The Semper Reformata Podcast

This week’s ‘TableTalk’ is very different.  In this study I am going to look at a subject which can be upsetting, if not downright alarming. It is not suitable for children, or those who are nervous, for it will evoke images of the lost dead.  We shall ask firstly, is there a difference between the resurrection body of the lost, and the resurrection body of the saved, and secondly, will there be a difference between my present body and my future, resurrection body?  When we search the scriptures, we are confronted with two marked contrasts...    Get the STUDY GUIDE / NOTES HERE

This episode covers Peden's arrest and imprisonment on the Bass Rock, and how  his subsequent deportation into slavery in America is thwarted by God's providence

The Lord’s Prayer – Overview Text. Matthew 6:9 Heidelberg Catechism: Lord’s Day 45C2 – Q119 The catechist has introduced us to the Lord’s Prayer, which is the model prayer for all our prayers.  So in this episode, we move on to look at the model prayer itself, and before we examine the petitions in the prayer,  make a few important general observations about it.  To Read the NOTES CLICK HERE

Sermon recorded live at Ballymacashon Church on Sunday 10th January, 2021.  Acts 16:25 “What must I do to be saved?” is quoted in thousands of evangelistic sermons. The prison officer’s question has been written in the minds of thousands of people, and I’ve no doubt has been instrumental in awakening people to their need of salvation. So, it is our responsibility to read the passage, in context, and with a correct understanding of the work of God in salvation and the correct response of men and women to that work of God. Live recording - so the sound quality is a little 'echoey. Read the notes HERE

A recorded Bible Study, similar to those given at 'TableTalk' @ Ballymacashon Church.   How many resurrections will there be, and when?  And how will God raise from the dead those whose bodies have been cremated? To read the notes, CLICK THIS LINK

It’s the ‘Killing Times.’  That period in Scotland’s history between the Great Ejectment of the Minsters in 1662 and the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of William of Orange, which began in 1688. It was a bloodthirsty time, as the troops and soldiers loyal to the King, King Charles II tried with violence and execution to quell the passion of the Scottish Covenanters, those presbyterians who rejected Anglicanism and prayer-book style worship, and the governance of the church by Bishops and Archbishops. Presbyterians who believed that Christ alone is the head of his church, and that no earthly king has the right to consider himself in any position of authority in Christ’s kingdom on earth. Many Presbyterian pastors resisted the encroachment of the king's writ over the church, among them Sandy Peden, 'Puir Auld Sandy...'

An address given in 2017 at Templepatrick Reformed Church, asking what Martin Luther would think of modern evangelicalism, and looking at some of the key differences between Luther's thought and modern church doctrines and practices.   Click HERE to read the Study Guide 

Catechism Class Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day 45C, Q118-119 Q.118  What has God commanded us to ask of him? A. All the things we need for body and soul,  as included in the prayer which Christ our Lord himself taught us. Q.119 What is the Lord's prayer? A. Our Father in heaven,  hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one, for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.  Find the notes here.

Martin Luther and the Papal Indulgence. In 1517 Martin Luther posted his 95 theses against Indulgences, and so began the Protestant Reformation.  In this lecture, given in 2017 at Templepatrick Reformed Church, Bob McEvoy will outline the eternal dangers that Luther saw in the indulgence.  Based on Romans 5:8-9 Read the Notes for this episode here:

It’s Scotland, and it’s 1662, the year of ‘the Great Ejectment.’ King Charles II was tightening his grip on the church by controlling its clergy, using the chain of authority through archbishops and bishops, and loyal land owning patrons who were influential in clergy appointments. But around one third of ministers left or were forced to leave rather than accept the dictates of the so-called Patronage Act.  They were excluded from their pulpits, to be replaced in most parishes by Episcopalian curates. Among those ejected was the minister of New Luce, in Galloway, Rev Alexander Peden, dubbed by history as ‘The Prophet of the Covenant.’ Peden, only three years in his charge, would never return to a regular pulpit, but his ministry was far from over, as we shall learn in this new series of podcast episodes - coming soon on The Semper Reformata Podcast. Peden took to the fields and the roads, he lived in caves and sheds, he ate berries and whatever he could glean from farmers and supporters. He preached in the open air and administered the sacraments in barns and at conventicles; he was hunted and condemned by the government, exiled, imprisoned, and he still kept on preaching and witnessing for Christ, and preaching the gospel. This will be the story of Rev Alexander Peden, - Puir Auld Sandy.

How should we pray?  What should our prayers consist of?  Learn from the Heidelberg Catechism, Q117 Q.117, What belongs to a prayer which pleases God and is heard by him? A. First, we must from the heart call upon the one true God only, who has revealed himself in his Word, for all that he has commanded us to pray.  Second, we must thoroughly know our need and misery, so that we may humble ourselves before God.  Third, we must rest on this firm foundation that, although we do not deserve it, God will certainly hear our prayer for the sake of Christ our Lord, as he has promised us in his Word. Read the notes: https://saltyscrivener.uk/2020/12/31/catechism-class-lords-day-45b-q117/ Music: "In Another Time" by Exacttrax

Peaching. Who wants to sit and listen to a sermon in this day and age? We have so many modern, excellent methods of communication nowadays. Our minds are bombarded with moving images from the time we can can sit up in our prams. We have electronic communications, visual aids, modern psychologically efficient teaching methods, reaching the learning styles of the individual student … Is it any wonder that some modern Christians find a 35 minute monologue from a pulpit a bit off-putting! Yet preaching is God’s ordained method for reaching sinners, and bringing them to faith in Christ. In this podcast, we will learn a little bit about preaching from Paul the Apostle. The teaching in this Podcast is based on 1 Corinthians ch 2, verse 3.  Thank you for listening. Lease visit the Semper-Reformata website, SaltyScrivener.uk.Just click the link. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a five star rating on whatever podcast platform you are using, this helps others to find the podcast too.

How to Cope With the Darkness of 2020 This edition of the Semper Reformata Podcast by Bob McEvoy features a sermon from Ballymacashon, preached on the last Sunday of 2020, exhorting the congregation to see that despite all the darkness of 2020, we can still trust and hope in the Lord for our comfort and salvation.   Scriptures used: Psalm 42 and John 1:10-13 To read the Study Guide notes, go to https://saltyscrivener.uk/2020/12/26/2020-hindsight/

Table-Talk from Ballymacashon With talk of a new 'Covid Passport' being mooted in the UK, and elsewhere, some Christians are thinking it's related to the infamous "Mark of the Beast" - 666, in the Book of Revelation.  But is it?  In this live podcast, Bob McEvoy, the pastor of Ballymacashon Old Reformed Church (Congregational) in Northern Ireland looks at the possibilities... Read the notes at https://saltyscrivener.uk/2020/12/10/666-and-the-covid-passport/