Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
83 Clarence Street, Ballymena BT43 5DR
Rev. Angus Stewart
Lord’s Day, 5 July, 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
Christ, the Firstfruits of the Resurrection [youtube]
Scripture Reading: I Corinthians 15:1-28
Text: Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 17
I. The Sure Pledge
II. The Blessed Pattern
Psalms: 122:1-9; 107:26-31; 16:6-11; 36:5-10
Evening Service – 6:00 PM
Keeping Father’s Commandments [youtube]
Scripture Reading: Proverbs 6:12-7:5
Text: Proverbs 7:1-5
I. How?
II. Why?
Psalms: 30:1-7a; 107:32-38; 19:8-13; 119:9-16
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
Charles Bridges on Proverbs 7: “The study of wisdom in the word of God is here commended to us with affectionate earnestness, and with a beautiful variety of imagery. Let us ponder these valuable rules for practical application. ‘Let the whole mind and heart be occupied with it.’ Keep it as the daily means of life (Prov. 3:21-22; 4:4, 13; Isa. 55:2-3; Jer. 22:15). Sir Matthew Hale told his children—‘If I omit reading a portion of Scripture in the morning, it never goes well with me through the day.’ Lay it up (Prov. 10:14; Deut. 11:18; Luke 2:19, 51) carefully, not on our shelves, but on our hearts. Let the whole Word of God be our precious treasure.”
Announcements (subject to God’s will)
The Stewarts leave for the US tomorrow. They return on 4 August. May the “Lord watch between [us], when we are absent one from another” (Gen 31:49).
Rev. and Mary Haak are to arrive on Saturday, 18 July, and leave Tuesday 4 August. There will be tea after the evening service on Sunday, 2 August, the Haak’s last Lord’s Day with us. It is Group A’s turn to bring sandwiches and biscuits.
The Lord’s Day schedule for the next month is as follows:
12 July – Elder Brian Crossett leads the DVD service
19 July – Rev. Haak
26 July – Rev. McGeown (Rev. Haak in the LRF)
2 August – Rev. Haak (tea following the evening service)
The Reformed Witness Hour broadcast next Lord’s Day (Gospel 846MW at 8:30 AM) by Rev. Haak is entitled “Husbands, Love with Purpose” (Ephesians 5:25-27).
Offerings: General Fund – £638.00. Donations: £25 (bookstore).
Website Additions: 1 Indonesian, 2 Hungarian and 3 Korean translations.
PRC News: Rev. Huizinga (Redlands, CA) declined the call to Peace PRC.
Note of Thanks: We are truly humbled and thankful at the outpouring of love and support we have received from you, our extended church family. In the days since Austin, our precious eight-year old, was called home by being hit by a car, we have felt God’s grace through your prayers and been comforted by your words of encouragement. The Lord has used you to lift us up and to make our heavy burden a bit lighter. It is evident that, when one part of the body hurts, the entire body hurts. We still hurt, however we are able to confess that God’s amazing grace has sustained us, and we have faith that it will continue to sustain us in the days, weeks and months ahead. We ask that you continue to pray for us as God calls us to continue our earthly sojourn without our son. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength” (Isa. 26:3-4). Love in Christ, Russ & Karisa, Bradyn, Calvin and Gracie Lotterman.
Creation: Believed by Faith, Not Data
Brian D. Dykstra
Earlier this school year a parent gave me a copy of an article her son had received on the internet. The purpose of the article is to provide “convincing” evidence of the truth of the Bible. The article states there was a group of space scientists and astronauts who were checking what would be the positions of the sun, moon and planets for the next 1,000 years. The scientists needed to know these positions so that when a satellite is placed in orbit, it will not bump into something else later.
According to the article, “The computer went back and forth over the centuries and it came to a halt. The computer stopped and put up a red signal, which meant that there was something wrong either with the information fed into it or with the results as compared to the standards. They called in the service department to check it out and they said, ‘What’s wrong?’ Well, they found there is a day missing in space in elapsed time. They scratched their heads and tore their hair. There was no answer.”
A Christian member of the team remembered his early Sunday School lessons. He recalled the story of Joshua 10 when the sun stood still “about a whole day” (v. 13). The scientists then made their adjustments and reran the computer program. Yet there remained an error of forty minutes. The former Sunday School student then recalled the story of Hezekiah in II Kings 20 when Hezekiah asked that the sun go back ten degrees on the sundial. Ten degrees on the sundial would equal forty minutes. Adding the twenty-three hours and twenty minutes in Joshua 10 with the forty minutes of II Kings 20 provided the space scientists with their missing day!
The article had opened with this paragraph: “For all the scientists out there and for all the students who have a hard time convincing these people regarding the truth of the Bible … here’s something that shows God’s awesome creation and shows that He is still in control.” There is an effort by Christian scientists to “prove” that creationism is correct by finding irrefutable scientific proof which would confound the celebrated minds supporting evolutionism and, perhaps, lead many to believe God’s Word.
This anecdote has been around for awhile, but it is not true. In Astronomy and the Bible: Questions and Answers (1988), Donald B. DeYoung asks, “Have computers discovered the biblical ‘long days’?” After telling the story of the space scientists, DeYoung answers, “The report that computers have discovered the biblical ‘long days’ continues to be told but is unfounded … Although this apparent verification of Scripture makes a very interesting story, computers are not this smart! The only way to determine a change in the sun’s or moon’s location is to know their exact positions prior to the change, but there is no such reference point available. We do not know exactly where the created sun and moon were first placed in the sky” (p. 54).
While it might be nice to know that there are others who believe the creation account of Genesis, their attempts to “prove” creation with compelling scientific observations and data collecting are unfounded. It will not happen. Hebrews 11:3 tells us plainly, “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God.” Yes, creation bears the testimony of its Creator but, without God giving the gift of faith, man is depraved so that all he can do with his observations and his knowledge gained of creation is to go down the path of idol worship (Rom. 1:25).
Science has an enjoyable and necessary place in our school’s curriculum. However, although creation is an “elegant book,” our children must not be deluded into thinking that the proof of God as Creator can be found in the soil or the stars. Such an attempt would be putting our children on the foundation of a bruised reed. There is only one way to prove the truth of creation. The proof for creation is found only in the regenerated hearts of God’s elect, covenant children. By the gracious gift of faith, we have experienced the power of God’s spoken Word. Where there was no light, He called it into being. Where there was only death, He implanted His living Spirit. We believe by faith, not data.
