13th September 2022


Pray (ACts)


Read (Hebrews 1.14)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


Images are powerful things which have the potential to stay with us long after the event. Don't believe me? If I mention September 11th I suspect we all rapidly call to mind the images of that awful day twenty-one years ago. Equally if I asked you to imagine Jesus I suspect an image of a white man with long hair and a beard would spring to mind. We've seen these images in our churches and Sunday school colouring books and there's the problem. Remembering a historical event is one thing but we have no need of images of Christ, they are prohibited by the Lord and they cause us to imagine things which simply are not true.


The same problem is evident when we consider the angels. If we imagine an angel we picture white men in white robes with massive feathered wings and halos around their heads. Is this a Biblical image? Yes and no. It is certainly true that in Scripture the angels sometimes take the appearance of men. Angels in the form of men appeared at the empty tomb (Luke 24v4) and in the same way angels stood beside the Apostles as they watched Christ's Ascension (Acts 1v10).


It's also true that the Scriptures speak of the angels as having wings. The cherubim are said to spread out their wings over the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25v20) and the seraphim are said to have six wings (Isaiah 6v2). So are angels flying men? Should we expect angels to drop their feathers in our worship services? No. 


The Lord has graciously given us His Word and in the Bible He speaks to us in a way that helps us understand matters beyond our comprehension. He describes Himself (and angels) with language that is anthropomorphic or in simple terms, language which gives human attributes to non-human beings.


What do I mean? Here's an example. Scripture tells us that our God is spirit (John 4v24) but at the same time we read in Scripture that God has arms (Deuteronomy 33v27), can smell (Genesis 8v21), a mouth (Matthew 4v4), wings (Psalm 17v8) and can hear (Psalm 4v3). Which is it? Is God a spirit with human body parts and the wings of a mother hen? No. God does not actually have a mouth, He is spirit. Nor does our God actually have a nose, He is spirit. Instead when the Lord speaks to us about his arms and hands and wings, He is painting us a picture that we can grasp. The language helps us understand deeper truth, God is spirit and hears and sees and speaks and protects but He doesn't have or need physical ears and eyes or wings.


Now with that said we should note one area of complexity - Christ took on actual flesh and He never took it off. So while it is true that God is spirit without form, it is also true that in glory today Christ remains flesh and blood and He maintains an actual physical body. Jesus, the God-man, has eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands and feet.


Anthropomorphic language is also used to describe the angels and unsurprisingly they don't usually have eyes or wings nor are they handsome looking white men in long robes. They can sometimes take this appearance but this is not who they truly are. The Apostle explains that angels are spirits (v14), therefore they do not have body parts and I'm sorry to say they do not drop feathers for you to pick up. They also have the wonderful purpose of ministering to God's people. They are sent out for our sake.


Isn't that an extraordinary and quite overlooked truth? I'm not saying that our focus should be on the angels instead of Christ - perish the thought. But perhaps we would do well to occasionally contemplate the work of the angelic host in this world and in our fellowships. These majestic and powerful spirits belong to Jesus and they do His work day and night. We have no clue about their activity in our day to day lives but we can be sure that they are at work and because Christ is for us, then His angels are for us too.


We thank God today for His providential care which involves the work of His angels and we are humbled by the unseen protection and service of God's host. They are not men with giant wings and halos, the reality is far more glorious and one day in heaven we will join them in praising the Lord.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q51 What is forbidden in the second commandment? The second commandment forbiddeth the worshipping of God by images, or any other way not appointed in his Word.
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12th September 22


Pray (AC-ts) 


Read — Romans 1:7 


Message Alan Burke


You may or may not know that Knighthoods can be stripped from their recipients. It’s not that a few hefty fellas are sent round from Buckingham Palace to pull it off from round your neck although that may happen, rather the title is stripped figuratively from the recipient. Normally this happens because you were a naughty boy as someone finds a skeleton or two hidden somewhere in your history. If the skeletons are found after you die then it is too late to strip you of your Knighthood, not that it would matter too much to you then. The reason is a simple one, a Knighthood expires when the holder dies, it cannot be posthumously revoked.


You may be sitting after reading this rolling your eyes because you knew all this already or you’re thinking would I just get to the point, or maybe you’re about to go down a rabbit hole reading about Knighthoods the rest of today, but as we spend this week thinking of this one verse there is something I want to draw out for you today. If you know and love the Lord Jesus, if you have repented and believed you have a new status and it is one that will never be revoked. So today know you are loved by God and I call you ‘saint’, you may not feel like it, you may think you’re doing a rubbish job at being a Christian, nonetheless how ever you are feeling today you are still a saint who is loved by God. 


Look now to what Paul writes, he says; ‘to those in Rome who are loved by God and called saints’. Now I know there is a lot of times that we can fall into the trap of misapplying scripture, taking it out of context, but as this is addressed to believers in Rome, what it says is for believers here today to! This can justifiably be said of all believers, for it is as applicable and as meaningful to us as it is to those whom it was first written to.


It is by the love of God that we are saved from our sin, that He has chosen to set His love on us. God loves us as His children through the blood that was shed for us in Christ, as we were bought with a price we have been redeemed, we are loved. This is the truth that we are now! This is our status! Believer, you are loved! The Creator and sustainer of all that is, the living and true God loves you! No matter how you are feeling about yourself the day you are loved by God in Christ Jesus and you are a saint, one who is sanctified, one who has been has been set apart by the Holy Spirit and called inwardly to Christ Himself.


This is such an incredible truth, that the reason why we believe, that we are Christians, is that God has set His love upon us, that we are loved by Him, that we have been redeemed from the kingdom of Satan. This is a wonderful theological truth that Paul was expressing to those in Rome and for us.


Pray (acTS) 


Sing 


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Q50 What is required in the second commandment?
The second commandment requireth the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances as God hath appointed in his Word. (Deut. 32:46, Matt. 28:20, Acts 2:42)
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10th September 2022


Pray (ACts)


Read (Hebrews 1.5-13)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


The prophets weren't God's only messengers in the Old Testament. Throughout the history of redemption our God has commanded the heavenly host of angels who worship Him and do His bidding. Angels are not to be trifled with, they are mighty creatures who strike awe into everyone who meets them. They dwell in glory and have attributes and abilities far greater than you or I. We have seen in this chapter that Jesus is the true prophet greater than all others, but is he greater than the majestic angels? The answer is a resounding "yes".


To prove this point the Apostle takes us on a Bible study with a sevenfold argument of why Christ is greater than the angels. No angel is begotten of God but Christ certainly is. Psalm 2 is a Messianic Psalm or in simple terms it is a Psalm that speaks about Christ. It says "I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have begotten you.'" (Psalm 2v7) Jesus is begotten not created. He is of the same substance as the Father. He is not a creature like the angels but He is true God.


Angels are sometimes called "sons of God" in Scripture (Job 1v6) but there is only one Son of God who is the second person of the Trinity. Nathan spoke God's promise to David and said "I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men" (2 Samuel 7v14) God's promises to David were fulfilled in Christ. Jesus is the Son of God.


Indeed God's Son is not an angel or simply equal to the angels, instead the Son of God is to be worshipped by the angels. The lesser worships the greater and so with a quote from Deuteronomy 32v43 the Apostle shows once more that Christ is supreme and reigns even over the angels. His name is greater than theirs and He is the object of their worship.


The angels are wonderful creatures. God has made them like winds and a flame of fire (Psalm 104v4). We would do well to avoid anyone who pretends they have a guardian angel or treats the angels like good luck charms. The message of the angel in Revelation was so extraordinary that John fell to worship him (Revelation 22v8-9) before being told to only worship God. If an angel met you today I suspect you would be filled with awe and terror. They move rapidly, they do God's bidding and they engage in spiritual warfare. But they are still under the authority of Christ. Psalm 45 speaks of Jesus and says “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the sceptre of uprightness is the sceptre of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” The angels are mighty but they serve Christ the King.


No wonder. The work of Christ is referenced in Psalm 102. It was Jesus who laid the foundation of the earth and who painted the heavens. Creation will wear out and one day Christ will roll it up like a garment and bring great change to the universe, but He does not change. He is eternal and just as Christ has no beginning so too He will have no end. Christ brought the angels into existence and it will be Christ who will judge the angels who rebelled against Him.


Finally, it is only Christ who has heard the words “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet” (Psalm 110v1) The position of authority at the right hand of God belongs only to Christ and although the angels will play their part in Gospel history, the forces of sin, death and wickedness will be placed beneath Christ's feet and not theirs.


The Apostle doesn't write these verses to humiliate the angels. It is not their fault that humans can sometimes worship angels or give them an exalted place. We would do well to be mindful of unseen spiritual realities whilst not falling into the pitfalls of the modern age. No, Paul doesn't wish to humiliate the angels but simply to remind the Hebrews that just as Christ is superior to the prophets, so too is He superior to God's angelic messengers.


It will be amazing to commune with the prophets in heaven. We will see Elijah and Moses and Habakkuk and Isaiah. It will be amazing too to gaze upon the angels who sing "holy, holy holy". But Christ is greater than them all and today the prophets and angels worship the Lord. Brothers and sisters, turn your eyes to Jesus, you're not going to be disappointed.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q49 Which is the second commandment? The second commandment is, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me: and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
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9th September 22


Pray (AC-ts) 


Read — Romans 1:2-6 


Message Alan Burke


Obedience! To obey, to submit, comply, to be ruled over, to yield! The opposite of obedience is disobedience meaning to define, revolt to deliberately not do what we should do or what a rule or law says we should do. Wether we want to admit it or now we are not very good at obedience and we are very good at disobedience for we are sinners, each and every one of us. We are sinful by our nature and sinful by our actions, we are not obedient to God, His word, His Law, we take it at best as advice, and try telling someone who is living contrary to what the word of God says that their actions are sinful and it’s like a red rag to a bull. 


Here in this passage we are called to the obedience that comes from faith. Obedience and faith, faith and obedience, these things go hand in hand. But it is not in our obedience that we are justified before God, it is through faith. This is one of those things that we struggle to get our heads round, we live lives that are dependant on our words, efforts, endeavours, we teach our children it depends on whether they have been naughty or nice, but the wonder of the gospel is that its basis is the grace of God though Jesus. 


This obedience is in response to what Jesus has done for us, it does not justify us before the Lord God but in response to this gospel, this promised Gospel, through Jesus Christ in who we are called we are to live obedient lives. We desire to live as God’s chosen people, who live lives of repentance, turning from our sin and disobedience to our Lord and God. Those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ are spoken of as unbelievers in the New Testament (2 Thess. 1.8, Rom. 10:16), for to believe is to obey, we obey because we believe. It is not obedience that gives us our justification but obedience that is a sign of our justification, as we live for our saviour, turning from sin, repenting of it, seeking to live for him, even when it means living in a way that is contrary to the world. 


For the Christian life means that we strive to live for Christ and not the fallen nature that we still have. Paul was honest about the battle with indwelling sin as he says later in Romans, For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. (Rom 7:20-21). But as we believe we are seeing to live to obedience for God, as we are aware that we have been bought with a price, that the blood of Jesus Christ was shed for us. Obedience and striving for it is something we intentionally do in faith, for as James says, 'As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead' ( James 2:26). Our obedience, our works testify to the reality of faith in our lives, if are not striving for obedience then we have a dead faith that is not faith at all. 


This is what we are called to belong to, we are called from our sin to obedience that comes from faith, it isn’t always going to be plain sailing but it is something that we should be striving for. This is what the church should be, for the church in Greek is the ekklesia, literally means called out. The church are those who are called out of their bondage of sin, out of the world of darkness to his wonderful light (1 Pet 2:9), for every believer we are those who are called out, called our of bondage to sin to live for Christ, all who are truly part of the church are to live in obedience that comes from faith. I’ll leave you with this question, is obedience something that you are striving for?


Pray (acTS) 


Sing 


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Q48 What are we specially taught by these words [before me] in the first commandment?
These words [before me] in the first commandment teach us, That God, who seeth all things, taketh notice of, and is much displeased with, the sin of having any other God. (Ezek. 8:5–6, Ps. 44:20–21)

8th September 2022


Pray (ACts)


Read (Hebrews 1v1-4)


Message (Scott Woodburn) 


God is not like us. We imagine Him in certain ways and in sinful arrogance we think that we've mastered Him but we are fools. One of Job's friends was called Zophar and he said “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?” (Job 11v7) Well, no. We can't master God and even if He had limits we certainly couldn't find them out. The Lord God Almighty is beyond our comprehension and yet, by His grace, He is knowable.


We know God because His fingerprints are all over creation. Psalm 19v2 says "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge." Paul would tell the Romans that humanity is without excuse before God because "his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." (Romans 1v19-20) We call this knowledge "general revelation" because God has made Himself known to everyone.


Yet we also speak of "special revelation" wherein God makes Himself known only to some. The theologian B.B. Warfield put it this way “General revelation is addressed generally to all intelligent creatures, and is therefore accessible to all men; special revelation is addressed to a special class of sinners, to whom God would make known His salvation.” So God has spoken to everyone in creation so that all are without excuse but God has also spoken to His people whose eyes have been opened by faith.


Long ago God's special revelation came by way of the prophets (v1). Their message came directly from God but was still rejected by a multitude and received by only a few. The prophets challenged the people of the day to repent and they pointed forward to Christ. Jesus experienced the same rejection as the prophets. He was shunned by the majority and received by the few. But Christ is not just another prophet. He is the true prophet and God's final word.


In these days God has spoken to us by His Son (v2) and Jesus is greater than any other previous prophet. Elijah was a remarkable man and Daniel was a man of prayer but neither one of them could claim to be "the heir of all things" (v2). You might one day inherit your Grandmother's bungalow but the inheritance of Christ will be a people gathered from the nations with the ends of the earth as His possession (Psalm 2v8).


The same earth that is Christ's inheritance is the one that He was instrumental in creating (v2). In the beginning all things were created by Jesus and for Jesus (Colossians 1v16) and if we want to know what God is like, we only have to look to Jesus. He radiates the glory of God (v3) and when He walked upon this earth the light of God dwelt among darkness. Christ was certainly a good man, indeed it is true to say that He was the best man to ever live. He was the second Adam and the true man but He was also fully God. The Apostle tells us that Jesus is "the exact imprint" of God's nature.


What does this mean? Jesus isn't a wee bit like God, Jesus is God. He is the only begotten Son of God who came and took on flesh without sin and remarkably, even when Christ nursed at Mary's breast or wept outside the tomb of Lazarus or even when He stood before Pilate, Christ at every moment was upholding and sustaining the universe that He created (v3). How do we know that Christ continues to reign? Because this world continues to exist. Nothing in the universe could last without Christ.


This same Jesus came and once and for all paid the price of sin. His life was sinless and His obedience was perfect and He laid down His life to wipe away the sins of His people. After making purification for sin, He sat down at the right hand of God the Father and He remains there to this very day. It's hard to imagine what heaven is like but we can say for sure that Christ isn't sidelined. He is the focus of angelic praise for He is by far superior even to God's angels (v4).


Hebrews may lack the usual greeting of Paul's other letters but it proceeds rapidly into a wonderful description of Christ. He is the superior one who has made God known. He is the last word of God. He is the great prophet and the creator of the universe. He is true God and true man and without sin. His sacrifice at the cross was sufficient and today He reigns in glory where even the angels fall before Him.


God once spoke by His prophets but today He has spoken by His magnificent Son. We would do well to listen.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q47 What is forbidden in the first commandment? The first commandment forbiddeth the denying, or not  worshipping and glorifying, the true God as God, and our God; and the giving of that worship and glory to any other, which is due to him alone.
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7th September 22


Pray (AC-ts) 


Read — Romans 1:2-6 


Message Alan Burke


Today we talk about the Hypostatic Union. If you are wondering what on earth is that, or thinking to yourself it’s not relevant or important for me then think again. The Hypostatic Union is a theological term for the plain teaching of Scripture that Jesus Christ was fully God and at the same time through the incarnation was fully man. The Shorter Catechism it reminds us in Q21 as it asks Who is the Redeemer of God’ s elect? 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. 


This truth of how Jesus was fully God and fully man to many in Paul’s day would have been scandalous, especially to the Romans! To them they could have comprehended if Jesus took on the form of a human for their gods sometimes did that, they took on humanity for a purpose, but to come by birth was to them a humiliation. In their mind no self respecting God would have come in this way but then we care once more confronted with the wonder of the incarnation, that Jesus, who was fully God would give up the riches of glory and condescend, that he would face what we faced, come into the world as we come into the world all that we might know the joy of salvation. 


Jesus came with sweat, blood and tears, he cried, filled nappies or what ever they had, he needed fed, there is nakedness of mother and child. In his coming, our God condescended, he came just like us, so that he might do what we could not. Pilate himself during the trial after Jesus was lashed and his bones visible cried to the crowd, ‘here is the man’ (Jn 19:5). The humanity of Jesus is key in our understanding of the atonement, without Jesus being fully man, a decedent of David then there can be no amends made for our sin, Jesus while fully God on our humanity and through his death the Devil’s power has been destroyed. (Heb 2:14-18). 


This is something that we should marvel in, that love that God had for his creation that in the midst of the fall, that he promised beforehand regarding the coming of His son, who took on our humanity to our impoverished and lowly estate to exalt us and make us rich in Him! “For it is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor, so that we by his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9 paraphrased), and “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8).


And it was in substitutionary death that as verse four emphasises, in how by the Spirit of holiness that is the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead. In all the history of the human race Jesus has done enabled by the Spirit what no other man has. In the resurrection Jesus was declare with power to be the Son of God. This Gospel that was promised by God involved all three persons of the Godhead, the Father Son and Spirit in its fulfilment, the Father sent the son, the Son died for us and the Spirit raised the humanity of Jesus from the dead, brining him back to life so that his claim as the Son of God would be shown to be true. 


When the Spirit raised the corpse of Jesus from the tomb on that first Lord’s day, that resurrection day it was announced to the world that he indeed was the Son of God. This is good news, in the midst of the news you hear this day as you switch on your telly, scroll through that app, hear on the radio what ever it is, know that Jesus Christ who is the only Redeemer of God’s elect, 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, so that our sin could be dealt with finally and we who are the enemies of God by our nature could be reconciled, forgiven, become the children of the living God through faith. 


Pray (acTS) 


Sing 


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Q46 What is required in the first commandment?
The first commandment requireth us to know and acknowledge God to be the only true God, and our God; (1 Chron. 28:9, Deut. 26:17) and to worship and glorify him accordingly. (Matt. 4:10, Ps. 29:2)
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6th September 2022


Pray (ACts)


Read (Hebrews 1)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


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


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Q45 Which is the first commandment? The first commandment is, Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
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5th September 22


Pray (AC-ts) 


Read — Romans 1:1-2 


Message Alan Burke


Did you hear the news? Like when will it get any better, it’s just constant! If I am honest I haven’t read the news today, I try to avoid it because I like having a smile on my face for at least some of the day. Sunday morning is different thought, it is one of the first things I do, check the news that is, incase anything important has happened that I need to mention in the prayers of intercession. The reason why I avoid it is because what we normally hear on the news, or read is just doom and gloom. Well today I have some good news, it is wonderful news and sadly we forget just how wonderful that good news is, good news that is focused not on the teaching but the person of Jesus Christ, Jesus is the good news, he is the gospel (gospel literally means good news). 


Look at what Paul says about this good news of God that it was promised beforehand! Probably the place that most of us would turn to if we were to tell someone about the gospel, the good news about the person and work of Jesus Christ, would be the four gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Naturally enough that is what comes to mind when we thing of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Gospel of God. The last place most people would go is the Old Testament, but all of it, all of the Old Testament acts as big arrow, that was directing God’s people and us to what God was doing in salvation history. For all scripture is God breathed, all scripture from the beginning to the end is announcing the gospel of God, it’s not something new, its origins are from God himself, our creator, that speaks of His love and mercy for His creation.


The first announcement of this gospel was in the midst of the fall, while it was the most tragic moment in history that took place, as sin entered the world and with sin, death followed. Even as the Covenant of Works lay in ruins, the Lord spoke of another covenant the Covenant of Grace. To Satan the Lord declared there in v15; “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall crush your head, and you shall strike his heel.” (v15). 


In those moments after the fall of humanity, the Lord God preached the Gospel to the Devil. It’s what is called by theologians as the protoevangel, the first gospel, because it contains the heart of the gospel that is unfolded in the rest of redemption history as it plays out. This is the gospel that Paul speaks of, this is the gospel of God that was first announced in Eden. God remained true to his promise that he would send one who would crush the head of the serpent, and he has in Christ Jesus. For Jesus came to do what Adam failed to do and what we by our sinful nature could not do.


This was not new, its origins were not from man instead it was God, fulfilling what he had said beforehand, fulfilling the promises that he had made know. Paul here at the beginning of Romans was grounding this and everything he would go on to say in how this gospel, this good news, was what God has always been doing, the Holy Scriptures all pointing to His Son Jesus Christ Our Lord!


And this is a message we need to hear, because some can fall into the trap and thinking that somehow God is different in the Old Testament and the New Testament, some people even come to the conclusion that there are two God’s in the bible, the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament. Yet nothing could be further from the truth for throughout they affirm that God is merciful and that He is compassionate, the God who has been bringing salvation to a sinful people from the dawn of creation. The bible from beginning to end is one continual revelation of God’s covenant of Grace. As we are reminded in 2 Timothy 3: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (3:16)”, not just the New Testament, all of it!


Pray (acTS) 


Sing 


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Q44 What doth the preface to the ten commandments teach us?
The preface to the ten commandments teacheth us, That because God is the Lord, and our God, and Redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep all his commandments. (Luke 1:74–75, 1 Pet. 1:15–18)
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3rd September 22


Pray (AC-ts) 


Read — Acts 8v9-25 


Message Scott Woodburn 


“First posted Year 1 Day 340 - 27 February" 


We can rejoice at the extraordinary impact of the Gospel in Samaria but sadly, not everyone believed rightly. In Samaria there was a magician by the name of Simon. His abilities were so amazing that the people associated Simon's power with God Himself (v10). Where did Simon's power come from? Perhaps he was just a really talented trickster or perhaps his abilities came from a more sinister and satanic place. Regardless, he amazed the people (v11). 


Then one day a preacher called Philip came to town. The people received Philip's message by faith (v12). Signs and great wonders were performed (v13) and Simon was amazed. Indeed we are told that Simon believed and was baptised and continued to follow Philip. Wonderful! Another saved man! Sadly, not quite. 


Later as Simon witnesses the mighty works of the Apostles he offers them money so that he too might be able to perform mighty acts (v18-19). Peter's response is fierce. He rebukes Simon with the words "may your silver die with you" (v20), literally he says "to hell with you and your money!". Simon saw the gift of God as something to be bought and something to be used. His heart wasn't right before God (v21) and now Peter urged him to repent and if possible to be forgiven (v22). 


According to Peter, Simon is still in his sinful chains (v23b) and is full of bitterness (v23a). The magician's spiritual condition is dire. He has professed faith in Christ but he is not a true believer. The Gospel was another mighty trick that Simon could perform. The Holy Spirit was "something" to used for fame and profit. Simon had heard the Gospel but he had not received it by faith. 


Simon asks Peter to pray for him so that nothing of what Peter has said will come true (v24). Tragically however there is no evidence that Simon prayed for himself and repented of his sin. What are we to make of Simon the Magician? John Trapp once said "a man may go to hell with baptismal water on his face." In other words, just because a man professes Christ and is baptised, doesn't mean that such a man is truly born again. 


The visible church has always been a mixed body with the wheat and the tares growing together. Brothers and sisters, we should not be surprised when there are those within our fellowship who do not truly believe. All is well for many years and then from nowhere we see a heart bound to sin and a spirit of bitterness. We are surprised by such a man's actions or such a woman's words and we weep when by their actions churches are divided. Christ warned us about such individuals. We would recognise such false Christians by their actions (Matthew 7v16). 


The true Christian has been declared righteous by God Himself (justification) and is growing in Christlikeness everyday (sanctification). The true Christian knows that God is not "something" to be used for fame or fortune. Instead they have received Christ by faith and they know that Jesus is their greatest treasure. This isn't worked by magic but by the grace of God, the power of the Gospel and the working of the Holy Spirit. 


Pray (acTS) 


Sing 


WSC  
Q43 What is the preface to the ten commandments? The preface to the ten commandments is in these words, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
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News from Scott and Alan, 


We have said before that little did we think when we started writing devotions for the initial six week lockdown that we would still be doing them now. As you are aware the case for last year we have posted some of our ‘best of devotions’ to allow us to take some time off. Now that it is September we are both back on the horse as the saying goes and when talking we have decided that we are no longer going to preface the devotions with how long it has been since Boris announced lockdown, instead from today we will simply preface the daily devotions with the date they are posted.


We hope that they have been of benefit to you and they will continue to be.


Yours in Christ 


Scott and Alan


2nd September 22


Pray (AC-ts) 


Read — Romans 1:1


Message - Alan Burke 
Paul was more than a servant, he was a slave of Jesus Christ called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God. It was on the road to Damascus that the Lord Jesus called him to himself in two regards. The first was the call of the gospel on Paul’s life, that is the external call that called him from his sin to salvation to which he responded to enabled by the Spirit of God within him enabling him to repent and believe. In much the same way we hear the external call that only is effectual by the work of the Holy Spirit enabling us to repent and believe. There is another sense that he was called and it was to be an apostle. 


Often, when we think of an apostle we can think of the twelve disciples and can interchangeably use the word disciple with apostle, but then there was Judas who betrayed Jesus who was replaced by the disciples by Matthias. So how was Paul an apostle? Well the criteria for apostleship was that either had been a disciple of Jesus during his earthly ministry, so that is not Paul and no one today. The second criteria is that an apostle is one who was an eyewitness of the resurrection and the third and most important criteria was that they were directly and immediately called by Jesus (Acts 1:20–26).


Paul was an eyewitness to the Resurrection on the road to Damascus and he was called by the Lord Jesus himself. Paul was called by Jesus himself on the road to Damascus, it was there that Jesus called him to himself and thusly Paul was one who spoke as an apostle, with the authority of Jesus Christ. 


This truth is really important as we begin the book of Romans because there is this attitude among some that leads them to reject the teaching of Paul, either as not as authoritative, or as important as Jesus, or they outright reject everything he says. Today one of the big reasons for rejecting Paul, well there are two, but the first and most obvious is his teaching on sexual purity and that is just revolting to this society. Secondly they want to reject his teaching because of how he speaks of the roles of men and women grounding these roles in creation.


There are no more apostles, they were those who laid the foundation, they are still laying the foundation of the church today as we have the scriptures of the old and new testament. There are some today that claim that they are apostles, but signs of a true apostle were performed among the early church with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works. (2 Cor 12:12) have ceased, no one can demonstrate the signs of an apostle. God himself has  given us all that we need in the pages of scripture, that is why the word of God closes in the book of Revelation with the warning against those who add or take away from his word (Rev 22:18-19). 


Paul was called to be an apostle, there are no more apostles, he was though called to service. Although it is not the focus here of the passage, we are each one called to service, we are called to bring glory to our God, we are in all that we do seek to. Before Christ we live for ourselves, afterward we live for Him, for we were bought with a price. As a result all of our lives should be lived for the Glory of God. That means in our work places, in our homes, and God calls us to serve him in the every day mundane things, cleaning the toilet, doing the dishes, his call on our entire life, our lives in their entirety have been bought, we are slaves to God in Christ Jesus so it should influence us in every aspect of our lives. What a challenge it is for us today, we are in God’s service in the every day mundane things, yes even cleaning the toilet we should be doing all for the Glory of God.


Pray (acTS) 


Sing 


WSC  
Q42 What is the sum of the ten commandments?
The sum of the ten commandments is, To love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind; and our neighbour as ourselves. (Matt. 22:37–40)
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