Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
Ballymena
Rev. Angus Stewart
Lord’s Day, 2 December, 2007
“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the
whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them
whose heart is perfect toward him” (II Chron. 16:9)
Morning Service – 11:00 AM Prof. Hanko
Living Joyfully with Our Wives
Ecclesiastes 9:9
I. The Meaning
II. The Reason
III. The Blessedness
Psalms: 149:1-5; 107:1-9; 45:1-5; 128:1-6
Evening Service – 6:00 PM Prof. Hanko
Preparatory
The Seizure of the Kingdom by the Violent
Matthew 11:11-12
I. The Contrast to the Old Testament
II. A Refusal to be Turned Away
III. An Act of Faith in Christ
Psalms: 102:16-22; 107:10-16; 25:1-7; 51:1-5, 8-10
For CDs of the sermons and DVDs of the worship services, contact Stephen Murray
If you desire a pastoral visit, please contact Rev. Stewart or the elders
CPRC Website: www.cprc.co.uk • Live Webcast: https://cprc.co.uk/live-streaming/
CPRC YouTube: www.youtube.com/cprcni
CPRC Facebook: www.facebook.com/CovenantPRC
Quotes to Consider:
David J. Engelsma: “The virtues required of us as husbands and wives are not natural characteristics that one either possesses or lacks from birth. They are not earthly feelings that we have to drum up in ourselves. They are divine gifts. Love is Christ’s love shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, as we beseech it in prayer. A marriage is not hopeless, therefore, even though the feeling of affection has disappeared through our sin. Thoughtful, understanding, sympathetic knowledge is not something that some men are born with, but it is a heavenly gift of Christ to believing men who ask for it daily in prayer. Hence it is possible for every Christian man to have it and exercise it. It is his sin if he does not” (Marriage, the Mystery of Christ & the Church, p. 45).
Thomas Brooks: “If thou art a man of holiness, thou must look more for a portion of grace in thy wife, than a portion of gold with a wife; thou must look more after righteousness than riches; more after piety than money; more after the inheritance she hath in heaven, than the inheritance she hath on earth; more at her being new born, than at her being high born.”
Announcements (subject to God’s will):
Prof. Hanko will be preaching for us again today. Everyone is welcome to stay for tea after the evening service to bid farewell to the Hankos.
This evening we will have a preparatory service with the view to partaking of the Lord’s Supper next Lord’s Day morning.
The November issue of the Covenant Reformed News is on the back table.
Catechism Classes: Monday, 5:00 PM at the Murrays Monday, 6:30 PM with the Campbells at the manse Thursday, 8:30 PM at the Hamills
The Council meets tomorrow, 7:30 PM, at the manse.
Membership Class: Tuesday, 8:30 PM, at the Hallidays.
Midweek Bible Study on Wednesday at 7:45 PM at the manse. We will look at II Timothy 2:8ff.
Offerings: General Fund – £739.15. Donations: £140 (tapes), £27 (S. Wales).
The Reformed Witness Hour next Lord’s Day (8:30-9:00 AM, on Gospel 846MW), is entitled “Let All the Angels of God Worship Him” (Hebrews 1:4-11).
Women’s Bible Study meets next week Tuesday, 11 Dec., 10:30 AM at the Murrays.
On Thursday, 17 Jan., Rev. Daniel Kleyn will speak on “The Antithesis: Living Antithetically In A Technological Age” in Limerick.
Website Additions: 1 Tagalog, 7 Portuguese, and 8 Italian translations were added.
PRC News: Rev. denHartog (Southwest, MI) received the call to be missionary to the Philippines.
Considering the North Star (II)
And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:20b
Because the street my family’s house is on runs north and south, the front of our garage can be used to find north. By standing on the service walk and lining myself up with the front edge of the garage’s roof, I can face due north. Also, the garage roof has a peak at the front, and the slope of the roof nearly points to the North Star. The roof line points just a little low. When I am preparing to retire for the night, I usually go outside for a few minutes. This gives me the opportunity to check out the stars, moon and planets if the sky’s not overcast, and get a few breaths of outdoor air. Before entering the garage service door, I often pause to check for the North Star. It is always there, as faithful as ever.
Polaris faithfully inhabits its nearly immovable position in the sky. If one looks at Polaris often enough, you grow accustomed to holding your head at a certain angle to find it. With enough practice, it can become nearly automatic. In fact, it is interesting to notice the change in the North Star’s elevation above the northern horizon when on a trip.
In Burnham’s Celestial Handbook: An Observer’s Guide to the Universe Beyond the Solar System, Robert Burnham, Jr. writes about the North Star, “In many lands and ages, the North Star has been seen as a symbol of constancy and faithfulness. Sir James Frazer in The Golden Bough describes an ancient Hindu rite in which a newly married couple honoured the Pole Star as the symbol of fidelity, and vowed in its light to remain faithful to each other for ‘a hundred autumns.’”
In an even greater and more important manner, Christ has promised to be always with His Church. This promise is given just after the issuing of the “Great Commission.” Significantly, Christ also just notified His disciples, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” What greater encouragement could the disciples have as they faced the hardships of fulfilling their commission and of observing to do all that their Lord commanded?
Consider God’s true Church! Has there ever been a time when the Church has not been troubled? The seven churches addressed in Revelation 2 and 3 had difficulties. The early church struggled with heresies and those who did not lead godly lives. Ephesus held the truth, but had lost her first love which resulted in Christ threatening to come quickly to remove her candlestick. Pergamos faced persecution, experienced martyrdom and held fast to Christ’s name, yet heresy could be found in her. Thyatira was known for her works, charity and patience, but had a dreadful false prophetess, Jezebel, causing trouble. When reading the epistles of Paul, we witness a great number of discouragements which God’s people had to face.
Why should we think our churches would be any different? We have faced many struggles in our history. We began by defending the truth of sovereign grace against the heresy of Common Grace. We faced internal struggles in the 1950s. We have had to defend and explain the truth in the face of false accusations of others. While making this defence, the members of the congregations had to be nourished from God’s Word and discipline maintained. There will always be issues to face both internal and external. That’s just the way it is for God’s church on earth. What will we do?
Christ has promised to be with us through all of this. What a comfort to have the God of Truth with us! Since He possesses all power in heaven and on earth, Who would be better to have with us? Our Lord reigns and will work all things for our good, though we may not understand how. His ways are mysterious. We must keep in mind that Christ is with us, though He yet remains unseen.
We can do more for our children than to point out the North Star or teach them how to find it. Christ’s faithful presence is pictured by the North Star. Is it cloudy at night? Is it daytime so the bright sky hides Polaris from view? It is still there! The faithful star still shines! Though there are times when Polaris is unseen, it is not the only unseen thing we seek. Are we troubled by what happens in the church today? Do we worry about the church’s future for our children? Take Christ at His word. He has promised to be with us, even unto the end of the world.
Mr. Brian Dykstra, teacher at Hope Protestant Reformed Christian School.
