History is repeating itself. • In 1333, a group of Catholic theologians issued a formal correction to Pope John XII to correct that Pope's heretical teachings regarding the afterlife. After receiving this correction, the Pope acquiesced and, on his deathbed, recanted his heretical view. For the second time in Catholic history, it is happening again. • Expressing “profound grief” and “filial devotion,” Catholic clergy and lay scholars from around the world have issued what they are calling a “Filial Correction” to Pope Francis for “propagating heresy.” This Filial Correction, in the form of a 25-page letter, bears the signatures of sixty-two Catholic academics, researchers, and scholars in
We are now three days into the delivery cycle for our Reformation Tract via the Royal Mail service and many of the areas of Northern Ireland have received their copy. All 787,000 homes in our province are due to obtain a copy of this 12-page Gospel booklet this week. A brief explanation behind the booklet is presented by Rev. David Brown (Larne FPC) and can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cCuMOPfFAc Please pray that the message will be applied by the Holy Spirit to multitudes of hearts and minds. Isaiah 55:10-11.
Everyone who professes to know Christ as Saviour has an excellent knowledge of the Bible doctrine of Justification by Faith alone. Especially in this 500th anniversary year of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation ... . Actually, no. Tragically, no. As the presenters of the Radio Show, The White Horse Inn.com, reveal, this fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith remains shrouded in mind-numbing ignorance even in so-called 'Christian' circles today. In fact, many 'evangelicals' have espoused nothing short of a Roman Catholic view of this doctrine. The introductory blurb to Radio Show #1381 – Justification By Faith Alone – reads: "Once upon a time, Protestants of every variety were i
The Gospel tract designed by the Reformation Committee of the Free Presbyterian Church is scheduled to arrive at homes in Northern Ireland this week. 787,000 homes are due to be reached by this method – every home in the country. Though I must admit to some bias as a member of this Committee, I am persuaded that this is one of the best tracts I have ever seen. It runs to 12 pages, but due primarily to it's comprehensive yet concise Gospel content and aided by excellent design work, those responsible for it have eagerly anticipated the week when it is distributed to Ulster homes by the Royal Mail. Publication and distribution costs have been large – but funds that have come in from our church
The fourth instalment in the current series of the Book of Galatians is now available to download. Audio / sermon notes on PDF file. At this link: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=92417628576
The Reformation Rooms at the Martyrs opened their doors again today to receive two groups – one from Co. Monaghan, the other from Belfast. • Members of a Junior Orange Lodge along with their leaders arrived at 12.45 and completed their tour by 2:00pm. • In the evening a Family Bible Study Group led by Mr Hugh Martin arrived. One comment sent to me after this evening tour was particularly encouraging: "We really enjoyed a great night going round the Exhibition with Peter – it was very informative and seeing the historical items in the church was a bonus to all. May the Lord continued to bless this good witness."
After an extended break, work on completing the model that shows 10 Major Scenes in Luther's Life has recommenced. Hopefully this project will be finished soon. The first 5 scenes are almost complete; this little sketch for Scene #6 features the moment when, on 10 December 1520, Luther took the Pope's Bull of Excommunication and burned it outside the Elster Gate of the town of Wittenberg.
This photo has been sent by a friend, David Cahoon, currently on holiday in Prague who has involved himself in some keen research of the Reformation this year. Martin Luther was by no means the first figurehead to call for a radical reformation of the church: others like John Wycliffe (England, C14th) and Jan Hus (Bohemia, C15th), caused Gospel light to shine again; Luther picked up the torch from their strong hands and waved that torch across Europe in the C16th. This connection between these three men is encapsulated by a painting at the Hus house and by a trio of medallions in the Prague museum: - Wycliffe is generating sparks by means of flint stones; - Hus gather up those sparks and use
The next set of Bible Study Notes in our current series on the Book of Galatians are now available for download from Sermon Audio. Please follow this link, then scroll down page and click on 'PDF Text.'
Martin Luther and his companion Kaspar Sturm (the Imperial herald) stopped in Oppenheim, a small winemaking town in Rheinhessen, on their way to and from the Diet of Worms in 1521. On his journey from Frankfurt to Worms, Luther crossed the Rhine at Oppenheim in April 1521 to stay at the Zur Kanne inn, which stood on what is now Mainzer Strasse but burned down in 1621. Here he met with the Emperor's envoys. They wanted to persuade him to attend a meeting at Ebernburg Castle to keep him away from the Imperial Diet, but Luther declined. Legend has it that Luther wrote the hymn 'A Mighty Fortress Is Our God' in Oppenheim at that time. Luther could certainly have drawn inspiration for this song f
One tour followed 'on the heels' of another at Martyrs tonight. • First in was the Youth Fellowship from Ballynahinch FPC, accompanied by their minister, Rev. Timothy Nelson. Their tour commenced at 7.30pm and when I dropped out to speak at our own Youth Fellowship meeting at 8.35pm, Tommy Gilmore took over to provide some light refreshments for the group. • By this time the second fellowship – Lisburn FPC's Junior Youth – were being shown around, their tour having started just after 8.00pm, conducted by Peter Lunn. With my message at the Martyrs Fellowship delivered, the criss-crossing paths of this night were completed when the Martyrs youth were able to come upstairs and sample the sweet
Our second Open Day for the Reformation Rooms Tour is scheduled for this Saturday, 16 September 2017. Doors open at 10.00am, with the last tour forming up at 2.00pm. Light refreshments will be served. Donations, as always, will be most welcome as these will help fund various aspects of this 500th Anniversary Reformation project. A warm welcome awaits you ... .
Alana Wilkinson gave fantastic service to the Reformation Room project this year, contacting schools to secure bookings, transferring DVD clips for use in our video suite, typing up the booklets for the tour guides, acting as one of those tour guides herself, etc., etc.. She will be an incredibly difficult act to follow ... . But someone has to step into her shoes now that Alana is going back to University in order to complete her final year of studies. We wish her much blessing for her work in 2017-18. And we are delighted to bring Louisa McCabe 'on board' as Alana's replacement! It has been a pleasant sight to see her not only volunteer for this post at Martyrs, but display early sights of
The second set of notes in the new series on Galatians are now available for download. Scroll down this sermon page to the PDF link and click to download.
Martin Luther, Johann Sebastian Bach and Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia are some of the great names associated with Eisenach, on the northern edge of the Thuringian Forest. To this day, the town of Eisenach stands in the looming presence of its most famous landmark, Wartburg Castle. Both the town and its castle were important stations in the life of Martin Luther – the reformer recalled Eisenach fondly, referring to it as “my dear town.” When Martin Luther was a teenager, he was sent to the Latin school in Eisenach in 1498 where, for three years, he boarded with the Cotta family (1498-1501). Their beautifully preserved half-timbered house is now a Luther museum. The two rooms he lived in are r
I was intrigued by the title of a website which apparently was designed to notify interested parties of commemorations being held to mark the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation: 'Freed and Renewed in Christ – 500 Years of God's Grace in Action.' Had I not also noticed that this website was maintained by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, I may have been momentarily excited. This in itself was a sufficient 'red alert.' And this disappointed feeling was fully confirmed when I started to 'click' on some of the dates that revealed key events which have been planned for this commemoration ... . Every other event (the frequency may actually be higher than thi
