The Semper Reformata Podcast

Who Was Ishmael?Welcome to this digital version of Table-Talk, for Tuesday 20th Jan 2026, and our topic this week is “Who was Ishmael?” Open your Bible at Galatians 4:21-31, and read the passage. Pause the recording, while you read the Scriptures, and when you have done that, start the recording again. So, we are asking “Who was Ishmael?” - it’s important for us to know a little bit about Ishmael, - to see his relevance for Christians, and learn a little about Paul’s use of Ismael as an analogy for the freedom we have in Christ, in other words, how Jesus in his sinless life and atoning death has set us free from Jewish ritual, and the bondage of the law.So, first, let’s learn Ismael’s story, and then we’ll do a little bit of Christian doctrine.Cover image courtesy of ‘Open Bible’ https://www.openbible.info/labs/ai-bible-art/

Be Ready Text: 1 Thess 5:1-11Paul has advised the Thessalonian church that they should not be worried about the Lord’s return. In fact it should be a comfort to them, something to await with expectation, and joy, a reuniting of those who have died in Christ, as the great shout is heard and the trumpet sounds and the dead are raised and we rise to go to be with the Lord…  …and thus we shall also be with the Lord, 8 Therefore comfort one another with these words!Read the NOTES HERE.

TableTalk - “Who was Melchizedek?”READ Hebrews 7, Genesis 14:17-24.This episode is about a strange encounter that Abraham had with two kings in Genesis 14. Beor, the now defeated King of Sodom appears in the text first, in Genesis 14:17. But there was a second king, in 14:18. His name was Melchizedek and he was the ruler of a town called Salem, which means ‘peace’ or ‘righteousness.’ Most scholars think that the town referred to was Jerusalem, which before David conquered it was a Canaanite city. Little is known about this man. We don’t know his ancestry or what became of him after this incident. He just appears on the page of Genesis over a few verses and vanishes again. Hebrews 11:3.Read the NOTES HERE.

The Dead in Christ1st Thessalonians 4:13-17Death is a common experience for us all. For a Christian it is essential that their approach to death should be totally different from the pagan attitudes and beliefs of the world.  So Paul teaches the Thessalonians four great truths about the death of the Christian...Recorded live at Ballymacashon Congregational church, 78 Saintfield Road, Killinchy, Co.Down, BT23 6RNRead the NOTES HERE.

2025 Review - Darkness and LightIsaiah 9:2We live in dark days. It’s a deep spiritual darkness, and it’s covering these western nations and plunging many people into despair. We are walking in a deep Satanic darkness and people are wallowing in hopelessness. Yet there is Light...

Rev. Hugh McKail, the Indulged Presbyterians and the Conventicles.Another short history podcast, looking at Hugh McKail, a brave Presbyterian minister who was martyred at Edinburgh in 1666, and whose testimony in the face of torture and a cruel death is now legendary. McKail’s death brought the government of King Charles II to the realisation that a new tactic would be needed if they were to crush the Covenanter cause, and enforce the king’s rule, through the established hierarchy of bishops, priests and curates. That new tactic was a ‘divide and rule’ measure, - the Acts of Indulgence of 1669, which allowed compliant Presbyterian ministers to return to their pulpits. The covenanters were divided, and the remaining few ‘fanatics’ could be mopped up by the armed forces. But the Covenanters, still locked out of their meeting houses, took to the fields and the Conventicles, field meetings, began…Read the NOTES HERE, and HERE.

Great Joy in Times of SadnessLuke 2:8-17 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.we are in December, the darkest time of the year, and for many, this time is all darkness and gloom. people sometimes become depressed and downcast. They’ve even got a name for it, - they call it ‘Seasonal Affective Disorder’ - with the appropriate acronym ‘SAD.’ But for the believer reading the account of the birth of Christ there is the story of the angels and the shepherds, and the wonderful message - behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy! Great joy at the darkest time, the very opposite of SAD. A message that the world really needs to hear.Read the NOTES HERE.

Gifting SolutionsBob's Christmas Day Message

Who Was Lot?Welcome to this digital version of Table-Talk, and our topic this week is “Who was Lot?” Open your Bible at Luke 17:28-33, and put a bookmark there, then turn back to Genesis, chapter 19:1-30. Pause the recording, and read the story of Lot, in Genesis 19:1-30. We’ll go through that chapter together. When you have read the story of Lot, start the recording again. Read the NOTES HERE.