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i. the roman road
ii. beginning again
iii. condemned already
iv. in the safe hands of God
v. every step counts
vi. will we pass the test
vii. think about it
viii. first in out lives
ix. exaggeration
x. in His strength
Useful articles
If you wish to gain a clearer insight of the views which our Church upholds, you will find the following articles to be a great help.
i. Westminster Confession of Faith
ii. The Shorter Catechism
iii. The Larger Catechism
Useful websites
Some links to associated or useful sites.
i. Free Presbyterian Church
ii. Let the Bible Speak
iii. Sermon Audio
iv. Clogher Valley Youth
v. FPC Youth Forum
vi. Blue Letter Bible
vii. A Puritans Minds
viii.Vision for Children
ix. KJV 400 Years
x. Tyndale FPC
A Helping Hand
The Roman Road
In the old Roman Empire it was declared that all roads lead to Rome. However, not all roads lead to heaven and to God the Father. There is only one road to the Father and his name is Jesus Christ. This Roman Road will take you, not to an empire but rather, on a short journey in the Book of Romans in the Bible. It shows you how you can get to know Jesus, the only way to God the Father.
A Helping Hand
Beginning Again
"We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins."
Colossians 1:14
It was New Year's Day 1929. The University of California at Berkley was playing Georgia Tech in college football's Rose Bowl. Roy Riegels, a California defender, recovered a Georgia Tech fumble, then turned and scampered 65 yards in the wrong direction! One of Riegels’ own teammates tackled him just before he reached the wrong goal line. On the next play, Georgia Tech scored and went on to win.
From that day on, Riegels was saddled with the nickname "Wrong-way Riegels." For years afterward, whenever was introduced, people would exclaim, "I know who you are! You’re the guy who ran the wrong way in the Rose Bowl!!"
Our failures may not be as conspicuous, but we've all gone the wrong way, and we have memories that haunt us. Recollections of sin and failure rise up to taunt us at 3:00 the morning. If only we could forget! If only we could begin again!
We can. When we confess our sins and repent before God, He forgives our past and puts it away. In Christ, "we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins – all our sins (Colossians 1:14; 2:13). It's never too late to begin again.
We're thankful, Lord, that when we fall
We can begin anew
If humbly we confess our sin,
Then turn and follow You.
GOD'S FORGIVENESS IS THE DOOR TO A NEW BEGINNING.
A Helping Hand
Condemned Already
One day a poor criminal under sentence of death, asked for a pen, ink and paper. They were given to him, and he began to write. 'What are you doing?' asked the doctor. 'I am making will,' replied the prisoner. 'Making your will?' inquired the doctor, 'Do you know that from the day the sentence was pronounced upon you in the court, you have been, in the eyes of the law, a dead man? No will or deed executed by you now would be valid in any court of justice in the land. The law cannot recognise the acts of a man whose existence is legally at an end. It is a mere accident that you are still alive. In the eyes of the law your life finished the moment the Judge passed sentence.' The poor fellow had never before fully realised his position. Burying his face in his hands, he burst into tears. He was dead while he lived.
He that believeth on Him is not condemned: that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the only begotten Son of God.
The only way to be released from the prison of sin and judgment is to run for forgiveness, which is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is the saviour from all sin, and He is willing to save your soul. Christ has said,
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.' The Lord Jesus says, 'He the cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.
A Helping Hand
In the safe hands of God
Mary said "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word."
Luke 1:38
At age 16, Madame Jeanne Guyon (1648 -1717) was forced into an arranged marriage with an invalid 22 years older. She found her marriage to be one of utter humiliation. Her husband was often angry and melancholy. Her mother-in-law was a merciless critic. Even the maid despised her. In spite of her best attempts at devotion to her husband and family, she was subjected to relentless criticism.
Forbidden by her husband to attend church, she sought God in His Word and worshiped Him in secret. She learned that even in the midst of her dreary circumstances she was "perfectly fine - within the safe hands of God." In her book Experiencing The Depths Of Jesus Christ, she wrote, Abandonment [to Christ] is the key to the fathomless depths. "Abandonment is the key to the spiritual life."
How can we respond to difficult circumstances with acceptance and abandonment? Mary's response to the angel in Luke 1:38 shows us. The only way to have that same attitude is to believe that God's will is "good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2), and to lay down our will and patiently submit to Him day by day.
This can be our prayer: Let it be to me according to Your word.
When we're abandoned to God's will,
We need not doubt nor fear;
We'll know that He is in control,
That He is always near.
He who abandons himself to God, will never be abandoned by God
A Helping Hand
Every Step Counts
"Enoch walked with God"
Genesis 5:24
People who want to feel better, reduce stress, and shed unwanted pounds are discovering that walking may be the best exercise of all. A fitness philosophy of 10,000 steps a day, which first took hold in Japan, is gaining popularity in other countries. Experts advise starting slowly and working toward a higher goal, realising each day that every step counts.
It's even more important to stay spiritually fit by "walking with God," which the Bible describes as an intimate, growing relationship with the Lord. "Enoch walked with God three hundred years" (Genesis 5:22). "Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God" (6:9). Both men are mentioned in Hebrews 11, where they are commended for their faith.
Enoch ... had this testimony, that he pleased God
To walk with God, we need to keep in step without running ahead or lagging behind. Along the way, we talk with the Lord, listen to Him, and enjoy His presence. We trust His guidance when we cannot see what lies ahead. It is not just the destination that’s important, but the journey we take together.
There’s nobetter time than now to begin walking with God, because each day every step counts.
Knowing God will take a lifetime,
Walking with Him day by day,
Learning all we can about Him,
Loving Him in every way.
You are headed in the right direction when you God
A Helping Hand
Will we Pass the Test
"When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, ... she took of its fruit and ate"
Genesis 3:6
Coyotes can't resist a tasty sheep dinner. That s why a number of years ago researchers experimented with about 500 different chemicals to develop a solution to spray on sheep that would make them "coyote proof". A compound that tasted like spicy hot sauce offered the most promise.
Scientists theorized that if the tests were successful, coyotes might lose their taste for sheep. If that were to happen, the temptation that coyotes a public nuisance in sheep country would be gone, and man would become the wild dog's best friend.
Sometimes we wonder why God didn't do something like that in the Garden of Eden. Why didn't he make the tree of the knowledge of good and evil bear ugly fruit? Why didn't He surround it with a chain-link fence with barbed wire at the top? Why did God even create the tree in the first place?
Temptation to do evil brought Adam and Eve face to face with the ultimate moral question: Would they show confidence in their Creator and lovingly obey Him with all their heart?
We face a similar test every day. What are we go do? Will we flunk the test? Or will we trust God completely and obey His commands?
Along life's road are obstacles,
Our choice becomes a test;
Help us, O Lord, to know Your way,
That we may choose what's best.
Every temptation is an opportunity to trust God
A Helping Hand
Think About It
"If there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things"
Philippians 4:8
According to one little boy, "Thinking is when your mouth stays shut and your head keeps talking to itself."
The way our head talks to itself tells a lot about how we are doing morally and spiritually. To guard our mind and to keep out the influences that will hinder our walk with God is to use our mind in the way He desires.
The Bible gives us clear guidelines - spelling out the kinds of things we should think about. For example, Psalm 1:2 and Psalm 1 19:97 tell us to meditate on God's Word day and night. That should be our first priority in the thinking department.
But we have a life to live, and we can't spend all of our waking moments meditating on Scripture. Yet even when we are thinking about the mundane aspects of life, we need guidance. Paul told us:
"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure ... think on these things" (Philippians 4 v 8).
When our head talks to itself, it needs to say, Keep the impure and ungodly thoughts out of here! When we're thinking that way, we'll know what to do, how to behave, where to go, and what to say
Let us think about what's good
What's right and pure and true;
May God's Word control our thoughts
In everything we do.
Right thinking leads to right living
A Helping Hand
First in Our Lives
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties"
Psalm 139:23
Actor Sylvester Stallone is applauded for his strongman movie roles as Rocky and Rambo. But what is he really like in his personal life? During an interview he honestly admitted, "If I were watching a home movie of my life, I would shake my head in despair and wonderment. It's a comedy of errors."
Suppose a movie were made of your life or mine. Would it reveal not only errors and poor choices but also a sinful person who doesn't even act like a follower of Christ? Would we be ashamed of some scenes? Would we be motivated, as Stallone says he was, to shift our values and start paying attention to "relationships ... and putting someone else first"?
Jesus wants to be the "someone else" in our lives whom we put first (Matthew 6:24,33). But how do we do that? It starts with confession of any sin that is between us and Him, and then experiencing the Lord's cleansing and forgiveness (Psalm 32:5). Then we are gradually changed by Him through the work of the Holy Spirit and by the Word of God (Galatians 5:22-23; Hebrews 4: 12).
Search me, O God, and know my heart today;
Try me, 0 Savior, know my thoughts, I pray.
See if there be some wicked way in me;
Cleanse me from every sin and set me free.
The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to change the people of God
A Helping Hand
Exaggeration
"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy."
Proverbs 28:13
A woman said to a preacher, "I have a habit that I know is hurting my testimony - the habit of exaggeration. I start to tell something and I go on and on enlarging the story. People suspect that it's not true, and they lose confidence in me. I'm trying to get over it. Could you help me?"
He responded, "Let's talk to the Lord about it." She prayed, "Lord, You know I have this habit of exaggeration ... " At this point the preacher interrupted, "Call it lying and you may get over it!" The woman was deeply convicted and confessed her wrong.
We often excuse our pet sins by giving them more acceptable names
We often excuse our pet sins by giving them more acceptable names. Our bad temper we call "nerves"; our untruthfulness, "exaggeration"; our dishonesty we call "good business." In seeking to overcome these sins, we need to bring them out in the open, call them honestly by name, and sincerely repent (Proverbs 28:13).
A man entered a dentist's office and sat down to have his teeth fixed. "I can feel a huge cavity with my tongue," he said. The dentist examined the man's teeth and said, "It'll only be a small filling." "But why does it feel so large?" asked the patient. "Just the natural tendency of the tongue to exaggerate," replied the dentist with a twinkle in his eye. We may smile, but aren't we all prone to blow things out of proportion? Indeed, "the tongue is a little member and boasts great things" (James 3:5).
Lord, forgive us for misusing our tongues
To stretch the truth is to tell a lie
A Helping Hand
In His Strength
"I will go in the strength of the Lord God"
Psalm 71:16
In his famous painting titled A Helping Hand, Emile Renouf depicted an old fisherman seated in a boat, with a young girl beside him. Both the elderly gentleman and the child have their hands on a huge oar. The fisherman is looking down fondly and admiringly at the girl.
Apparently the man has told the child that she may assist him in rowing the boat, and in her desire to help she feels as though she is doing a great share of the task. However, it's obvious that it's his strong, muscular arms that are moving the heavy oar through the water.
I see a parable in this painting. Christ has granted to us the privilege of sharing in His work here on earth. We must never forget, however, that we cannot perform our tasks through our abilities alone, but only as God works in and through us. While He directs us to put our hand on the oar, we must ever be aware of the ultimate source of our power. He is the strength of our life!
There can be no true progress spiritually without the power of the Holy Spirit to undergird our life and all that we do
God, grant to me the strength of heart,
Of motive, and of will,
To do my part and falter not
Your purpose to fulfill.
Our greatness weakness may be our failure to rely on Gods strength
