Shall we Sing a Song for you?

Not wanting to major on the minors, but I had a bit of this pamphlet by RP minister Thomas Houston typed out for my diss, so I thought I might as well finish the thing off. It was written in 1861, in response to a sermon by the Rev. William Johnston of Townsend-street Presbyterian Church. Hymns were illegal in the PCI at the time, however this didn’t stop some congregations introducing them. Johnston preached his sermon as a result of several months of controversy over the subject in his own congregation. Houston didn’t even think it worthy of a reply, but he wrote a response from Knockbracken because of the widespread ignorance about the subject. And if things were bad back then, they’re even worse now! Writing in his Introduction, Houston stated:

Of all that we have read in the shape of objections against the use of inspired psalms, or in favour of hymns and paraphrases, we have found nothing so futile and inapplicable as this brochure. We would not have considered it worthy of a formal reply, but for the reason that we have already stated – the prevalence of much ignorance and misconception on the subject. The cause of inspired psalmody is assuredly very safe after this assault. That a production so weak and irrelevant should have emanated form a man of Mr. Johnston’s acknowledged talent and standing, we can only ascribe to the circumstance, that he had a lurking feeling, that his case was indefensible; and that he was, to some extent, conscious that he was contending against a fundamental regulation of the supreme judicatory of his own church, and vindicating a practice which is directly opposed to the order of the church of God, under the Old Testament–to the worship, sanctioned by our Lord and His Apostles, and uniformly observed by the Primitive Christian Church, and followed by the Presbyterian Church in these lands, in her purest and best times.

Things began last Saturday as the team either drove or aquaplaned (not mentioning any names) their way to Rodney and Ruth’s for the start of the 2007 Riverside GO Team. After introductions and a prayer time, the over 20s went up to Sam and Dot’s, with the young guns staying put.

On Sabbath morning, after the anticipated fry, we worshiped with the congregation, with Blair McFarland preaching. We then, accompanied by unofficial team member Shane from Mourneview, went up to a viewpoint for a picnic but it started to rain so we retreated to the sunnier climate of the Murphy’s back yard. After the picnic we gave out one or two leaflets in the estates we were starting the kids clubs in the next day, before returning to Sam & Dot’s for a full Sunday lunch at tea time. And then it was the evening service, which Tim preached at.

On Monday morning, we started early. Team devotions were followed by leaflet distribution in Greenfields/Windmill and Mourneview until the clubs started at 11. In Mourneview no kids turned up so they cleaned up the place. Then it was back for lunch and the first of our Bible studies with Timbo.

“So where was Peter at on placement this year?”

Then it was out again for more distribution of the 4,000 4You magazines until tea at Anna Hanna’s. Then door-to-door and back to R&R’s. Tuesday followed a similar pattern, but going to Sam and Dot’s for tea.

On Wednesday we had a lie in till about half 8 or something, and we started with the clubs and got the rest of the leaflets out in the afternoon. Then we headed for Cranfields and when we eventually found the Lyons’ caravan we had a BBQ, played games, including a clean sweep for the Mafia, went for a walk and listened to stories of the good old days.

BBQ

Benwise

Steelo, 10star, Rachel

Bowling. Cracker.

On Thursday, we still did the clubs, but from 10am to half 5 we did a free car wash at the church which was to encourage people to come in, drink tea and coffee, take free tracts/magazines/CDs, and browse stalls with Fairtrade stuff, information about the RP Church, and books from Tom. We also took donations for Tear Fund. We must’ve washed about 20 cars (not counting our own), and a good number came in for coffee and a chat. In the afternoon a quartet of the better singers went into the town centre, introduced and sung a few psalms and advertised the car wash and meeting.

Good work son

Shane

Fresh from Enniskillen

The weans needed entertaining too. Though I’m not sure if it was us entertaining them or them entertaining us!

The Pilgrim Fathers each featured a record 3 times on the posters advertising the Church. Proper order.

We went to McCune’s for tea and then came back for the public meeting, at which Blair returned to speak about Wilberforce and how our Christian faith should lead to similar social action today.

On Friday we had the last day of the clubs, and in the afternoon gave out the remaining magazines that hadn’t been taken the day before, and did a bigger and longer psalm sing in the town centre. Then we used our free coffee vouchers in Grounded, before returning to Rodney & Ruth’s for a Mexican tea, evaluation and final prayer time.

And that was basically it for Riverside ’07 (apart from the drive home via Dromore, and the slight matter of the fan belt, the Castledawson roundabout, my uncle Harold, and 03:30am). I reckon it was the best team I’ve ever been on on Irish soil. Great week, learnt a lot, and Newry’s some place. The only disappointment was team leader Paul’s refusal to go to the appointment we booked him with a 23 year-old single RP hairdresser!

Much potential. Much prayer needed. Pray especially for a minister. It’s some place.

Should probably have done this a month or so ago, but anyway. A few resources that may be helpful:

1. Robert Lacey – “Telling a story or teaching a Bible lesson?” (Ev Conf 05) – Immense. Listen to it every coupla years.

2. Why not listen to someone who’s preached on the passage to give you a few ideas and make sure you don’t say anything too outrageous? For example, Stuart Olyott (here and here) and David Silversides have sermons online from most books of the Bible. Mark Driscoll has also preached through a few books, including Genesis and John (which probably cover a lot of HBC material) and is, quite simply, the man.

3. Audio from Children Desiring God, including a couple by John Piper. I’ve only listened to one of these, but a lot of them look like they could be useful.

Update: Children’s Addresses

“Perhaps the best thing Banner have produced in the last 10 years” – Mark Loughridge

Tim Challies, the world’s most famous Christian blogger ®, has exhausted Banner of Truth’s worldwide supply of Professor Leahy’s book The Cross He Bore, after describing it on his website as ‘the best $4.03 you’ll ever spend’. With the US supply exhausted, Banner flew all the copies of it in their Edinburgh warehouse over to America, but they still hadn’t enough to satisfy the 100+ orders Challies had generated.

According to Banner’s North American manager Steve Burlew, “I have been assured that we will reprint it, but that process will take some time. I’ll keep you posted.”

So for those of us who do have access to this now much sought after book, we should probably read it! It is available from the Covenanter Bookshop, and our American friends can still buy it from Crown and Covenant.

You can listen to a number of sermons by Professor Leahy on the RP site.

IN OTHER NEWS…

Sponsor Dean!

Dean (pictured left) is doing a trek in the Sahara for Action Cancer in Februrary, and needs to raise at least £2,000 by then. You can sponsor him here.

Sherlock Holmes on suicide

Here are a couple of quotes from Sherlock Holmes that I found interesting, the first shows how attitudes to suicide have changed. In it he is talking to a woman whose face was badly mutilated by a lion who he suspects is thinking about killing herself:

‘Your life is not your own,’ he said. ‘Keep your hands off it.’
‘What use is it to anyone?’
‘How can you tell? The example of patient suffering is in itself the most precious of all lessons to an impatient world’.
The Veiled Lodger

Sherlock Holmes on (vaguely) God:

‘Our highest assurance of the goodness of Providence seems to me to rest in the flowers. All other things, our powers, our desires, our food, are really necessary for our existence in the first instance. But this rose is an extra. Its smell and its colour are an embellishment of life, not a condition of it. It is only goodness which gives extra, and so I say again that we have much to hope from the flowers.’
The Naval Treaty

Are you Jackie Fullerton in disguise?

With Stute TV’s regular correspondent missing on Thursday night I had to interview Stute manager Liam Beckett, in what turned out to be the most scathing interview he’s ever done! As you may notice, a certain other Stute fan tried to put me off by ringing me in the middle of it, but I just managed to stop the phone ringing in time!