Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
Ballymena
Rev. Angus Stewart
Lord’s Day, 15 April, 2007
"God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of
the earth" (Psalm 74:12)
Morning Service - 11:00 AM
Paul’s Damascus Road Experience (2)
Paul’s Call to Be an Apostle
Acts 26
I. His Call
II. His Message
III. His Future
Psalms: 121:1-8; 81:10-16; 36:5-11; 22:26-31
Evening Service - 6:00 PM
Forgive Us Our Debts
Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 51; Psalm 32
I. The Meaning of It
II. The Necessity of It
III. The Blessedness of It
Psalms: 118:1-9; 82:1-8; 130:1-8; 32:1-5
For audio cassettes or CDs of the worship services, contact Sean Courtney (cprcaudiostore@yahoo.co.uk)
CPRC website: www.cprc.co.uk
Quotes to Consider:
Herman Hoeksema on the fifth petition: "We desire to have the forgiveness of sins. We desire to possess it, to be assured of it in our deepest heart ... That is the amazing wonder and boldness of this petition. We do not say: ‘Father, last week we sinned,’ or, ‘Yesterday we sinned,’ or, ‘This morning we sinned; please forgive.’ But we say: ‘Father, we are sinning all the time. We are sinning at this very moment, while we are praying. Please dismiss our debts from Thy book, and clothe us with righteousness in Thy judgment. And Father, we must have an answer. Please give us the unspeakably blessed assurance and peace of forgiveness in our hearts’" (Triple Knowledge, vol. 1, p. 594).
John Owen: "Our forgiving of others will not procure forgiveness for ourselves; but our not forgiving others proves that we ourselves are not forgiven."
Announcements (subject to God’s will):
A new Beacon Lights is on the back table.
Membership Class: Tuesday, 7:30 PM at the Hallidays.
Our Mid-Week Bible Study will be held Wednesday, at 7:45 PM at the manse. We will study I Thessalonians 3:11ff. on God’s will regarding our sanctification.
Catechism: Thursday, 7:00 PM at the Hamills.
On Friday, Rev. & Mary Stewart travel to South Wales, where Rev. Stewart will give a lecture entitled "A Plea for Creeds." Please remember the lecture and the saints in S. Wales in your prayers.
The Reformed Witness Hour next Lord’s Day, 22 April (8:30-9:00 AM, on Gospel 846MW) is entitled "The Return of the King" (Revelation 22:20-21).
Last Week’s Offerings: General Fund - £404.80. Donations: £100 (building fund), £75 (building fund).
Reserve May Day for a congregational outing. Details to be finalised.
CPRC Website: 8 new Portuguese translations and 5 new Italian translations were added this week. Creeds in languages of Alaska, Azerbaijan, India, Iran, Namibia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Tonga, etc., were added. On our "Languages" page, we have almost 500 items in 87 languages (including at least 1 language beginning with every letter of the alphabet, except "o").
Advanced Notices: (1) Lecture on "Homosexuality: What Does the Bible Teach?" Friday, 11 May, 8 PM, Ballymena Protestant Hall (2) The CPRC plans to have a stall at the agricultural shows in Ballymena on Sat. 26 May, and in Antrim on Sat. 28 July
PRC News: Rev. R. Kleyn (Trinity, MI) declined the call to the Philippines.
Encouraging Quotes:
"I’m glad to translate [Rev. Miersma’s articles on
‘What Jesus Said’]. They are very useful for new Christians, because
they deal with central Bible doctrines in an easy way ... number 5
(‘What Jesus Said About God’s Love’) is great! I sent it to an Arminian
friend of mine ..." - Porto Alegre, Brazil "I would like to keep up to date with what is
happening in Covenant [PRC], so could you please send me the bulletin?
Thank you. I enjoyed reading about the two translators, their accounts
made me think of how blessed I am to have so much good reformed
literature in my language. I found your informative description of the
real Patrick very interesting ..." - New Zealand "Many thanks indeed for keeping me posted with your
‘circular’ data etc. I am particularly grateful for the
C. R. News issues and for your book publications info. Please
continue." - South Wales "I do read the newsletters as well as listen to your
audio materials. The two sermons on ‘Carnal
Christians’ were very helpful." - Slovakia "Enclosed is a small gift in gratitude for
MP3 sermons—valuable teaching. Many thanks." - Cumbria, England "I would be most grateful if you would send a tape of
the [Reformed Witness Hour] broadcast of
this morning on Romans 13, which was much appreciated particularly as it
was based on the A.V. of the Bible." - Belfast, N. Ireland "Please accept this ... as a token of deep
appreciation to you for all your kindnesses and for your ministry of the
Word to one, of not a few, isolated spiritually in the wilderness of
this present evil world. The Lord continue to be with you." -
Gloucester, England "Unfortunately, the idea prevalent in Brazil about
marriage and remarriage in almost all churches is antibiblical. But I am
fighting against it." - Brasilia, Brazil "I went searching for Welsh and Malay versions of the
creeds, found your site in Ulster, and recognized Protestant Reformed
names from years and continents ago. Delightful surprise and
providence." - Pennsylvania, USA "Thank you for the books ... We are hoping to attend
the conference in Northern Ireland next year ... it will be good to meet
with you all whose names are familiar to us." - Lincoln, England "I am interested in receiving your C. R. News
... I was very enlightened by your article on the
Psalms and Hymns and had no idea about the authors and their
beliefs. Thank you very much for your studious research. I have been
thinking about the Psalms for a long time and have a book given to me by
an exclusive psalmodist family. Your clear article has further convinced
me. Thanking you once again." - Australia "Yesterday after I came back from work, there was a
huge package with some great books and pamphlets that you have sent to
me. I was so happy to get these great resources and especially all the
extra booklets and pamphlets that you included."- Netherlands "Thank you for sending me the C. R. News."
- Cambs., England "... the articles on divorce and remarriage have been
very helpful in re-orienting the thinking of many people I have sent
them to and counteract a lot of bad teaching that seems to permeate the
church here in the States. Do you keep your Covenant Reformed News
articles archived anywhere for easy retrieval?" - Ohio, USA "We have heard two more of your taped services on the
series on Elijah today and have
thoroughly enjoyed them. We enjoy your sermons very much indeed, but of
course we always enjoy and appreciate any and all of the Protestant
Reformed ministers we have heard over the past 29 years ... Much love in
Christ and may you be richly blessed through this Sabbath day as you
gather together in the communion of the saints and hear what the Lord
saith to His people, through you." - New Zealand "Thank you for a copy of the Covenant Reformed
News. I shall be pleased to receive a copy on a regular basis ...
for many years I attended a local assembly. I noticed that nothing was
preached about grace and when I searched the Scriptures, I found that we
play no part in our salvation whatsoever ..." - South Wales "I just wanted to write and tell you how much I enjoy
and appreciate the sermons on the website. I have purchased an mp3
player ... I was born and raised in the Pentecostal church ... I can
attest to the errors of the teachings and practices of the Pentecostals
which you so accurately point out and so beautifully refute with the
correct teaching of the Scripture ... I was led to the PRC on the web
doing searches about Calvin’s teachings on certain subjects and churches
who taught them. I found the PRC to be the most consistent and
unpolluted, the purest witness to the truth of the old path. I listen to
at least 3 to 4 sermons a day while I work around the house. I just
can’t seem to get enough of the true preaching. I sometimes feel like I
am playing catch-up." - California, USA