Lissara Presbyterian Church

Lissara Presbyterian Church John 10:10 - "...I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Sunday:
11:30am - Morning Worship
6:30pm - Evening Worship

09/06/2026

9th June 2026

Pray (ACts)

Read (2 Peter 3v9-10)

Message (Scott Woodburn)

When Christ returns we will be raised to life in new everlasting bodies. In the same way, creation itself will be restored to a perfect condition - this world and the whole universe will be gloriously changed. Does that mean that this world will be completely destroyed and something new will come in it's place? No. Just as you will be the same but made perfect, then so too will the universe be recognisable yet radically different.

Peter once spoke on this saying "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed." (v10). Some read this to mean that creation will be completely done away with and whatever comes next will be absolutely brand new. This isn't the case.

In Derek Thomas' little book "Heaven on Earth" he gives various reasons for expecting a resurrected creation rather than a completely new one. His first point is that when Scripture speaks of the new heaven and earth the word used is kainos which speaks to newness of quality rather than newness of origin. Secondly, Thomas points to Paul's language in Romans 8 which talks of creation being liberated rather than destroyed. Thirdly, when Jesus was raised it was in the same body in which He died not a completely new one. Lastly, if creation needs to be completely destroyed and wiped out it speaks to Satan's triumph. To be preferred is that creation will be renewed and restored and not wiped out.

Whatever the renewal of creation will be like, we can be certain it will be momentous with Peter speaking of roaring, burning and dissolving. What will the outcome of this work be? Creation will be completely renewed. The paradise that existed during the days of Eden will be the norm once more upon this earth and by faith in Christ, you and I will get to dwell there forever. I don't know about you but I can't wait.

Pray (acTS)

Sing

WSC

Q89 How is the Word made effectual to salvation? The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching, of the Word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation.

08/06/2026

8th June 2026

Pray (ACts)

Read (1 Samuel 31 focus v1-6)

Message (Alan Burke)

I’m a big fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy. When The Lord of the Rings was made into a film, I was sceptical of how well it would turn out. To be fair, Peter Jackson did an alright job of it; he cut the character ‘Tom Bombadil’ and ‘The Scouring of the Shire’, which in my mind was horrific, but still overall it was an alright adaptation, although he ruined The Hobbit, so don’t bother watching it. There are some epic depictions of battles in the books, and in the film adaptation, Jackson does a good job of portraying them. If you’ve ever watched the films or even the likes of Braveheart, Highlander, or Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (I’m sure there are others), the battle scenes are vivid portrayals of the brutality of war, arrows flying, the sound of swords striking, of course, the smell of copper in the air from the bloodshed can’t be conveyed in a film; we don’t have Smell-O-Vision, and it’s best that we don’t. Here though, in 1 Samuel, the details of the battle are scarce, we can surmise what it would have looked like but we are to focus not on the battle but rather on Saul and what happens to him.

Here he is wounded, critically, and he’s afraid of what the Amalekites would do to him. Even if Saul didn’t survive, they could have made his last moments as painful and humiliating as possible. If he survived, then it would have been much, much worse. The treatment of captured rulers at the time saw them being tortured, mutilated, sexually humiliated, facing sexual violence. Filled with such fear that the only way that he felt that he could escape what the Philistines could do to him brought him to believe that the only way out was to fall on his sword. Such inner anguish, pain, and fear had come over Saul. What we have to remember though is that even in this, the LORD’s will was being done. For the LORD had passed judgement on Saul (1 Sam 28:18-19). And this, the very next day after the judgement of the LORD came through Samuel, Saul’s sons are dead, and he has taken his own life.

It was the judgement of the LORD because he had rejected the word of the LORD; this is the LORD’s work, his will; this was an act of the Sovereign LORD that Saul faced the consequences of his actions in this present life, yet death is not the end. While his earthly journey had come to an end for Saul, he would also face the LORD’s judgement for all eternity. I think this is the most terrifying thing that we often overlook, that for those who die outside of faith Christ is that as 1 Thessalonians reminds us that: He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might (2 Thes 1:8-9). This should spur us as believers to action, to share the gospel, to pray for our family, friends, and neighbours. It should also fill us with praise to the LORD our God for his grace towards us that we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God (Rom 5:9).

Pray (acTS)

Sing

WSC
Q88 What are the outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption?�A. The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption are, his ordinances, especially the Word, Sacraments, and prayer; all which are made effectual to the elect for salvation.

07/06/2026

This mornings service

07/06/2026

Good morning one and all,

All being well this mornings service should begin around 11:30am.
Tonight we join together for evening worship at 6:30, thinking of the Scriptures teaching summarised in the Westminster Larger Catechism Question 102 What is the sum of the four commandments which contain our duty to God?

As we turn to the scriptures from Deuteronomy 6:1-9 and Mark 12:28–34

This morning will be focusing on 1 Samuel 30 ‘Victory Is The LORD’s’
V1-6 Finding Strength In The LORD
V7-15 Trusting In The LORD’s Providence
V16-31 Knowing His Grace

06/06/2026

6th June 2026

Pray (ACts)

Read (2 Peter 3v9-10)

Message (Scott Woodburn)

When Christ returns we will be raised to life in new everlasting bodies. In the same way, creation itself will be restored to a perfect condition - this world and the whole universe will be gloriously changed. Does that mean that this world will be completely destroyed and something new will come in it's place? No. Just as you will be the same but made perfect, then so too will the universe be recognisable yet radically different.

Peter once spoke on this saying "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed." (v10). Some read this to mean that creation will be completely done away with and whatever comes next will be absolutely brand new. This isn't the case.

In Derek Thomas' little book "Heaven on Earth" he gives various reasons for expecting a resurrected creation rather than a completely new one. His first point is that when Scripture speaks of the new heaven and earth the word used is kainos which speaks to newness of quality rather than newness of origin. Secondly, Thomas points to Paul's language in Romans 8 which talks of creation being liberated rather than destroyed. Thirdly, when Jesus was raised it was in the same body in which He died not a completely new one. Lastly, if creation needs to be completely destroyed and wiped out it speaks to Satan's triumph. To be preferred is that creation will be renewed and restored and not wiped out.

Whatever the renewal of creation will be like, we can be certain it will be momentous with Peter speaking of roaring, burning and dissolving. What will the outcome of this work be? Creation will be completely renewed. The paradise that existed during the days of Eden will be the norm once more upon this earth and by faith in Christ, you and I will get to dwell there forever. I don't know about you but I can't wait.

Pray (acTS)

Sing

WSC

Q89 How is the Word made effectual to salvation? The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching, of the Word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation.

05/06/2026

5th June 2026

Pray (ACts)

Read (1 Samuel 30 focus v9-31)

Message (Alan Burke)

We’ve a lot to cover to get to the end of the chapter, so it ain't going to happen in one devotion, so hopefully you’ll forgive me. I’ll start though with providence. What are God’s works of providence? A. God’s works of providence are his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions (WSC Q11, proof texts; Ps. 145:17; Ps. 104:24; Isa. 28:29; Heb. 1:3; Ps. 103:19; Matt. 10:29-31). David perused those who attacked Ziklag; he trusted in the word of the LORD and his providence. After seven days of pursuit and nothing, following tracks in the wilderness of the people and the animals, beginning to fade with the time that had passed. Hope seemed to be failing, but then in the LORD’s providence, what may look to man as nothing more than a coincidence, but was a Godincidence, it was God’s providence; they found an Egyptian.

This Egyptian would have been a slave of the Amalekites, left to die by them. Their lack of compassion towards him would see them put the final nail in their own coffin. He had not even been left with any provisions, having not eaten or drank for three days. He was revived with food and water, and David spoke to him. If only the Amalekites had taken this man with them, then David would be left to pursue, not knowing if and when he would find the attackers of Ziklag. In effect, the Amalekites had signed their own death certificate and didn’t know it. David, by the LORD’s providence, is led to the Amalekites. When he comes upon them, they are revealing, they are eating, drinking, dancing, and scattered over the countryside, and so David goes and with his men from dusk to the evening of the next day, wiping out the Amalekites, all but the 400 who escape on camels. They had been caught off guard, and the LORD was at work in all of this. What took place here was the righteous judgement of the LORD God.

You might wonder about the righteous judgement of God, but his was his righteous judgement. Back in the book of Exodus, the people of God were vulnerable and attacked unprovoked by the Amalekites (Ex 17:8-16). As a result, the LORD promised that he would completely blot out their memory (Ex 17:4, Deut 25:17-19). We might think to ourselves that God’s response is more than a bit extreme, a bit of an overreaction, surely? We might even be tempted to think that this is the God of the Old Testament and be thankful for how the God of the New Testament is all about love and grace. But throughout the scriptures, the Lord is consistent. We must not forget that in the end, all those who are the enemies of the Lord will face his wrath for all eternity. Jesus spoke more on the eternal punishment, of hell that awaits all those who are not the children of God through faith, and while the Amalekites were blotted out.

As we finish, I want to take you to the book of Revelation. For it is made clear that Jesus Christ is coming again, and when he comes, he will judge the living and the dead. He will come, and Revelation 19 tells us how the armies of heaven will follow him, to strike down the nations. They will experience the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. In that vivid and terrifying picture, while the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army, the LORD Jesus had the victory (See Re 19:11–21). How do we escape the wrath of God to come? How do we know the grace that he freely offers? It is by trusting in the coming king, bowing the knee now because there will come a day when it is too late, and we will be counted among the enemies of God. We will be answerable to King Jesus, who will be our judge. Revelation 20:15 tells us what awaits for all who are the enemies of God. For anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire (Rev 20:15). We, as the church, declare the hope that there is for all who believe and warn those who don’t of what awaits.

Pray (acTS)

Sing

WSC
Q86 What is faith in Jesus Christ?�A. Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel.

04/06/2026

4th June 2026

Pray (ACts)

Read (Romans 8v19-22)

Message (Scott Woodburn)

The Christian longs for Christ's return because on that glorious day we will be changed irrevocably. The resurrected body will have none of the limitations that we currently have, no more pettiness, no more loneliness, no more rage and no more sin. We will be raised to live forever and it will be glorious indeed.

But where will we live? We have spoken about Heaven as a real place beyond the first heaven (the sky) and the second heaven (the stars). Will our new bodies be lifted from this earth and taken to Paradise? No. Just as you have lived your life upon this earth, so you will spend eternity here and just as you will experienced a radical transformation at Christ's return, so too the heavens and the earth will be transformed.

It might surprise you to know that creation is longing for the return of Christ. Paul said that creation is eager for the revealing of the sons of God (v19). In other words creation looks forward to our resurrection because when we are raised it will also be time for creation to be raised to life. The world and universe has unwillingly experienced the futility of sin (v20) but creation will one day be set free from sin and experience the same freedom that we are promised (v21). Indeed, Paul described creation as groaning as if in childbirth (v22) longing for the day of new birth.

We'll consider next time what the resurrection of creation will be like but as I write it is a searingly hot day in Ballynahinch and as I work in the garden I am beneath a blue cloudless sky with the sun's heat upon my neck and the song of birds all around me. One of my dogs is sleeping on the chair while my other one is sniffing about the grass. Daisies blanket my lawn and something like cotton is falling from a tree and gently floating in the breeze. I have not exaggerated. Creation is already amazing and will soon become even more so.

You and I will not spend eternity in an intermediate state, rather we will spend eternity in our final state - new resurrected bodies with different qualities and abilities living here on a resurrected and extraordinarily beautiful earth. Heaven is our home and Heaven will be here on earth.

Pray (acTS)

Sing

WSC

Q87 What is repentance unto life? Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience.

03/06/2026

3rd June 2026

Pray (ACts)

Read (1 Samuel 30 focus v7-8)

Message (Alan Burke)

I’ve likely said this before, but you know there are times that having a big neon sign in the sky to give me the answer or to tell me where to go would be helpful. Maybe that is just me who is faced with indecision, quandaries, or needing direction. Or maybe you’re one of those impulsive people that never need to think through what you’re going to do or the decisions that you make, and somehow you always seem to make the right one and land on your feet. I suspect though that even for those people who seem to be impulsive and land on their feet, there are times too that they are faced with indecision, quandaries, and needing direction. As we pick up today, David’s at a low point. He’s cried his eyes out along with his men. For when they returned home to Ziklag, they found that it had been raided, burned to the ground, and the women and all who were in it were taken. We know it was the Amalekites, but at this stage, David didn’t, and what made matters worse is that his men wanted to stone him.

David, in the midst of this situation, found his strength in the LORD. He found strength in the promises of the LORD, and while he might have wished for a big neon sign in the sky, not of course, he would have known what that was. He did have Abiathar the priest. He was the only survivor of the massacre at Nob at the hands of Saul, and he had brought the Ephod with the Urim and Thummim that were to discern the will of God. We don’t know exactly what they were, but using them, David is able to discern the will of God, which was that David was to pursue them, that he would overtake and succeed in the rescue.

Before we move on, we do not have an ephod with the Urim and Thummim. We might think that it would be quite handy; we’d never need to make any decisions again; we can just whip out the Urim and Thummim. We might want a neon sign in the sky, but the LORD has given us everything we need in his Word, and the Scriptures principally teach what we are to believe concerning God and what duty God requires of us. It is everything we need. We may want the Urim and Thummim, a neon sign, but for us, if we want to know the will of God in our lives, then it is to the Word of God that we must look to, and it means that we must know his Word; we must know our Bibles. And when we know it, in order to live in response to it, to trust in it. There are lots of people I’ve come across who have been paralysed by indecision in their lives; they look to God for his guidance like rubbing the Greenies lamp, but God has given us all the guidance we need. Instead of being paralysed by indecision, we should make decisions that are based on biblical principles.

The Lord gives us great freedom: who we marry, where we work, what job we do, where we live; he lays out principles that help us to live in accordance with his will. Yet the reason that we often struggle to do this, well, there are two reasons: the first is because we don’t want to; there is a cost to live in conformity with the Word of God; at times, it comes to a cost; the second is because we don’t know our Bibles. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (Jn 14:15). Do we love the LORD enough to keep his commandments, to follow his Word? For how we respond to the Word of God reveals whether we love him or not. If we hear the Word of God, if we know its truth, then we should be those who live in accordance with his Word. A neon sign might be a handy job, but think of the light pollution if there was one up there even just for me, and we may want the Urim and Thummim, but brother and sister, we have everything we need to know how to glorify God and enjoy him in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.

Pray (acTS)

Sing

WSC
Q84 What doth every sin deserve?�A. Every sin deserveth God’s wrath and curse, both in this life, and that which is to come.

02/06/2026

2nd June 2026

Pray (ACts)

Read (1 Corinthians 15v13-14)

Message (Scott Woodburn)

If a Christian dies before the return of Jesus then their souls will be made perfect and carried by the angels to Heavenly glory. But when Christ returns the separation of body and soul will end and you and I will be given new bodies. To some this sounds like fanciful nonsense but the Scriptures are clear in their teaching. Long before the resurrection of Jesus, the hope of such an event was evident in the hearts of God's people.

A man who could well have been Jesus (Daniel 10v5-6) told Daniel that "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." (Daniel 12v2). Additionally Job famously declared "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. " (Job 19v25-27).

Later, Paul would underscore the vital importance of the resurrection saying "But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain." (1 Corinthians 15v13-14). Do you see Paul's point? If the dead don't rise from the grave then Jesus didn't and we have believed a lie. Needless to say, we believe that Christ was raised and just like our Saviour one day we stand again upon the earth with brand new bodies which will never die.

But what will we be like? What age will we be? Will my belly be as big? Will I get my hair back? You might be surprised to hear that the Bible doesn't really answer these questions. But I think G.I. Williamson is helpful with his comment "The resurrection body will be the same in substance and identity but different in its qualities and powers."

So you and I will still be who we are. I'm not suddenly going to take on a new identity. Yet with that said I will be the best version of Scott Woodburn ever. I'll be me without all my sin, pettiness, immaturity and nonsense. I will be glorified and receive a resurrected flesh and blood body which will be mine forever. But Williamson was right when he told us that we will have different qualities and powers.

When Jesus was raised it was clear that something had changed. After speaking to the two men on the road to Emmaus He was able to immediately vanish from their sight (Luke 24v31) and when the Disciples found themselves afraid with the doors locked, Jesus was able to appear in their midst (John 20v19). In these small ways we see a little glimpse of how things will be different for us when we receive our resurrected bodies. I suspect the limits we have become accustomed to in this world will disappear.

The resurrection has long caused many to scoff but it is truth and we can eagerly look forward to the Lord's return. B.B. Warfield was right "It is only in almighty grace that a sinner can hope; for it is only almighty grace that can raise the dead."

Pray (acTS)

Sing

WSC

Q85 What doth God require of us, that we may escape his wrath and curse, due to us for sin? To escape the wrath and curse of God, due to us for sin, God requireth of us faith in Jesus Christ, repentance unto life, with the diligent use of all the outward means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption.

01/06/2026

1st June 2026

Pray (ACts)

Read (1 Samuel 30 focus v1-6)

Message (Alan Burke)

I’m going to give you a wee story. It is based on a true story, but I’ve changed some of the details so that you don’t start trying to troll the internet to find out who I’m talking about. There was a minister I came across a few years back who was a competent leader, a wise and loving pastor, and he was an excellent teacher. But circumstances, you could say, conspired against him. His life, in quite a short period of time, became a mess. His mother was killed in a road traffic accident; his father took it very badly and mentally couldn’t cope; his health deteriorated, and this minister had to become his father’s primary carer. His wife had a miscarriage not long after, and it all became too much for him. Initially, he went off on stress and later decided to resign and left the ministry, stopped going to worship, cut himself off from many people. The family was suffering, his father, his wife, and children, and him. A number of years later, I heard the news that he was back preaching. He moved to a new area; the local minister called every week. For the first number of months, he was turned away but persisted, and through time, he found strength in the LORD and is now back as a minister of a congregation. Praise the LORD.

We focus on David once more, and he’s just been sent away by the Philistine Commanders. He is returning to Ziklag, unbeknownst to him. While he was away with his men, the Amalkites have come. They have plundered Ziklag and burnt it to the ground. David had gone from one crisis to another within days. Yet the LORD continued to be at work. David here hits his own crisis point. David had been in a lot of ways acting no differently than Saul; he’d lied and deceived; he acted sinfully in what had unfolded. He and his men have been away a while from their families; they are tired and dejected. But you can imagine the closer they are getting to home, the more they are thinking about their wives, families, getting to see their faces again, getting into their own beds, and then when they arrive, Ziklag has been burned; all who were there have been taken off in slavery, all their wives, sons, and daughters. In that moment, their lives reached a new low. In that moment, his life was at rock bottom, his heart is grieving, he has wept until he had no strength left to weep.

Things were about to get worse as his men turned on him, wanting to stone him. They were filled with bitterness because they had lost everything. David’s men had lost everything. Their loved ones had been taken. They had been taken into slavery. The anger and emotion of his men was beginning to boil over. David is the scapegoat. But in this, we see David, found strength in the LORD. How did he find strength here in the midst of losing everything, his men wanting to stone him? It was that David recalled to his mind all the wonderful promises of God that he had been given, and the ultimate victory he knew would be the LORD’s. In his time of crisis, he looked to the LORD and his word and found strength. Brother and sister, I don’t know what you’re facing. I don’t know if you’re going through the darkest valley, if you have lost all the colour in life and it is only darkness and you’re simply putting on a face, or you’re struggling with assurance of God’s love, of his presence, or something else. I know though, that whatever it is, what you need is like David, is to recall the wonderful promise of God, to be strengthened by his word.

The LORD doesn’t promise us come to faith in Jesus and your life will be rosy, you’ll be spared from pain, heartbreak, everything will be alright, no, while some false teachers will promise that to you if you trust in Jesus in this life we will still experience much sorrow, for we live under the curse, but we look to a day that that curse will be no more through the hope we have in Jesus the Christ (Rev 22:3). Even when we face times of crisis, we can know that the LORD is sovereignly at work, that he will have the ultimate victory.

Pray (acTS)

Sing

WSC
Q82 Is any man able perfectly to keep the commandments of God?�A. No mere man since the fall is able in this life perfectly to keep the commandments of God, but doth daily break them in thought, word, and deed.

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The Square, William Street
Crossgar
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6:30pm - 7:30pm

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