The Semper Reformata Podcast

Catechism Class: Lord's Day 43 Q112 Lying and Liars Telling lies – is it a sin? Text. Psalm 15. Catechism Q.112. What is required in the ninth commandment? A: I must not give false testimony against anyone, twist no one’s words, not gossip or slander, nor condemn or join in condemning anyone rashly and unheard. Rather, I must avoid all lying and deceit as the devil’s own works, under pen...

Boldness of Access. Text Ephesians 3:11-13   Paul has begun his dictation with the intention of praying for the Christians in the city of Ephesus.  For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles … He fears that they have heard about his arrest in Jerusalem and that this news will unsettle them, that they will begin to ask why! So he wants to pray for them,...

Catechism Class: Lord's Day 42 Greed and Injustice In LD42, Q110, the Catechist deals with the eight commandment:- “Thou shalt not steal.” And specifically, with what is FORBIDDEN by God. But what do we mean by ‘stealing?’ There is the obvious answer of course; robbing a house, shoplifting, mugging, armed robbery, etc, – all of those activities are easily identified as theft or robb...

Preaching and Persuading In Ephesians 3 verses 8 and 9, we see that Paul’s ministry has a twofold strategy, (It is a divine strategy!). It involves: Declaration. In verse 8 that I should PREACH So Paul is a preacher. Preaching is essential in God’s plan of salvation, READ 1 Corinthians 1:18-21 Preaching is the authoritative declaration of God’s Word. It is to open the scriptures, and read the...

Catechism Class: LD41B, Q109 Singleness and Marriage. Text: 1 Corinthians 7:1-11  Q109. Does God in this commandment forbid nothing more than adultery and similar shameful sins? A Since we, body and soul, are temples of the Holy Spirit, it is God’s will that we keep ourselves pure and holy. Therefore he forbids all unchaste acts, gestures, words, thoughts, desires, and whatever may entice us...

Worldview Update Shocking events in politics and ethics that Christians cannot ignore :- The proposed 'Energy Bill' and the erosion of personal freedoms to appease the 'net-zero' madness. The case of 'ST' a seriously ill girl who desperately wants to die fighting for life... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Catechism Class: Adultery – What is it? Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 41A We live in a deeply sexualised society. We need to remember that God hates adultery, marital unfaithfulness and sexual promiscuity of any kind, and that’s the very point that the catechist drives home in Lord’s Day 41, Q108.  To read the NOTES CLICK HERE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informatio...

Made a Minister Text Ephesians 3:7-8     Paul describes himself as a ‘minister.’ The word simply means a servant, διακονος – a deacon, someone who serves others. Paul serves them be preaching the good news, by expounding to them the ‘mystery of Christ,’ – how and why he has redeemed us, – worthless sinners. It was a form of service to which he had been specially chosen and equipped by Go...

The Mystery of Christ Text Ephesians 3:4-6 We continue to look at the Apostle’s digression of thought in Ephesians 3 and Paul refers to this amazing revelation that he had received directly from God, as ‘the mystery of Christ.’ What does he mean?  Read the NOTES here . NOTE: This sermon was preached at both Ballymacashon Congregational and Templepatrick Reformed Church. It was recorded at Tem...

The Uniqueness of Paul's Knowledge God speaks to Paul - but differently than He speaks to us. Ephesians 3:3-4 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) READ also Galatians 1. Our question in this study is, ‘what did Paul mean, in these verses, when he spoke of ‘revelati...

The Church as the Dispensary of God’s Grace. Ephesians 3:1-2 (Read Matthew 25:14-30) Paul begins his enthusiastic digression, his explanation to the Ephesian Christians about how God revealed to him an amazing plan, the eternal design of God for the redemption of fallen mankind, to bring all things together in Christ, to unite all his redeemed people in praise, – people of every race, whether...

Introduction to Ephesians 3 We have reached chapter three in the book of Ephesians, and Paul is going to describe our grateful response to Christ’s saving work in chapter 4-6, but before he does, he wants to pray for the Ephesians, and that’s the intention of chapter three. But first there is a 'digression...' This sermon was preached at Ballymacashon Congregational church, and at Templepatrick Re...

Is the ‘Quaker’ Movement (Really) Christian? In a press release, dated 21 July 2018, the Religious Society of Friends in Ireland, the ‘Quakers’ announced that they had agreed to the holding of same-sex marriages in Quaker meeting places. That made them, and the liberal Non-Subscribing Presbyterians, the only two religious denominations on the island of Ireland to approve of homosexual marriag...

A Wee Woman and a Stool! In 1637, a riot broke out in Edinburgh - it was precipitated by an event that took place in St Gile's Cathedral, where a woman decided she didn't like to hear prayers being read out of a book - and worse! The Song of Jenny Geddes by J.S. Blackie ‘Twas the twenty-third of July, in the sixteen thirty-seven, On the Sabbath morn from high St. Giles the solemn peal was given; K...

Catechism Class : Lord’s Day 40 THE SOURCE OF MURDER Matthew 5:21-26  In our last lesson, we began to look at the sin of murder, as forbidden in the sixth commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.” We saw that while not all killing is murder, we must be very reluctant to take away a person’s life. We saw that in the bible, abortion is murder, punishable under the rule of limited...

Catechism Class Lord's Day 40A, Q105 Exodus 20:13,  Thou Shalt Not Kill – You Shall Not Murder . Q105. What does God require in the sixth commandment?  A. I am not to dishonour, hate, injure, or kill my neighbour by thoughts, words, or gestures, and much less by deeds, whether personally or through another; rather, I am to put away all desire of revenge. Moreover, I am not to harm or rec...

The Proclamation of Peace In Christ Himself, we have been brought near. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, for He has broken down the wall of partition between the Jews and the Gentiles by abolishing all those minor laws and ordinances that the Jews had hedged about God’s law, and he did that by fulfilling the law in his sinless life and in his own body on the Cross. Now we go a little f...

LD39B. What does it Mean to Honour Your Parents ? Read Ephesians 5:22 – 6:4 especially Ephesians 6:1-9  Q104. What does God require in the fifth commandment?  A. That I show all honour, love, and faithfulness to myfather and mother and to all those in authority over me, submit myself with due obedience to their good instruction and discipline, and also have patience with their weaknesses...

The End of Partition Read: Ephesians 2:13-15  God only has one ‘people’ – his elect, the redeemed multitude of every age. We are told about them in Revelation 5:9 This unity of the redeemed people of God is another theme that we will find running through the book of Ephesians, and it is a core belief of Christianity. The people who are in that One Holy Universal Church are those who...

Wherefore, Remember! How can God bring two dispirit elements, Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians together? And what is OUR place in God’s great, eternal story of redemption? That’s what Paul is dealing with in these verses in Ephesians 2:11-13, and he teaches us to look back with thanksgiving to how God has guided us over the years, and graciously drawn us into his kingdom, from an awfu...

LD39A. Honour Your Parents .   Read Ephesians 5:22 – 6:4 Q104. What does God require in the fifth commandment?  A. That I show all honour, love, and faithfulness to my  father and mother  and to all those in authority over me, submit myself with due obedience to their good instruction and discipline, and also have patience with their weaknesses and shortcomings, since it is God...

God's Workmanship Text Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. God is working in us, rescuing us from our sins. But we must go on in our reading of the passage. God’s work in us is not confined to our rescue, for he continues to work in us, preparing us for heaven, sanctifying us, separating us...

Catechism Class LD38 The Sabbath What is THE PURPOSE OF THE SABBATH?  Q103. What does God require in the fourth commandment? A. First, that the ministry of the gospel and the schools be maintained and that, especially on the day of rest, I diligently attend the church of God to hear God’s Word, to use the sacraments, to call publicly upon the LORD, and to give Christian offerings for the...

The Anatomy of Salvation. We are SAVED. But what does that mean? And we are saved BY grave, we are saved THROUGH faith. we are saved in such a way that excludes pride on our part. This sermon was preached at Ballymacashon and at Templepatrick Reformed Church. It was recorded at TRC and used here with their kind consent. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Swearing of Oaths H/C LD37 Q101-102 In this short lesson we look at legal oaths – the kind of oath you would take in court, or before a lawyer, or at a wedding, before a minister or registrar.  Before we think about this subject let’s see what the catechism says, and read some Bible passages. H/C. Q101 But may we swear an oath by the name of God in a godly manner? A. Yes, when t...