Ballymena
Rev. Angus Stewart
Lord’s Day, 27 March, 2005
"Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye
of all his wondrous works"
(Psalm 105:2)
Morning Service - 11:00 AM
Abraham, Father of the Faithful (9)
Abraham Entertains Angels
Genesis 18:1-15
I. Abraham’s Hospitality
II. The Lord’s Promise
III. Sarah’s Faithfulness
Psalms: 146:1-8; 135:8-14; 119:49-56; 128:1-6
Evening Service - 6:00 PM
Christ Denied with Oaths & Curses
Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 36-37; Matthew 26:69-75
I. The Events
II. The Reasons
Psalms: 145:1-7; 135:15-21; 89:1-4, 35-37; 38:3b-9
For audio cassettes of the worship services, contact the bookstore.
CPRF website: www.cprf.co.uk
Quote to Consider:
George M. Ophoff: "The true incentive, then, of real hospitality
must be the prospect of entertaining an angel, or the very least of the
brethren of Christ. The goats of the parable are told that they cannot
inherit the kingdom because they neglected to give the King meat when He
was [hungry], to give Him drink when He was thirsty, to take Him in when
He was a stranger, to clothe Him when they saw Him naked, to visit Him
when He was sick, to come to Him when He was in prison. And in response
to the question of the sheep, ‘When saw we thee a stranger, and took
thee in? or naked and clothed thee ...?’ the King replied, ‘Verily, I
say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these
my brethren, ye have done it unto me.’ Christ can sympathize with
brethren of His, who in this world are quite alone and
friendless—strangers therefore, sometimes as Paul in prison without food
and drink; then again either wandering in deserts, and in mountains, and
in dens and caves of the earth, or stoned, sawn asunder, tempted, slain
with the sword. To such as these, the heart of Christ goes out. For He
Himself was once a stranger, friendless, forlorn, forsaken, despised of
men. To take compassion on these friendless ones, to beseech them to
retreat into the inner circle of your home, to implore the stranger
passing your door to avail himself of your services, because you think
he may be one of Christ’s own of whom the world is not worthy—this is
true hospitality. Practice it, as did Abraham, and in the day of final
reckoning you will be invited by the King to inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Standard Bearer,
vol. 6, p. 440).
Announcements (subject to God’s will):
Some new 2005 CPRF Bookstore catalogues are available on the
back table.
We have reserved a space at the Ballymena Agricultural Show on
Friday & Saturday, 27-28 May. We plan to bring books, pamphlets, and
tapes.
Catechism classes: Monday at the manse at 7 PM with the Campbells
and Thursday at 7 PM at the Hamills.
Midweek Bible Study will NOT be held this week.
We had a very good meeting in Limerick this past Wednesday. Continue to
remember these saints in your prayers.
The Reformed Witness Hour next Lord’s Day, 3 April (8:30-9:00
AM, on Gospel 846MW) is "Blessed are the Peacemakers" (Matt. 5:9).
Rev. Stewart will give a lecture on "The 1000 Years of Revelation 20" in
Ballymena Protestant Hall, Friday, 8 April, at 8 PM.
Last Week’s Offerings: £468.05.
PRC News: Edmonton will call from a new trio of Revs. Bruinsma
(Kalamazoo, MI), Houck (Peace, IL), and T. Miersma (Spokane, WA).
Bethel’s new trio is Revs. A. Brummel (S. Holland, IL), Kuiper
(Randolph, WI), and Mahtani (Pittsburgh, PA). Rev. A. Brummel received
the call to Hudsonville PRC.