The Semper Reformata Podcast

The Mystery of God's Will  In this passage we see that God’s will has already been revealed to us, – it is to bring his people, and everything in Creation, together in a new heaven and earth, where Christ is glorified  Colossians 1:18 Sermon preached at Ballymacashon and Templepatrick Reformed Church. Recorded at TRC and used by kind permission. Read the NOTES HERE Hosted on Acast. See a...

REPRISE: Patrick, Roman Catholic or Reformed? In addressing this particular title, I am aware that I will probably run the gauntlet of divided opinion about the man. Many Roman Catholic people hold Patrick in such esteem that they will accept little or nothing about him which runs counter to their perceived opinion. Many Protestants have, traditionally, been so apathetic about Patrick that they ha...

Lord's Day 32 Q86 The Value of Works Our study of the catechism today takes us into an area of our Christian Faith where there is some confusion among people who claim to be Christians, yet one where we need absolute clarity. The Catechism helps us greatly: Q86, Since, then, we are redeemed from our misery by grace through Christ, without any merit of ours, why must we do good works ? We answ...

Church Discipline  In Matthew 18:15-17 we see:- The Possibility of Christian Discord . Moreover if your brother sins against you , So the overriding principle here is very simple. When discord happens in the church, we must recognise it and do something about it, and to put things right. The Procedure for Christian Discipline .  The Practice of Christian Discernment . let him be to...

LORD'S DAY 31 - Church Discipline. In our last catechism class we looked at The Keys of The Kingdom.   Matthew 16:19   We saw that our catechism instructor teaches us that the ‘Keys of the Kingdom’ is THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL, which opens the door to the kingdom of heaven for those who will come and be saved, and which closes the door of the kingdom of heaven to those who re...

Grace How can we even begin to measure the extent of God’s saving love and favour for His people? It would be impossible. Grace in this sense grace is the unmerited favour of God upon sinners, – the idea of our salvation being a completely free gift – that God loves us when we were unlovable, chose us to be his, without any merit on our part, and at great cost to himself,- the death of his on...

Catechism Class: LD31 Q83 The Gospel and the Keys What are "The Keys of the Kingdom?" Part 1. Matthew 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Q 83. What are the keys of the kingdom of heaven? A. The preaching of the holy gospel and church discipline. By these two th...

Glory! Ephesians 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved . In this study we are going to look at a word frequently spoken by Christians. GLORY! A sermon preached at Ballymacashon and Templepatrick Reformed Church, and recorded at Templepatrick, and used with their kind permission. Read th e NOTES HERE . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...

Catechism Class: LD30 Q81-82 Who May Come to the Lord's Table We’ve been looking at the Lord’s Supper, and learning about the true meaning of the bread and wine that we see spread before us on the communion tables of our churches. There’s one final consideration, and it’s a delicate matter. We must ask “Who may come to the table, and partake in the Lord’s Supper?” Traditionally the answer to this...

Adoption as Sons Ephesians 1:5-6 We are NOT all God's children, despite the fact that we have a common Creator and a common human ancestor in Adam. In fact Jesus told some very religious people that they belonged to their father, the Devil! To be in the family of God, and have a Heavenly Father, we must come by Jesus Christ, - be adopted into the family of God, through faith. Yet, when that happen...

Catechism Class. Lord’s Day 30 Q80 An Accursed Idolatry? There is such a difference between the Mass and the Lord’s Supper that our instructor asks us in LD30, Q.80 What difference is there between the Lord's supper and the papal mass ? The answer is, “ The Lord's supper testifies to us, first, that we have complete forgiveness of all our sins through the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which he hi...

The Fact, Fulness and Function of Election God has a chosen people, those who are his. We call them, His ELECT people. In this study we look at Ephesians 1, and begin a series in which we will examine the unfolding of God's eternal plan of redemption. This sermon was preached at Ballymacashon, and Templepatrick Reformed Church, where this recording was made. The audio is reproduced here with their...

Craig Dennison of Trinitarian Bible Society in Conversation with Bob McEvoy Craig is the area representative for the Trinitarian Bible Society, covering Northern Ireland, The Republic of Ireland, Scotland and the north of England. In this casual conversation he tells Bob about the TBS, Bible Translations and the difference between Dynamic and Formal Equivalence! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv...

Catechism Class: LD29, Q78 & 79, Transubstantiation. The doctrine of the Lord’s Supper, (or Holy Communion) was a major issue at the time of the Reformation, and I suggest that it still is, even today. The Roman Catholic Church, (that church from which many of the reformers had been expelled, because of their objections to Catholic doctrine) - stressed what was to them, the vital importance of...

Where Does Saving Faith Come From? Why are unregenerate people so callous toward the things of God? Paul’s conclusion is that the unregenerate man is dead in his sins, and is totally incapable of any saving understanding whatsoever of spiritual matters. So, that begs the question, "Where does Saving Faith come from?" This sermon was preached at Ballymacashon Congregational Church, and Templepatric...

Catechism Class. Lord’s Day 28 Q76 - Spiritual or Physical Flesh and Blood? ? We are looking at the Lord’s Supper and we move on to Lord’s Day 28, Q76, where the catechist asks us,  What does it mean to eat the crucified body of Christ and to drink his shed blood? Our reply should be… First, to accept with a believing heart all the suffering and the death of Christ, and so receive forgiveness...

Matthew 26v17-30 The Lords Supper Holy Communion: The Lord's Supper, its nature and observation. This recording was made at Ballymacashon, and has some echo. Read the notes here . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Catechism Class: LD28 Q75 TAKE - EAT! We are looking at Lord’s Day 28, Q5, where the catechist asks us,  How does the Lord's supper signify and seal to you that you share in Christ's one sacrifice on the cross and in all his gifts ? The answer states,  In this way: Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat of this broken bread and drink of this cup in remembrance of him. With this...

The History & Danger of Technocracy, and a Christian Response A lecture recorded live at Templepatrick Reformed Church and used with their kind permission. Technocracy: Agenda 2030 and the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ looms. Who is behind this agenda and what is their ultimate aim? A basic examination of the history and economic philosophy of ‘The Technocracy,’ and its modern incarnations in...

Behold the Lamb of God' John 1:29-34 Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. In this study we want to look at the passage which contains an absolute gem of a verse. Let’s spend a little time exploring its brightness, and exploring its riches. A sermon preached at Ballymacashon and Templepatrick, and recorded at Templepatrick Reformed Church, - audio used with their permissi...

LD27 Babies and Baptists! The Catechism teaches us that we are to baptise believers, and the infant children of those believers. Here’s that question - Q74: “ Should infants, too, be baptised? ” The answer is, “ Yes. Infants as well as adults belong to God's covenant and congregation. Through Christ's blood the redemption from sin and the Holy Spirit, who works faith, are promised to them no...

The Great Commission - Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus, reminds us of his omnipotence, and commissions his disciples to go into the whole world and make disciples. They are to TEACH - Christian ministry is a teaching work, for we make disciples by teaching the doctrines of the faith, so that sinners will come under conviction of sin, repent and trust the Saviour. After that teaching ministry and related to...

Catechism Class: Lord's Day 27 Q72-73 Baptism Saves You? In this episode we diverge from our normal lessons to look at a perplexing passage from 1st Peter 3:18, where Peter tells us that "Baptism now saves you..." Whatever can he mean? we know that baptism cannot save us! Doesn't Peter know that? Yes, he does, and if we put the verse in context we will learn HOW baptism saves us, by pointing us aw...

WHY JESUS CAME A sermon preached at Templepatrick Reformed Church, on Lord's Day evening, 25th December 2022, based on Colossians 1:12-14 12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption throu...

It's New year's Day But more importantly it is The Lord's Day, 1st January 2023, and many will be looking ahead to what the year will bring and making plans. Here's a passage from James 4:13-17 People sometimes say, “I don’t need God, tomorrow will be rosy, failure is not on my agenda.” They will think that you make your own future. That’s the very attitude that James is dealing with here. Listen...