First Ards Presbyterian Church Sermoncast

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Mark 11:1-11 at our Palm Sunday all age family service worship on Sunday 29th March 2026 in First Ards. On Palm Sunday, we see that Jesus is completely in control. Nothing takes him by surprise, not even the cross that lies ahead. He goes to Jerusalem deliberately, knowing he’ll suffer and die, because he came to save sinners. The cross isn’t an accident but God’s plan and...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches 2 Samuel 12:1-14 at evening worship on Sunday 22nd March 2026 in First Ards. The Lord refuses to leave David hidden in his sin. Nathan’s parable draws David into condemning the rich man, only for the prophet to turn and say, “You are the man.” We trace the movement from exposure to confession to mercy. David is brought to say, “I have sinned against the Lord” and immediate...

Rev. Riaan Boer preaches James 3:13-18 at morning worship on Sunday 22nd March 2026 in First Ards. Far from being just knowledge or spiritual appearance, biblical wisdom is revealed in a life shaped by humility, purity and peace. Contrasting earthly wisdom with the wisdom that comes from above, we see that genuine faith is demonstrated in everyday conduct, especially in how we treat others. The ca...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 9:28-36 at morning worship on Sunday 15th March 2026 in First Ards. The transfiguration gives a glimpse of Jesus’ glory before the road turns fully towards the cross. On the mountain, as Jesus prays, Peter, James and John see his glory, Moses and Elijah appear and the Father’s voice declares, “This is my Son… listen to him.” The sermon shows that the Transfiguration i...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches 2 Samuel 11 at evening worship on Sunday 8th March 2026 in First Ards. As we come back to our series on the Life of David, this chapter marks a dark turning point in his story. While his army fights, David remains in Jerusalem and begins a chain of sin that moves from lust to abuse of power, deceit and ultimately murder. The chapter shows how hidden sin grows, how quickly...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 9:18-27 at morning worship on Sunday 8th March 2026 in First Ards. Jesus asks the question that has been building through Luke, “Who do you say I am?” When Peter answers, “The Christ of God,” Jesus immediately reshapes what that means, explaining that the Messiah must suffer, be rejected, be killed and rise again. The cross, not worldly triumph, stands at the centre o...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 9:10-17 at morning worship on Sunday 1st March 2026 in First Ards. Jesus withdraws with the apostles after their mission, but when the crowds arrive he welcomes them, teaches about God’s kingdom and meets their needs. As the day ends and the disciples see only limitation, Jesus challenges them to trust him with what little they have, taking five loaves and two fish an...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Ephesians 1:11-14 at evening worship on Sunday 22nd February 2026 in First Ards. We close our series considering the Doctrines of Grace journey answering a deeply personal question: is grace able to carry us all the way home? In Ephesians 1:11–14 Paul points us first to God’s unshakeable purpose “in Christ”, then to Christ’s own promise to lose none of those the Father giv...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 9:1-9 at morning worship on Sunday 22nd February 2026 in First Ards. Jesus sends the Twelve with his own authority to preach the kingdom and heal, showing that mission begins with Christ’s call, not human strength or strategy. They go in dependence, trusting the King to provide, knowing some will welcome the message and others will reject it. As the news spreads, even...

Rev. Craig Jackson (minister, Ballygilbert Presbyterian Church) preaches 2 Corinthians 10:1-6 at evening worship on Sunday 15th February 2026 in First Ards.

Rev. Nigel Craig (chaplain of Queens University Belfast, Union Theological College and Stranmillis University College) preaches 2 Timothy 3:10-4:8 at morning worship on Sunday 15th February 2026 in First Ards.

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Ephesians 2:8-10 at evening worship on Sunday 8th February 2026 in First Ards. This sermon in our Doctrines of Grace series explores how anyone comes to faith at all. Salvation is by grace, received through faith and even that faith is God’s gift, leaving no room for pride. God doesn’t just invite from a distance. By his Spirit he works within, making unwilling hearts will...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Hebrews 4:14-16 at morning worship on Sunday 8th February 2026 in First Ards. This epilogue on Hebrews 4:14–16 at the conclusion of our Prayer Weekend reminds us that prayer rests on what we already have, Jesus, our great high priest. Because he stands in God’s presence for us and understands our weakness, we approach a throne of grace with confidence, not hesitation. Pray...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 8:40-56 at morning worship on Sunday 1st February 2026 in First Ards. Jairus pleads with Jesus for his dying daughter while, on the way, a woman who has suffered for twelve years quietly reaches out in faith and is gently brought from hidden shame into public peace as Jesus calls her “daughter.” As news arrives that the child has died, fear declares the situation fini...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 8:26-39 at morning worship on Sunday 25th January 2026 in First Ards. Jesus steps ashore and meets a man utterly ruined by demonic power and, with a word, restores him to dignity, sanity and peace, showing that even a “legion” is subject to his authority. Yet, while the healed man longs to stay with Jesus, the townspeople, unsettled by his holy presence, ask him to le...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Ephesians 1:7-10 at evening worship on Sunday 18th January 2026 in First Ards. Paul traces the work of salvation from God’s eternal purpose to Christ’s finished work, showing that the cross wasn’t a vague offer but a decisive achievement. In Christ, redemption has been secured through his blood and sins have been forgiven, not potentially but actually, according to the lav...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Like 8:22-25 at morning worship on Sunday 18th January 2026 in First Ards. Jesus leads his disciples into a boat and straight into a violent storm, revealing that obedience to his word doesn’t guarantee calm circumstances. As fear takes hold, the disciples interpret reality through the danger they feel rather than the promise they’ve heard, until Jesus silences the wind an...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Ephesians 1:3-6 at evening worship on Sunday 11th January 2026 in First Ards. Paul traces our salvation back beyond our decisions or responses to God’s gracious purpose before the world was made, showing from Ephesians 1 that grace begins not with us but with God’s loving choice in Christ. Before we existed or did anything good or bad, God chose a people in his Son, not be...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 8:16-21 at morning worship on Sunday 11th January 2026 in First Ards. Jesus presses home that hearing God’s word is never neutral. When it’s truly received, it brings light that shows itself in changed lives. Using the picture of a lamp, he warns against a comfortable, hidden faith that listens without obeying, and urges us to consider carefully how we listen, because...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Ephesians 2:1-5 at evening worship on Sunday 4th January 2026 in First Ards. The opening of a new evening series on the doctrines of grace, beginning with the Bible’s honest diagnosis of the human condition and why grace is necessary at all. Drawing on Psalm 51, Genesis 6 and Ephesians 2, it sets out the doctrine of total depravity, that sin reaches every part of us leavin...

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 8:1-15 at morning worship on Sunday 4th January 2026 in First Ards. Jesus explains why the same word produces such different responses by telling a simple story about seed and soil, showing that the issue isn’t whether God speaks, but how his word is heard. The parable exposes hard, shallow and crowded hearts, while holding out the hope that through grace, perseveranc...

Rev. John Mullan (minister, Greenwell Street Presbyterian Church) preaches Luke 9:57-62 at morning worship on Sunday 28th December 2025 in First Ards.

Rev. Craig Lynn speaks on Luke 2:8-20 at the Christmas Morning service 2025 in First Ards. Christmas is God’s gift to ordinary people, announced not as advice but as good news that a Saviour has been born for us. Through the shepherds’ story, the focus is on receiving what God freely gives, Jesus Christ, the Son given, who comes to rescue, not because we’ve earned him, but because we need him.

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 2:1-7 at the Christmas Eve midnight service 2025 in First Ards. Jesus is born into a crowded world where the expected place is already full and from the very beginning his life is marked by humility rather than status. The familiar line that there was “no room for them in the inn” reveals not hostility but ordinary fullness, showing how God comes quietly into the marg...

Rev. Craig Lynn shares a short epilogue at our Carols by Candlelight on Sunday 21st December 2025 in First Ards. Who is Christmas really for? Drawing on the familiar carols and the opening words of John’s Gospel, it reminds us that Jesus didn’t come for the strong, sorted or self-sufficient, but for the weak, weary and unfaithful, stepping right into our darkness so we might become God’s children....