Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
83 Clarence Street, Ballymena BT43 5DR
Rev. Angus Stewart
Lord’s Day, 20 December, 2015
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind …” (Rom. 12:2)
Morning Service – 11:00 AM
Administration of the Lord’s Supper
If God Be For Us … [youtube]
Scripture Reading: Romans 8:28-39
Text: Romans 8:31b-32
I. The Unanswerable Logic
II. The Loving Manifestation
III. The Wonderful Promise
Psalms: 100:1-5; 119:97-104; 27:1-5; 23:1-6
Evening Service – 6:00 PM
Applicatory
The Golden Chain of Salvation [youtube]
Scripture Reading: Romans 8:13-34
Text: Romans 8:30-31
I. The Beautiful Links
II. The Theological Lessons
III. The Astonishing Conclusion
Psalms: 116:1-8; 119:105-112; 37:29-37; 65:1-5
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
Quote to Consider
Herman Hoeksema on Romans 8:31-32: “… if we can really say that God is for us, we have no need of anything else. All we need to know is this one thing: whether God is for us. If God is for us, we can have peace” (Righteous by Faith Alone, p. 366).
A. W. Pink: “Of old, it was announced by the language of prophecy: ‘For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given’ (Isa. 9:6)—given to be all that to us, which our fallen state called for. Accordingly, the angels announced to the shepherds at the time of His advent: ‘For unto you is born this day … a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’ That Gift was the supreme exemplification of the divine benignity. ‘In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins’ (1 John 4:9-10). That was the guarantee of all other blessings. As the apostle argued from the greater to the less, assuring us that Christ is at once the pledge and channel of every other mercy: ‘He who spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all — how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?’ (Rom 8:32). God did not withhold His choicest Treasure, the Darling of His bosom, but freely yielded Him up; and the love that spared not Him —will not begrudge anything that is for the good of His people.”
Announcements (subject to God’s will)
After a week of self-examination, confessing members in good standing are called to partake of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Your participation in the Lord’s Supper is in part a witness that you repent of your sins, believe that Jesus Christ is your righteousness and desire to live a new and godly life. As this heavenly food can be taken to one’s judgment (I Cor. 11:28-30) and as the common reception of this food is a confession of doctrinal unity (Acts 2:42), the elders supervise the partaking of the sacrament. Visitors who are members of other denominations must request permission from the Council.
A new Protestant Reformed Theological Journal and the December Covenant Reformed News are available free on the back table, as is the sign-up sheet for those wanting to have the church visitors over for dinner.
The Tuesday Bible study meets at 11 AM to look at kingship in Hosea.
The Reformed Witness Hour broadcast next Lord’s Day (Gospel 846MW at 8:30 AM) by Rev. Bruinsma is entitled “God’s Faithfulness” (I Thessalonians 5:24).
Rev. McGeown will be preaching for the CPRC next Lord’s Day, while Rev. Stewart takes the services in the LRF.
All are invited to the manse on New Year’s Eve for games and fellowship at 7:30 PM or any time thereafter. If you plan to come, please let the Stewarts know.
The next Council meeting is Monday, 4 January, at 7 PM.
The Belgic Confession Class resumes on 6 January, when we will consider catholicity in the local church and missions.
Catechism classes resume Monday, 11 January.
The congregational dinner is scheduled for Friday, 15 January, at the Ramble Inn. Prices are £10 for an adult meal and £5 for a children’s meal. A menu and sign-up sheets are on the back table.
Upcoming Lectures:
CPRC, Wed., 13 Jan., 7:30 PM, Rev. Decker on “God’s Beautiful Covenant of Grace”
S. Wales, Thurs. 28 Jan., 7:15 PM, Rev. Stewart on “Our Identity in Christ”
CPRC, Fri., 18 March, 7:30 PM, Rev. Stewart on “Our Identity in Christ”
Offerings: General Fund: £1,566.64.
Website Additions: 2 Portuguese (including the article “The Image of God in Man: A Reformed Reassessment”) and 1 Hungarian translations.
PRC News: Rev. J. Laning (Hull, IA) declined the call to the Philippines.
Reformation Day Lecture on Jan Hus’ Martyrdom
published in December 2015 issue of the Evangelical Times
“But the holy catholic—that is, universal—church is the totality of the predestinate or all the predestinate, present, past, and future. This definition follows St. Augustine … who shows how it is that one and the same church of the predestinate, starting at the beginning of the world, runs on to the apostles, and thence to the day of judgment”—that was Jan Hus’s (c. 1369-1415) definition of the church! And that definition was the first of thirty charges for which the Council of Constance in southern Germany burned him at the stake in 1415!
Of Hus’ De Ecclesia (The Church), from which this quotation is taken, historian David S. Schaff declares, “Huss’s treatise has a place of first importance among works on the church. Its treatment is clear, elaborate and professedly based on Scripture. It is the best known work on the subject issued from Augustine to the Reformation period. It was the basis of charges in the most famous formal trial of a single individual in the history of the Christian church. It was cherished and used by a large section of the Bohemian people. It has had a permanent influence upon the development of the idea of the church.”
With this year being the 600th anniversary of the wicked execution of this great pre-Reformer, Pastor Angus Stewart spoke on “Jan Hus: His Martyrdom and Ecclesiology,” while illustrating his presentation with photos and slides (Friday 30 October). An engaged audience in the Covenant Protestant Reformed Church (CPRC) in Ballymena, N. Ireland, learned about Hus, the most famous Czech in history, a man with an heroic status in his native land and further afield as a powerful preacher, beloved pastor, university professor, multiple author, Bible translator, church reformer and steadfast martyr.
In this commemorative lecture on Hus, many questions were answered: Why did a medieval church council, itself supposedly seeking the reformation of an admittedly corrupt church with three popes, cruelly execute a man noted on all sides for his godliness? What did Hus believe? What was his doctrine of the church? Why was this theologian of conviction such a threat? What are the similarities between the Czech pre-Reformer Jan Hus and the German Reformer Martin Luther? And what are the lessons for today? A lively time of questions and answers followed the speech.
This special Reformation Day lecture and PowerPoint presentation was and is of special interest to those of Czech or German extraction or who have visited Prague or Constance, those who enjoy church history or the development of Christian doctrine, those who are encouraged by the testimony of the church’s martyrs, and those who love the truth of the church or desire church reformation. It can be watched (www.youtube.com/cprcni) or listened to free on-line (www.cprf.co.uk/audio.htm). Moreover, the Hus speech is free for the asking on DVD (which also contains the question session) or CD. Simply contact Mary Stewart, 7 Lislunnan Road, Kells, N. Ireland, BT42 3NR ([email protected]; 028 25 891851).
