The Semper Reformata Podcast

Be Ye Holy... In Ephesians 5:3-5, Paul illustrates, in very stark terms, the opposite of a godly life. He speaks of fornication, uncleanness and idolatry, and covetousness, all of which were typical of the pagan lifestyle of his day. But Christians are described here as SAINTS. Why would a 'saint' need to be warned against sin? That begs the question, "What exactly is a saint?" This sermon was pre...

The Minor Prophets - Amos Survey #2 'The Cows of Bashan.' What was it like to live in the days of Amos, in Israel. Using Amos chapter 4-6, let’s conduct a survey of the state of that society:- Click this link to read the NOTES . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Be Godly Ephesians 5:1-2 This follows on from chapter 4:32, And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. Christians will be LIKE CHRIST, – in that they practice kindness, out of compassionate hearts, and that will be worked out in the way they readily forgive others, – as we have been forgiven. Therefore, he goes on, – Be GOD...

AMOS – Survey #1.  Text. Amos 1-3. Amos' Background, his Preaching and his Call. Now we come to a larger book, and one of the better known prophets, AMOS. We’ll look at the book over three separate studies, but remember these are just SURVEYS. Let’s start at our usual point, and begin with finding out the basic facts. So we being with the usual questions, WHO, WHEN and WHERE. Read t...

Obadiah Obadiah is only 1 chapter, and 21 verses, and most people avoid it! Let’s explore it, and see if we can find out its purpose, and what lessons we can learn from it? Read the NOTES HERE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why Jesus Rose from the Dead A sermon preached at Ballymacashon and Templepatrick Reformed Church. It was recorded at TRC and is reproduced here with their kind permission, Read the NOTES HERE. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Minor Prophets - Jonah Jonah has four chapters, and unlike many of the other prophets, it is mostly narrative. Jonah is ‘the son of Amittai’ who also was a prophet. of course, when we speak of Jonah, the part of his story that comes to mind is that he was swallowed by a fish. "Jonah and the Whale" is a popular children's bedtime story... Some people will ask, ‘How can a man be swallowed b...

Joel and the Church There are two major sections of Joel that are fulfilled in the Church. God only ever had one church, one people, redeemed by grace through faith alone. The OT church, led by the patriarchs and to whom the prophets ministered, and the NT church, of which we are part, is in fact just ONE CHURCH. Galatians 3:29  Hebrews 11:39 Let’s see Joel’s two specific prophecies...

Life in the Lord’s Church Ephesians 4:31-32 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: Christians who live like the world, grieve the Holy Spirit, who indwells us. Now, Paul brings this all together in a conclusion. Returning to the issue of speech, what comes out of our mouths, reflecting what is going on in the inner man,...

Imprecatory Psalms - Praying For and Against Our Enemies. Read: Psalm 139:17-24  The psalmist sees no contradiction between intensely hating the enemies of God, and living a humble repentant life, in the presence of God. Such is the nature of the imprecatory psalms. - The word imprecation simply means a ‘curse.’  In this lecture, delivered and recorded at Templepatrick Reformed Church, o...

Joel – THE DAY OF THE LORD Text  Joel 1-2:27 The book of Joel is just three chapters long.  ”Joel” means “Jehovah is God”, all we know about him is that he is “the son of Pethuel” (1:1), The first chapter of Joel brings us face to face with a great natural disaster in the land. But is it symbolic of a much worse disaster, a terrible judgment for sin and rebellion? Incident...

The Christian's Edifying Speech Ephesians 4:29 Paul is still giving us specific examples of how the Christian life will look different from the lives of the pagan world all around, in the city of Ephesus. And there’s another. Christians SPEAK differently.    You should be able to recognise a Christian believer by the way that he or she speaks. Let’s explore that idea in this sermon, prea...

Profiting from the Prophets! Text. Hebrews 1:1f and 2 Tim 3:14-17 An Introduction to a Series of Overviews of the Minor Prophets. The Minor Prophets are a collection of twelve books, the last section of the OT.  They begin with Hosea and end with Malachi.   In our ‘Tabletalk Sessions’ we will be doing a survey of these books for they will help us to understand God’s r...

Be Honest! Text: Ephesians 4:28  Paul brings us to the sin of theft, or to be more accurate, he tells us that Christians are to think about finance. Let’s learn these practical lessons about how we should live an honest and ethical life, to the glory of God… This sermon was preached at Ballymacashon, and at Templepatrick Reformed Church. It was recorded at TRC, and is reproduced here with the...

Be Angry! Ephesians 4:26-27 Let’s remember what’s happening here in Ephesians 4. Paul has stated a general principle. It is this, “That a Christian should be different from the ungodly world.”  Ephesians 4:17, 4:24, 24   Having stated that principle clearly, the Apostle now gives us another specific example of that and he deals with the subject of anger.  This sermon was p...

Paul has been teaching the Ephesian Christians that they must respond positively to their conversion. He sums this up in verse 24, “ And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness .” Having established this general principle, Paul gives us some very practical help, and he begins with the most basic problem of all our lives. Read the NOTES HERE ....

THE DIFFERENCE. Christian people should live ‘good’ lives. They should be ‘good’ people, – not in order to curry favour with God, or to get into heaven, – but out of a grateful response to what Christ has done for us, – out of gratitude for his saving goodness, for us on the cross. Our salvation, and our repentance and our new life in Christ will result in changed attitudes and changed lives and a...

Maturity, Integrity and Unity Ephesians 4:13-16 Paul has been reminding the Ephesians of the wonderful gifts that the risen and exalted Christ has given to the church, Grace and Growth and the precious Holy Spirit of God Himself. Being a believer, a member of the Body of Christ, is to KNOW Jesus, to have met him, and trusted him, and at the same time to BELIEVE in him, which will require a ba...

Growing Old Like Anna Luke 2:36-38   Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. The events of Bethlehem had passed, all happening in God’s appointed time.  Galatians 4:4 Mary had given birth to her son, the promised baby, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost in the womb of a virgin. Jesus was eight days old when his parents brought him up to Jer...

The Use of the Media to Manipulate Minds and Change Society 2 Timothy 1:3-8, & 1 Timothy 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. What we watch affects our spiritual wellbeing. And what we are being served up by the entertainment industry is little more than the merciless destruction of the soul, dressed up in the attractive garb o...

Catechism Class: Lord's Day 52B The Last Word! Our very last look at the Heidelberg Catechism in this series. The last two questions in the catechism concern the ending to the Lord’s Prayer. It’s in the biblical text in Matthew, but not in Luke. It’s likely that these are two separate occasions, for in Matthew Jesus is teaching his disciples, in the Sermon on the Mount, while in Luke he...

Christian Unity Ephesians 4:4-6 In this passage Paul specifically teaches us more about that organic unity – the ‘bond of peace’ that already exists among those who are truly his – those are are part of his kingdom through personal faith in Christ, having repented of their sins and trusted the Saviour. It seems to me that in this passage he uses the unity that exists within the Trinity – the Triun...

Table-Talk - OVERWHELMED? A Meditation on Psalm 62:2 What do you do, where do you go, when life's circumstances overwhelm you? In Psalm 62, David has the answer... Music: "Out of my bondage, sorrow and night, Jesus I come." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Catechism Class: Lords Day 52 Temptation Would God ever lead us into temptation? Let’s not gloss over this. God is not capricious, he never changes, he never wants us to stumble and fall, but wants to bring us all to heavenly glory. Yet there are two parts to this petition, firstly that God in his mercy and grace does deliver us from all evil, but at the same time we are conscious of his...

Christian Character Ephesians 4:1-3 Paul, as a prisoner of the Lord, for the gentiles,  (Ephesians 3:13)   urges the readers of his letter to live in a manner which reflects what God has done for them. THIS IS PERSONAL. It is our personal response to God’s saving work within us. So Paul begins with a description of our Christian motives, our temperament as believers. ...