” (v7) Secondly, he changes Abram’s name from Abram to Abraham. Abram means “exalted father” which perhaps stung Abram as he longed for a son. Abraham means “father of a multitude” which would soon prove to be a suitable name for Abraham the man of faith.


To underline that He fully intended to keep His promise, the Lord gave Abraham a covenant sign. Abraham and his descendants were to be circumcised as a reminder in their flesh that God was faithful (v11). What would the significance of such a reminder be? As the foreskin was removed and blood was shed, Abraham and his descendants would remember that a seed was coming. This seed would be cut off for our sake, His blood would be shed and in Him all the nations of the world would be blessed. Circumcision was not an empty ritual but was to be received by faith in the Redeemer to come.


Later the Lord would promise Abraham a son called Isaac meaning “he laughs” (v19). Isaac would come from Abraham and Sarai despite Abraham wondering and laughing “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old?” (v17). But nothing is too hard for the Lord. A child would be born to Abraham and whilst the Lord would make Ishmael a great nation (v20) the covenant would be established with Isaac (v21). That very day Abraham and the males of his house were circumcised in faithful anticipation of what the Lord was about to do (v23).


We can be thankful for living on this side of the cross. We see in the pages of the Scriptures that the Lord did all that He promised and that the seed of the woman was Jesus Christ our Lord. Today we baptise not circumcise. Christ was cut off for us and His blood was shed, so now circumcision has been replaced by baptism, reminding us of the cleansing flow of God’s forgiveness. Yet we haven’t done away with the imagery of circumcision.


A Christian is someone whose heart has been turned from stone to flesh. Their heart has been cleansed. Their heart has been made new. A true follower of Christ has received the Gospel by faith and doesn’t go through the motions of religious rituals. Paul would put it this way “But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.” (Romans 2v29)


The ancient sign of circumcision is no longer practiced in the church of Christ and yet as the Holy Spirit works, sinful hard hearts are circumcised through faith in Christ. This is a supernatural and miraculous work and one that should cause you great joy. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5v17)    


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Q26 How doth Christ execute the office of a king? Christ executeth the office of a king, in subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies.
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29th July 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (John 13:1-17 focus v6-11)


Message (Alan Burke)


I was off to use the little boys’ room at the church hall a while back, and there was someone in there with the blue gloves on, fishing out sweetie wrappers, crisp packets that some wee fella had put down the toilet after using it, along with some brown stains that had ended up on the floor, obviously from some ‘chocolate’. The person in question had gone to the little boys’ room, saw the mess, without saying anything to anyone, went and got gloves, some disposable towels, a bag, and a mop, and was in the process of sorting it out when I arrived. Would you have done the same? There are all kinds of things that we think are beneath us, that are someone else’s job, our status in life, our sense of pride, persona— all play a part in that. In Jesus’ day, one of those things that many people believed was beneath them was washing the feet of others. It was the task of a servant, regarded as one of the lowest household tasks. 


Peter’s response to what Jesus was doing was to vehemently protest to his master, before him dressed not as a conquering king but in a servant’s towel. His response reveals just how shocking what was unfolding would have been to the disciples that night. Peter found even the thought that Jesus would wash his feet as absurd; this was a servant’s task; he did not feel worthy that his master should be acting like this towards him. He said to Jesus, “You shall never wash my feet,” and Jesus counters his adamance by saying: “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” Whatever Peter's own expectations may have been, Jesus’s repose makes it clear that he must accept Jesus in the path that God has chosen for him to follow. He hears what Jesus has said, but again, Peter fails to understand, and he moves protesting that Jesus would wash his feet to say: “Not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”. The explanation that Jesus gives is that after one has bathed, he only needs to wash his feet for his whole body to be clean. The imagery would have been easy for the disciples to understand; feet were constantly soiled by the dust of the ground. The imagery used by Jesus speaks of how they are clean; they are clean because they have faith in him, for it is through Christ Jesus, through his life, and his death and resurrection yet to come that we are made clean. For it is through his blood that we are cleansed (see 1 Jn 1:7). 


For those among them and who have trusted in the saviour, they have been cleansed by his atoning work through the ignominy of the cross. We are clean, cleansed completely. Just as the disciples were cleansed not because they have purified themselves and made themselves worthy, it is the same for us; it is through what Jesus has done that we are made clean, in his surrender of himself on the cross. Brothers and sisters, it is only through what Jesus has done for us that we are made clean; we are washed in his blood; cleansed by him. Yet on this side of glory, we remain sinners; the effects of sin are daily apparent to us, apparent in our relationships, in our bodies, in every part of our lives. Hence Jesus says: “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean…”. In our lives it is important that we come daily to our Father and we confess our sin because our continuing sin affects our fellowship with our Father. We need to do this, because our “vigour, and power, and comfort of our spiritual life depend on the mortification of the deeds of the flesh” (John Owen Mortification of Sin).


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Q25 How doth Christ execute the office of a priest?
A. Christ executeth the office of a priest, in his once offering up of himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice and reconcile us to God, and in making continual intercession for us.
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28th July 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read - Genesis 16


Message - Scott Woodburn


How long should you wait to get what you want? A few weeks? Months? Years? Sometimes we get sick of waiting and decide to take matters into our own hands. Abram had received God’s promise by faith but now was going to bring about the promise by the flesh.


Abram and his wife Sarai were childless and so came up with the plan for Abram to sleep with his wife’s servant Hagar. If all went according to the earthly plan Hagar would produce an heir and so the promise of God would be fulfilled. Unsurprisingly none of this was with the Lord’s blessing.


Hagar did indeed fall pregnant but she was immediately filled with sinful pride and arrogance towards Sarai. Sarai for her part is filled with bitterness and cries to Abram “May the wrong done to me be on you!” (v5) It seems that Sarai has forgotten that the whole episode was her idea! Abram’s response doesn’t cover him in glory. “Do to her as you please” he urged his wife (v6). Or in other words Abram’s attitude is “nothing to do with me!”


The whole story is a sinful mess that came about due to the unwillingness to wait upon the sovereignty of Almighty God. Sadly it gets worse. Hagar is forced to flee from Sarai’s harsh treatment and so this young pregnant girl finds herself alone in the wilderness (v7). Sin upon sin upon sin and the outcome is bitterness, division and isolation. Utterly tragic.


However if Abram washed his hands of the matter, the Lord didn’t. In verse seven we meet an angel for the first time in the Scriptures, only this angel is THE angel of the Lord (v7). Whenever we meet such a statement we believe that we see a pre-incarnation appearance of Christ. Jesus is eternal and before he came in the flesh He was very much active and appeared throughout the Old Testament.


It was the Lord therefore who came and sought out the outcast telling Hagar that she was indeed pregnant with a son. His name would be Ishmael meaning “God hears” for the Lord had heard the cries of Hagar’s heart. From Ishmael would come a multitude of people who would know trouble and strife.


Hagar understands that not only does God hear but God sees. The name of the well where the Lord met with Hagar was to be called “Beer-lahai-roi” (v14) meaning “the well of the living God who sees” and so Hagar returns to Abram with the news of her meeting with the Lord. The message to her master would be clear - God hears and sees and will surely keep His promise.


Brothers and sisters waiting is hard but rushing into to sin is even worse. At times it may seem that the Lord has no regard for us and that we currently walk through the wilderness. But today we remember that the Lord came to seek and to save the lost. We were once dead in sin and had no regard for the Lord and then on a bright shining day, he sought us out and opened our eyes. He has not changed. He is still for you. He remains the God who hears and sees…just you wait and see.       


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Q24 How doth Christ execute the office of a prophet? Christ executeth the office of a prophet, in revealing to us, by his Word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation.

27th July 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (John 13:1-17 focus )


Message (Alan Burke) 


In what seems like a lifetime ago, and to be fair, it was, I worked in Bishops Coleraine, mainly in the children’s department. Just in case any of you don’t know about Bishops, it is a shoe shop, and at this time of year, they have their summer sale on. Working in the men’s department was easy; you just had to go get the right size shoe, and if they fitted and they liked them, make sure that the pair was in the box and then make the sale. But in the children’s department, it’s not quite as simple. You have to measure their feet, yes, but a lot of the time, the children didn’t like their feet being touched, and they might have liked a pair of shoes, but when they weren’t in stock, there could be tantrums and tears. Added to that, there were times that you had to deal with some quite smelly feet. I especially don’t envy people like chiropodists. 


 Here, as the final hours unfold before the crucifixion, Jesus gives his disciples the ultimate object lesson; he gives an example of humility, what it is to be one of those who claim his name, that they are in Christ. He shows some of what it is to be a servant. Before he washes their feet, John wants us to see that what Jesus was doing was showing them the full extent of his love. It is a love that underlies his mission, a love that would be seen in its fullness as he laid down his life so that we might be forgiven. Here, Jesus demonstrates that love to those who were with him, illustrating it for them all so vividly. As the Passover meal was being served and during which he would institute the Lord’s Supper, he knew that the heart of Judas had been moved by the Devil and that it would see him betrayed and nailed to a cross. Yet God was at work. For in all that took place, God was no idle spectator, helpless to foil the Devils schemes. Rather, from the very beginning, from the fall in the garden of Eden, he had been working his eternal purposes. So that in all that is unfolding, even with the betrayer among them, Jesus here powerfully demonstrates to his people what it is to love one’s enemies (Matt 5:44). He gets up from the meal, takes off his outer clothing, wrapping a towel around his waist. His actions were that of a servant, and he began pouring water into a basin and washing their feet. This was an act of humility that is as unnecessary as it is stunning, a display of his great love, moving from disciple to disciple. 


Who is this Jesus who washed his disciples’ feet? He is the only begotten Son of God, the one who in the beginning was with God and was God, who gave up the riches of glory and condescended, that is, he lowered himself and made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant (see Phil 2:6–8). Do not miss the wonder of what unfolded here in this passage, do not let it be lost on you, because of familiarity as Jesus washes the feet of his disciples. Our saviour is the servant saviour, who became like us in every way so that he could make an atonement for our sin (Heb 2:17). To his disciples, he showed them the full extent of his love in what he did, doing what only a servant would have done. Reflect on the wonder of who our saviour is and what he has done, that he who being in the very nature God took the form of a servant so that we his enemies by our nature might become the children of God and we should imitate his humility, serving one another as we have been served by him (see Phil 2).


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Q23 What offices doth Christ execute as our Redeemer?
A. Christ, as our Redeemer, executeth the offices of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king, both in his estate of humiliation and exaltation.
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25th July 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read - Genesis 15


Message - Scott Woodburn


The promise of God to Abram was extraordinary. In him all the nations of the world would be blessed and his descendants would be more numerous than the dust of the earth. There was one small problem though…Abram had no heir. If the situation continued then Eliezer of Damascus would stand in line to receive the blessing of God (v2).


Yet the Lord was clear. Eliezer would not be Abram’s heir, instead Abram would have a son (v4). Once more the Lord took Abram outside and showed him the stars. “So shall your offspring be.” Said the Lord (v5). At this bold statement Abram believed the Lord and it was counted to him as righteousness (v6). Here in Genesis we see Abram’s saving faith. He believed God and it was credited or counted to him as righteousness. We are familiar with the term “imputation” aren’t we? When we believe the Gospel, Christ’s righteousness is credited or imputed to our account. We see the exact thing here with Abram. He trusted the Lord and was declared righteous with a righteousness that was not his own.


But Abram wanted to be sure to be sure. The Lord would give Abram the land but Abram enquired “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” (v8) Father Abram is exactly like you and I. We like to be sure. We like to see something in stone. We want the promise in writing. Thankfully and graciously the Lord blesses us with signs of His covenant promises.


Abram was to gather various animals and cut them in half (v9-11). With the work complete he fell into a deep sleep of great darkness. As Abram slept the Lord revealed to him that his descendants would be wanderers in land that wasn’t their own. They would be servants in that land and would be there for 400 years (v13). Eventually the Lord would bring them from that land to the land promised to Abram (v16).


As a sign of the truthfulness of His Word the Lord appeared as a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch and passed between the divided bodies of the animals (v17). What did this mean? The Lord was telling Abram “May I be cut in two like these animals if I don’t keep my promise”.


Once more Scripture interprets Scripture. In Hebrews 6 we are told that because there is no one greater than God, He swore by Himself that He would keep His promise (Hebrews 6v13). God was showing Abram (and us) convincingly that He does not change and He will not abandon His promises or His people. God cannot lie. God cannot fail. He will do all that He has said.


Abram would die at a good old age (v15) but the promise made to him continues to be fulfilled all these years later. Brothers and sisters I urge you to take heart today. Our prayers can sometimes seem unanswered and life can often be incredibly tough but the Lord remains faithful.


It is impossible for God to lie, therefore we “have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 6v18-20)


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Q22 How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man? Christ, the Son of God, became man, by taking to himself a true body and a reasonable soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and born of her, yet without sin.
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24th July 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (Matthew 17:1–13 focus)


Message (Alan Burke)


You’ve gotta love it when you’re having a conversation with someone and you’ve told them something important and they miss it entirely and ask something kinda related but they miss the main thing. I think that is what is happening here, they knew Jesus to be the Son of Man. After Peter’s confession, Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life (16:21), and he’s just told them not to tell anyone what they have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead. Maybe I’m being too hard on these disciples, but I think they are so caught up with what they have seen and for obvious reasons that they hadn’t really grasped what Jesus had just said. In light of the fact that God the Father had spoken from heaven, I’d be wanting to know more.

Instead, these disciples ask about Elijah. There was an expectation that Elijah would come before the day of the Lord (see Mal 4:5). Peter, James, and John had just seen Elijah there, but they were also beginning to realise that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, although they did not fully know what that meant, so they were confused. But Elijah had come; John was the fulfilment of that prophecy, for John the Baptist was not a reincarnated Elijah; instead, he came as the last Old Testament prophet in the "spirit and power of Elijah” as the gospel of Luke tells us (1:17). He came before Jesus to “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” He came fulfilling Malachi and the promise of God, so before Jesus, John came, as Elijah was to come before the Christ, the Messiah. 


John came and called people to repent of their sins; he fulfilled the mission of Elijah. He prepared the way for Jesus, the Saviour and Son of God. John had come, and to John who came in the spirit and power of Elijah, he suffered; he was imprisoned for telling the truth, for preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He came as the forerunner of the gospel and was beheaded by Herod; he suffered and died at the hands of sinful men. The forerunner of the Messiah was dealt with severely; should there be any surprise about the fate of the Messiah himself?


These disciples were given a glimpse of the Glory of the Son of God, who was to suffer and die but would rise from the dead, and ascend into heaven. In this life, we will suffer to lesser or greater extents. Jesus made that clear for his disciples. The rest of the New Testament doesn’t shy away from it, but as Romans reminds us, that as his children through faith, as fellow heirs with Christ, that as we suffer we will be glorified with him, for the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (ESV) (Rom 8:17–18)


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Q21 Who is the Redeemer of God’s elect?
A. The only Redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was, and continueth to be, God and man in two distinct natures, and one person, for ever.
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23rd July 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read - Genesis 14


Message - Scott Woodburn


Abram had done all that he could to avoid conflict with his nephew Lot but sometimes those who want peace have war thrust upon them regardless. Genesis 14 tells of the kings of Jordan who served king Chedorlaomer for twelve years (v4). In the thirteenth year they rebelled against him and in the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer swept down upon the rebels.


His campaign was a success and we are told that he took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, all their provisions and even Abram’s nephew Lot was carried off as one of the spoils of war. It’s interesting to note that by this stage Lot had swapped his tent outside Sodom for life inside the city (v12). We should never underestimate the attraction and pull of sin. As John Owen famously said “be killing sin or it be killing you.”.


Thankfully for Lot, news reached Abram who immediately gathered his 318 trained men and set off after Chedorlaomer (v14). Abram’s pursuit was a success, he defeated and chased his enemies and soon brought back everything that they had carried off (v16).


As Abram returned victorious he was met by two thankful kings. The king of Sodom only wanted his people back and offered all the recaptured goods as Abram’s reward (v21). But while such an offer may have seemed tempting, Abram wanted nothing to do with it. Sodom was already known for its wickedness and so Abram rejected anything from the king of Sodom’s hand. The victory would not be tarnished by the king of Sodom saying “I have made Abram rich” (v23) The victory belonged to God.


The other king couldn’t have been more different. His name was Melchizedek which means “my king is righteous” and he was king of Salem which we will later call Jerusalem. Melchizedek is described as the “priest of God most high” (v18) and so in Melchizedek we see the combination of the roles of priest and king. Melchizedek blessed Abram by declaring “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And in response Abram gave him a tenth (a tithe) of the spoils of war.


What are we to make of Melchizedek? Scripture interprets Scripture. In Hebrews 7 we are told that Melchizedek had no father or mother or genealogy nor beginning of days or end of life (v3). In this way says the Apostle, Melchizedek resembled Christ who would later come in the order of Melchizedek.


Melchizedek was a priest long before the Levitical priesthood and yet Abram gave him with a tithe. In Hebrews 7v7 we are reminded that the inferior is blessed by the superior and so when we consider Abram meeting Melchizedek we come to the conclusion that Abram met a type of Christ who pronounced a blessing upon him. In later years Jesus would come, He was the true Melchizedek, a priest forever who remains over the household and family of God. Jesus is the one who combines the role of priest and king perfectly and Jesus is the true King of righteousness. 


As Abram returned from war he refused the wickedness and glory of Sodom and instead, in type and shadow, he caught a glimpse of the Christ. Abram saw what David understood “The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’ The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.’" (Psalm 110v1-4)


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Q20 Did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery? God having, out of his mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace, to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a Redeemer.
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22nd July 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (Matthew 17:1–13 focus)


Message (Alan Burke)


A few weeks ago, Scott and I were in Rome. You’ll likely hear many illustrations from us in the years to come about our wee trip and how we fitted a lot in over those almost three days. When we were there, there were many beautiful buildings, wonderful sights, all declaring the glory of man. The day after I arrived home, I did my usual walk on my usual route, and I was struck with the birdsong, the hedgerows, the sun, the sky, and everything in between, all declaring the glory of God. Today I’m sitting in the garden writing this devotion under a tree, hearing the leaves rustle, the birds, feeling the warmth of the sun, and I’m in awe of my God who made it. Oh, what a sight it would have been for Peter, James, and John that day as what had been veiled by the humanity of Christ was suddenly before them as he was transfigured. There we are told that just then Moses and Elijah appeared and were talking with Jesus. What a sight that would have been. 


What was unfolding was directly linking what has come before to what is happening in their day through Jesus Christ. Here we have Moses, who was the mediator of the Covenant with the people of God. He was Israel’s deliverer. He foreshadowed Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, the true deliverer of God’s people. Whereas Elijah was one of the most prominent prophets who was supposed to appear at the dawning of the end time and God’s ultimate redemption of Israel. 


Peter offers to put up three shelters, and at that moment, Peter was interrupted; a cloud appeared, again another illusion to what happened before; the cloud envelopes them, it is a symbol of the presence of God overshadowing them, with the voice of God coming from the cloud saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”. In Matthew’s gospel, the Father only speaks twice at Jesus' baptism and at His transfiguration. Once at the beginning of His ministry and now on the road to the cross. Jesus was not like Moses or Elijah; he was the Son of the living God. The Son is the revealer of the new covenant; it was prophesied in Deuteronomy 18, that there would be a prophet like Moses, one from among them, to whom they should listen (Dt 18:15). Jesus is indeed the fulfilment of the scriptures; before them, they had witnessed the Glory of the LORD, the Son of God, and it brings terror. These disciples, they're on their knees. They're fallen face down to the ground. It’s like, they're prostrating themselves on the ground, so awesome is the sight.


This is what happens here: they fell at their feet though dead; they had come into the presence of God and were confronted with his glory. In the presence of the living God, any pretence of self-righteousness is stripped away; our sin is exposed for what it is. Yet in this we see again a wonderful picture of the grace of our saviour. As Jesus says to them, “Get up. Don't be afraid” (v7). In the presence of the living God, confronted with his glory, they knew what it was to fear, for he is Holy, Holy, Holy. Fear is the natural response of sinful man in the presence of God. For as the psalmist exclaims, “If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, LORD, who could stand?” (Psalm 130:3). The truth is none of us; these disciples were filled with terror for they had witnessed the glory of the LORD, the Son of God, and it brings terror, but grace comes through his suffering for he would rise from the dead. Through Jesus, those who have repented and believed can stand before the Lord because He opened the way for sinners to approach a holy God by His sacrifice. (See Isaiah 1:18 and 1 John 1:9)


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Q19 What is the misery of that estate whereinto man fell?
A. All mankind, by their fall, lost communion with God, are under his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all miseries in this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell for ever.
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21st July 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read - Genesis 13


Message - Scott Woodburn


A favourite cry of many in our land is “no surrender”, it promises not to give an inch, never to retreat, never to give up. However as we read Genesis 13 we notice that the words “no surrender” never leave Abram’s lips.


By this stage of Abram’s story he had become very rich in livestock, silver and gold (v2). His nephew Lot had done well for himself too (v5) so much so that the land couldn’t support both men living in the same country together. It had become so tense that the herdsmen of both Abram and Lot had begun to fight and argue. Who would win out?


Perhaps in your own life at this stage you’d cry “no surrender”. Your needs come above those of anyone else and so you must have the best, you must have the victory. I suspect we’ve all acted in such a fashion more times than we would like to admit. We know that Abram was no perfect man but in this instance he chose the path of wisdom.


He tells Lot that the last thing he wants is for their family to be at war (v8). The whole land lies in front of Lot and so Abram gives him the first choice. If Lot goes right then Abram will go left. Abram acts with wisdom and grace and doesn’t put his needs first. As Lot lifted his eyes he saw the plush Jordan valley and decided that he would have that for his possession (v11). In the eyes of many it was a good choice but ominously we are told that Lot moved as far as Sodom where “the men…were wicked, great sinners against the Lord” (v13).


Yet Abram wasn’t hard done by. He had taken the path of grace and whilst in the eyes of the world it might have seemed like he had missed out, in the eyes of the Lord he had acted wisely. God spoke covenantally again to Abram and said “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” (v14-17)


The Lord had promised Abram an inheritance of land but also an inheritance of faith. Abram’s descendants would be as numerous as the dust of the earth. Lot may have claimed the Jordan valley by sight, but Abram’s claim would be won by faith. Let’s remember again that this story in Genesis 13 is our story for if we belong to Jesus then we are spiritual descendants of Abram (Galatians 3v29).


Brothers and sisters our cry doesn’t need to be “no surrender”. We don’t need to fight every battle. We don’t need to win every victory. We don’t have to rub our neighbours face in the dirt at every opportunity. Instead as we come to saving faith in Jesus we “know surrender”. The old has gone and the new has come. In this life we walk by faith and not by sight and so our enemies may always seem to claim the Jordan valley from under our nose but we rest easy regardless. Our inheritance is in heaven, kept for us by Jesus and it is one that will never perish, spoil or fade. It is as Samuel Rutherford once said “they lose nothing who gain Christ.”


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


Q18 Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell? The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell, consists in the guilt of Adam’s first sin, the want of original righteousness, and the corruption of his whole nature, which is commonly called original sin; together with all actual transgressions which proceed from it.
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