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On Sunday evening, Stephen preached on the fear of God. One very helpful recent resource on the subject is this two-part lecture by Michael Reeves. Highly recommended!
Jeremiah 33:9 - “They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it”.
Update: The video and audio of the sermon - ‘What should you fear?’ - is now available on our sermons page.
Our evening service will commence at 6:30pm. As with this morning, it will be livestreamed via our facebook page.
We will be looking at Isaiah 8v13, as a follow up to this morning’s sermon:
‘But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honour as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread’.
We will try and incorporate the following two Psalms into the livestream, but are including the recordings here in case you want to listen back to them later.
One helpful resource on the tonight’s topic (the fear of God) is the following talk given by Mike Reeves at the Banner of Truth Minister’s conference two years ago. While partly aimed at ministers, it’s relevant for all of us:
The book by John Flavel referred to in the sermon (originally published as A Practical Treatise of Fear) is available to read online in various places, or to buy here.
Update: The video and audio of the sermon - ‘What you shouldn’t fear’ - is now available on our sermons page.
Our morning service will be livestreamed via our facebook page (and accessible via the phone number mentioned in yesterday’s update) at 11:30am.
We will be looking at Isaiah 8v12: ‘Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread’.
The following psalms are suggested for you to sing along with following the service:
Psalm 46
Psalm 34
With the coronavirus pandemic meaning families are unable to go to church or spend time in each other’s homes, keeping the Lord’s Day special may be particularly challenging.
That’s one reason why it’s still so important to focus the day around the preaching of God’s word, even if we can’t physically meet together. The Lord’s Day also provides an opportunity for extended times of family worship.
Here are some suggestions of other activities to do during the day:
Starting tomorrow (22 March), from 3pm, Rev. Robert McCollum (minister of Newtownards RPC) will be doing a children’s talk each week based around Pilgrim’s Progress. You can watch it on their facebook page.
(On weekdays, our friend Kyle Borg is reading through The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)
Crossway have made a number of resources available free for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis, including The Big Picture Book of Bible Crafts in pdf format.
For preschoolers, the TV Show ‘Superbook’ on Prime Video* is worth checking out (sadly some of the episodes based on the New Testament contain depictions of Jesus).
For those of primary school age, the ‘Torchlighters’ series, which tells the stories of missionaries and other famous Christians, is also an Prime Video* (17 episodes)
You could also print off bible-themed colouring sheets or check out pinterest for bible story themed crafts.
The Reformation History website, which Stephen produced alongside the RP Church of Ireland ten years ago, has worksheets for 13-18 year olds.
While very helpful for adults, the Bible Project videos may also be helpful for older kids.
Those are just some quick suggestions. It doesn’t sound like social distancing will be ending any time soon, so I’m sure we will do a follow-up post in the future. If you have any other suggestions, please let us know!
* Prime Video is included with an Amazon Prime Account. A one-month free trial is available. Amazon has also been making children’s TV shows available free for a month during the current pandemic.
In light of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Session had been hoping we could still meet together physically for worship tomorrow. However as the situation continues to escalate, we have reluctantly decided that for now this is no longer an option. We will continue to review this week by week, and may look to hold open-air services.
However given that tomorrow is still the Lord’s Day and that the worship of God is still our greatest privilege (and that we need to seek him more than ever at a time like this), Stephen will still be preaching two sermons in the church building at the usual times of 11:30am and 6:30pm. You will be able to watch via a livestream (broadcast of a live video over the internet) or listen to by phoning in (details below).
While no substitute for it in any normal circumstances, please still treat this as public worship. While we are perhaps used to having online videos on in the background while we are doing other things, you are still joining with God’s people to worship him, only separated by distance. It is not a time for doing other things , rather this time should be set aside specifically for worship.
To watch the livestream:
You can access it via our facebook page here (you do not need a facebook account). The video will become live around 11:30am.
To dial in:
Call 0330 606 0403 and use the access code 642106. We will try and have this set up from 11:25am.
All of us:
Remember that even while you are unable to join with God’s people, the fourth commandment still applies: ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy’. It is not a day for shopping/housework/entertainment etc. We are not to go our own ways, seek our own pleasure or talk idly, but to call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honourable (Isaiah 58:13-14).
While there will be less opportunities for fellowship after worship and in each other’s homes, consider using the day as a particular opportunity to keep in touch with people by phone.
We will shortly be posting some suggested resources that could be used to help keep the day special, both for adults and children.
If you are self-isolating and need groceries/prescriptions:
Stephen has already been in contact with those in the congregation who are in vulnerable categories to offer to help. If you can’t get out and need help (or know of others who could do with it), please let Stephen know.
NB: At this time, you may want to consider posting your tithes and offerings to Gerald as a cheque, or setting up a standing order, as a way to continue to fulfil 1 Corinthians 16:2. This month has also been designated by Presbytery as an opportunity to give specifically to the work of training men for ministry. If you would like to give to this fund, please state that on the envelope.
Please note that the RP Church of Scotland has designated Saturday 28th March as a day of solemn fasting, prayer and repentance. Stephen will speak more about this as part of his Sunday evening sermon, and more information will be available here on our website soon.
PS: An interesting historical reference to how a similar crisis affected the RP Church in Dumfries in the 1800s is provided below in the quote below from John G. Paton’s autobiography. Kyle Borg provides discusses the current crisis in light of another historical situation here.
