30th November 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read (Romans 15v17-21)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


There are some Biblical ideas which have made their way into everyday life. What like? How about "pride comes before a fall"? Your granny might have told you that but she got it from the Word which says "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." (Proverbs 16v18) Pride in your achievements or abilities often paves the way to a calamitous fall.


It therefore seems strange that Paul said he was proud of the work that he had done for the Lord (v17). Was Paul unaware of Proverbs 16v18? Did he not know that "The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers." (Psalm 5v5)? Paul was not ignorant of the Scriptures and his pride was not a sinful self-aggrandising pride, instead Paul boasted "in Christ Jesus" (v17a).


If we utter any boastful words then we would do well to boast only in the Lord. God says "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 9v23-24)


Paul's boasts focused on what Christ had done through the Apostle's ministry which brought many Gentiles into faithful obedience (v18). Paul wasn't proud of himself but he took great delight in the work of God. Paul preached the Gospel and confirmed it by the signs of an Apostle (v18b-19a). The Word preached was underlined by miracles done, all accomplished by the mighty work of the Holy Spirit (v19b).


This awesome work saw Paul go from Jerusalem to the Roman province of Illyricum, which you may know as the region encompassing Croatia, Bosnia and Albania. It was in this great arc that Paul fulfilled the ministry given to him by Jesus (v19). Indeed this ministry was "brand new" as Paul made it his ambition not to preach anywhere where the Gospel had already been proclaimed (v20). Paul saw himself as laying a Gospel foundation rather than building on the work done by others (v20). Such a ministry was in fulfilment of Isaiah's prophecy which said "Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand." (Isaiah 52v15).


In some circles Paul is an unpopular and controversial individual. He is seen as a bit of an extremist who if he existed today would certainly be a candidate for cancellation. I don't think this way and nor should you. I'm thankful for Paul's ministry and he could be rightly proud of the work that the Lord had done in him and through him. A life lived for Christ is not lived in vain. May I one day reach the finish line with lips that never tire of boasting in Christ. I hope you do too. "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory" (Psalm 115v1)


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

29th November 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read - 1 Samuel 20:12-22 


Message Alan Burke 


In your hand right now or in front of you, you have a device that is more powerful than the computer that put men on the moon. What we have is an amazing piece of technology before us, think just what it can do, things that would have been impossible just 20years ago is no longer science fiction but science fact. Like 20 years ago I owned a Nokia 6600 with one rear facing camera with an amazing 0.307 megapixel camera whereas today the latest phones have a 200mp camera that is over 650 times better. Phones track our locations, they can listen in on all our conversations we only say “Siri”, “Ok Google” or “Alexa” to get their attention. Can you imagine if Saul had at his fingertips the technology of today as he attempted to hunt David down, there would have been no chance for David and Jonathan would have unknowingly been used as bait.


While Jonathan did not want to accept that his father wanted to kill David he went along with the plan and gave David the assurance that he desired. Knowing that his actions meant that he was about to be disloyal to his father for the sake of what was right. The two men made a solemn covenant reassuring each other of their godly motivations. Jonathan asks that David would show him hesed love,  NIV in v14 uses the word and translated it as unfailing kindness, the KJV puts it as kindness, in v15 it comes again and in both the NIV and the KJV it translates the word hesed as kindness. Jonathan asked this for he knew that in the future it would be he that needed kindness and mercy and that David would be the one with the power to help, he understood that one day roles would be reverse, David would become king, and when he did he would be dependant on David’s grace, it was a speech and a request of extraordinary faith, Jonathan feared the one who was afraid.


The kind of love that Jonathan asked David to show him in a sense is peculiar for it is a word that is almost exclusively attributed to God alone speaking of his love towards his people. This word hesed is used in Exodus 34, where we are told, the Lord passed before Moses and proclaimed, and I’m taking this from the ESV because it is consistent… “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…” Don’t forget that the Lord said these words to Moses just after His people had made a golden calf and worshiped it. Jonathan appeals for David to show him a love like that the Lord shows towards us a sinful people, a love that continues steadfastly, the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. 


Why was all this necessary, the making the covenant, the swearing, the vowing, the oath taking? Well it is because we are sinful people and we all have at tendency to break our promises, Jonathan wanted more than mere platitudes. There is a question that comes out of this for us, in narrative that deals with loyalty, friendship, keeping our word, what do our actions and our words say about us, they ultimately speak volumes, they speak volumes about who we are, our relationship with the Lord our God, self examination can be difficult for us but maybe the thing that we should seek is a loyal friend to be honest. Also that love that the Lord shows us, his hesed love is one that we do not deserve. What we deserve just like the people who worshipped the golden calf is the wrath of God and not his mercy, not his love. Yet our God has shown his great love towards us that while we were still sinners Christ died for us, let us not forget the wonder of God’s love towards such people as us. 


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Q2 What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?
The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, (2 Tim. 3:16, Eph. 2:20) is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him. (1 John 1:3–4)
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28th November 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read (Romans 15v14-16)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


I often hear that modern parents can't believe that their little ones can ever be guilty of bad behaviour. The teacher at a local school sends a letter home outlining little Johnny's shocking attitude, only to have a parent spitting fire the very next morning in defence of their "little angel". Regardless of whether this is true or not, Paul certainly doesn't fit the mould of a modern parent.


The Apostle unquestionably loved the Romans and was prepared to tell them that he was "satisfied" about them (v14). As far as Paul was concerned they were "full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another." (v14b). That's a resounding note of praise for any church. The Romans obviously loved one another and their love of the Lord flowed into a life of good deeds. Furthermore, they were a well taught fellowship who had "all knowledge" (v14b). This doesn't mean that they knew everything possible to know, instead they knew Christ, His Gospel and loved His Word.


You might say that the Romans were a theologically minded church but theology that only impacts the mind is half-baked. Good theology should always impact your life and in the case of the Romans, they took their knowledge and instructed one another in the ways of the Lord. They were an active, kind, loving, well taught and teaching church.


Even so, there is no perfect church and Paul reminded the Romans that on "some points" he had to speak very boldly to them (v15). In other words, the Apostle may have loved the Romans but at times that love showed itself in necessary correction. It is not unloving to tell your child to behave in school, just as it is not unloving to seek to address difficulties in a local fellowship.


At this point a grumpy Roman might be tempted to ask "who does Paul think he is?" It is incredibly unlikely that Paul started the Roman church and so some might wonder what gave him the right to speak boldly? In four words...he was an Apostle.


Paul knew that it was by the grace of God (v15b) that he had been called to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles (v16a). The Apostle had at one time been an opponent of the Gospel and a persecutor of the church, but Christ had opened Paul's eyes and sent him to take the good news to the nations.


The imagery Paul used to describe his ministry would have been incredibly familiar to the ethnic Jews converted to Christ in Rome. Just as the priests of the Old Testament took the sacrifice to the altar, Paul described himself as being in the "priestly service of the Gospel of God" (v16b). He wasn't reintroducing the priesthood to the Christian church instead he sought to describe his role in redemptive history.


Paul took the Gospel to the Gentiles mirroring the promise of God which said "And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the LORD," (Isaiah 66v20) As we have already seen in this chapter, the salvation of the Gentiles was always part of God's plan. Paul like a priest of old pointed the Gentiles to Christ in order to bring many to salvation, sanctification and glory. In this manner, the Gentiles would be like an acceptable sacrifice to God washed clean by the blood of the Lamb.


Paul in his apostolic role had every right to rejoice over and rebuke the Romans as necessary. I hope we are satisfied with this. You may not be aware but your church is apostolic in the sense that it believes apostolic teaching. We are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets and so what Christ's messengers once said is still of great importance to the modern church.


This Sunday you will hear God's voice as the Scriptures are read and you will be blessed as the Scriptures are preached. This is God's simple but wonderful plan to convert sinners and to see them sanctified. Sometimes the Lord encourages us and sometimes He rebukes us but He always seeks to grow us. Brothers and sisters, may we be "full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another." but may we also with maturity receive difficult teaching when it comes. 


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Q1 What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.
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27th November 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read - 1 Samuel 20:1-11


Message Alan Burke 


Families are fun to say the least. I say that as we come to this passage because there is part of me that if I was in Jonathan’s company I’d want to give him a slap on the bake for he’s being a dose. Here the delusional Jonathan is defending his father when not to long ago he had been told by his father to kill David and now is refusing to accept the reality of what has happened and what David is accusing his father off. At the same time this doesn’t surprise me, I’ve seen parents defend their kids when their actions are indefensible and blame others for what has happened and I’ve seen kids do exactly the same for their parents. The idiom ‘blood is thicker than water’ springs to mind. What we have here is almost painfully awkward, like come on Jonathan wake up, catch yourself on lad. Especially when you consider what happened back in chapter 18 when Jonathan figuratively handed over everything to David, making a covent with him and we are even told that Jonathan loved David as his own soul (18:3). That covenant is the reasons why David has come to Jonathan and as he does so he was risking a lot in the hope that Jonathan would not just hand him over to his father Saul who wanted to kill him.


David desires to know why all this is happening to him, he asks Jonathan “What have I done”? David is looking for answers to why he is now a fugitive, a hunted man when he has done nothing to wrong Saul. Notice then just how shocking what David has said to Jonathan in v2, depending on the translation you have you’ll likely see ‘Never’, ‘Far from it’ or ‘God forbid’ all express the disbelief that Jonathan had at the words of David. He didn’t want to believe that his father would internally do any of this. Even though Jonathan had been ordered by his father to seek out and kill David as we are told at the beginning of chapter 19, it seems that he was Jonathan is convinced that it was nothing more than a momentary lapse into madness that had consumed his father rather than anything more sinister. Even going as far as to defend his father to David and is convinced that his father would do nothing without telling him, it was based on his confidence in his relationship with his father. 


We might want to ask what is Jonathan is playing at, the evidence is more than weighted against the character of Saul. We might think the lad needs to get seen too, but then we can do that with our family, we want to believe the best, we don’t like seeing their failures. We may choose to give Jonathan the benefit of the doubt, after all he last appeared in 19:7 and we haven’t heard of him since, maybe he genuinely did not know all that had transpired, maybe he thought it was all in David’s head. What we have here is a situation where Jonathan was torn between his friend and his father, he was torn between the Lord’s anointed and the King. To convince Jonathan, David we are told took an oath and managed to convince Jonathan. But with the elaborate means by which Saul was to be tested at the new moon festival. 


Note that in this, in David’s desperation he and attempt to save his own bacon we see that David even though is a man after God’s own heart is a sinner just like you and I. David is seeking that Jonathan would betray his father, this is deception at David’s behest. The reality of living in the shadow of the fall is that there are times that it is necessary for us all to choose sides, to at times be disloyal even to those who were close to if they are in the wrong, Jonathan was disloyal to his father, it would come at a cost yet in this there was godly motivations as we are about to see. Living in the shadow of the fall is hard and so many of our relationships have been marred by it, yet we have the hope through the Lord Jesus Christ that it will not always be like this for he will return to make all things new. 


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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. (Matt. 6:13)) teacheth us, to take our encouragement in prayer from God only, (Dan. 9:4,7–9,16–19) and in our prayers to praise him, ascribing kingdom, power, and glory to him. (1 Chron. 29:10–13) And, in testimony of our desire, and assurance to be heard, we say, Amen. (1 Cor. 14:16, Rev. 22:20–21)
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25th November 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read (Romans 15v13)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


Verse thirteen is beautiful and a prayer which should become part of our own prayer life. The Apostle prays for his brothers and sisters in Rome and asks that the God of hope would fill the Roman Christians with all joy and peace in believing. Let's break that down. Firstly, God is the God of hope. The Lord isn't like us and so He does not sit in heaven fretting and hoping that all will go well.


He knows the beginning and He knows the end. He is not afraid of the darkness and He does not fear the future. He is the source of every good and perfect gift including the treasure of hope. The classic movie "The Shawshank Redemption" has hope as its central theme. The character called Red says that "Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man mad." but his friend Andy isn't so sure saying "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things." Both of these fictional characters found themselves in prison with little to no hope of a brighter future. 


I am so thankful for the hope we have in Christ. We know that this world is hard and sore but in Jesus we have not believed in vain. The Christian isn't a fool and they haven't made a mistake in receiving the Gospel - our hope isn't dangerous and it will not drive us mad, instead it directs us Christ-ward and it causes us to long for home. Peter calls our hope a "living" one which hopes in a Saviour who knew death but also a glorious resurrection. In Christ we have a heavenly inheritance which can never perish, spoil or fade (1st Peter 1v3-4). I think hope is a good thing, not the best of things but a precious jewel nevertheless.


God is the God of hope and Paul prays that He will fill us with joy and peace as we believe (v13a). I don't plan to patronise you today by saying that the Christian life is only joy and peace. I suspect you know all too well that at times we can carry heavy joyless burdens with hearts filled with dread. Even so, we should do business with today's verse and pray earnestly that the Lord would bless us with joy and peace as we believe. 


The Christian's great joy is none other than Jesus. In Christ we know that our primary need has been addressed, no longer are we enemies of God but rather His friends. By faith in Jesus we have peace with the Lord and whilst in this life we will certainly know trouble, we can take heart because Christ has overcome the world.


As Paul's prayer ends, he asks that the church in Rome wouldn't know a "touch wood" or "fingers crossed" kind of hope but rather a Holy Spirit worked abundant hope. I pray for that too, so that in good days and bad we would hope abundantly in the better future won for us by Christ. Look around you today and remember that what you see is not all that there is. Look inward today and remember that the Lord has promised you a day without the pain you feel or the depression which calls regularly.


Brothers and sisters, let's pray these words for each other. "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." (Romans 15v13) Amen.   


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Q106 What do we pray for in the sixth petition? In the sixth petition, which is, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” 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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24th November 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read - 1 Samuel 19


Message Alan Burke 


But by the grace of God go I. You may even have used those words yourself because like me you know your propensity to sin and it is expressing your gratitude for the grace of God in your life that has kept you from what could have been a very different path. Sin is such that it deceives, entices and when a starts we can think to ourselves that this is enjoyable but the problem is that sin that began can grow and devour us. Saul is one of those men for whom it could have been very different but sin had got its hold of Saul and his son Jonathan was doing all that he could to prevent his fathers sinful desire to kill David to come about. 


There is lots left in this passage that we are not going to get to draw out this week but I want you to notice a few things today. Firstly how Jonathan convinces Saul and Saul listens vowing not to kill David (7). This is a wonderful turn of events but in the ensuing verses we learn of David’s victories, how an evil comes on Saul which was part of God’s judgement upon Saul, what we may miss is that we can face judgment here and now for our sin not only for eternally and God brought this about in Saul for he had rejected the Lord. Then Saul attempts again to kill David, sending men to kill him, now Saul’s daughter disobeys her father lying to his men and her father. This is grim, the cycle of the fathers sin is reading havoc in this family and David is forced to flee to Samuel at Ramah. 


This is the bit that today I want to focus on. For the most striking thing that is recorded in this entire chapter comes in these closing verses. David goes to Samuel at Ramah hoping for sanctuary, but there is no where safe from Saul and they go to Naioth but word came to Saul that this is where they were and he sent men after them. The first group that were sent with Samuel standing there with a group prophesying the Spirit of the Lord comes upon them and they also prophesied. Saul was told, sent more men then and the same thing happened, then a third time and finally Saul went and Saul prophesied. 


It didn’t matter where David fled to he was never out of reach of the strong arm of Saul or so Saul though. For rather than letting Saul capture or kill his anointed the Lord intervened in a very real way so much so that the people were left saying “is Saul also among the prophets”. 


Saul became one whom the people asked was he among the prophets. There is an application here which we may not think is relevant but I’ll drive it home in a moment or two and it's this; Just because someone is ministering in the name of the Lord, someone is speaking for him locally or internationally does not mean that they are saved. In Matthew 7 Jesus says 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Mt 7:21–23). 


Just because someone is involved in ministry, or is a minister in the Presbyterian church of Ireland, in the local Baptist Church or the Free Presbyterian, Reformed Presbyterian what ever it may be is no proof. Unless we have trusted in the Lord for our salvation then we are lost, we trust in Jesus for our salvation not in what we do in his name. 


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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, (Matt. 6:12)) we pray, That God, for Christ’ s sake, would freely pardon all our sins; (Ps. 51:1–2,7,9, Dan. 9:17–19) which we are the rather encouraged to ask, because by his grace we are enabled from the heart to forgive others. (Luke 11:4, Matt. 18:35)
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23rd November 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read (Romans 15v8-12)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


In Rome there may well have been Christians from different ethnic backgrounds but there has never been two Gospels or two churches or two paths of salvation. The Gospel is for all who will believe and regardless of your ethnic background, as you trust Christ, you take your place in the one olive tree (Romans 11) also called the church.


Even so, we would do well to understand the unfolding drama of salvation throughout history. At Calvary, Jesus died for all of His people but it is true to say that He came first to the Jew. Paul explains this by saying "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." (Romans 1v16) Jesus spoke on this issue too when He explained to the Canaanite woman "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Matthew 15v24) and elsewhere in Romans Paul stressed that even though the Jewish people had largely rejected the Gospel they had been richly blessed throughout history "They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen." (Romans 8v4-5)


So we speak truthfully when we say that Jesus came first to the Jew and He did this in order to prove the truthfulness of all of God's promises that had been made to the patriarchs (v8). Who are the patriarchs? These were the "fathers" of the faith and we know them as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To these men were given promises that were shown to be yes and amen in the person and work of Jesus.


Therefore, Jesus came first to the Jew but not solely to the Jew. Christ's work was also for the Gentiles, men and women who were not born and reared Jews, men and women like us. Christ came in order that Gentile Christians would glorify God for the mercy that He has shown us (v9). This should not have been a surprise as the Old Testament clearly taught that the Gentiles would be included in the people of God.


To prove this, Paul quoted from four passages of Scripture. Firstly, from 2 Samuel 22v50 and Psalm 18v49 which state "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name." In both of these passages David rejoices that the Lord had given him the victory over his enemies and made him "the head of the nations" (2 Samuel 22v44). In the same way Jesus has won the ultimate victory at Calvary and He alone is the King of kings over every nation. 


Secondly, Paul speaks from Deuteronomy 32v43 which says "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people." Not only is Christ the king over every nation but the Gentiles are included in the worshiping people of God. Thirdly, Paul draws from Psalm 117v1 which is a call to “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.” Why must the Gentiles praise God? Because of His steadfast love and faithfulness. Both Jew and Gentile alike would experience the love and faithfulness of Almighty God.


Finally, Paul moved to Isaiah 11v1 which states “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.” David was the son of Jesse and David was told that one of his descendants would reign forever (2 Samuel 7v12-16). Nevertheless, David's line seemed to have gone and his kingdom had been reduced to a stump. But a new shoot would grow from this stump and Christ would be the promised descendant in whom the Gentiles would hope.


The church is a beautiful and ancient body whose entry requirement has always been faith in Christ.  John would catch a glimpse of Christ's bride in the book of Revelation saying "After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'" (Revelation 7v9-10) 


Every nation, every tribe, every people and every tongue - thanks be to God.


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Q104 What do we pray for in the fourth petition? In the fourth petition, which is, Give us this day our daily bread,” 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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22nd November 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read - 1 Samuel 19


Message Alan Burke 


It could have been so different, the amount of times that I have thought those words inwardly or something like them when people have went down a path that has led to their own destruction, where their sinful choices, actions, words have caused so much pain and hurt in their lives. Parents who have destroyed their children by their sinful choices and sadly today I see it much more where children have destroyed their parents by making sinful choices who are left as a shadow of themselves or who spend their lives trying to justify their children’s sinful choices. Our sin can cause so many issues not only for us but those who are closest to us and the effects can last for generations where a certain sin continues, is passed down form father to son, from mother to daughter but it doesn’t have to be like this. 


There is one shining light in the life of Saul and that is of his son Jonathan who was nothing like his father, he was a man who sought the Lord, a man who willingly gave up any claim on the throne to the Lord’s anointed and refused to obey his fathers command to kill the Lord’s anointed. Saul had allowed sin to master him, he hated David and would do all that he could to kill David. Here before us in v2-7 the passage emphasis the relationship between Jonathan and Saul more than any other and while some translations convey the Hebrew emphasis much better the point is made, Jonathan is Saul’s son and he is choosing to disobey his father by warning David of his fathers plans and not killing him. 


You might not think that as such a big deal, after all what Jonathan is trying to do is commendable, he is serving as intermediary, he’s seeking to bring reconciliation here between his father and David and he achieves this by giving a logical argument, convincing his father to spare David. There are a few points that I want to make with this, firstly Jonathan called his father out for his sin, v4 “Let not the king do wrong to his servant David”, the word that the NIV translates as wrong is the Hebrew word of sin. The Hebrew more literally reads let not the king do sin to his servant David. How many of us are wiling firstly to call sin what it is, and how willing are we to confront the sin of others for what it is? 


The second point I want to make from this passage today is that of the disobedience of Jonathan towards his father in not killing David. For in a sense is breaking the 5th commandment failing to honour his father which comes in the table of God’s law before thou shall not kill which is the 6th commandment. There is a reason why I want to draw this out, the command to honour your father or mother is not a command of unwavering obedience, Jonathan did no obey Saul because no father or mother has a right to cause their children to sin. Whether that is killing someone who is innocent, covering up abuse, hiding sin, the primary aim of the command to honour your father and mother is to honour God. Jonathan honoured his father by confronting his with his sin, by not enabling his father, he honoured God even with what we may perceive is disobedience but is not. There is a wider application in this, that we must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29), although we are to obey governing authorities if they command us to sin then we must obey God rather than them. Obedience to God, honouring him comes first, before family, before the civil authorities before our employers.


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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, (Matt. 6:10)) we pray, That God, by his grace, would make us able and willing to know, obey, and submit to his will in all things, (Ps. 67, Ps. 119:36, Matt. 26:39, 2 Sam. 15:25, Job 1:21) as the angels do in heaven. (Ps. 103:20–21)
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21st November 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read (Romans 15v5-7)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


The study of Scripture produces in us endurance and encourages us to hope in the unchanging promises of the Lord. This should be no surprise for the God who has spoken His Word is the God of both endurance and encouragement (v5). The Lord needs neither of these things, rather He freely gives both to His beloved people. As Paul brought this truth to the Romans he also prayed asking that the God of endurance and encouragement would help the Romans to live in harmony with one another.


There were to be no divisions in the church based in the city of Rome and any disagreements over food or days were to be put to one side. Just as Jesus did not please Himself (v3) so too Christians should seek unity rather than personal victory and so act in accordance with Christ (v5b). Once more I stress that we should not turn a blind eye to heresy - if your brother believes that Jesus did not rise from the dead then you should not overlook this serious issue in pursuit of unity. It is as J.C. Ryle once said "Unity without the Gospel is a worthless unity, it is the very unity of hell."


However if you and your brother disagree over the outworking of your Christian liberty - put these disagreements away. Time is short and instead of disagreeing over food the church with one voice should be preaching Christ and glorifying God (v6). It is a worthwhile pursuit to always be clear about the grand vision of the church. We do not take our place in the local fellowship in order to please ourselves, instead we gather to worship the Lord and make much of Christ. I'll never be convinced that our opinion on secondary issues is more important than Calvary.


Therefore, in response to all Paul has said about Christian liberty, we are to welcome each other just as Christ has welcomed us (v7). We may not always agree on every issue but we should not put unimportant barriers or stumbling blocks in each others way. Remember that at one time we were strangers to God and without hope in this world. We were not good and the Lord considered us His enemy. But by the grace and mercy of God, Jesus welcomed wayward lost sinners like you and I. It is by grace we have been saved and so dear brothers and sisters, welcome each other. For Christ's sake. Amen.     


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Q102 What do we pray for in the second petition? 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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20th November 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read - 1 Samuel 19


Message Alan Burke 


I’ve sat with people in tears who have made a mess of many things in their life and you had asked them did they ever think this is where their sin would lead them they would have never believed you. It could be that night out that ended in disaster, the workplace flirtation, that looking at something that was not safe for work online, but as time goes on that sin grows and devours us that leads us on a road that we never imagined taking. Like the lion cub, looks lovely, we invite it into our home but what we forget is that lion cub will grow and one day it will devour us.  


Saul had been warned about his heart, his attitude, he had been given opportunities to repent and with every opportunity that he was given he choose his sin. As time has gone on that sin has consumed Saul, he is jealous of David and as we pick up in chapter 19 his desire is to have David killed. Saul had allowed his sin to consumed him, he had been devoured with it and nothing was now going to stop him. Look at how chapter 19 begins as the rejected king of Israel orders his men as well as his son to kill David, to murder him. Ever since the moment that anger and jealously had first captivated Saul’s heart because of David his desire had been to kill him. For as the women danced and sang as Saul returned from defeating of the Philistines (18:8), Saul knew that the Lord was with David, he was afraid of him and even said to himself “what more can he get but my kingdom?”(18:9). 


Even though Saul was the king, even though he had been chosen by the pope for he was a head and shoulders taller than everyone else, even though he had risen from a nobody to being the king of all Israel, living on the pigs back he is the shadow of the man he should of been. His jealously and fear for his throne was eating him from the inside. What Saul should have done in all of this is to look to the Lord, if he had done that in the beginning it would not have been like this but Saul’s heart was not the Lord’s and his own sin was insnaring him.


Here at the beginning I want to draw something out for us, Saul should have repented of his sinful attitude a long time ago but he did not. He should have reminded himself that he was but a servant of the Lord but he did not. Saul allowed it to fester, he allowed himself to wallow in how he was feeling. There is a warning for all of us here, because we can allow things to fester within us, to wallow in how we are feeling, what someone has said, the perceived injustice, the worry we feel, filled with pity for ourselves, full of sorrow, critical of others, full of frustration and the more we let those things fester, the more we wallow in them the more harm that they will do us and they are often then shown forth in our attitude. Instead we should be repenting of our sinful attitudes, our sinful hearts, pursuing joy, peace, patience, kindness, and self-control, among others (Gas 5:23–24). In all of this Saul heart was the issue. But this is something that we see repeated in Scripture, the Lord giving individuals and his people as a whole the opportunity to turn from their sin but they choose their sin and it has disastrous consequences. 


One of the first examples of that is in the book of Genesis with Cain the eldest son of Adam and Eve to whom the Lord tells; “…sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” (Ge 4:7). In all of our lives sin crouches at the door and for some of us we may even know the reality of how it can devour is only to experience God’s grace. When we fall into sin we are to repent, to turn back to Christ and know that our sins are forgiven through him. Let us not wallow in them, to allow them to grow in our lives and devour us


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q101 What do we pray for in the first petition?
In the first petition, (which is, Hallowed be thy name, (Matt. 6:9)) we pray, That God would enable us and others to glorify him in all that whereby he maketh himself known; (Ps. 67:2–3) and that he would dispose all things to his own glory. (Ps. 83)
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