First Ards Presbyterian Church Sermoncast

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Revelation 7:9–17 at a joint service of worship with Newtownards PCI churches in support of Wycliffe Bible Translators on Sunday 28th June 2026 in First Ards. John is given a glimpse of where God’s mission is headed: a countless multitude from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and worshipping the Lamb. Their salvation rests entirely in Ch...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 11:37-54 at morning worship on Sunday 28th June 2026 in First Ards. Jesus exposes the danger of religion that looks clean on the outside whilst remaining corrupt on the inside. The Pharisees and teachers of the law were meticulous about appearances, but neglected justice, love, humility and mercy. Their faith distorted priorities, fed pride, burdened others and resist...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches 2 Samuel 20 at evening worship on Sunday 21st June 2026 in First Ards. David is back on the throne, but his kingdom remains deeply fractured. Sheba exploits old resentments, Joab preserves order through ruthless violence and the lingering consequences of David’s sin remain visible. Yet amid political weakness and military force, an unnamed wise woman saves an entire city t...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 11:27-36 at morning worship on Sunday 21st June 2026 in First Ards. Jesus challenges us to consider not just whether we’re near him, but how we receive him. Admiration isn’t the same as discipleship and familiarity with Christian truth isn’t the same as faith. True blessing belongs to those who hear God’s Word and obey it. When the crowds demand another sign, Jesus de...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches 2 Samuel 19:8b-43 at evening worship on Sunday 14th June 2026 in First Ards. David begins his return to Jerusalem after Absalom’s rebellion has collapsed. But his homecoming isn’t simple or triumphant. The kingdom is unsettled, former rebels are afraid, loyal servants are wounded and old divisions remain. Through Shimei, Mephibosheth and Barzillai, we see three different r...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 11:14-26 at morning worship on Sunday 14th June 2026 in First Ards. Jesus reveals that the world isn’t spiritually neutral. When he drives out a demon and restores a man’s speech, some are amazed, while others accuse him of working by Satan’s power. Jesus shows that the kingdom of God has come in him: the stronger man has arrived to overthrow the strong man. This pass...

David Logan preaches Romans 5:1-8 at evening worship on Sunday 7th June 2026 in First Ards. Christian hope isn’t wishful thinking, it’s a certain hope grounded in what Jesus has already done. Because we’ve been justified by faith, we have peace with God and can rejoice in the hope of His glory. That hope is also a living hope, strengthened even through suffering as God produces perseverance, chara...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches 2 Samuel 18:1–19:8a at morning worship on Sunday 31st May 2026 in First Ards. Absalom’s rebellion finally comes to an end, but the victory is overshadowed by tragedy. As David’s forces defeat the rebel army, Absalom is killed despite the king’s plea that his son be spared. The chapter highlights the devastating consequences of sin, pride, and rebellion, while also revealin...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 11:5:13 at morning worship on Sunday 31st May 2026 in First Ards. Prayer begins with need. Jesus teaches us to come honestly, not self-sufficiently. The friend-at-midnight story isn’t saying God is reluctant. It’s saying if even a reluctant neighbour helps, how much more will your Father hear you? So Jesus says: ask, seek, knock. Come boldly, not presumptuously, becau...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches 2 Samuel 17 at evening worship on Sunday 24th May 2026 in First Ards. From ground level, Absalom looks secure and David looks finished. But heaven’s perspective is different. The Lord is quietly overturning the rebellion from within. Ahithophel’s advice is strategically wise, but the Lord frustrates it through Hushai, using Absalom’s pride as the means of his downfall. God...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 11:1-4 at morning worship on Sunday 24th May 2026 in First Ards. Prayer begins with needy disciples coming to Jesus, saying “Lord, teach us to pray.” Jesus teaches us to come to God as Father, seeking first his name and kingdom, then bringing our daily needs, sins, relationships and weakness to him. The Lord’s Prayer reshapes us: from self-sufficiency to dependence; f...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches 2 Samuel 16 at evening worship on Sunday 17th May 2026 in First Ards. David is humbled, deceived, cursed and driven from the city, but not abandoned by God. The consequences of his sin are painfully unfolding, but this is fatherly discipline, not condemnation. Even in the dust, David begins to submit himself to the Lord’s hand. The chapter points us beyond David to Christ,...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 10:38-42 at morning worship on Sunday 17th May 2026 in First Ards. Martha welcomes and serves Jesus, but her good service becomes anxious distraction. Mary simply sits at his feet, listening to his word. Jesus doesn’t despise practical service, but he lovingly shows that one thing is needed above all: Christ himself. As Jesus travels towards Jerusalem, he goes to serv...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Jeremiah 29:4-7 at evening prayer, praise and communion on Sunday 20th May 2026 in First Ards. In Jeremiah 29, God tells his exiled people to seek the peace of the place where he has put them. As we come to the Lord’s Table, we’re reminded that Christ has sought our good at the cost of his own body and blood. Receiving his mercy, we’re sent back into our community with ope...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 10:25-37 at morning worship on Sunday 10th May 2026 in First Ards. Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan in response to a lawyer who wants to justify himself. The story exposes how easily we define mercy narrowly, see need and pass by. But it also points us to Christ, who didn’t pass us by, but came near in mercy, bore our sin and saved us by grace. Having rec...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches 2 Samuel 25 at evening worship on Sunday 3rd May 2026 in First Ards. Absalom steals the hearts of Israel and David is forced to flee Jerusalem. The chapter shows the bitter public fallout of David’s earlier sin, but also a chastened king beginning to trust God again. David refuses to use the ark as a tool for control, entrusts himself to the Lord and prays as he leaves in...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 10:21-24 at morning worship on Sunday 3rd May 2026 in First Ards. Luke 10:21–24 takes us behind the scenes of mission and shows us heaven’s view. The 72 return rejoicing, but Jesus redirects their joy from usefulness to grace, their names are written in heaven. Then Jesus rejoices in the Spirit that the Father reveals his kingdom not to the proud and self-sufficient,...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches 2 Samuel 14 at evening worship on Sunday 26th April 2026 in First Ards. 2 Samuel 14 shows Absalom brought home from exile, but not truly restored. Joab’s scheme moves David to act, but the deeper wounds remain untouched. Absalom returns to Jerusalem without repentance, Tamar remains forgotten and David offers a shallow peace that can’t heal his broken house. The chapter le...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 10:1-20 at morning worship on Sunday 26th April 2026 in First Ards. “The God of mission has a church”! As Jesus sets his face towards Jerusalem, he sends the seventy-two ahead of him to proclaim that the kingdom of God has come near. They go in dependence, prayer and weakness, like lambs among wolves, carrying Christ’s message and authority. Some welcome them, others...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches 2 Samuel 13:23-39 at evening worship on Sunday 19th April 2026 in First Ards. Two years after Tamar’s violation, Absalom’s silence gives way to carefully planned revenge and Amnon is killed. David grieves, but once again his house is marked by passivity, confusion and unresolved sorrow. The chapter shows that time alone doesn’t heal what sin has broken and that vengeance c...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 9:49-62 at morning worship on Sunday 19th April 2026 in First Ards. Jesus “resolutely set out for Jerusalem” and everything is now shaped by that road. The passage shows how unlike him the disciples still are: narrow where he’s generous, harsh where he’s merciful and hesitant where he’s resolute. Jesus corrects their instincts about who belongs, how to respond to reje...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches 2 Samuel 12:1-22 at evening worship on Sunday 12th April in First Ards. 2 Samuel 13 shows the sword entering David’s house just as Nathan had warned. Amnon’s desire for Tamar becomes violence, Jonadab’s cleverness becomes complicity, Absalom’s care is mixed with silence and David’s anger never turns into action. Tamar stands at the centre of the chapter as the one who sees...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Like 9:37-48 at morning worship on Sunday 12th A 2026 in First Ards. Coming down from the mount of Transfiguration, Jesus meets a scene of confusion, suffering and failure: a desperate father, a tormented boy, disciples who can’t help and followers who still don’t understand the cross. This sermon shows how the glory of Christ is seen not just on the mountain but in the va...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Matthew 28:1-10 and 1 Corinthians 15:17-22 at morning worship on Easter Sunday 5th April 2026 in First Ards. Jesus’ resurrection isn’t some nice ending to the gospel story. It’s the decisive event on which the whole Christian faith stands or falls. From Matthew’s empty tomb and Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 15, this sermon shows that because Christ has indeed been raise...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches 2 Samuel 12:15-31 at evening worship on Sunday 29th March 2026 in First Ards. This passage shows what forgiven life looks like when sorrow remains. Though David’s sin is truly taken away, its consequences continue, yet he responds not by withdrawing from God but by pleading, then bowing and worshipping when the Lord’s will is clear. In time, grace brings not only comfort b...