The Evangelical Presbyterian - May-June 2014

The Evangelical Presbyterian MAY-JUN 2014

2 The Evangelical Presbyterian MAY-JUN 2014

IN THIS ISSUE....

WebsiteFor more information on the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, including details of our various congregations, please visit our denominational website at www.epcni.org.uk

PolicyThe views expressed are those of the editor and contributors DQG�DUH�XQGHUVWRRG�WR�UHÀHFW�JHQHUDOO\�WKH�WKHRORJLFDO�SRVLWLRQ�of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, unless otherwise stated. Unsigned articles are by the editor.

ArticlesThe editor is willing to accept articles for publication on the understanding that the submission of an article does not guarantee its publication. Contributors should recognise that all articles are also liable to editing and alteration without consultation. No material can be published unless the full name and postal address of the contributor is supplied. The preferred method of submission is electronically as a Word document.

Strapline‘Ecclesia reformata semper reformanda est’ –the Reformed Church is always reforming

Editor

Gareth Burke 33, Onslow Gardens, BELFAST, BT6 0AQ

Phone: 07803 282489 Email: [email protected]

Jesus our Substitute..............................

Focus on Crumlin...................................

The Love of God......................................

Church News...........................................

Building for the Future...........................

The Return of Christ...............................

Origins & Modern Science.....................

Focus on Uganda...................................

Save the Dates........................................

Book Reviews..........................................

Dear Rev...................................................

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Book Reviews

Colin Campbell Manager The Evangelical Book Shop BELFAST BT1 6DD

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The Evangelical Presbyterian is published bimonthly by the Presbytery of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

The Evangelical Presbyterian MAY-JUN 2014 3

F1RST WORDI have to confess that on the 17th March – St Patrick’s Day – I went round to Ravenhill to the 5XJE\�6FKRROV�&XS�)LQDO��,�ZDV�¿UVW�WKHUH�LQ��DQG�ZKLOH�,�GRQ¶W�JR�HYHU\�\HDU��TXLWH�RIWHQ�I have joined the large crowd that packs the home of Ulster Rugby for what is normally a very entertaining game. For many people throughout Ireland, who normally don’t show great interest in rugby, these past few weeks have been a time of carefully following the national team.$V�\RX�NQRZ�WKH�6L[�1DWLRQV�&KDPSLRQVKLS�ZDV�¿QHO\�SRLVHG�ZLWK�VHYHUDO�RXWFRPHV�OLNHO\�XQWLO�last Saturday when Ireland defeated France and claimed the Championship.

One of the notable things about rugby is the extent to which the substitutes –or replacements – DUH�XVHG�GXULQJ�PRVW�JDPHV��,Q�IRRWEDOO�WR��¿QG�\RXUVHOI�RQ�WKH�VXEVWLWXWHV¶�EHQFK�RIWHQ�PHDQV�it is very unlikely that you are going to get a ‘run out’ during the game. However, in rugby it is normal for a number of the replacements to be brought on towards the end of the match when players are showing signs of tiredness or injury.

A substitute takes the place of another player. I even saw a rugby match one day in which the referee pulled a hamstring and was substituted by one of the touch judges! A substitute takes the place of someone else. The whole idea of ‘the substitute’ and ‘substitution’ is one of the key and central themes of the Bible.

I was born into the world as a sinner and deserve to die because of my sin. But ‘God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life’ (Jonh3:16). God sent His Son to be our substitute. Jesus took our place on the cross. He took to Himself at Calvary the wrath and judgement that we deserve. He died the death that we ought to die. Jesus is our substitute. If we turn from our sin and trust in Him then we will enter into the blessings of salvation. We will be among those for whom ‘there is now no condemnation, for we are in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 8:1 )

Philip Bliss summed it up well when he wrote:

��µ%HDULQJ�VKDPH�DQG�VFRI¿QJ�UXGH� In my place condemned he stood, Sealed my pardon with his blood: Hallelujah! What a Saviour!’


Wednesday 5th April 2014 marked the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Crumlin EPC with the ordination and insatallation of Andy Hambleton taking place in the presence of a large congregation. We are grateful to the Clerk of Presbytery, Harold Gibson, for submiting a report of the evening’s proceedings and grateful too to the new minsiter for agreeing to be interviewed by an inquisitve editor.

Ordination at Crumlin

The ordination and installation of Mr. Andy Hambleton took place on Wednesday 2 April 2014. Around 250 people gathered at Crumlin Evangelical Presbyterian Church for the service, which was conducted by the Moderator of Presbytery, Rev. Norman Reid. Mr. David Woolsey gave the narrative of events leading up to the call of Mr. Hambleton.Following praise, prayer and Scripture readings the act of ordination and installation took place. The Clerk of Presbytery, Mr. Harold Gibson, put the prescribed questions to Mr. Hambleton who signed the formulae of subscription. Rev. Dr. Andrew Woolsey led the prayer of ordination as members of Presbytery laid hands on Mr. Hambleton.

FOCUS ON CRUMLINRev. Stuart Cashman brought the charge to the new minister preaching from Colossians 1:24-29.Rev. Jeff Ballantine, preaching from Numbers 6:22-27, brought the charge to the congregation.Following the singing of the closing hymn Rev. Andy Hambleton led in prayer and pronounced the EHQHGLFWLRQ��$�PDJQL¿FHQW�VXSSHU�VHUYHG�E\�WKH�Crumlin ladies was served in the church hall when a number of speeches were given and presentations made. Mr. Ernest Bell presented gifts to Mr. Hambleton and Mr. Ballantine, and Mrs. Violet Bell and Mrs. Elizabeth Woolsey presented bouquets toMrs. Hambleton and Mrs. Ballantine.Emma Craig handed over a gift to little Sadie.Following some appropriate comments fromMr. Hambleton, Dr. Woolsey brought the evening to a conclusion with prayer.

1. Andy, please share with us a little about your background - where you grew up, what schools you went to, home and family life?

I was born and raised in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. I have an elder sister, Joy, and an identical twin brother, Ed. It was a very happy upbringing indeed; we’re a close knit family and we’re all Christians, so I have a great deal to be thankful for. When I was growing up my dad was the headmaster of the local primary school, so we all went to school there. For secondary school, however, we attended VFKRROV�LQ�QHDUE\�:DNH¿HOG�� 2. How did you come to faith in Christ?

I’m thankful to God for placing me in a Christian home, with parents who love the Lord. Week by week we attended a small, village Methodist church

5The Evangelical Presbyterian MAY-JUN 2014

(which my parents still attend to this day). However, it was only really in my mid teens that I started coming to a true understanding of the gospel, and a living faith in Jesus. Through a number of key friendships the truths of the gospel were made clear to me and I saw Jesus and his work in a way I hadn’t before. 3. You studied at Durham University - what wasyour subject?

Yes, I had three wonderful years at Durham and at the end of it I got a B.A. in Psychology. They never told me what the B.A. stood for but I’m pretty sure it was “Below Average”. 4. The Lord called you into full time Christian work - how did that happen?

7KURXJKRXW�P\�WLPH�DW�'XUKDP�,�EHQH¿WHG�KXJHO\�from forming many close friendships with Christians who encouraged me. There was also a very strong Christian Union, both in my college and university wide. Throughout my time there I got more and more involved in the Christian Union, leading bible studies, doing one-to-ones and being involved in evangelistic work. Very quickly it became obvious to me that Christian ministry of some description, rather than Psychology, was what I felt drawn towards. In my ¿QDO�\HDU�DW�'XUKDP�VRPHRQH�HQFRXUDJHG�PH�WR�apply to the trainee scheme at Duke Street Church in Richmond. It seemed like a great opportunity to spend a year being trained and immersed in church life, discovering if my inclination towards ministry was a genuine “internal call”.

5. Please share with us about the work of Duke Street Church, Richmond,and tell us about your involvement in the life of that congregation.

After graduating I moved down to Richmond to start the trainee scheme at Duke Street. This involved three roughly equal parts: practical tasks (cleaning, locking up and such like), training (various courses, such as Cornhill) and involvement in church ministries. I got involved in a few different things: a bit of youth work, leading Christianity Explored, and running a bible study for the homeless in the area. As I was concluding my time as a trainee the Assistant Minister role at Duke Street was becoming DYDLODEOH��DQG�,�ZDV�WKDQNIXO�IRU�WKH�RSSRUWXQLW\�WR�¿OO�that role for the next four and a half years.This involved a share of the preaching ministry, as well as particular responsibility in evangelism andmen’s ministry.

6. We know that you are married to Mary and have been blessed with a daughter, Sadie, but many of our readers will wonder - how did a girl form Coagh meet a man from Yorkshire?Can you enlighten us?

In the same month that I moved to Duke Street as a trainee, Mary moved from Belfast to London in order to do the Cornhill Training Course. Her placement church was, happily, Duke Street, and so we met very early on. After knowing one another for just over a year we were engaged, and married a few months later. Sadie joined the party in October 2011. If you want a more expansive description of our story, you can ask Mary! 7. You studied at Cornhill and ‘remotely’ with Reformed Theological Seminary, USA. We would love to know a litlle about these courses and how it worked when you were studying at such a distance form RTS?

Cornhill is a great course which trains people to preach and teach the bible in a variety of contexts, DQG�WKH�FRXUVH�ZDV�KXJHO\�EHQH¿FLDO�WR�PH�LQ�WKRVH�early years of ministry. The course is now running in Belfast as well-check out www.cornhillbelfast.org. Reformed Theological Seminary offer a distance M.A. which you can complete almost entirely by distance through the help of your local church. Studying in such a way certainly has its challenges and drawbacks, but I can’t speak highly enough of RTS and the way that they accommodate their overseas students. The modules are divided between systematic theology, biblical studies, church history and biblical languages. 8. Thank you Andy for sharing all these matters with us. As you begin your ministry in Crumlin EPC what are the matters that you would like us to pray for?

I’d appreciate prayer for wisdom as I settle into this new role and look towards the future of the ministry there. Please pray that I would be a godly and faithful minister, and that as a congregation we would be united in the gospel, and that we would be motivated by God’s glory and a love for the lost. Pray for God to do surprising things through the ministry as people are brought to Christ. And please pray also for Mary and Sadie, as they adjust to life in a new congregation. Thanks!

6

Whenever we read the letters of the New Testament we are GRLQJ�PRUH�WKDQ�UHDGLQJ�D�UHPDUNDEO\�ZHOO�SUHVHUYHG�¿UVW�century letter from Paul, or one of the Apostles; we are reading a letter that God Himself has written to His children.,Q��-RKQ��ZH�JHW�D�ÀDYRXU�RI�ZKDW�*RG�ZDQWV�WR�VD\�WR�His children, and if you’re a Christian reader, this is writtento you!

My Dear Children, I love you. I’m not ashamed to call you my children. I love you with a love that is out of this world. I know that others have forsaken you, but I have set my love upon you – and it remains upon you forever. Others may not believe it, but I want you to believe it with all your heart; I have started a work in you and I want you to know that when my Son returns, I will make you perfect. I know that already, you want this – you want to be done with sin, you want purity and righteousness and holiness. It’s because of such pursuits that my old enemy, the devil, will work hard against you. So please remember that when my Son FDPH�WKH�¿UVW�WLPH��+H�IXOO\�SDLG�WKH�SULFH�IRU�\RXU�VLQ��,QGHHG�My Firstborn has already destroyed the work of the devil – I ZDQW�\RX�WR�EH�FRQ¿GHQW�RI�WKLV��<HV��\RX�ZHUH�RQFH�FKLOGUHQ�of the devil, once you only lived to please your sinful self – but now you are mine. Since I put my seed of love into your heart, everything has changed. Now you have new desires springing from that seed, and it marks you out as different. You’re my children now – and if you’re going to bear the family likeness, you must remember this – I love you.

Yours faithfully forever,Your Father in Heaven.

O the privilege of being a child of God! Does it not set your heart ablaze to behold the manner of love God has

bestowed upon you!Christian, you are loved by the true and living God! God’s love for you is immense! His love is intensely personal and completely overwhelming. It is utterly undeserved, it is pure grace. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us! Its magnitude is so great that it stops us in our tracks – we must stand and stare, we must worship Him and adore Him.

How do you respond to such immeasurable love? Even now as you read, are you not responding? Even in our everyday relationships, when someone says “I love you”, and you’re awestruck by them... do you not want to reciprocate that love and say, “I love you” back, or maybe you want to express your love in some other way – but there’s a deep desire to express your love in return.

I trust that’s how you feel after reading of God’s great love to you in Christ. You want to follow the Saviour, you want to know God’s will and you want to obey it no matter what the cost! Overwhelmed by the love of God, you cry out in total surrender “Here am I, send me!”

In the remainder of 1 John 3 God tells His children just how they ought to respond to His amazing grace, and perhaps surprisingly it’s not simply to love the Lord God in return... Rather we are commanded to love one another.

1. The Command of Love

V11 “This is the message, that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” Love is commanded! This line of thinking is not too prevalent in our time. If you tune in to Citybeat or CoolFM, you’ll hear a lot of love songs, but such love is always regarded as an emotion or a feeling, even a compulsion, but never a command.

Love of course does involve our feelings, it involves our very heart, but God is not commanding you and me to feel a certain way, He is not commanding that we get all emotionally charged up. Rather He is commanding that we do something!

He is commanding that we use our minds, our brains, and make decisions. We are to engage our will and proactively do our brothers and sisters good. But what does such love look OLNH"�)LUVW�RI�DOO�-RKQ�VKRZV�XV�ZKDW�LW�LV�PRVW�GH¿QLWHO\�QRW�OLNH��Not like Cain. John paints a great contrast, between the world DQG�WKH�&KULVWLDQ��EXW�KH�PDNHV�LW�PRUH�VSHFL¿F�IRU�JUHDWHU�impact. A contrast between Cain and Christ.

2. The Contrast of Love

Cain hated Abel because of jealousy – his own works were evil, but his brother’s works were righteous. ‘It’s not fair,’ thought &DLQ��µP\�VDFUL¿FH�KDV�QRW�EHHQ�DFFHSWHG��EXW�KLV�KDV�¶But Cain had not done what God commanded. Cain and Abel had the same knowledge: their father, Adam, had no doubt instructed them as to what would make an DFFHSWDEOH�VDFUL¿FH�±�EORRG�KDG�WR�EH�VKHG��%XW�&DLQ�DFWHG�according to his own knowledge. He thought he knew better:he brought the fruit of the ground instead, and was rejected. This was the same mistake that many had made in the church in Ephesus, those who had left the church – they had a higher knowledge now; they didn’t have to obey the commandments any more. How foolish – they were just like Cain, and they would not be accepted, and because of that had no love for the church. John says we’re not to marvel at the way they treat us.


7

Robert Johnston is minister of Knock congregation in East Belfast. He is married to Julie and together they are blessed (and kept busy!) with three young children; Ben (8), Luke (6) and Sophie (3).

Cain, however, is contrasted with Christ, the One who gives the commandment to love. In a nutshell – Cain took the life of his brother, but Christ gave his life for His brothers and sisters. Paul commands the Ephesian husbands in Ephesians 5:25 ”Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.” Here (v16) the apostle John is saying that that same agape, self-giving love is to be shown for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ: “we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

Such is the complete contrast in our attitude of heart – far from jealousy, we are to be willing to die from one another. For many Christians in the persecuted church, this is a living reality, and a very real test. But we too are to have the same attitude towards our Christian family. Having said that what would such an attitude look like in everyday life here and now? This brings us to our third point.

3. The Conduct of Love

CS Lewis said “loving everybody generally can be an excuse for loving nobody in particular”. Verse 16 talks about love for the brethren, but v17 applies that same truth practically – love a brother. Open your eyes says John – do you see a brother in need? He may be in Indonesia or Nigeria or South Africa. He may be in Ballyclare or Beragh or Belfast. Then what? Open your heart to that brother – don’t shut your heart, don’t walk by on the other side of the road. Be like the Good Samaritan – see, stop, open your heart, love him, care for him. Open your wallet for him – isn’t that what the Good Samaritan did?

Don’t just speak about love or write about it; John uses the phrase in v18 “in word or tongue” – he includes himself as he writes. We are to love in deed and in truth. Love is a verb - a doing word. Love always takes action. It is also “in truth” – it is sincere. It comes from an open heart and it ends in asincere action.

Sometimes we speak about the love of Christ in such big and glorious terms that we treat it as something we could never attain to, something we could never actually do. But John shows us that the love of Christ in our hearts, often shows itself in relatively little things, little deeds.

Are you willing to lay down your life for your brother or sister? That’s the big question. But here are some little ones... Are you encouraging them? Are you giving them supper? Are you praying for them by name? Are you helping with their rates bill? These are just little questions and you can think of a thousand more. They highlight the everyday conduct of trueChristian love.

4. The Consequences of Love

John focuses our attention on the consequences of love for the brother or sister who is obeying the command. Clearly there are other consequences for those to whom love is shown – they are helped, encouraged, delivered, provided for.But for the one who is loving, the one who doing these deeds in truth, whether they be big or small – there are also at leasttwo consequences.

1. Better Assurance. You know your heart by what is coming out of it. Not that our hearts are infallible by any stretch, indeed

John says in v20 that they might still condemn us. Your heart may say, “you haven’t loved enough!” So John goes on to remind the believer that God knows your heart better than you do. But in v21 it is also true that the more we love our brothers and sisters in the Lord, then the less our heart can condemn XV��DQG�VR�ZH�ZLOO�JURZ�LQ�FRQ¿GHQFH�WRZDUGV�*RG��7KLV�JLYHV�rise to the second consequence.

2. Better Communion with God. The more we are assured before God, then the more time we will actually be before God! We will have a greater inclination to prayer. And not only that, but we have a greater boldness in prayer. In v22 John says that “whatever we ask, we receive from him”! We might well DVN�KRZ�FRXOG�-RKQ�KDYH�VXFK�FRQ¿GHQFH��%XW�WKH�DQVZHU�LV�quite simple – John is keeping God’s commands; he is living to please his heavenly Father.

If your whole life is taken up with obeying our heavenly Father, and you are always seeking to please him, then you will inevitably become closer and closer to the Lord. Your relationship will grow. What does God really want for His children whom He loves so much? John summarises in v23 “And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.” He commands faith and love, because when they are evident in the Christian life – the sure consequence is hope.

2XU�DVVXUDQFH�LV�IRUWL¿HG�ZKHQ�ZH�OLYH�to please our loving heavenly Father.

It is then that we see the fruits of abiding in Christ (v24) – He abides in us by His Spirit.

The fruits of the love of God are truly transforming! Imagine a community of God’s children who are captivated by the love of God in Christ Jesus. They really love each other. They stick up for each other and would even die for each other. In everyday life they love each other in a myriad of practical ways, and they pray for each other constantly. They are a community who live FRQ¿GHQWO\�DQG�FORVHO\�ZLWK�WKHLU�/RUG��

Does this describe your own congregation? Don’t just wish it does – obey the command! Love your church family! And remember, you’ll only be able to do that, when you behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on you.

Amen.



5HY�.HYLQ�%LGZHOO��PLQLVWHU�RI�6KHI¿HOG�3UHVE\WHULDQ�&KXUFK��(3&(:��KDVkindly submitted the following article which was written by the congregation’s student worker - Ben Wilkerson.

:LWKLQ�WKH�GLRFHVH�RI�6KHI¿HOG��WKHUH�OLHV�D�VPDOO�VWRQH�FKDSHO�LQ�DQ�DUHD�FDOOHG�$WWHUFOLIIH��+LOO�7RS�Chapel was built in 1629 by English Puritans and Presbyterians. The foundations were laid on July ��WK�DQG�WKH�FKDSHO�ZDV�FRPSOHWHG�DURXQG�&KULVWPDV��0DQ\�RI�WKH�LQÀXHQWLDO�PHPEHUV�RI�WKDW�community sought the license of the bishop in York for the building and it having been granted, they KHOG�WKH�¿UVW�VHUYLFHV�RQ�2FWREHU��WK��7KHLU�¿UVW�PLQLVWHU�ZDV�6WDQOH\�*RZHU�ZKR�ZDV�HGXFDWHG�under the tutelage of Archbishop James Ussher of Armagh, a reformed bishop and the author of the Irish Articles of Faith. Gower served as minister at Hill Top Chapel from 1630-1635 until he was called to the pastorate at Brampton-Bryan in Herefordshire. From there he was called to be one of the delegates from that shire to the Westminster Assembly and was involved in the composition of each of the Westminster Standards. Even after the Great Ejection of 1662, there was a reformed community in the area and an academy was begun for the training of ministers only minutes away from Hill Top Chapel. The academy GLHG�RXW�DIWHU��DQG�PDQ\�QRQ�FRQIRUPLVWV�PRYHG�WR�6KHI¿HOG��7KH�&KXUFK�RI�(QJODQG�FRQJUHJDWLRQ�continued to grow over the next two centuries and by 1832 had grown so large that a new parish church was constructed called Christ Church Attercliffe (it was destroyed in a bombing raid in 1940). Hill Top Chapel was little used after that and by 1916 all regular Sunday services were discontinued. The church lay derelict until it was refurbished in 1991 during the Student Olympic Games. The chapel was a community centre from 2002 to 2010 and then was sometimes used for prayer or special church events. +RZHYHU��RQ�0DUFK��WK��6KHI¿HOG�3UHVE\WHULDQ�&KXUFK�EHJDQ�UHJXODU�ZRUVKLS�VHUYLFHV�DW�+LOO�7RS�Chapel and once again, reformed worship and gospel preaching has returned to Attercliffe. 6KHI¿HOG�3UHVE\WHULDQ�&KXUFK�PHHWV�HDFK�6XQGD\�DW�+LOO�7RS�&KDSHO�DW��D�P��IRU�6XQGD\�VFKRRO��a.m. for Morning Worship, and 5 p.m. for Evening Worship. The chapel is located on Attercliffe Common just across from the English Institute of Sport. We are accessible by tram and bus and there is a car park on the premises as well.)XUWKHU�GLUHFWLRQV�DQG�LQIRUPDWLRQ�DUH�JLYHQ�RQ�RXU�ZHEVLWH��KWWS��VKHI¿HOGSUHV�RUJ�XN�Please contact our minister, Rev. Dr. Kevin Bidwell, for more information.

Retirement of Rev Robert Beckett from EPC camps.On Saturday 15th February, Rev Dr Robert Beckett and his wife Doreen visited Senior Camp reunion. This was an unusual thing for Robert to be a visitor at camp because he has been involved in the leading of camps for many years. In fact Robert was leader at the boys camp from 1964-68, joint camp from 1976-85, seniors from 1986-89, juniors from 1991-96 and seniors again from 1997-2013. That’s a total of 42 years leading camp! On that Saturday night in February senior camp had a little thank you event for Robert. Some folk who had served alongside Robert in the good old days (when camp was camp – and you slept on a bag of straw!) were also invited to join us. We enjoyed a slideshow of years gone by which actually took us right up to 2013. We heard many stories from the days before Health and Safety ever existed! It was a fun night, but also one of sincere thankfulness to the Lord for all He has done in and through the faithful ministry ofRev Robert Beckett at EPC camps.

:H�EULHˌ\�FRQVLGHUHG�Ecclesiastes 5:20 “For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.” For the last 50 years (going back to 1964) Robert has been kept busy with camp, but it has also been a source of great joy – witnessing the blessing of the Lord on our young people as they come to faith in Christ and then grow in grace. The night concluded with some presentations, a special supper and a commemorative cake. Our warmest thanks and appreciation are here echoed again for all the Lord has done through Rev Beckett. Senior Camp will miss him greatly.


KNOCK REBUILD PROJECT

The Knock EPC building, erected in 1927, is long past its “sell by” date, and we have been aware for some time now that the only UHDOLVWLF�RSWLRQ�ZRXOG�EH�WR�GHPROLVK�DQG�UHEXLOG��:H�KDYH�EHHQ�LQ�GLVFXVVLRQV�ZLWK�DUFKLWHFWV�IRU�VRPH�WLPH�QRZ��DQG�WKH�¿QDO��DJUHHG��plans are based on a rebuild cost of £200,000.

At an early stage in the project, we approached Crumlin Deacons’ Board, and were greatly encouraged by their willingness to help us up to £165,000. We want to place on record our gratitude and indebtedness for their outstanding generosity.

In the Lord’s providence, the Knock congregation is stronger than it was when we originally embarked on the building plans, and we KDYH�UHFHQWO\�LQWHQVL¿HG�RXU�GULYH�WR�HQFRXUDJH�FRQWULEXWLRQV�IURP�ZLWKLQ�RXU�RZQ�FRQJUHJDWLRQ�DQG�ZH�KDYH�UHFHLYHG�VRPH�QRWDEOH�gifts. More than half of the outstanding balance has already been raised and we are hopeful that the remainder will be raised in the time it takes to build (8 months to a year).

God-willing, it will have started by the time you’re reading this! While the work takes place we will continue to meet for worship and prayer as usual using the back hall as our meeting place. Please pray about the project. The building is merely bricks and mortar, but it is an historic building within the EPC and it holds many memories. Its demolition will mark the end of an era. But we hope and pray that the erection of a new building will mark the beginning of a new era in the history of Knock EPC, and that we will see our witness develop in the area of Belfast where God has placed us. And to His Name be all the glory.

If you would like to give towards the building project, cheques can be made to “Knock EPC”, and sent to Paul Watson (Treasurer),14 Glenmillan Park, Belfast, BT4 2JE.

BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE IN OMAGH

7KH�SRVVLELOLW\�RI�H[WHQGLQJ�WKH�EXLOGLQJ�LQ�2PDJK�ZDV�¿UVW�FRQVLGHUHG�RYHU�WZHOYH�\HDUV�DJR��EXW�RQO\�QRZ�KDYH�ZH�IHOW�LW�QHFHVVDU\to act. The Lord has blessed us in recent years and the congregation is growing, so there is a pressing need for improved facilities.

The proposed plan, which has been passed by the authorities, will give us a refurbished and extended sanctuary, a bright and welcoming foyer, a sizeable prayer room, modern toilet facilities and a minister’s room. There will also be a kitchen, and most importantly, a hall. It’s envisaged that the entire project will take 7-8 months, so whilst the work is being carried out, we are going to relocate to a local primary school.The Lord has already begun to provide for our needs, and we are grateful to God for our friends in Crumlin who have granted us a sizable donation. But because of a retaining wall and piling to the depth of 9 meters, our need is still great, and we believe that a further £100-150,000 is required. Please pray for us as we step out in faith, and if you feel led to contribute to this work, donations can be forwarded to Rev. Andrew J. Lucas, 10 Beechgrove, Omagh, BT79 7EW.


‘The Return of Christ’Part 9 - ‘Everlasting Punishment’

What happens when you die? Is that it – the end - or does your soul live on? Or, do you think that you might come back in some other form – reincarnation? As Christians committed to scripture we believe that man is immortal. Our souls do not die but continue after death in either heaven or hell. It is to this dark subject of hell that we must turn our attention in this article. We would much rather contemplate the glorious subject of the new heavens and the new earth but if our consideration of the UHWXUQ�RI�&KULVW�LV�WR�EH�EDODQFHG�WKHQ�ZH�QHHG�WR�UHÀHFW�upon everlasting punishment. When Jesus comes, according to Matthew 25, He will separate the sheep from the goats and the goats will be told to ‘depart into the HYHUODVWLQJ�¿UH�SUHSDUHG�IRU�WKH�GHYLO�DQG�KLV�DQJHOV¶��

We consider this dark subject, however, not just because it is the clear teaching of scripture but also because it is a VLJQL¿FDQW�DQG�LPSRUWDQW�WUXWK�WKDW�LV�XQGHU�DWWDFN�DW�WKH�present time. The IVP ‘New Dictionary of Theology’ in considering this doctrine states the following:

‘Whether this (hell) involves eternal conscious torment (the traditional Christian view) or cessation of existence (as taught by advocates of conditional immortality) is a matter of ongoing debate’

Conditional immortality is the teaching that immortality is *RG¶V�JLIW�WR�WKRVH�ZKR�EHOLHYH�LQ�-HVXV�&KULVW�DQG�EHQH¿W�from his saving work. All those who do not believe in Christ will ultimately be destroyed and cease to exist. But what does the Bible say? What is hell? In considering this subject we will focus, almost exclusively, on the teaching of Jesus Himself. This is deliberate. Jesus is so often presented as being the One who is full of love and compassion in contrast to Paul or Calvin or some of those cold reformed theologians! But note that Jesus Himself clearly taught the doctrine of hell. The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16: 19 - 31 clearly shows us what hell is like.

It is a place of separation from God (verse 26)

7KHUH�LV�µD�JUHDW�JXOI�¿[HG¶�EHWZHHQ�KHDYHQ�DQG�KHOO��0DQ�LQ�hell is cut off from God. Sometimes people quibble with this description of hell. Is God not everywhere present? So how can we say that man is totally cut off from God.? Well God is everywhere and, yes, he is present in hell in the sense that His presence there is one of total wrath and judgement and anger. Man in hell is cut off from God in the sense that he is utterly separated from His benevolence, kindness and grace.

It is a place of torment (verse 24)

Sometimes you hear people describing experiences that they’ve had in this life as hell. ‘9/11 was hell’.’Omagh was hell’. We don’t, for a moment, want to play down

the awfulness of these events or minimise the suffering experienced by those who were directly involved. We are , and will always be, sympathetic towards those who suffer through terrorist activity or ‘natural disaster’. However the solemn teaching of scripture is that no experience through which we pass, no matter how dark or terrible, can legitimately be described as ‘hell’. Hell is indescribable torment. It is relentless wrath and judgement.

It is a place of awful company (verse 26)

Notice the words of the Rich Man here. He speaks in the SOXUDO�±�µEHWZHHQ�86�DQG�\RX�WKHUH�LV�D�JUHDW�JXOI�¿[HG�¶��He is not alone. He is surrounded by others – unrepentant sinners – dwelling together in a bond of sin and depravity.

It is a place of continual sinfulness

Sometimes when we think of the wicked in hell we have a tendency to think of them being in a static condition. There is no change, no alteration to their situation. But Cornelis Venema suggest that hell is a place of ongoing sinfulness: He writes:

‘When God delivers the impenitent over to hell, he can be said to give them not only what they deserve but also what they perversely continue to desire. To live apart from God and His favour is the epitome of the suffering of hell. But this is precisely what the impenitent sinner seeks even in hell, namely, to live without God.’�&�9HQHPD��7KH�3URPLVH�RI�WKH�)XWXUH��S��

Can we also suggest that hell is not only a place of continual sinfulness but, tragically, a place of increasing sinfulness? In Matthew 25: 46 there is a certain parallelism set before us concerning the wicked and the righteous, concerning everlasting punishment and eternal life. Is it not legitimate to deduce that just as the saints in glory grow in their knowledge of God and their appreciation of the new heavens and the new earth so the godless in hell will sink into deeper depravity and sin?

It is a place from which there is no escape (verse 26)

During the second world war my father was captured in the North African desert at the Battle of Tobruk in 1942. He spent the next two years as a prisoner of war. In talking to him about those years I was anxious to discover how he coped with the captivity, not just physically, but psychologically. His response was telling: ‘We always believed that we would be set free.’ In hell there is no such reassurance. Hell is forever. There is no exit. No way out.


The Fall and Scientific Understanding In our thinking we must never lose sight of the impact of the Fall of man into sin. This resulted in a changed creation which had been cursed by God and began to produce “thorns and thistles” (Gen.3:17-18) and was subject to death and decay (Rom.8:19-22). This means that the world we live in today is not identical with the pristine creation by God before sin entered the cosmos. Great care must therefore be used in ‘reading back’ the world of to-day into past history. Fallen man, WKH�LQWHUSUHWHU�RI�WKH�VFLHQWL¿F�HYLGHQFH��KDV�DOVR�EHHQ�affected by sin. His ability as well as his willingness to XQGHUVWDQG�WKH�VFLHQWL¿F�HYLGHQFH�DFFXUDWHO\�KDV�EHHQ�LPSDLUHG��5RP��7KH�UHOLDELOLW\�RI�VFLHQWL¿F�¿QGLQJV�QHHGV�DOZD\V�WR�EH�YDOLGDWHG�FDUHIXOO\�DQG�PRVW�FXUUHQW�VFLHQWL¿F�SXEOLFDWLRQV�UHTXLUH�SUHYLRXV�peer reviews. Despite these the history of science abounds with serious errors, some of which are still being used to support the theory of evolution. We will provide evidence for this in subsequent articles.

Observational and Historical ScienceWhen man seeks to deduce how the earth and life EHJDQ��XVLQJ�VFLHQWL¿F�SURFHVVHV�ZKLFK�DUH�REVHUYDEOH�today, he is using information which cannot be regarded as fully representative of life at the beginning of creation. Before sin entered the world the quality of life forms was perfect, therefore somewhat different and EHWWHU�WKDQ�LW�LV�WRGD\��7KH�VFLHQWL¿F�JHQHWLF�HYLGHQFH�LV�overwhelming that life forms have been undergoing a continual process of genetic deterioration and decline. We must therefore be careful to distinguish between observational science which observes things as they happen today and historical science which attempts to use modern science observations to deduce what might have happened in the distant past. The latter approach PXVW�DOVR�XVH�D�VLJQL¿FDQW�DPRXQW�RI�JXHVVZRUN�DV�the environmental conditions of past events cannot be reliably ascertained. The natural processes which UHVXOWHG�LQ�H�J��IRVVLOV�DUH�DOVR�D�PDWWHU�RI�VFLHQWL¿F�debate. The guess work employed is always heavily LQÀXHQFHG�E\�WKH�UHVXOWV�ZKLFK�WKH�UHVHDUFKHU�H[SHFWV�WR�¿QG��3UH�VXSSRVLWLRQV�DUH�LQFUHDVLQJO\�LPSRUWDQW�in the debate about origins now that evolution is

Modern Science and the Study of OriginsWhen we come to study the question of origins we have two main sources of information. We have God’s record in the Bible of what actually happened at the beginning and also the evidence of life forms as they exist today and as fossils from the past. We call these the books of scripture and of nature. They are both referred to in Psalm 19. We should expect them to be quite similar, but not identical, if both are read correctly.

regularly presented as a proven fact of science thus ruling out any creationist explanation. Creationists and evolutionists all have the same evidence, the same dinosaur skeletons, the same fossils, the same DNA and the same radioactive decay elements. The battle is over interpretation stemming from different worldviews i.e. beliefs people choose to hold and refuse to change regardless of the evidence. “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God....nor can he know them” (1Cor.2:14). They are foolishness to him. In UHDOLW\�WKH�SUREOHP�LV�D�VSLULWXDO�PRUH�WKDQ�D�VFLHQWL¿F�one. Our sin keeps us from seeing what is right before our eyes in nature. As a result we are totally dependent upon divine revelation for the correct answers to the most important questions of life.

Rev. Robert Beckett is minister of the Crosscollyer Street congregation. For many years he has been studying the whole area of Biblical Creation and has lectured extensively on this vital subject.


FOCUS ON UGANDAThe Editor, along with Andrew Moody, recently spent some ten days in Goli, Uganda, at a Pastors’ Conference. This proved to be an enriching experience spiritually as did our visit to Jenni Campbell in Addis Ababa on the way home. Below Andrew Moody gives some details of the visit whilst on the opposite page Raymond and Jackie Given, who have recently moved to Goli, share with us a little about their lives and ministry.

We left Belfast City Airport at lunch time on Monday 17th Feb and arrived in Entebbe airport at 4pm the next day. We then got a taxi from the airport up to Goli and arrived there by 1.30am! Needless to say that we slept well that night! We VWDUWHG�WKH�SDVWRUV¶�FRQIHUHQFH�DW��DP�RQ�:HGQHVGD\�PRUQLQJ�DQG�LW�¿QLVKHG�DW�lunch time on Friday. Over 40 pastors attended the conference. Each morning began with a devotion led by Andrew. Rev. Burke taught a variety of subjects including Mark’s gospel, the life of Joseph and held preaching workshops.The pastors really enjoyed the teaching and invited Rev. Burke to come again.During the conference Andrew was able to spend some time in the Christian Resource Centre dealing with a number of issues that his staff brought to him.On Saturday we joined a medical team that was going to give a medical check up to a group of children sponsored by Compassion. Rev. Burke spoke to the children before the check up. Andrew helped the medical team by dispensing the medicine the children were prescribed. It was a good experience to see the work of &RPSDVVLRQ�¿UVW�KDQG�On Sunday Rev. Burke preached at both services and in the afternoon we joined the prison ministry team.On Monday we took the bus down to Kampala. Before we went to the airport we met a Korean missionary, Rev. Paul Kim. He had been a Bible College lecturer in Kampala for several years, but was about to move to South Sudan. He talked to us about the teaching ministry he planned and told Rev. Burke how Andrew couldhelp him.On the way back to UK we stopped in Addis Ababa to visit Jenni Campbell.-HQQL�DQG�KHU�¿DQFp��6DP��PHW�XV�DW�WKH�DLUSRUW�DQG�WRRN�XV�RXW�IRU�EUHDNIDVW��After that Jenni took us to Bingham Academy and we were able to meet some of her fellow staff and see around the campus. It was great to meet the people Jenni works with.It was a very intense, but rewarding trip!We are planning to return to Uganda at the end of September. Joy has applied to Rift Valley Academy and has been provisionally accepted to start Grade 6 in October. Please pray that all the necessary arrangements can be made in time.


Raymond & Jackie Givan1. Please could you tell us a little about yourselves – where yougrew up, family backgrounds etc? We were both born in County Tyrone. Jackie grew up in Strabane and attended the local Methodist Church. I lived on a farm between Ballygawley and Dungannon and went to Knockonny Baptist Church.

2. How did you become Christians?

Jackie attended the local Christian Workers Union Hall Good News Club and one of the leaders, Mrs Stewart, whose husband owned a jeweller’s shop in Strabane, spoke on the John 3:16 one evening. Jackie put her own name in the verse where it says ‘whosoever’ and was convinced that Jesus loved her and had died for her and gave her heart to the Lord as her Saviour. Raymond’s parents attended the Old Knockconny Baptist Church and the evening services were held in Tullyvannon Mission Hall. The preacher, Pastor J. A. Smyth, was speaking on Revelation 20:11-15 about the Great White Throne, the Lamb’s Book of Life and the Lake of Fire. Raymond’s imagination began to think about Hell and the old wood burner in the hall and the intense heat it gave out and decided if Hell was hotter than it then he would ÀHH�WR�KLV�6DYLRXU�IRU�UHIXJH��$�JUHDW�EXUGHQ�VHHPHG�WR�lift as he repeated the prayer with the preacher,”Come into my heart Lord Jesus, come in today, come in to stay. Come into my heart Lord Jesus.”

3. Please make a little comment concerningyour family.

We have four daughters: Rachel (31), married with a 7 month old daughter called Ellie and living in Edinburgh. She works as an Occupational Therapist. Naomi (29), is a teacher and is getting married in July! Hannah (25), is a nurse with a 5 month old daughter, Emily. Esther (24) is completing further training as a hairdresser.For a few years in the 1990’s we worked and lived in Kenya. Our daughters attended a missionary school called Rift Valley Academy. Naomi recently spent a year there again as a teacher.

4. You are now situated at Goli, North Western Uganda. In what work are you involved?

Our remit is medical work, evangelism and discipleship! Goli Health Centre has been upgraded to a hospital,

and we are seeking to improve the level of care provided to the community. We are also responsible IRU�¿YH�SHULSKHUDO�FOLQLFV�XS�WR��miles from Goli and visit one every month. We also perform twice-yearly examinations on behalf of Compassion International for three centres of about 300 children in each. We have been sent from our church, Ballymena Baptist, under the agency of BCMS-Crosslinks and are delighted with the many opportunities to share the love of Christ on a personal basis and to teach and preach.

5. How have you become involved in mission work and where did you previously work?

Raymond has always had a heart for mission and remembers as a child listening to the Macallisters, who worked in Congo, describe their work. As a child he promised the Lord if He allowed him to become a doctor he would give himself as a missionary. We became interested in Goli when we visited Andrew and Eunice Moody in 2008 and got invited by the Bishop to consider working here.We spent two and a half years working at Kijabe Hospital in Kenya and in our spare time did evangelism into the Massai tribe. Many were saved and the churches grew from 3 to 11. We returned home temporarily in 1998. Raymond worked in General Practice until our daughters ¿QLVKHG�WKHLU�HGXFDWLRQ��:H�KDYH�RQO\�QRZ�EHHQ�IUHHG�XS�WR�UHWXUQ�WR�WKH�¿HOG�

6. Please share with us some matters for prayer.

Thank you for your interest in our work. Remember the evangelical church in Uganda. It is large but poorly taught. Also, as we work with patients, that we would be able to show and to share the Saviour in a loving way. As we consider means of evangelism, visiting the local prison or open air work, may we do this in a way which brings glory to our Lord. Pray for our family: our two youngest daughters are still not Christians. Pray also for us being separated from our daughters and especially from our granddaughters. On a practical level, pray for a suitable vehicle to purchase. Please go to the link below for Raymond and Jackie Givan’s latest prayer letter: www.crosslinks.org/mission-partners/raymond-and-jackie-givan


Two special events:

»5MM\�\PM�)]\PWZ¼in Evangelical Bookshop in May and June:

Darryl Hart will be joining us

on 24th May 2014 where he

will be promoting his new book,

»+IT^QVQ[U"�)�0Q[\WZa¼�

,Z��+IZT�<Z]MUIV�_QTT�IT[W�JM�RWQVO�][�WV��\P�2]VM��

These popular events are designed to bring some of

our favourite authors closer to the reader, and are a

good way of learning more from them in an informal

[M\\QVO��<PMZM�_QTT�JM�I�[PWZ\�ILLZM[[��I�9�)�[M[[QWV�and a book signing – and, of course, refreshments!

The Evangelical Presbyterian MAY-JUN 2014 15

3DWULFN�RI�,UHODQG��+LV�/LIH�DQG�,PSDFW� 553�� 2XU�3ULFH��$XWKRU��0LFKDHO�$�*��+D\NLQPublisher: Christian Focus PublicationsPublished: 2014 112 pages

Much has been written about Patrick, and most of what we know of him is the stuff of myths and legends! We have all heard the one about Patrick’s destruction of all the snakes in Ireland from the peak of Croagh Patrick. Other ‘miracles’ ascribed to Patrick include being able to pass through solid doors and producing water with healing properties from rock - just by making the sign of the cross! In this book Michael Haykin shows us that despite the fact that ‘on March 17, Patrick is everywhere a symbol of Irishness’, he was, and is, so much more than that. Haykin’s myth-busting biography shows Patrick as not so much a mythical or iconic hero of the Emerald Isle as a great PDQ�RI�*RG��VDFUL¿FLQJ�HYHU\WKLQJ�LQ�VHUYLFH�WR�KLV�*RG�DQG�D�SHRSOH�ZKR�KDG�RQFH�KHOG�KLP�LQ�VODYHU\��EXW�ZKRP�KH�KDG�REHGLHQWO\�FRPH�WR�evangelise.So, Haykin dispells the inaccuracies of popular folklore. But what does he tell us about Patrick that we didn’t already know? :HOO��LQ�KLV�DFFRXQW�RI�WKH�HDUO\�3DWULFN�LQ�WKH�¿UVW�FKDSWHU�RI�WKH�ERRN��KH�VKRZV�XV�VRPHWKLQJ�RI�KLV�EDFNJURXQG��:H�UHDG�DERXW�3DWULFN¶V�childhood, that he was of fairly high social standing, that he was brought up in the church and that he was familiar with Scripture (although at this stage he paid it little attention). We read about Patrick’s conversion when he felt the Holy Spirit quickening him in his desire for the things of God, his calling out to God continually in prayer and his vibrant spiritual life at this time, which he refered to later as ‘fervent’.Haykin then tells us something of Patrick’s education showing us that it was likely that he received his theological training in Britain and was sent by the church in Britain and not the church in Gaul (as some argue).Haykin also shows us a man who was mightily used by God in the salvation of hundreds, and probably thousands, of Irish men and women during his ministry. Surely such a ministry deserves our attention.In chapter two, Haykin gives an overview of Patrick’s Trinitarianism, showing that the Trinity was at the heart of the Gospel that Patrick proclaimed in Ireland. In Patrick we have an example of someone who understood the importance of this doctrine and Haykin clearly shows us how this impacted his life and ministry.We are also shown a portrait of a believer who memorised huge chunks of Scripture, giving us a great example of a man who, like the Psalmist, could say ‘I have stored up your word in my heart.’7KH�UHPDLQLQJ�FKDSWHUV�GHPRQVWUDWH�3DWULFN¶V�PLVVLRQ�WR�,UHODQG�DQG�KLV�SHUVRQDO�SLHW\�EHIRUH�VRPH�EULHI��EXW�LPSRUWDQW��UHÀHFWLRQV�RQ�ZKDW�WKH�church can learn from Patrick for today.Unusually for a book of this size, there are references and quotations with accompanying footnotes. There is also an excellent bibliography for those wishing to explore Patrick’s life in greater detail.The book contains much of Patrick’s theology as well as an account of his life, and when important and interesting historical nuggets are added (as they are throughout), the result is a book that will educate and edify. This is an entry-level book for anyone with an interest in reading church KLVWRU\�IRU�WKH�¿UVW�WLPH��EXW�WKH�VHDVRQHG�KLVWRULDQ�ZLOO�DOVR�SUR¿W�IURP�WKHVH�SDJHV��,�KHDUWLO\�UHFRPPHQG�LW�

Colin Campbell

The Ministry of a Messy House 553��2XU�3ULFH��$XWKRU��$PDQGD�5REELH Publisher: IVPPublished: 2013144 pages

“The Ministry of a Messy House” could probably have been subtitled “Cleanliness in not actually next to Godliness”. Christians aren’t perfect and this is a book full of messy antidotes with chapters entitled “Messy House”, “Messy Family” and “Messy Kids” and as I began to read I thought that this book might not be for me. My house isn’t a bombsite, I don’t have children and I am not the wife of a minister which means many of the tips and stories, whilst entertaining, were wasted on me. However, none of us can avoid the guilt that creeps up on us when things get messy, when we fall short of others’ expectations and when we feel like we have let ourselves down. It is here, Amanda Robbie tells us, where Gods wants us to replace our guilt with His grace. This is the central thread in “The Ministry of a Messy House”.As I read through the bite sized chapters I warmed to Robbie’s informal writing style and found myself laughing out loud at many points. She takes her life as a wife, and mother and shares it generously with the reader. This is not a self help book that will help us to achieve the perfect home, family life and church family. This is a witty, Godly woman who writes charmingly about how God has replaced her guilt with grace.“The Ministry of a Messy House” is a light, funny and honest book that is sure to give you a giggle as you are reminded of Gods grace.

Cherith Simpson


Dear Rev

It was really great to visit with you and your wife last month.

I can’t believe that I stayed for so long – from 10am until 4.30pm!

I really only intended to come for quick morning coffee on a Saturday

morning but the time with you just flew by. Please thank your wife

for the hospitality. Her scones were ‘knock out’ but I’m a little

worried that I may have caused some offence by refusing to eat the

lunch – that broccoli bake was just way too fancy for a man like me

to be partaking of it. Hope she didn’t mind.

I have acted upon your advice and had a conversation with Cynthia

about our relationship. Yes, she agreed that it would be best to ‘take

a break’. Well, to be honest, she used word like ‘termination’ and

‘closure’. Not quite sure what she meant by that. Anyway I just kept

talking about a break and she seemed quite happy with that.

I must admit I kind of miss her. You know it was good to have

someone prepared to listen to all my Reformed chat and I do

feel a bit lonely – a bit isolated. I was wondering if I should try

‘fellowship’ – you know getting involved in talking to other people in

my church. I’ve never been very good at doing that for I consider

most of the folks in my church to be spiritual lightweights and

rather trivial.

I was reading one of those books on fellowship – not my kind of

book really – very light, but it suggested that ‘the fellowship of other

Christians is a means of grace given to us by God to encourage us

and help us in our Christian lives’. Did you ever hear the like?

Fellowship as a means of grace. Have they never heard of the

preaching and reading of the Word, the sacraments and prayer?

Yet, I am lonely. What do you think? There’s a void in my life.

What should I do?

I would appreciate your thoughts.

Say ‘hello’ to your wife

Thanks

Herbert

Dear Herbert

Good to hear from you and thank you for your visit.

0\�ZLIH�LV�¿QH�±�VKH�KDV�RFFDVLRQDOO\�HQFRXQWHUHG�IXVV\�eaters over the years!

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The Evangelical Presbyterian - May-June 2014

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