Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
Ballymena
Rev. Angus Stewart
Lord’s Day, 22 January, 2006
“And above all these things put on charity, which is the
bond of perfectness” (Col. 3:14)
Morning Service – 11:00 AM
Christian Love (11)
1 Corinthians 13:7
I. Love Covers All Things
II. Love Believes All Things
III. Love Hopes All Things
IV. Love Endures All Things
Psalms: 42:1-5; 32:6-11; 41:3-9; 44:11-19
Evening Service – 6:00 PM
The Christian’s Death: A Passage Into Eternal Life
Heidelberg Catechism; Lord’s Day 16; Philippians 1
I. The Meaning of Death
II. The Passageway of Death
Psalms: 16:6-11; 33:1-7; 88:1-12; 73:18-25
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:
R. C. H. Lenski: “Be a true, everyday Christian in the exercise of love, then all great triumphs of love will take care of themselves. He who fails in the ordinary works of love will not even have an opportunity when the supreme moment for the performance of the extraordinary arrives.”
Announcements (subject to God’s will):
We welcome Andrea Lenting from Faith PRC in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to our worship services today.
The congregational dinner sign-up sheet is on the back table. The BRF Conference booking forms are also available.
Catechism: Today, after the evening service with the older Hamills Monday at 7 PM at the manse with the Campbells Tuesday at 5:30PM at the Murrays Thursday at 7 PM at the Hamills
Bible Study will be held this week Wednesday at 7:45 PM at the manse.
The church visitors arrive this Friday. If you would like to have the men over for dinner, please check the sign-up sheet on the back table for available time slots.
CPRF Website: Ten new sermons by Rev. C. Hanko on Romans 8 have been added to the “Articles” page (http://www.cprf.co.uk/articles.htm#devotional). The CPRF “Bookstore” page has also been rearranged.
Building Project: A Building Committee has been set up consisting of Tommy Hamill (Project Manager), Ivan Reid, Brian Crossett, & William Graham. The site has been cleared & we have applied to the Water Service for domestic water to be connected to the site. This should take about 3 weeks to be processed.
The Reformed Witness Hour next Lord’s Day, 29 January (8:30-9:00 AM, on Gospel 846MW) is entitled “Jesus Christ, the Apple Tree” (Song of Solomon 2:3).
Upcoming Lectures: Limerick, 31 January, Justification by Faith Alone (Rev. Van Overloop). S. Wales, 10 February, Miracles and the End of the World
Last Week’s Offerings: General Fund – £423.59. Donations: £50 (Building Fund).
PRC News: The sessions of First and Covenant ERCS have met & determined that it is impossible for the denomination to continue in light of the serious & irreconcilable differences that exist, particularly over the issue of divorce & remarriage. Both Pastors Lau & Goh expressed their conviction that they must preach the whole counsel of God, including the biblical prohibition of remarriage after divorce. A special classis has been scheduled for April 29, 2006 to formalize plans for the dissolution of the denomination. Pray that God will preserve the saints & officebearers in the ERCS in the truth of His Word.
BALLYMENA TIMES – Wednesday, 18 January, 2006
A Sin Worse than Sodomy
Sodom was destroyed by God with fire and brimstone from heaven chiefly because of its homosexuality (Gen. 19:4-5, 24; II Peter 2:6-8; Jude 7). Yet Jesus Christ spoke of a sin worse than sodomy: “But I say unto you [people of Capernaum], That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee” (Matt. 11:24; cf. 10:15). Sodom’s punishment on the Judgement Day will be less (“more tolerable”) than Capernaum’s, because Capernaum’s sin was worse. This sin was rejecting the testimony of God through Jesus’ miracles or “mighty works” (11:23) and despising the gospel and messengers of Christ (10:14). This sin of unbelief—rejecting or ignoring the message of forgiveness through the cross of Christ—is committed by many “respectable” people who would not dream of committing homosexual acts, yet it is worse in God’s eyes than sodomy. Let us, therefore, not despise the gospel of Christ, for “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” (Heb. 2:3).
Rev. Angus Stewart
Covenant Protestant Reformed Fellowship, Ballymena
ENGLISH CHURCHMAN – Friday, 20 January
Book Review
O Taste and See, Meditations from the Psalms by Gerrit Vos
Hudsonville Protestant Reformed Church Men’s Society, Hudsonville, Michigan, 1983
Hardback, iii + 287pp.
Available from CPRC Bookstore, 7 Lislunnan Road, Kells, Ballymena, BT42 3NR
Telephone 028 25 891 851 or www.cprc.co.uk
In this heart-warming book, Gerrit Vos (1894-1968) expounds about 30 Psalms with eloquent charm. One warms to the author: his humility, his deep sense of sin, his childlike faith are all evident as he writes. Indeed, the style is so homely that you could almost imagine Vos sitting opposite you chatting about the things of God.
Every chapter is filled with Christ. Christ is the theme of the Psalms and Vos knows it! Therefore in every chapter God’s amazing grace in the cross of Christ is magnified.
With a deep sense of sin, Vos appreciated grace. Only those who see themselves as wicked are awestruck by grace. Does Vos think after almost 70 years that he has outgrown the cross? Not at all! Every honest child of God must identify with Vos’ confession: ”You begin in the morning with the best of intentions. ‘I am going to walk in harmony with my God and His law.’ But when evening is come, you look upon the completed day, and you weep.”
There is not only weeping (over sin), the joy of salvation, but also warnings against sin, and pointed instruction in the faith. This is a devotional (not doctrinal) work, but there is no mere sentimentalism and easy-believism. Vos warns the reader, for example, against falling into presumptuous sin, and fellowship with the wicked.
Two chapters I found memorable are “Visited by Majesty on High” which was written just after a devastating tornado hit the village where Vos ministered. “Our village received a very special visit by the Lord Christ … God came to us, and He roared … His footsteps were seen … He left desolation, death, pain and misery, but also awe, the awe of the childlike fear of Jehovah,” writes Vos, who has a pastor’s heart, and above all, a desire to exalt God in all things. The other is “Judah, praise of Jehovah” in which the name Judas (Judah) is explained, and Judas Iscariot is compared with God’s Judas, the Lord Christ.
There is much comfort here for the trembling child of God. Believers of all ages would benefit from this book. It would be ideal for the Christian in hospital or the afflicted saint. Indeed, even those (like me) who don’t normally choose devotional books may be surprised to find that they enjoy it as well.
Martyn McGeown
