The Semper Reformata Podcast

Ministering in Word and SacramentMatthew 10:5-8Christ's were being trained in the school of the master, and they were to go forth as ambassadors, and missionaries, sent out to represent Christ in their words and acts. Now we see a little more detail about that commission…The margins of their ministry. To LOST SHEEP.The message of their ministry. The KINGDOM is at hand!The method of their ministry. To minister in WORD and SACRAMENT.Apologies for the sound quality of this recording. this sermon was recorded live at Ballymacashon, and there is some echo and extraneous noise.READ THE NOTES HERE.

The Water and the Blood1st John 5:6-8What does John mean by ‘ Water and Blood?’ There are four possibilities:The Wounded Side of Christ.The SacramentsA Witness to the Historicity of Christ's Baptism and Death - as an answer to gnosticism.The Application of the Cleansing Power of Christ to the believer.We look at these four possibilities - all of them views held by reformed evangelical commentators.Read the NOTES HERE.

The Day of PentecostActs 2:1-4We look at the account of how God poured out his Holy Spirit upon the first Christian disciples, and its effects and results.This sermon was recorded live at Ballymacashon Congregational Church, and contains some extraneous noise and echo.

Overcomers1st John 5:4-5 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?We know that we are Christians because we have overcome the world, and we are overcoming the world! This is John's next point. So, what is the WORLD that we have overcome, how have we overcome it, and when did that happen?Read the NOTES HERE.

Can We Die Before Our Time?Here's some seemingly opposed and contradictory texts:Ecclesiastes 7:17 Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy timeHebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: Psalm 31:15 My times are in thy hand:Which statement is right? Or are both? Let's unravel the mystery of Ecclesiastes 7:17!

The Victory1 Corinthians 15:50-58 It is only because Jesus rose from the dead, that we too will also rise – on that final day of this earth’s history, when the trumpet of God shall sound, and the Lord Jesus will return to judge this world. The Apostle Paul turns his attention to the events and results of that last day.Bob's sermon for Easter Sunday morning, 2025.Recorded at Ballymacashon - so please excuse the echo.Read the NOTES HERE.

Christian ObedienceText. 1 John 5:2-4a Is there an objective test for brotherly love? John suggests that there is. It is obedience. We will know that we love God's people, when we love God, and obey him. So we need to examine these verses and see what John is speaking about:The Legal Background to Christian Obedience.The Light Burden of Christian Obedience.Read the NOTES HERE.

REPARATIONS - Britain, the Bible, and the Slave Trade.You can’t have missed the increasing demands for the British government to pay ‘reparations’ for its part in the slave trade. It was an issue that confronted me when we were studying Ephesians, working our way through the book, verse by verse in an expository manner. When we came to chapter five, we were confronted by these verses, Ephesians 6:5-8 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; 6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; 7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: 8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. Here’s the issue, - when Paul wrote to servants (KJV), he was in fact writing to SLAVES! Slaves who mostly had horrendous working conditions, and who had no rights whatsoever of their own. So, in this lecture, delivered at Templepatrick Reformed Church (and reproduced here with their kind permission) we look at the issues surrounding this important subject and seek a biblical response to the demands for financial compensation.

Love Is… Text: 1 John 4:19-5:5 John has been spending much time and ink on the importance of love. God’s love for us, and our love for God, and the resulting love that we have for each other. He tells us that:Love is a REACTION (To Christ's love for us)Love is a REVERSAL (Of the opinions and values of the world)Love is a RESPONSIBILITY (To obey the commandment even by Jesus)Love is a REINFORCEMENT (of sound doctrine)Read the NOTES HERE