PODCAST · religion
First Ards Presbyterian Church Sermoncast
by First Ards Presbyterian Church
Sermons and other occasional content from First Newtownards Presbyterian Church.
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141
Sunday 10th May 2026 // Evening // Jeremiah 29:4-7 // Seeking Shalom
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Jeremiah 29:4-7 at evening prayer, praise and communion on Sunday 20th May 2026 in First Ards. In Jeremiah 29, God tells his exiled people to seek the peace of the place where he has put them. As we come to the Lord’s Table, we’re reminded that Christ has sought our good at the cost of his own body and blood. Receiving his mercy, we’re sent back into our community with open hands: to pray, serve, love our neighbours and bear witness to the Saviour who brings sinners home.
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140
Sunday 10th May 2026 // Morning // Luke 10:25-37 // The Parable of the Good Samaritan
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 10:25-37 at morning worship on Sunday 10th May 2026 in First Ards. Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan in response to a lawyer who wants to justify himself. The story exposes how easily we define mercy narrowly, see need and pass by. But it also points us to Christ, who didn’t pass us by, but came near in mercy, bore our sin and saved us by grace. Having received that mercy from him, we’re called to become merciful neighbours to others.
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139
Sunday 3rd May 2026 // Evening // 2 Samuel 15 // Absalom’s Conspiracy
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches 2 Samuel 25 at evening worship on Sunday 3rd May 2026 in First Ards. Absalom steals the hearts of Israel and David is forced to flee Jerusalem. The chapter shows the bitter public fallout of David’s earlier sin, but also a chastened king beginning to trust God again. David refuses to use the ark as a tool for control, entrusts himself to the Lord and prays as he leaves in shame. Yet David’s sorrow points beyond himself to Jesus, the true Son of David, who crossed the Kidron and went out in shame, not for his own sin, but to save his people.
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138
Sunday 3rd May 2026 // Morning // Luke 10:21-24 // The Return of the Seventy-Two
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 10:21-24 at morning worship on Sunday 3rd May 2026 in First Ards. Luke 10:21–24 takes us behind the scenes of mission and shows us heaven’s view. The 72 return rejoicing, but Jesus redirects their joy from usefulness to grace, their names are written in heaven. Then Jesus rejoices in the Spirit that the Father reveals his kingdom not to the proud and self-sufficient, but to “little children” who receive it humbly. At the centre stands the Son, who alone reveals the Father. As Jesus travels towards Jerusalem, we’re reminded that salvation is God’s joyful work from beginning to end and our deepest joy is simply to know him.
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137
Sunday 26th April 2026 // Evening // 2 Samuel 14 // Absalom’s Return
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches 2 Samuel 14 at evening worship on Sunday 26th April 2026 in First Ards. 2 Samuel 14 shows Absalom brought home from exile, but not truly restored. Joab’s scheme moves David to act, but the deeper wounds remain untouched. Absalom returns to Jerusalem without repentance, Tamar remains forgotten and David offers a shallow peace that can’t heal his broken house. The chapter leaves us longing for a better King. In Christ, God truly devises a way for the banished to come home, not by ignoring sin, but by dealing with it at the cross, so that sinners may be forgiven, welcomed and restored.
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136
Sunday 26th April 2026 // Morning // Luke 10:1-20 // The Mission of the Seventy-Two
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 10:1-20 at morning worship on Sunday 26th April 2026 in First Ards. “The God of mission has a church”! As Jesus sets his face towards Jerusalem, he sends the seventy-two ahead of him to proclaim that the kingdom of God has come near. They go in dependence, prayer and weakness, like lambs among wolves, carrying Christ’s message and authority. Some welcome them, others reject them and Jesus warns that rejecting his messengers means rejecting him. When they return rejoicing in what they’ve seen, Jesus redirects their joy: not in usefulness or success, but in belonging to him.
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135
Sunday 19th April 2026 // Evening // 2 Samuel 13:23-39 // Absalom’s Revenge
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches 2 Samuel 13:23-39 at evening worship on Sunday 19th April 2026 in First Ards. Two years after Tamar’s violation, Absalom’s silence gives way to carefully planned revenge and Amnon is killed. David grieves, but once again his house is marked by passivity, confusion and unresolved sorrow. The chapter shows that time alone doesn’t heal what sin has broken and that vengeance can’t produce the justice that silence refused to pursue. David’s household is unraveling exactly as Nathan said it would. The passage leaves us longing for a better King than David, one who judges rightly without sin and brings true peace.
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134
Sunday 19th April 2026 // Morning // Luke 9:49-62 // Discipleship
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 9:49-62 at morning worship on Sunday 19th April 2026 in First Ards. Jesus “resolutely set out for Jerusalem” and everything is now shaped by that road. The passage shows how unlike him the disciples still are: narrow where he’s generous, harsh where he’s merciful and hesitant where he’s resolute. Jesus corrects their instincts about who belongs, how to respond to rejection and what discipleship really costs. Following him can’t be done on our terms or at our convenience. The passage calls us to stop trying to reshape the road and instead trust and follow the Christ who set his face towards the cross for us.
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133
Sunday 12th April 2026 // Evening // 2 Samuel 12:1-22 // Amnon and Tamar
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches 2 Samuel 12:1-22 at evening worship on Sunday 12th April in First Ards. 2 Samuel 13 shows the sword entering David’s house just as Nathan had warned. Amnon’s desire for Tamar becomes violence, Jonadab’s cleverness becomes complicity, Absalom’s care is mixed with silence and David’s anger never turns into action. Tamar stands at the centre of the chapter as the one who sees clearly, speaks truthfully and is then left desolate. This passage is hard, but it drives us beyond David’s broken household to the true Son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ, whose kingdom is marked by righteousness, justice and grace. Note: This sermon includes adult themes, including sexual abuse. Please use discernment if listening with children and please take care if this subject matter is difficult for you.
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132
Sunday 12th April 2026 // Morning // Luke 9:37-48 // Greatness
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Like 9:37-48 at morning worship on Sunday 12th A 2026 in First Ards. Coming down from the mount of Transfiguration, Jesus meets a scene of confusion, suffering and failure: a desperate father, a tormented boy, disciples who can’t help and followers who still don’t understand the cross. This sermon shows how the glory of Christ is seen not just on the mountain but in the valley, where he rebukes evil, restores the boy and keeps walking towards Jerusalem. It also shows how far the disciples still have to go and how Jesus redefines greatness, not as status or importance, but as humble, cross-shaped service.
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131
Easter Sunday 5th April 2026 // Morning // 1 Corinthians 15:17-22// Jesus is Alive… So What?
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Matthew 28:1-10 and 1 Corinthians 15:17-22 at morning worship on Easter Sunday 5th April 2026 in First Ards. Jesus’ resurrection isn’t some nice ending to the gospel story. It’s the decisive event on which the whole Christian faith stands or falls. From Matthew’s empty tomb and Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 15, this sermon shows that because Christ has indeed been raised, faith in him is not futile, sins really can be forgiven, those who have died in Christ aren’t lost and all who belong to him will be made alive. Easter means that the risen Jesus can be trusted completely and that all who are in him have a living, certain hope.
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130
Palm Sunday 29th March 2026 // Evening // 2 Samuel 12:15-31 // The Consequences of Sin
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches 2 Samuel 12:15-31 at evening worship on Sunday 29th March 2026 in First Ards. This passage shows what forgiven life looks like when sorrow remains. Though David’s sin is truly taken away, its consequences continue, yet he responds not by withdrawing from God but by pleading, then bowing and worshipping when the Lord’s will is clear. In time, grace brings not only comfort but restoration, as David is returned to the path of obedience. The chapter holds together pardon, discipline and promise, pointing beyond David to the greater Son through whom mercy and justice finally meet.
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Palm Sunday 29th March 2026 // Morning // Mark 11:1-11 // The King in Control
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Mark 11:1-11 at our Palm Sunday all age family service worship on Sunday 29th March 2026 in First Ards. On Palm Sunday, we see that Jesus is completely in control. Nothing takes him by surprise, not even the cross that lies ahead. He goes to Jerusalem deliberately, knowing he’ll suffer and die, because he came to save sinners. The cross isn’t an accident but God’s plan and through it Jesus makes forgiveness and restoration possible. The question for us is how we will respond: will we simply be near Jesus like the crowd; or will we trust him as our Saviour and welcome him as our King?
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Sunday 22nd March 2026 // Evening // 2 Samuel 12:1-14 // You are the Man!
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches 2 Samuel 12:1-14 at evening worship on Sunday 22nd March 2026 in First Ards. The Lord refuses to leave David hidden in his sin. Nathan’s parable draws David into condemning the rich man, only for the prophet to turn and say, “You are the man.” We trace the movement from exposure to confession to mercy. David is brought to say, “I have sinned against the Lord” and immediately hears the astonishing word, “The Lord has taken away your sin.” It’s a sobering passage about the seriousness of sin, the reality of God’s discipline and the wonder of grace that points us beyond David to David’s greater Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Sunday 22nd March 2026 // Morning // James 3:13-18 // Walking in Wisdom
Rev. Riaan Boer preaches James 3:13-18 at morning worship on Sunday 22nd March 2026 in First Ards. Far from being just knowledge or spiritual appearance, biblical wisdom is revealed in a life shaped by humility, purity and peace. Contrasting earthly wisdom with the wisdom that comes from above, we see that genuine faith is demonstrated in everyday conduct, especially in how we treat others. The call is to examine our hearts, to turn from self-centred living and to seek from God the wisdom he generously gives, wisdom that leads to a life of righteousness, mercy and Christlike character.
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126
Sunday 15th March 2026 // Morning // Luke 9:28-36 // The Transfiguration
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 9:28-36 at morning worship on Sunday 15th March 2026 in First Ards. The transfiguration gives a glimpse of Jesus’ glory before the road turns fully towards the cross. On the mountain, as Jesus prays, Peter, James and John see his glory, Moses and Elijah appear and the Father’s voice declares, “This is my Son… listen to him.” The sermon shows that the Transfiguration isn’t a detour from the cross but a confirmation of who Jesus is and where he is going. Before the disciples see his suffering, they’re shown his glory, so that they will learn to trust him, hear him and follow him on the road to Jerusalem.
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125
Sunday 8th March 2026 // Evening // 2 Samuel 11:1-27 // The King who Took what wasn’t His
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches 2 Samuel 11 at evening worship on Sunday 8th March 2026 in First Ards. As we come back to our series on the Life of David, this chapter marks a dark turning point in his story. While his army fights, David remains in Jerusalem and begins a chain of sin that moves from lust to abuse of power, deceit and ultimately murder. The chapter shows how hidden sin grows, how quickly conscience hardens and how even the best of men can’t bear the hopes of God’s people. David is exposed and the contrast with Christ becomes clear, where David took and ruined, Jesus gives and saves. The sermon ends by urging us not to cover sin, but to bring it into the light before the true and better King.
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Sunday 8th March 2026 // Morning // Luke 9:18-27 // Peter’s Confession and Our Cross
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 9:18-27 at morning worship on Sunday 8th March 2026 in First Ards. Jesus asks the question that has been building through Luke, “Who do you say I am?” When Peter answers, “The Christ of God,” Jesus immediately reshapes what that means, explaining that the Messiah must suffer, be rejected, be killed and rise again. The cross, not worldly triumph, stands at the centre of his mission. Jesus then turns the truth toward his followers: anyone who comes after him must deny themselves, take up their cross daily and follow. The passage confronts us with the same choice the disciples faced, moving beyond curiosity or admiration to confess Christ and follow the King on the road that leads through the cross to glory.
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Sunday 1st March 2026 // Morning // Luke 9:10-17 // The Feeding of the Five Thousand
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 9:10-17 at morning worship on Sunday 1st March 2026 in First Ards. Jesus withdraws with the apostles after their mission, but when the crowds arrive he welcomes them, teaches about God’s kingdom and meets their needs. As the day ends and the disciples see only limitation, Jesus challenges them to trust him with what little they have, taking five loaves and two fish and feeding the crowd until everyone is satisfied. The passage shows a King who is never inconvenienced by need and who supplies abundantly through his servants, reminding us that ministry flows from Christ’s sufficiency rather than our resources.
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122
Sunday 22nd February 2026 // Evening // Ephesians 1:11-14 // The Doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Ephesians 1:11-14 at evening worship on Sunday 22nd February 2026 in First Ards. We close our series considering the Doctrines of Grace journey answering a deeply personal question: is grace able to carry us all the way home? In Ephesians 1:11–14 Paul points us first to God’s unshakeable purpose “in Christ”, then to Christ’s own promise to lose none of those the Father gives him (John 6) and finally to the Spirit who seals believers and guarantees their inheritance “until” the day of redemption. Perseverance, then, is less about the strength of our grip and more about the strength of God’s, the Father’s planning, the Son’s securing and the Spirit’s guaranteeing. The result is humble assurance for the anxious, a call to keep coming to Christ and hopeful prayer for wandering loved ones.
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121
Sunday 22nd February 2026 // Morning // Luke 9:1-9 // The Sending of the Twelve
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 9:1-9 at morning worship on Sunday 22nd February 2026 in First Ards. Jesus sends the Twelve with his own authority to preach the kingdom and heal, showing that mission begins with Christ’s call, not human strength or strategy. They go in dependence, trusting the King to provide, knowing some will welcome the message and others will reject it. As the news spreads, even Herod is unsettled, asking the same question that’s echoed through Luke, “Who is this?” The passage highlights the difference between curiosity and faith and points forward to Jesus himself, the King who sends others and then sets his face toward Jerusalem, where his authority will be revealed most fully at the cross and resurrection.
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120
Sunday 15th February 2026 // Evening // 2 Corinthians 10:1-6 // The Power of the Church
Rev. Craig Jackson (minister, Ballygilbert Presbyterian Church) preaches 2 Corinthians 10:1-6 at evening worship on Sunday 15th February 2026 in First Ards.
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Sunday 15th February 2026 // Morning // 2 Timothy 3:10-4:8 // Beginning and Ending Well
Rev. Nigel Craig (chaplain of Queens University Belfast, Union Theological College and Stranmillis University College) preaches 2 Timothy 3:10-4:8 at morning worship on Sunday 15th February 2026 in First Ards.
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118
Sunday 8th February 2026 // Evening // Ephesians 2:8-10 // The Doctrine of Irresistible Grace
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Ephesians 2:8-10 at evening worship on Sunday 8th February 2026 in First Ards. This sermon in our Doctrines of Grace series explores how anyone comes to faith at all. Salvation is by grace, received through faith and even that faith is God’s gift, leaving no room for pride. God doesn’t just invite from a distance. By his Spirit he works within, making unwilling hearts willing and drawing people freely to Christ. This helps us see our own conversion more clearly, pray for others more hopefully and rest more confidently in the fact that our faith began not with us, but with God’s amazing grace.
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Sunday 8th February 2026 // Morning // Hebrews 4:14-16 // Our Great High Priest
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Hebrews 4:14-16 at morning worship on Sunday 8th February 2026 in First Ards. This epilogue on Hebrews 4:14–16 at the conclusion of our Prayer Weekend reminds us that prayer rests on what we already have, Jesus, our great high priest. Because he stands in God’s presence for us and understands our weakness, we approach a throne of grace with confidence, not hesitation. Prayer becomes a repeated drawing near for mercy, grace and help in every need, grounded not in our words but in Christ’s finished work.
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116
Sunday 1st February 2026 // Morning // Luke 8:40-56 // Two Daughters
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 8:40-56 at morning worship on Sunday 1st February 2026 in First Ards. Jairus pleads with Jesus for his dying daughter while, on the way, a woman who has suffered for twelve years quietly reaches out in faith and is gently brought from hidden shame into public peace as Jesus calls her “daughter.” As news arrives that the child has died, fear declares the situation finished, but Jesus calls Jairus to trust his word instead and, in a silent room, he takes the girl by the hand and restores her to life. Together these two scenes show that Christ’s voice is stronger than fear, stronger than shame and even stronger than death itself.
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115
Sunday 25th January 2026 // Morning // Luke 8:26-39 // Legion
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 8:26-39 at morning worship on Sunday 25th January 2026 in First Ards. Jesus steps ashore and meets a man utterly ruined by demonic power and, with a word, restores him to dignity, sanity and peace, showing that even a “legion” is subject to his authority. Yet, while the healed man longs to stay with Jesus, the townspeople, unsettled by his holy presence, ask him to leave and Jesus instead sends the restored man home to tell what God has done. This leaves us with the question of whether we will push Jesus away when he comes close or come to him for mercy and then speak of his grace where we are.
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114
Sunday 18th January 2026 // Evening // Ephesians 1:3-6 // The Doctrine of Definite Atonement
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Ephesians 1:7-10 at evening worship on Sunday 18th January 2026 in First Ards. Paul traces the work of salvation from God’s eternal purpose to Christ’s finished work, showing that the cross wasn’t a vague offer but a decisive achievement. In Christ, redemption has been secured through his blood and sins have been forgiven, not potentially but actually, according to the lavish riches of God’s grace. The cross stands at the heart of God’s wise and loving plan to gather his people and ultimately bring all things under Christ’s rule, producing believers with settled consciences, grateful obedience and a humility shaped by a salvation fully accomplished outside of themselves.
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113
Sunday 18th January 2026 // Morning // Luke 8:22-25 // The Calming of the Storm
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Like 8:22-25 at morning worship on Sunday 18th January 2026 in First Ards. Jesus leads his disciples into a boat and straight into a violent storm, revealing that obedience to his word doesn’t guarantee calm circumstances. As fear takes hold, the disciples interpret reality through the danger they feel rather than the promise they’ve heard, until Jesus silences the wind and waves with a word. The calm exposes not only his authority over creation but the deeper question of who he truly is. The passage shows how storms uncover what governs our trust and how Jesus uses both danger and deliverance to train his followers to listen to his word above every other voice.
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Sunday 11th January 2026 // Evening // Ephesians 1:3-6 // The Doctrine of Unconditional Election
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Ephesians 1:3-6 at evening worship on Sunday 11th January 2026 in First Ards. Paul traces our salvation back beyond our decisions or responses to God’s gracious purpose before the world was made, showing from Ephesians 1 that grace begins not with us but with God’s loving choice in Christ. Before we existed or did anything good or bad, God chose a people in his Son, not because he saw something worthy in them, but out of sheer love, with the aim of adopting them into his family and shaping them to be holy in his sight. Election, far from being cold or abstract, is presented as deeply personal and relational, rooted in the Father’s love, centred on Christ and designed to end in worship. This truth strips away pride, grounds assurance, fuels holiness and prayer and leads the church to say with joy and humility, “Not to us, O Lord, but to your name be the glory,” as all praise belongs to God’s glorious grace alone.
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Sunday 11th January 2026 // Morning // Luke 8:16-21 // The Parable of the Lamp
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 8:16-21 at morning worship on Sunday 11th January 2026 in First Ards. Jesus presses home that hearing God’s word is never neutral. When it’s truly received, it brings light that shows itself in changed lives. Using the picture of a lamp, he warns against a comfortable, hidden faith that listens without obeying, and urges us to consider carefully how we listen, because careless hearing dulls us while responsive hearing deepens us. He then makes it clear that real belonging to him isn’t about proximity, background, or familiarity, but about hearing God’s word and beginning to put it into practice, however imperfectly or dependently and by grace, so that those who listen and follow are shown to be part of his family.
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110
Sunday 4th January 2026 // Evening // Ephesians 2:1-5 // The Doctrine of Total Depravity
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Ephesians 2:1-5 at evening worship on Sunday 4th January 2026 in First Ards. The opening of a new evening series on the doctrines of grace, beginning with the Bible’s honest diagnosis of the human condition and why grace is necessary at all. Drawing on Psalm 51, Genesis 6 and Ephesians 2, it sets out the doctrine of total depravity, that sin reaches every part of us leaving us unable to save ourselves and highlights the wonder of God’s intervention in mercy, making the spiritually dead alive through Christ.
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Sunday 4th January 2026 // Morning // Luke 8:1-15 // The Parable of the Sower
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 8:1-15 at morning worship on Sunday 4th January 2026 in First Ards. Jesus explains why the same word produces such different responses by telling a simple story about seed and soil, showing that the issue isn’t whether God speaks, but how his word is heard. The parable exposes hard, shallow and crowded hearts, while holding out the hope that through grace, perseverance and the work of Christ by his Spirit, God can make ordinary lives genuinely fruitful.
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Sunday 28th December 2025 // Morning // Luke 9:57-62 // The Cost of Following Jesus
Rev. John Mullan (minister, Greenwell Street Presbyterian Church) preaches Luke 9:57-62 at morning worship on Sunday 28th December 2025 in First Ards.
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Christmas Day 2025 // Morning // Luke 2:8-20 // The Real Christmas Gift
Rev. Craig Lynn speaks on Luke 2:8-20 at the Christmas Morning service 2025 in First Ards. Christmas is God’s gift to ordinary people, announced not as advice but as good news that a Saviour has been born for us. Through the shepherds’ story, the focus is on receiving what God freely gives, Jesus Christ, the Son given, who comes to rescue, not because we’ve earned him, but because we need him.
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Christmas Eve 2025 // Evening // Luke 2:1-7 // No Room in the Inn?
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 2:1-7 at the Christmas Eve midnight service 2025 in First Ards. Jesus is born into a crowded world where the expected place is already full and from the very beginning his life is marked by humility rather than status. The familiar line that there was “no room for them in the inn” reveals not hostility but ordinary fullness, showing how God comes quietly into the margins and how Christ makes room for us even when there was no room for him.
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105
Sunday 21st December 2025 // Evening // Carols by Candlelight // O Come All You Unfaithful
Rev. Craig Lynn shares a short epilogue at our Carols by Candlelight on Sunday 21st December 2025 in First Ards. Who is Christmas really for? Drawing on the familiar carols and the opening words of John’s Gospel, it reminds us that Jesus didn’t come for the strong, sorted or self-sufficient, but for the weak, weary and unfaithful, stepping right into our darkness so we might become God’s children. It gently invites each of us to respond, not with performance or pretence, but by simply receiving him.
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104
Sunday 21st December 2025 // Morning // Characters Around the Cradle
Rev. Craig Lynn shares a short concluding epilogue after having heard from some Character Around the Cradle at morning worship on Sunday 21st December 2025 in First Ards. As those who were there responded to Jesus’ birth in different ways, so we’re invited to respond, not just with tradition, but with trust. Whether it’s commitment like Joseph, fear like Herod, worship like the wise men or wonder like the shepherds, the question is, how will you respond to the Christ who came, who died, who rose and who still calls us today? Will it be yes, like Mary?
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103
Sunday 14th December 2025 // Evening // Genesis 35 & 36 // The Return to Bethel
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Genesis 35 and 36 at evening worship on Sunday 14th December 2025 in First Ards. As Jacob’s long story draws to a close, God speaks into the mess of chapter 34 and calls him back to Bethel, a return not just to a place, but to the promises of God. This chapter is full of grace: idols are buried, worship is renewed, old names are reaffirmed and, even in the midst of deep sorrow and lingering sin, God’s covenant purposes hold firm. The line of promise might not look impressive next to Esau’s kings, but it’s through Jacob’s flawed family that the King of grace will one day come.
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102
Sunday 7th December 2025 // Morning // Luke 7:36-50 // Love that Flows from Forgiveness
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 7:36-50 at morning worship on Sunday 7th 2025 in First Ards. At a dinner in a Pharisee’s home, a woman with a sinful past breaks into the room and pours out tearful, costly love at Jesus’ feet, an act that exposes both her need and Simon’s blindness to his own. Jesus tells a simple story that reveals the truth: forgiven people love much and those who think they need little forgiveness love little. In the end, the woman receives assurance and peace and Simon is left to face the question that rests on every heart at the table: how will we see our sin and how will we respond to the Saviour who freely forgives?
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Sunday 30th November 2025 // Evening // Genesis 34 // The Folly of Revenge
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Genesis 34 at evening worship on Sunday 30th November 2025 in First Ards. Genesis 34 shows the fallout of Jacob stopping short of obedience. Dinah is grievously wronged, her brothers answer sin with deceit and bloodshed, Jacob retreats into fear and the whole disaster exposes what happens when God’s people live in compromise instead of at Bethel. It’s a dark chapter, but it drives us to the God who steps back in at the start of chapter 35, the righteous Judge who will put every wrong right and the gentle Shepherd who gathers the wounded and the wandering back under His care. Note: This sermon includes adult themes, including sexual abuse. Please use discernment if listening with children and please take care if this subject matter is difficult for you.
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Sunday 30th November 2025 // Morning // Luke 7:18-35 // The Offence and Wonder of Jesus
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 7:18-35 at morning worship on Sunday 30th November 2025 in First Ards. John the Baptist, once so sure about Jesus, sits in prison confused and asks a question we all recognise “Are you really the One?” Jesus answers with evidence, broken lives healed, good news preached, and gently says, “Blessed is the one who isn’t tripped up by me.” Then he turns to the crowd, honours John, and exposes the heart that’s determined to resist no matter what tune God plays. Luke leaves us with a simple choice: either bring your honest doubts to Jesus, or fold your arms and refuse Him. Only one of those paths leads to life.
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Sunday 23rd November 2025 // Evening // Genesis 33 // Grace Greater than Our Sin
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Genesis 33 at evening worship on Sunday 23rd November 2025 in First Ards. Jacob limps into a new day after wrestling with God and Genesis 33 shows what grace looks like when it’s lived out in real relationships. The brother he feared meets him with unexpected mercy, Jacob responds with humility and yet the old instincts still surface, a reminder that God’s work in us is real but often uneven. Even so, the chapter ends with Jacob safe in the land because God keeps His promises, holding His people steady as they learn to walk in His grace.
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Sunday 23rd November 2025 // Morning // Luke 7:11-17 // The Compassion of Christ
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Like 7:11-17 at morning worship on Sunday 23rd November in First Ards. Jesus walks into a tiny nowhere town and straight into a funeral, a widow burying her only son, her last bit of security and hope. He sees her, feels deep compassion, stops the whole procession with a touch and, with a word, brings her son back to life. Jesus isn’t just moved by our tears, He has authority even over death itself and the only sane response is not to admire Him from a distance, but to trust Him as the Lord of life who will one day speak our names too.
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Sunday 16th November 2025 // Evening // Genesis 32 // Strength Made Perfect in Weakness
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Genesis 21 at evening worship on Sunday 16th November 2025 in First Ards. Jacob’s story is as messy as ever, running from Laban, dreading Esau and realising his biggest problem isn’t his brother at all, it’s himself. Before any reunion can happen, God meets him alone in the dark, wrestles him to the ground and blesses him with a limp. It’s a chapter that shows us how God sometimes breaks our strength to rebuild our trust and how real change often starts where our self-reliance finally gives way to grace.
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Sunday 9th November 2025 // Evening // Joshua 3 // Moderator’s Rally
Rt. Rev. Dr. Trevor Gribben, moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, preaches Joshua 3 at the Moderator’s Rally on Sunday 9th November 2025 in Movilla Presbyterian Church. As Israel prepares to cross the Jordan, God gives them four simple, life-shaping instructions: look to the Lord and follow Him, because that’s how you’ll know the way; consecrate yourselves, because God is about to do amazing things; listen to His words, because His voice leads with power and purpose; and trust that the Lord of all the earth goes ahead of you.
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Sunday 9th November 2025 // Morning // Luke 7:1-10 // Amazing Faith
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 7:1-10 at morning worship on Sunday 9th November 2025 in First Ards. After the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus walks straight into Capernaum and into the need of a Roman soldier whose servant is dying. The centurion knows power, but he also knows his limits and he humbly asks Jesus to heal with just a word. Others say he deserves it; he insists he doesn’t. Yet his trust in Jesus’ authority moves the Lord Himself to amazement. Here’s a glimpse of the kind of faith that makes Jesus smile: not proud achievement, but humble confidence that His word is enough.
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Sunday 2nd November 2025 // Morning // Psalm 139:1-12 // You Can't Hide from God
Very Rev. Dr. Roy Patton preaches Psalm 139:1-12 at morning worship on Sunday 2nd November 2025 in First Ards.
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Sunday 26th October 2025 // Evening // Genesis 31 // The God who Delivers
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Genesis 31 at evening worship on Sunday 26th October 2025 in First Ards. Jacob finally heads home, but not because the circumstances are easy, they’re actually falling apart around him. Laban’s family turns against him, idols get smuggled out under a saddle and a furious chase follows through the hills. Yet in every moment, God is quietly at work guiding Jacob forward, restraining harm, exposing false gods and defending a man who’s tried to live with integrity. This chapter reminds us that when God says “Go,” He also says, “I will be with you” and that promise is enough.
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Sunday 26th October 2025 // Morning // Luke 6:46-49 // The Only Sure Foundation
Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 6:46-49 at morning worship on Sunday 26th October 2025 in First Ards. Jesus ends His Sermon on the Plain with a simple but searching question: why call Him “Lord” and then ignore His words? He says real disciples don’t just enjoy the sound of His teaching, they put it into practice. Like a wise builder who digs down to the rock, obedience gives our lives depth and stability when the storms come.
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Sermons and other occasional content from First Newtownards Presbyterian Church.
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