Are you being scammed? (Newspaper article

We’ve heard over the past few weeks about individuals being scammed out of large sums of money by criminals phoning them and pretending to be BT. Similar scams involve people calling and pretending to be from Microsoft and wanting to fix your Windows computer. They get the person to type a few codes into their computer in order to ‘fix’ the problem, but by doing so the unsuspecting victim gives the caller remote access to their computer, and soon they find that their bank account has been emptied.

 It must be an awful feeling to be tricked out of your life-savings by a fraudster. To have money saved away that you think is secure, and then to have it taken from you. But as bad as that is, it would be even worse to be deceived into losing out on Heaven. To think that you were sure of going to a better place when you died – but in the end to miss out. But tragically, there are many people who face that exact danger.

 Some are taken in by the cults – those well-dressed, sincere, smiling people who knock on your door and tell you that the church has got it wrong for the past 2,000 years, but that they know a better way. Some are taken in by Spiritualism, which rightly teaches that there is more to this life than the physical, but which opens its followers up to all sorts of harmful spiritual influences. But far more are taken in by churches which teach that you can get to Heaven by a mere belief in God or Jesus, or by church membership, or giving to charity, or by living a life where you don’t do anybody any harm.

 So how do you know whether you’re in danger of being scammed? Banks warn their customers that they will never ask for your full PIN or password, or get you to transfer money to a different account. So how do you know if you’re being scammed when it comes to God? Watch out for churches where the Bible is never taught, where sin and Hell are never mentioned, where Jesus is held up as merely a great teacher or a good example, and where members don’t live Christ-like lives. You would take drastic action to stop yourself being scammed when it comes to money – and Heaven is far more important.

Published in Stranraer & Wigtownshire Free Press, 27th October 2016

New book traces history of RP churches in Galloway

Although Stranraer is currently the only Reformed Presbyterian Church in Dumfries and Galloway, it wasn't always that way. In fact, there is a rich history of Reformed Presbyterianism in South-West Scotland. This is highlighted in the newly-released Ministers and Congregations of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland: 1688-2016 by James A. Dickson.

The front cover features the Ordnance Survey map of Whithorn from 1844

The book contains sections on both the congregations and ministers of the RPCS. Congregations particularly close to Stranraer (which originally included Stoneykirk) included Colmonell, Girvan, New Luce, Newton Stewart and Whithorn. During the ministry of William Symington in Stranraer (1819-1839), we're told that a large proportion of the members were from outside the town itself - Inch, Leswalt, New Luce, Stoneykirk etc.

For an interactive map of locations of RPCS congregations past and present, click here

Other Congregations in Dumfries and Galloway included Castle Douglas, Dumfries, Dunscore, Lockerbie (Hightae), Scaurbridge (Penpont), Quarrelwood and Sanquhar. Congregations in nearby Ayrshire included Ayr, Crookedholm, Darvel and New Cumnock.

The book also mentions a number of revivals which took place in Dumfries in the 1800s, which Stranraer's minister at the time, William Symington, was 'very much involved in'.

Let's pray and work to see God's blessing on this part of Scotland in the twenty-first century!

Ministers' Conference 2016

Stephen, along with a couple of the other Scottish ministers, recently had the opportunity to attend the 2016 RP Ministers' Conference in Ballykelly, Northern Ireland. The main speaker was David McKay of Shaftesbury Square RPC in Belfast and the subject was 'Union with Christ' - a topic he also covers in his book The Bond of Love. The opening and closing talks were given by Andrew Lucas of Omagh EPC and David Silversides of Loughbrickland RPC. There was also a talk on John Owen from David Luke of the Irish Baptist College.

It was a great couple of days of fellowship and encouragement. Next year, the speaker will be Jeremy Walker, pastor of Maidenbower Baptist Church and author of a number of books.

Recommended books: Mark, Ecclesiastes, Peter

On Sunday mornings we've just started back into Mark's gospel. Let's Study Mark divides the book into small sections, and adds 2-3 pages of explanation for each part. 

It would be an ideal way to get more familiar with the message of Mark's gospel, reading one section per day.

It's written by Sinclair Ferguson, who has been a minister in Glasgow, South Carolina & Dundee. All his books are worth looking out for.

There are also Let's Study guides for the rest of the New Testament books. Cheapest online price: £6.99

Finally, we've just finished a series on 1st Peter in the evening services and we're still bumping into him quite a lot in our series on Mark's gospel (Peter is most likely the eyewitness who gave Mark his information).

Peter: Eyewitness of His Majesty by Edward Donnelly (formerly minister of Trinity Reformed Presbyterian Church in Northern Ireland) is a great introduction to one of Jesus' closest disciples, and shows what we can learn from him today.

Cheapest online price: £5.20

At our Thursday evening Bible study we've recently started into Ecclesiastes - which has been called the most difficult book of the Bible to interpret!

However it's also been called 'the most contemporary book in the Bible' because it 'exposes the mad quest to find satisfaction in knowledge, wealth, pleasure, work, fame, and sex'. So it's worth working hard to try and understand it!

Destiny is a brand new book which came out the day we started studying Ecclesiastes. It's easy to read, and gets the message of Ecclesiastes across very well.

It's written by David Gibson, a minister in Aberdeen and comes recommended by Dale Ralph Davis & Alec Motyer (anything they've written on the Old Testament is worth reading).

Cheapest online price: £6.79