Our Bible Study meetings at Ballymacashon Old Reformed Church (Congregational) 78 Saintfield Road, Killinchy, Co.Down, BT23 6RN, (Table-Talks) in 2020 will be on the subject of ‘The End Times.’ The proposed schedule, God willing, can be found here:
EVERYONE IS WELCOME
The End Times – A Simple Introduction
Text. Revelation 20
In 2020, God willing, at Ballymacashon, we will be spending our Tuesday ‘Tabletalks’ looking at the ‘End Times.’ There’s a lot of different views on this subject, – some of them extremely strange! We will examine what the church has believed about the end times, and to see what the Bible says – for sure.
We call the doctrine of the end times ‘ESCHATOLOGY.’ There are two ‘types’ of eschatology:-
- PERSONAL ESCHATOLOGY. As you can imagine personal eschatology is about me! About the individual. What happens when the end of my life comes and I die? Where do I go after I die, what happens when I stand before God, what is my condition in heaven, – or in hell? Where do believers go to between death and the second coming? Will we know each other in heaven? Can we speak to dead people? Purgatory? Etc etc.
- GENERAL ESCHATOLOGY. The end of the times in which we live. What are ‘the signs of the times?’ What events will occur when the world ends? And what is the sequence of events afterwards? What is ‘the Tribulation Period?’ What is ‘The Millennium?’
Both these areas of study overlap – simply because we have immortal souls and we will have a place in eternity.
Singing the Gospel in the 1970s.
Back in the 1970’s, when I was much, much younger, I was part of a ‘gospel group’ (in those days, ‘praise bands’ hadn’t been invented – at least not here in NI, where churches were still very much of the ‘organ/piano/choir’ variety). We were in every respect, a ‘Gospel’ group – singing songs of a distinctly evangelistic flavour, at coffee bars, youth fellowships, social evenings, and yes, even in regular church services. (These were the days when I hadn’t learned about the Regulative Principle of Worship). It was at those meetings that we learned to tell others how our lives had been transformed by salvation in Christ, and even to give little evangelistic talks, from which I, personally, learned how to construct and deliver a sermon. Read more…
The Danger of a False Conversion
Text: Acts 8:9-23
The gospel has been preached in Samaria by Philip. 4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word. 5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
When the Jewish Christians fled to Samaria, there would be a huge cultural barrier in preaching to the Samaritan half-bred Jews. But cultural, and ethnic barriers are no barrier to Jesus, and to the message of the gospel, for at Calvary, all the barriers were broken down, including the greatest barrier of all, the barrier of sin, that separated sinful mankind from the Holy God. Ephesians 2:13
The Dangers of a False Conversion
Fury, Flight and Flame
The early Church is Scattered and Carries the Gospel Everywhere!
Text: Acts 8:1-4
We’re going to look at a second deacon – a man called Philip, [Acts 6:5] and in following the story of Stephen with more about this second deacon, Luke is demonstrating for us that although these ‘servants’ of the church were appointed for practical ministry, and to free the elders for spiritual leadership, their role did not preclude them from the ministry of preaching, witnessing and apologetics.
Fury! Image by Pintera Studio from Pixabay
Dying for Christ, like Christ Died for Me.
Acts 7:54-8:3
In this passage we have have an account of a death. A brave death, a martyr’s death; the death of Stephen, the first martyr. In Stephen’s death we see a man who died as a Christian, who died as Christ had died, – one who lived and spoke and died for Jesus.
Let’s learn a little about that death.
Bearing Witness to Christ – in a Hostile World
Text: Acts 6:8-14
In this practical lesson from the main thrust of the narrative, I’d like us to notice how effective was the witness of Stephen, a deacon, in the midst of the godless hostility the day.
So let’s see:-
