An alabaster jar, easy broken, easy spilled,

is brought before him who had it filled.

The jar is broken and out pours love

upon Love’s feet, soon pierced high above

The Prayers of Matthew Perry, A.I designed Supercar. and South African Rugby Captain Siya Kolisi

A young man ran up to Jesus. This guy was one of life’s success stories, a rising star in society who seemed to have the world at his feet. Though young, already he had gained wealth, position and prestige, but he was struggling spiritually. In spite of his success and wealth, his soul wasn't satisfied. Deep down he knew something crucial was missing from his life. So, he ran to Jesus and fell on his knees with a question burning in his heart: ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?’ Jesus replied, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good - except God alone.’ These words of Jesus highlight three major truths that dominate Scripture

The city of Ephesus was one of the greatest cities in the Roman Empire, situated on major trade routes and so extremely prosperous. It was also a very important religious centre, with temples dedicated to various gods and goddesses. Its main claim to fame was the splendid temple of Artemis (the Roman Diana) which drew pilgrims from distant places and generated significant income for the manufacturers of silver shrines (Acts 19:24ff).

A little girl sat at the back of the church listening. The minister was talking about her brother who had just been killed in an accident. A worker for God - he had been a student for the ministry - had gone. Who would take his place? The little girl thought, “I can’t be a minister but maybe I could be a missionary.” That was all. I was that little girl.

Preachers sometimes act as if the present sermon or series they’re preaching is the most important thing you’ll ever hear. We may even say as much! In this case what I’m working on currently may not be the most important thing of all, but it’s certainly very relevant to this series on Christianity.

How many times have you been warned that we live in “an increasingly secular world”? How many evangelism videos have you seen preparing you to deal with the critical, cynical atheist? Of course, this is a real and pressing issue of our day, and the opening verse of Psalm 14 assures us that man’s outright denial of God’s existence is not a modern phenomenon, but that it is a rather persistent fruit on the tree of sin

How much do you actually know about Islam, aside from dress codes and extremists? Perhaps, because we live in Northern Ireland, it is not something that you have encountered, or you don’t see much benefit in engaging with it.

What does it mean to be blessed? Does it mean fame, money, or a long life? No, the Psalmist in Psalm 1 points to the truly Blessed Man. He alone has eternal glory, eternal riches, and eternal life. It is in Him alone we are blessed. It is Him we must know to be blessed eternally.  

It started off as an idea conceived unformed at one of the semi-regular Messenger Committee meetings. An embryonic notion tagged onto an agenda under Any Other Business.

A tournament for the Reformed Presbyterian masses, open to every denomination and church from the metropolises of Belfast and Derry to the rural hinterland that makes up the rest of Northern Ireland.

Volleyball was the game. Played for years provincially and at various Camps and Conferences over the years.  Just a ball, a net and a boundary were needed to play. But winning required collective courage, undying dedication, and a team with the ability to consistently hit the ball over the net.

Moses died at the age of 120, and, according to the Bible “His eye was undimmed and his vigour unabated” (Deuteronomy 34:7). Gautama Buddha died at the age of 80. In his final year he was attended by many followers and continued to teach his disciples the seven factors of enlightenment. Confucius devoted his whole life to learning and teaching. Frustrated in politics, he was accompanied by an expanding circle of students. He returned home to teach and died at the age of 72, surrounded by some 3,000 who sought to maintain his philosophy.

A Reformed witness has been sustained in Knockbracken since 1772 and the ministry of the Rev. William Stavely. Over the years, the Lord Jesus Christ has provided Knockbracken with 15 ministers.

In your day to day activities and relationships, is God's kindness shining through you to others? Do people see something of the kindness of God by how you treat them and talk with them? If you have truly experienced God's grace in your life, an inward transformation will be taking place within you and this will be seen outwardly in how you serve others with kindness.

Amy Carmichael gives an exceptional example of the set-apart life. From the time of her conversion to her going home, she poured out her life in service to the Lord and had little-to-no regard of human opinion.

What do you think of when you think of emotions? Perhaps it is a movie scene which brings overwhelming sobs, maybe your mind flicks to that anger that flooded over you when that driver cut dangerously close across you, or maybe the characters from Inside Out pop up in your head.

How should God’s people respond to such great salvation? The heart of their response ought to be love. An obvious question arises: how are God’s people to express that love?

Chad is the largest land-locked country in Africa and is rich in diversity: The landscape flows from the sub-tropical South to the Saharan North, home to over 130 distinct people groups, each with their own language, culture and religious expression. A Muslim-majority country with a significant portion of Christians and traditional religions too, there is a great deal to be learnt from the largely peaceful, tolerant way of life.

2 Peter was written to Christians who were facing danger on two fronts. There was the external threat from an increasingly hostile environment, and there was also an internal threat from false teachers who had infiltrated the church. 1 Peter was written to address the external threat, and 2 Peter deals with the internal threat.

There is something incredible about fantasy fiction. Not only the ability to conjure up a new storybut to create a new world with different landscapes, creatures and dialects. None in my view have accomplished this so well as CS Lewis or Tolkien. Nevertheless, I do enjoy a venture into a new world and enjoyed my foray into Aerwiar, the world created by Andrew Peterson in his Wingfeather Saga.

Psalm 37 was been given to us to teach us how to think and act when we see the wicked prospering while the righteous are in disgrace and adversity. How do we reconcile these two things in our minds? We can easily get sucked into a downward spiral of doubt, resentment and discouragement. But this Psalm can give us much understanding and encouragement in such times.