3rd April 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (Luke 24:36-53)


Message (Alan Burke)


If we did a straw poll and asked people what was the first thing that came to their minds about Jesus, there would I’m sure be many different responses. Most people have some concept of who Jesus was and is, no matter how fanciful it may be, and would be able to give some kind of answer. There would be some outlandish nonsense, but then there would be those who the thing that would come to mind is the incarnation. After all, think of how many years of school nativity plays we were involved in or have watched. Yes, the incarnation is an important concept, and it’s one that is foundational to our understanding of Christ, but at best an introductory image; it fails to consider the purpose of his coming. 


For others, it might be the Jesus of the Cross, and that’s good because that explains the necessity of the incarnation and his life here on Earth. Everything between the incarnation and his death on the cross we call the humiliation of Christ, for the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mt 20:28). From his birth to death, Jesus suffered all things as we suffer. In the end, he suffered and died on the cross. 


These things still leave us short, for they are not good enough; they only paint a picture that is partly complete, because the death of this Saviour on the cross is not where the story ends. But in his Resurrection, it moves from humiliation to his exaltation, for Jesus rose from the dead, he ascended into heaven, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead. In His humiliation, we find our exaltation. Our shame is replaced by His glory.


As Jesus appears to his disciples, we learn of how the body which rose from the grave was the same body that had been crucified and buried, yet it has a different quality as he stood among them. The reaction of the disciples to the appearance of Jesus that day is recorded for us in such a descriptive way. These were men who did not expect it; they could hardly believe it; they had seen Jesus humiliated, beaten, whipped, nailed to a cross, crying out in his forsakenness, before dying, and there for all to see a spear thrust into his side just to be sure that he was dead. They had then seen how he was buried in a stone tomb with Roman soldiers to guard it. But Jesus had risen from the dead, defeating death, fulfilling the scriptures, and as the account ends in Luke’s gospel, he ascends before their very eyes. 


Through the miracle of the incarnation, Jesus had come, he took on flesh, he lived and died in our place, and when returned to heaven, he did so with a physical body, in a resurrected, glorified body, he returned to where he had been from eternity past. But there, he is now in his incarnate state, the distinct natures, the Godhead, and the manhood, were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion in the incarnation. That means he is now crowned with human glory and honour and dwells in God’s presence, true God and true man, there at the right hand of the Father, crowned with glory and honour (Heb 2:6-9).


When Christ returns, we who are his shall be vindicated, we shall publicly be justified before the whole world (Luke 22:29-30). We shall receive our full adoption and inheritance in glorified bodies (Rom. 8:23). We shall be fully complete and perfect in Him, and we shall live eternally in glory all because of what he has done. Our citizenship is in heaven, and we await for our Saviour who is to transform our lowly body to a glorious, incorruptible one (Phil. 3:20-21; 1 Cor. 15:42).


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q32 What benefits do they that are effectually called partake of in this life?
A. They that are effectually called do in this life partake of justification, adoption, sanctification, and the several benefits which, in this life, do either accompany or flow from them.
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2nd April 2026


Pray (ACts) 


Read (Song of Solomon 4v1-5v1) 


Message (Scott Woodburn)


If Solomon was the hero of the Song then his words in today's passage should be seen as romantic, loving and praiseworthy. But if Solomon wasn't the Shepherd figure then what he says to the Shulammite is simply an attempt to seduce her and it wouldn't be his first time. We have said before that Solomon had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines (1 Kings 11v3) meaning that his love carriage had been well used. It was Sinclair Ferguson who said that these are the words of a sexually promiscuous serial adulterer.


He would tell the Shulammite that she was beautiful (4v1) with no flaw to be found in her (4v7). She had captured the King's heart (4v9) causing Solomon to extol her beauty and to say that her love was better than wine (4v10). But the King was no fool and he understood that the Shulammite was like a locked garden and a fountain sealed up (4v12). She did not yet want to give herself to Solomon but the King wasn't prepared to take no for an answer. He wanted to visit this woman's garden, he wanted the wind to blow and to unlock her love (4v16), the King wanted to bed the Shulammite.


The daughters of Jerusalem agreed and they urged the couple to eat, drink and be drunk with love (5v1). But no matter how many flowery words Solomon used, the Shulammite was not prepared to compromise. Her body, her garden was not for Solomon but it was for her beloved. The Shepherd would be welcome to come and enjoy her (4v16b) but to the King she would remain a closed garden and a sealed up fountain.


If my approach to the Song is correct and Solomon is not the hero then his words must be considered as the "smooth words" of Proverbs 2v16. He had become intoxicated with a woman who should have been off-limits (Proverbs 5v20) and he was prepared to say whatever it took in order to add the Shulammite to his one thousand conquests.


Brothers and sisters, nothing ever changes and in our anything-goes society we should learn to be wise when listening to the words of others. It might be the partner who constantly tells you how beautiful you are or it might be a promise from someone offering you the world. Consider everything you hear in the light of Scripture, guard your heart against all manner of seduction and teach your children not to believe everything they hear. Furthermore, let your yes be yes and your no be no, leave no room for flattery in order to get your way (Proverbs 26v28).


As always Christ is our great example. "He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly." (1 Peter 2v22-23). May our words be true, our hearts secure and our gardens locked against the flattery of this dying age.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q31 What is effectual calling? Effectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit, whereby convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel.
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1st April 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (Luke 24:1-12)


Message (Alan Burke)


Did you hear about Gui Junmin, his frozen wife, and his new partner? Well, just in case you didn’t, I’ll tell you. Gui Junmin is a Chinese man whose wife died from lung cancer in 2017, aged 49. Junmin was so devastated that he got her cryogenically ‘preserved’. I don’t know what was going through his head at the time, but whatever it was, he is struggling to accept what has happened. Although the story got the attention of the media, and when he was interviewed, he revealed he had been dating someone else since 2020. 


Without knowing the ins and outs, I imagine that Junmin at the time was a broken man with the loss of his wife, and by getting her body cryogenically preserved, he hoped that some future medical advancement would see her revived and cured of the disease that caused her death. He had come to know the sting of death. But for the believer, there is hope, because death is just the transitional point from this life to the next, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians, “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor 15:54–57).


That victory came with the shadow of the cross weighing heavily on the followers of Jesus. That first Lord’s Day, they knew death’s sting; Jesus’s death would have been a painful reminder to them all that this life was far from how we would want it or desire it to be. They simply did not understand at this stage that the death of Jesus was a necessary part in God’s plan of salvation that was first announced in the Garden of Eden in the shadow of the fall as the Lord preached the gospel to the Satan of one who would come to crush the head of the serpent, who is Satan, the Devil himself (Gen 3:15, Rev 12:9). 


We come knowing the great and glorious hope, but for the disciples and followers of Jesus, that first resurrection Sunday was not a time of celebration, far from it. Instead, they were trying to comprehend the events of the past week. If the gospel accounts all finished with the burial of Jesus, as he was placed in a tomb cut into a rock, then the message that we proclaim would be worthless. It would be nothing more than an account of a good man who died for a good cause, but unlike every other person who has died, the grave did not hold Jesus; he rose, and for all who have and will repent of their sin and trust in him, then the message of the cross is not foolishness but it is the wisdom of God, and there is great hope. For Jesus is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. While Death came through Adam, and because of Adam, all die, the resurrection of the dead comes through Christ. For as in Adam all die, so all in Christ will be made alive (1 Cor 15:20–22).


We are then told of how these women, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others, that they went and told all these things to the eleven and all the others. For those women in that moment, as they came to terms with what they had heard, recalling to their minds what they had been taught, the grief and dejection would be dispelled, with the glorious hope that Christ had risen from the dead and what that meant for them and all who believe in him. 


For many, the resurrection is nonsense; it shouldn’t surprise us when people struggle to comprehend the wonder of it, for humanly speaking, it is impossible. Paul in 1 Corinthians tells the church: …if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins… …we are of all people most to be pitied (1 Cor 15:12-19). But Jesus has risen; the grave could not hold him, and for all who believe, we can have confidence that he lives, that he guides the church, and that he guides all who are his through the Holy Spirit, and that we have a guarantee that we, as heirs with him through faith, will one day go to be with him when this earthly journey ends. For nothing is impossible with God. If only Gui Junmin knew this hope, and his wife had known her body would not be cryogenically ‘preserved’, instead, he’d be looking forward with great hope to the LORD’s return. 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q30 How doth the Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ?
A. The Spirit applieth to us the redemption purchased by Christ, by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling.
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31st March 2026


Pray (ACts) 


Read (Song of Solomon 3v6-11) 


Message (Scott Woodburn)


If you picked up three commentaries on the Song of Solomon they would all probably tell you different things. Indeed, some of them would argue that Solomon is the hero of the story and in chapter three he arrives to claim his bride. Nevertheless, as I studied the Song of Solomon I became more and more convinced that the King known for his wisdom is not the hero of the story.


There are various reasons for this but let me offer just a few. Firstly, if Solomon was supposed to be the hero of the story, then why couldn't he access the hareem? Wouldn't the King ride through the gate rather than glance through the lattice? Secondly, the Shulammite portrays her true love as a shepherd - Solomon was many things but he was no shepherd. Lastly, the comment in 8v11-12 seems quite critical and a direct comparison between Solomon's multiple sexual exploits and covenant faithfulness. Therefore I'm in agreement with those who argue that Solomon is not the Shulammite's beloved.


I think we see that here too. Solomon comes from the wilderness (v6) which is perhaps a negative comment about the King. The wilderness was a place of wandering for the Israelites and later Jesus would be tempted by Satan himself in the wilds. Solomon arrived from that place and he was a sight to behold. If you had been a witness that day then you would have been aware of his coming long before you saw him.


Solomon and his followers kicked up so much dust that it looked like columns of smoke rising on the horizon but even those "columns of smoke" were scented with myrrh and frankincense and all the fragrant powders of a merchant. When Solomon did arrive he was surrounded by sixty mighty men carrying swords ready to defend their King (v7-8). No one would fear the darkest night with these soldiers near by (v8b).


But Solomon himself was within his luxurious carriage (v9). It was made with wood from Lebanon which symbolised wealth and strength. Additionally, it was built with silver, gold, a seat of purple (v10) and it's interior was inlaid with love by the daughters of Jerusalem themselves (v10b). What are we to make of this? The King had arrived filled with joy (v11) because he was about to bed the Shulammite within the carriage where he had already bedded many of the daughters of Jerusalem.


Who would the Shulammite choose? Her Shepherd beyond the wall who had to flee from danger or King Solomon himself who arrived in luxury and splendour and could have any woman he wanted? Who would you choose? The life of ease or remaining faithful to the Shepherd who you might never see again?


Brothers and sisters, the world is described as Babylon in the Scriptures and Babylon is seductive indeed. When John saw her in Revelation 17 he saw a woman dressed in purple and scarlet offering the dwellers of the world all kinds of abomination and sexual immorality. What do we want in this life? Covenantal faithfulness or anything goes?  Contentment or compromise? The new Jerusalem or Babylon? My friends, this world is not neutral and it offers all kinds of seductions. Stand firm against them and choose the Shepherd, choose Christ. 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q29 How are we made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ? We are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ, by the effectual application of it to us by his Holy Spirit.
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30th March 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (Psalm 75)


Message (Alan Burke) 


This coming Lord’s Day, we, like many believers across the world, will join together as we do every Lord’s Day, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Since the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, God had appointed the seventh day, but ever since, it is the first day of the week appointed as the Sabbath, and will continue to the end of the world (WLC 116). But as we do that, I want to focus today on Psalm 75, a Psalm of Asaph, or rather what is in the hand of the LORD, the one who judges, and it comes in v8. 


“8 In the hand of the LORD is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs.”


This is what will await the wicked when the judgement of the LORD comes; he has the final say. He brings one down and exalts another. This imagery looks ultimately to the judgement of God, a judgement that no one can escape. He is the one who has the final say, and this is what comes upon all the wicked of the earth. Who are the wicked? We are the wicked, as Paul summarised the teaching of Scripture in Romans 3. He says, “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”


There is not one righteous, not even one; by our very nature, we are not righteous but wicked. It means that I am wicked, and you, by your nature, are wicked! Yet it is through Christ Jesus that Asaph and all who look to God in faith are made righteous. It is an alien righteousness; it does not belong to us, but instead is given to us, imputed to us, as 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.


Christ Jesus was made sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God. He was regarded and treated as a wicked sinner, even though he himself never sinned. He did it for our sake; he bore our sins in his body on the tree (1 Pet. 2:24), acting as a substitute, taking our place, so that we might escape through him the wrath of God that awaits the wicked. Jesus drank of the cup of the wrath of God that was due to us; he drank of the cup of the wrath of God for us. For there is not one who is righteous, there is not one who deserves anything but his wrath. The night he was betrayed, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus went off to pray. Falling to his knees, the ground he prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Mt 26:39). Jesus faced, as He faced what lay ahead, as He would drink of the cup of the wrath of God, the horror of what lay ahead caused Him to sweat drops of blood, that such was the weight upon Him, angels sent from heaven appearing to Him to strengthen Him as He prayed to the Father (Lk 22:44). 


He who was True God and True man, Jesus Christ, as the Godhead and the manhood, were inseparably joined together in one person; without conversion, composition, or confusion, he faced death in his manhood. Jesus, True God and True man, could not die in his divinity but could in his humanity, and he died for us. If that was the end, then Jesus was just another man who died, a death that in a sense was unremarkable, nothing that had not been experienced before, but it was not the end and it was not a death like any before; before he died to take the penalty of sin and he experienced the wrath of a Holy God, there he hung on the cross, experiencing hell for us so that we might become the righteousness of God and escape the cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices that he will pour out on all the wicked (2 Cor 5:21). 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q28 Wherein consisteth Christ’s exaltation?
A. Christ’s exaltation consisteth in his rising again from the dead on the third day, in ascending up into heaven, in sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and in coming to judge the world at the last day.
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28th March 2026


Pray (ACts) 


Read (Song of Solomon 3v1-5) 


Message (Scott Woodburn) 


The Shulammite watched as her beloved turned away from the hareem's walls - today would not be the day that they would be together. Later that night she went to bed and fell into a dream. What did she dream about? Her Shepherd who was still beyond her reach.


As she slept she began to search out her beloved (3v1). He was nowhere to be found and so in her dream state she began to search the streets and the squares of the city (3v2). The watchmen found her and she sought their help to find her true love but they had not seen him (3v3). Just as she began to believe that he would never be found, she turned to see her beloved. Her passionate response echoed her passionate language - she held him and would not let him go until she took him to meet her mother (3v4).


Is this the end of the story? The happy ending? No. The Shulammite was dreaming. Her beloved remained outside the hareem and she remained far from his love. No wonder then did she wake and immediately adjure the daughters of Jerusalem not to stir up or awaken love until it pleases (3v5).


There's something very cruel about a dream that convinces us of one thing only for us to wake and discover the true reality. Maybe you've experienced that yourself? You dream of having a conversation with your mum who has been dead for many years or you dream that your illness has been cured only to remember when waking that it isn't true. I wonder if the Shulammite wept when she woke? Her heart longed for her Shepherd but the only place she could find him was in her dreams.


Brothers and sisters, life is often heartbreaking and we often see it in our relationships. How many of you can testify to broken marriages, broken homes and broken hearts? The Scriptures say that "weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning." (Psalm 30v5). Joy? Where? In Christ. We await His return and whilst currently He remains outside the wall, a day is dawning when He will come in power. Wait for Him child of God for He will bring with Him a kingdom in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3v13) where there will no no more death, mourning, crying or pain (Revelation 21v4).


The Shulammite could not yet find her beloved but we know where Jesus is. "Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come." (Hebrews 13v13-14).


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Q27 Wherein did Christ’s humiliation consist? 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.

27th March 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (John 5:16-30 focus v25-30)


Message (Alan Burke)


How good is your hearing these days? Mine isn’t what it used to be. I can hear fine, but when an ambulance goes past with the siren on, the pain I feel is unreal. I think it is called hyperacusis, and thankfully our ability to detect high-pitched sounds diminishes as we age, so that is one positive for me in getting older. But what’s your hearing like? Have you got the hearing aid in? Or can you manage? Hearing is one thing; listening is another, isn’t it? We can hear what we are being told, but then it goes in one ear and out the other (were you ever told that, or was it just me?). 


Look again at what Jesus says in v25, “a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.” Think to what we were working through on Wednesday: how Jesus came to give the dead life, how we are, by our nature, dead in our transgressions and sin (Eph 2:1). We are dead. We might be physically alive, hearts beating, but none of us think that if we die, none of us think that if we died right now, we have the ability to bring ourselves back to life. Scripture teaches us that because of our transgressions and sin, by our nature, we are dead, spiritually dead. Well, Jesus offers life to the dead, not only in what is to come but life now, to raise us from spiritual death to spiritual life.


And Jesus tells the Jews not to be amazed at this, for the life that he offers is not only for the now but also for all eternity. For those who have believed, who have been brought from death to life in this life, they will live. They are the good that will rise to life, life eternal. But for those who have done evil, they will rise to be condemned. All those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. Now we might want to think that the good that Jesus speaks of are all those who have done good works in this life. But we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). The reality for all is that there is only one who is good and that is God, and some might read this and think that they have done enough good things, that God grades on a curve and will take the best of the best, that those who do enough good can tip the scales in their favour, but that isn’t what we are being told here. For there is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Ro 3:10–12).


No, instead the good that is here spoken of are not works that earn salvation; the good that is spoken of here is the evidence of salvation. The evidence in the lives of those who have heard has come to life, as they respond to the demand of the gospel. And well, those who do evil, well, that is everyone who has not responded to this call of Christ Jesus; they are those who will rise to be condemned. How do people have life? It is through hearing, hearing the voice of the Son of God; i.e. it is through the word preached; it starts with hearing the word; faith comes through hearing. (Rom 10:17) So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ, through hearing. What we need is the word of God, for he speaks when his word is preached, and just as the voice of God worked in the beginning, the voice of God still goes out today in faithful churches where his word is preached. If you want someone to hear, have you invited them to come and hear, or have you told them so that they can hear? Let us pray that many would hear and have life.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q26 How doth Christ execute the office of a king?
A. 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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26th March 2026


Pray (ACts) 


Read (Song of Solomon 3v8-17) 


Message (Scott Woodburn) 


You could stop reading the Song of Solomon at 2v6 and be able to explain that the Song involves two people who are deeply in love and so you might even say "and they all lived happily ever after." Nevertheless, that wouldn't be the whole story because before the Shulammite and the Shepherd go hand in hand into the sunset there is one small problem - the Shepherd is on the wrong side of the wall.


The Shulammite heard her beloved's voice but she described him as "behind our wall, gazing through the windows, looking through the lattice." (3v9). It isn't everyone's interpretation but I am convinced that the Shulammite is enclosed within Solomon's hareem. Historically, hareem's were managed by eunnuchs who were castrated men who wouldn't have been able to enjoy the King's women. Everyone else would have been outside the complex and although the Shepherd came bounding over the mountains, he was unable to access Solomon's hareem.


As he tried to catch a glimpse of his beloved through the lattice he called to her and urged her to come away (3v10). The winter was past, spring had come (3v11-13) and so was the perfect time for the Shepherd and the Shulammite to be together. The Shepherd again urged the Shulammite to come away and leave the hareem behind (v13). He longed to see her face and hear her voice (v14) but all he could see was a mere glimpse through the lattice.


It seems to me that the Shulammite then asks the Shepherd to catch the foxes who ruin the vineyards (2v15). What did mean? She longed for the problems in their relationship to be put away - she wanted the walls of the hareem to be pulled down and for their love to flourish. But now it was time for the Shepherd to leave the walls of the hareem, to flee from potential danger (2v16) and wait for a better day.


The Shulammite and the Shepherd were not yet able to live happily after after and if the Song ended at this point we wouldn't be sure if they ever would. The problems they faced seemed insurmountable and isn't that the story of many of our relationships? Things don't go as planned after the big day ends, money is tight, promotions don't come and the home is tense constantly. Love in this world will not always look like the movies.


Brothers and sisters, if the foxes are to be put out of our own relationships then we would be wise to heed Solomon in Ecclesiastes 4v12 where he wrote that a threefold cord is not quickly broken. What does that look like in reality? Christ in our marriages, Christ in our courting, Christ in our parenting, Christ in our friendships and Christ in our interactions. May he chase the foxes and tear down the walls - all glory be to Christ.


Pray (acTS)


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Q25 How doth Christ execute the office of a priest? 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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25th March 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (John 5:16-30 focus v19-24)


Message (Alan Burke)


There are two big things we are being taught here in this section, firstly the work of the Trinity and second how Jesus came to give life to all who the Father is pleased to give life. Let’s think first of the Trinity, for we learn that the relationship between the Father and the Son is not one of independence, rather dependence. There is an inseparable operation between all three persons of the Trinity; they act as one in all that they do. What the Father does, the Son does; what the Son does, the Spirit does; and our salvation comes from the Father through the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. There are three persons of the God head at work for our salvation, and the Father reveals Himself through the Son to us. 


All the things that Jesus had done and would do were so that those who accuse Him of being a Sabbath breaker and blasphemer would see, they would marvel; yet these Jews would reject all that they saw. For they thought that He was dishonouring the Father, that He was breaking the law of God; He was sinning, for He broke the Sabbath, instructed someone to break the Sabbath. Not only that, He equated Himself with God Himself. In their minds, He was a sinful blasphemer who had brought dishonour on the one truth, God. But Jesus here in His words confronted them with how their attitude, their desire to kill Him, to see Him put to death, meant that they, not He, were guilty, for they would not honour Him as the one sent by the Father; they would not honour Him as the Son of God who does His Father’s bidding.


But also look to the purpose that Jesus reveals that he has come for, and that is to raise the dead. He came to give life to those whom it pleased Him to give it. Now we can think, oh, what he was talking about is the resurrection of the dead, but it’s not; it is speaking of salvation as we cross over from death to life. The thing is that every person who has ever lived is by their nature dead. Paul reminds us in the book of Ephesians, we are dead in our transgressions and sins (Eph 2:1). We are by our nature dead in our transgressions and sin. We are dead. We might be physically alive, hearts beating, but none of us think that if we die, none of us think that if we died right now, we have the ability to bring ourselves back to life. Scripture teaches us that because of our transgressions and sin, by our nature, we are dead, spiritually dead. This is the doctrine of ‘Total Depravity’, there is nothing we can do to save ourselves. But Jesus came that we might have life, life comes from Him, He gives it to those whom it pleases Him. 


Notice the words of Jesus in v22, because there is something that doesn’t sit easily with many people. The reason why is that they have this idea of Jesus that is more of a figment of their own imagination; they believe certain things that the scripture teaches, maybe some of the things that they have heard, but the teaching of scripture is something that they have either rejected or at the very least have not even tried to understand for themselves. There are many who have this idea of the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament. The God of the Old Testament, they equate to the Father and see that he’s a monster, full of wrath, judges all people, whereas Jesus, well, he comes and he is all loving, forgiving everyone. Jesus though has come to judge and he will accomplish all that he has come to do, all that he is pleased to give life will have life. In salvation we are reliant first on God to act; dead people can’t bring themselves back from the dead, they are reliant on another to act. We are reliant on Christ to act so that we might have life. In a culture it is all about the choices we make, we are ever more individualistic, it’s all about how we feel, what works for us. But when it comes to salvation we learn that it is all about the choice of God, and either it will provoke in you a response of adoration, or it will cause you to recoil because it goes against everything our individualistic natures want, for we want to be king or queen of our own destiny.


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Q24 How doth Christ execute the office of a prophet?
A. Christ executeth the office of a prophet, in revealing to us, by his Word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation.
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24th March 2026


Pray (ACts) 


Read (Song of Solomon 3v8-17) 


Message (Scott Woodburn)


True or false? Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me. I can't hear your answer but for me, names sometimes don't hurt but they often do. The Shulammite was kept behind lock and key in Solomon's hareem far from the intentions of any man bar Solomon himself but her heart was elsewhere. She had issued her first adjuration to the daughters of Jerusalem (2v7) and in the very next verse she heard the voice of her beloved (2v8).


After each adjuration a new figure enters the Song and this time it is the Shepherd. We have heard his voice previously but now we are given a glimpse of the man himself. How did the Shulammite describe her one true love? She couldn't have spoken more highly saying "The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills. My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag." (2v8-9).


Wow! Gentlemen, imagine being described in such terms! Imagine being seen as a gazelle or young stag in the eyes of your lover. In reality, our words probably have lost that initial sense of spark which was evident in the very early days of courtship. Today if we say anything about our other half it is probably quite negative.


Let me ask, did you know that John the Baptist had his real doubts about Jesus? John found himself languishing in prison and sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Matthew 11v3). That's a pretty sore statement. Put yourself in the Lord's shoes - you are in the middle of your work and one of your greatest friends sends word to say "I'm not convinced you are what you say you are. I wonder if I was right about you." The Lord's response was full of grace. He sent word back to John that he had nothing to fear and then he turned to the crowd to tell them that there was no one greater than John the Baptist (Matthew 11v11).


Brothers and sisters, learn again to speak positively of one another. Try and see the beauty once again in your spouse. Tell your wife that you still adore her, tell your husband that you deeply appreciate him, tell your children that they cause your heart to sing and tell your neighbour that you value their kindness. The Shulammite adored the Shepherd and her words made it abundantly clear. May our own gracious words be like honeycomb which brings sweetness to the soul and health to the body (Proverbs 16v24). 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


Q23 What offices doth Christ execute as our Redeemer? 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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