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A prayer based on Psalm 20: Lord God, We thank you that you have given victory to your anointed. The war has been won; the enemy defeated. We lift up our banners and shout with joy! Hallelujah! Lord God, We are still engaged in a battle with the world, flesh and the devil. Forgive us for closing our eyes and laying down our arms. Forgive us for being casual on the battlefield. Forgive us for trusting in our own strength and wisdom, resolve or wit to win the battle for us. Cau

A prayer based on Psalm 16 Lord God, You are my safety, my refuge and my delight. There is no one better than you; no pleasure greater than knowing you. All the good things I have are gifts from your hands. Thank you, for the many blessing you give to me Lord God, I am sorry for those times when I have treated you as a crutch. Forgive me for crying out to you in tough times, and ignoring you when times are good. Forgive me for drifting from your word, your people and your way

If you have ever done homework with kids, you'll know that there comes a time when they stretch the limits of your memory and ability. You might have been able to do those sums at one time, but now, you can't help them. With that in mind, let's consider the next question in the catechism which speaks of the help which the Holy Spirit brings to us. Q37. How does the Holy Spirit help us? A. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin, comforts us, guides us, gives us spiritual gi

An ant can carry over 25 times it's body weight and run 800 times it's body length in a minute. Now I am not sure if it can do that at the same time - but such strength and speed are staggering. The truth expressed in our next catechism question is even more staggering. Q36. What do we believe about the Holy Spirit? A. That his is God, coeternal with the Father and the Son, and that God grants him irrevocably to all who believe. Some points to note: The Holy Spirit is a p

Victor Meldrew said 'I DON'T believe it!' but have you ever said - 'I just CAN'T believe it'? Perhaps someone has said it to you. You have told them about God's love. You have explained that we don't need to do anything to get into heaven. You have said, our good works don't matter at all. But they said - 'I don't believe it'. Surely, I have to do something. Surely, at least, I have to believe. That's true - but the amazing thing is, even your faith, is a gift from

A prayer based on Psalm 14 Living God, We come to you, our strength, refuge and deliverer. We live in a world of fools, where many say in their hearts that you do not exist. They want nothing to do with you. They want to live their lives 'my way.' We confess there are many times when we live like this. Times when we ignore your word. We pretend you do not care how we live. We kid ourselves that you don't know what we are doing - and that our action do us no harm. Forgi

Why? No matter how you answer - it never seems to satisfy a 3 year old. The catechism takes us to a why question today. Last time we learnt that we don't need to top up Jesus good works. In fact, if we do good works to earn salvation, we are denying all that Jesus has done for us. So why bother doing anything good? Q34. Since we are redeemed by grace alone, through Christ alone, must we still do good works and obey God's word? A. Yes, because Christ having redeemed us

A prayer based on Colossians 4:2-6. Lord of all, Thank you for the gift of prayer. Your ear is open to our cries. Your heart listens to our burdens. Your power is released as we pray to you. We are sorry for not devoting ourselves to prayer. We start off well, but falter in a day or so. We see a need, we committ to prayer, and we soon forget. We are stubborn, refusing to see the way you answer, if it doesn't line up with what we desire. Forgive us for our sins. Give us eyes

I love a bargain, but I'm not a big fan of haggling. Offering someone less that the price they display, doesn't seem right. Of course, offering someone more than the price they display, doesn't seem right either! Why would you? Yet when it comes to salvation, we like to offer a little more. It's to that issue the catechism turns next. Q33. Should those who have faith in Christ seek their salvation through their own works or anywhere else? A. No, they should not, as

I am not a fan of big words. They are hard to say. And often people are unsure what they mean. So they fail to do what words are supposed to do - communicate effectively! Words have meaning. And each word has a particular meaning. That's why it is important we know and understand what a word means. Theology is full of big words, with particular meanings. We come to two of these in the catechism now. Q32. What do justification and sanctification mean? A. Justificatio

A prayer based on Colossians 3:18 - 4:1 Father, We confess our struggle with this passage of your word. We declare you are Lord, but we want free reign in our lives. Help us to listen to your word. May we conform our lives to what you say, rather than be shaped by culture or led by our own desires. May our marriages be shaped by you. Grant husbands and wives a deep love for each other. May their love for each other be expressed in steadfast committment to each other. May

Here's the quotes used in the sermon yesterday and importantly - where you can get your hands on the books they come from. All 3 of these books are resonably priced, very readable and throughly recommended... pick up some summer reading! The first two come from The Life of God in the soul of the church by Thabiti Anyabwile. Pick a copy up here 'Only humanity sings the blues' And quoting John Owen - ‘We must not allow ourselves to be satisfied with vague ideas of the love o

A prayer based on Colossians 3:15-17 Lord God, Thank you for chosing us, making us holy and setting your love upon us. We do not deserve your mearcy, the status you give us and the privileges you bestow upon us. Thank you. May the peace of Christ, rule over our life together. We are sorry for the times when we have worked against peace - by spreading rumours, holding onto past hurts or withholding love for one another. You brought us together as one body. You bought our p

Exam season is upon us and for those facing exams, there is a lot to learn. When studying for an exam, we want to know the main points; key things to remember and get down in your answer. When is comes to the Christian faith - what is the main thing? What are the key points for us to know, understand and put our faith in? What is a good summary of our faith? It is to that question the catechism now turns, and rather than reinvent the wheel, the answer has been tried and

How have you got on learning the catechism? I admit, that I'm not able to repeat many of the answers for the catechism so far... but, this is one I am going to learn. Let me encourage you to learn this answer too! Q30. What is faith in Jesus Christ? A. Faith in Jesus Christ is acknowledging the truth of everything God has revealed in his word, trusting in him, and also receiving and resting on him alone for salvation as he is offered to us in the gospel. Some points to not

We come to a crucial question: Q29. How can we be saved? A. Only by faith in Jesus Christ and in his substitutionary atoning death on the cross; so that even though we are guilty of having disobeyed God and are still inclined to all evil, nevertheless, God, without any merit of our own but only by pure grace, imputes to us the perfect righteousness of Christ when we repent and believe in him. This answer teaches us about ourselves, God and the way of salvation. Let's look

A prayer based on Colossians 3:12-15 Lord God, Thank you for chosing us as your people. We cannot understand why you would set us apart, we have nothing to commend ourselves to you. Yet you love us deeply. Thank you. Our Father, As you love us, so we are called to love each other. We are sorry for the ways we have failed to love each other. For ignoring or avoiding certain people. For holding onto wrongs. For spreading lies and gossip. For treating each other as objec

Good question. And it is one we see people ask in various ways. Take the recent debate surrounding Israel Folau and Billy Vunipola - roundly being condemned for posting a orthodox Christian belief on social media. A lot can be said, a lot can be learnt from the comment surrounding this case. However, what has struck me is that no-one wants to be judged. In fact, people are repulsed by the idea of a God who judges. Especially, one who judges eternally. With that in mind

Whenever a law is passed, it can have a profound impact of the lives of many. The change happens immediately and often we don't have to do anything. On the 25th March 1807, the Slave Trade Act was passed, and from that moment on people could no longer be traded as slaves. In June 2015, 16 and 17 year olds gained the right to vote in local government elections in Scotland. Two examples of changes in the law, which affected many lives - without the people themselves doing a

Have you ever looked at something and thought that it is such a mess I don't know where to begin? Sometimes when we do, we choose to focus in on one little thing. We try and sort that and ignore the rest. We tidy the part of the house visitors will see, and shut the door on the rest. God isn't like that. He doesn't do keeping up appearances, he sorts the whole mess out. That's what the next question in the catechism is all about. Q26. What else does Christ's death redeem? A.