Next weekend sees the Franklin Graham Celebration of Hope – three days bringing the gospel to people at the Odyssey arena in Belfast.
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Entries from March 2008
March 30, 2008
Baptism service at Portstewart Baptist
This evening we have a baptism service at Portstewart Baptist. It will be the first baptism I have conducted here.
Before the candidates are baptised, after a brief testimony, I will be talking about the meaning of baptism with a brief look at three passages.
From Matthew 28 and the Great Commission we see that baptism has [...]
March 28, 2008
What kind of meat is this?
I have no axe to grind with Tesco (they have been very good neighbours to us in Portstewart), but a friend told me about some unusual lamb chops his wife had bought in one of their shops. What kind of lamb chops do cattle produce – even if they meet all the welfare standards that [...]
March 26, 2008
HFE Bill – a Christian perspective
The Christian Medical Fellowship provides a Christian point of view on the Human Fertilisation and Embryo Bill which has been causing such a stir over the past few days with Gordon Brown this week being forced into some kind of climb-down from his plan to enforce party political loyalty at the expense of the consciences [...]
March 25, 2008
Come people of the Risen King
On Easter Sunday evening at PBC we introduced a new song from Keith and Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend.
Words and Music by Keith and Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2008 Thankyou Music/ Copyright Control
Come, people of the Risen King,
Who delight to bring Him praise;
Come all and tune your hearts [...]
March 24, 2008
Easter Sunday at Portstewart Baptist
Yesterday was our biggest Sunday of the year so far as we welcomed many guests who were making the most of the bracing Easter weather to enjoy a few days on the North Coast.
The day actually started early as a few dozen people from PBC and two other local churches gathered for a dawn service [...]
March 22, 2008
Good Friday hymn
I posted this previously on Good Friday, and here goes again this year. It’s the words of Keith Getty and Stuart Townend’s hymn – written three year – on the theme of the cross. Click here to listen to a sample. It is a superb expression of what happened at the cross. [...]
March 19, 2008
Over half of Britons believe Jesus rose from the dead
The news site, Christian Today, reports on a recently published survey of belief in Britain. 57% of those polled believe that Jesus was crucified, buried and rose from the dead, although a significant minority of these believe that his resurrection was spiritual.
13% of those questioned claimed to believe that Jesus never existed. One of the [...]
March 18, 2008
Judas
On Sunday morning when I preached on the people who were involved in the death of Jesus, I talked about Judas. Apparently the BBC’s adaptation of the passion story tries to soften the portrayal of Judas.
John Piper has been reflecting on the wickedness of his action, pointing out that when he was eating the supper [...]
March 17, 2008
Saint Patrick
I am the sinner Patrick. I am the most unsophisticated of people, the least of Christians, and for many people I am the most contemptible…
I was taken into captivity in Ireland – at that time I was ignorant of the true God – along with many thousand others.
Today has been Saint Patrick’s Day. It seems [...]
March 17, 2008
Happy birthday to Claire-Lise
Claire-Lise is seventeen today. She shares her birthday with St Patrick – or at least her birthday is on the same day that people celebrate him. She sees and hears enough of me not to need to read this blog, but Happy Birthday anyway.
March 16, 2008
Sunday morning at Portstewart Baptist.
In our morning service we are looking at the events around the crucifixion of Jesus. Mark 14 and 15 have a lot of material but the particular angle that this morning’s sermon takes is to look at who was involved in the events.
There are obviously key roles played by the religious leaders, by Judas, [...]
March 15, 2008
Saturday’s running mate – Mark Driscoll
When we lived in Switzerland I used to write about people I ran with on Saturday mornings. Most of the time they were not actually running with me, they were virtual running mates via iPod. It’s been a while since I have written one of these pieces, so for a restart, this morning [...]
March 15, 2008
On the crucifixion
I am preaching this weekend on the crucifixion from Mark 14 and 15. In preparing my message I have been looking back at an article that appeared over 20 years ago in a medical journal. Two medics and a pastor took a look at the medical and historical aspects of the crucifixion. [...]
March 11, 2008
Sunday at Portstewart Baptist
Over the past few weeks we have had builders on site working on the storm damage repairs. Our roof is now more secure, we are protected from leaks, our skylight has been put back and our damaged ceiling has been replaced. We have also got some of our seats back from being redone [...]
March 11, 2008
BBC to exonerate Judas in Jesus Christ drama – Telegraph
It seems that Easter is not just the time of year when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, or the time of year when chocolate makers make a fortune through chocolate eggs and rabbits, but it’s also the time of year when the media like to throw a new angle on the story of [...]
March 9, 2008
Rugby in Dublin
Before today I had been at one international rugby match – about 10 years ago I watched Switzerland play Serbia in Nyon – hardly top tier rugby nations. Today Pauline and I went to Dublin as with friends from church where we saw Ireland lose to Wales (who thereby won the Triple Crown). [...]
March 7, 2008
21st century Antioch
On our leadership team at PBC we recently spent some time thinking about what we could learn from the Antioch church in Acts. It’s actually a worthwhile basis of discussion. Among all the lessons there, it seems to me that you can draw up a very simple understanding of what churches are meant to do. [...]
March 3, 2008
Sunday at Portstewart Baptist
Michael Williams was preaching at our morning service. He spoke from Job, highlighting the fact that God knows the way we take.
In the evening I took the fifth commandment – Honour your father and mother. I think honour remains a constant throughout life. The specific applications seem to be obedience (Paul’s use of the commandment [...]
March 3, 2008
Untouchable Everton hit back in race for fourth – Football News – Telegraph
Things are heating up in the race for fourth place in the Premier League. Thankfully Everton keep on winning. At the weekend it was a 3-1 win against Portsmouth, with two goals from Yakubu (popularly known as the Yak). The first was scored in the first minute (after about 8 seconds of actual playing time). [...]
March 2, 2008
Crown Jesus Ministries
Over the first five months of this year twenty churches and ministries in the Coleraine – Portstewart – Portrush Triangle area are working together with Crown Jesus Ministries in a series of special events. Tonight was a united prayer/worship event, held in one of the local Presbyterian Churches. Trevor Morrow from Dublin led the evening, taking us [...]
