Chatty stuff

 Note: Talk about a gremlin in the works :o( I can't get rid of the mess below from my end of things. (Knowing me, it'll probably disappear on me. If so, ignore this note. The affected line reads: "A few locals came in. Some were professing Christians from local Charismatic churches - nothing like the chorus of Amazing Grace - as an excuse for them to get the arms up in the air :o)"

It has been a pretty busy time of late, with two separate 480 mile round trips to Tralee in Co. Kerry over a 3 day period. First, last Saturday, there were around 70-80 Free Presbyterians who headed on Friday to Limerick for an overnight stay before finishing the remaining 60 miles early the next morning. The mission was two fold:

Grand Hotel, Tralee

[i] Invite the townsfolk to the gospel meeting planned for a central hotel on Monday night.

[ii] Give a gospel tract and seek to engage them in spiritual conversation.

The weather wasn't that great, but the whole town was reached. After the day's evangelism, we always finish off with a meal together in a hotel and the fellowship was good. It was a long journey home.

The Lord's Day morning found me as a pew sitter in the morning in my home church in Enniskillen before heading on to County Donegal to preach at a monthy meeting in a wooden hut just outside Rossnowlagh. I preached on Isaiah 55:6 about seeking the Lord while He may be found:

 INTRODUCTION: The gospel is primarly about God seeking man: Adam - Noah - Abraham - Luke 19:10. Thrust of our text, however, is man seeking God which is every man's responsibility.

1) WHEN GOD IS TO BE FOUND:

While the heart beats (i.e. in this life)

While the gospel is sounded

While the Spirit strives

2) THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SEEK GOD WON'T LAST FOR EVER:

Your heart won't beat for ever (Eccles 3:2)

You might not always sit under a sound gospel ministry (Acts 20:28-30)

God's Spirit will not always strive with man (Gen 6:3)

3) IF YOU SEEK HIM WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND - YOU WILL SURELY FIND HIM:

 There are no empty commands in Scripture (Jeremiah 29:11-14)

Need of repentance and faith (Isaiah 55:7) etc.

It was evangelistic, rather than academic in it's content and tone. Just simple preaching.

Monday morning found me back in the minibus with 4 other brethren to head back the long road to Tralee again. Some folk had stayed on in the deep south over the weekend, so there would be 11 of us in the meeting before any locals came in. The trip down wasn't that bad bearing in mind that it rained heavy for much of the way. I had arranged for us to stay overnight afterwards in a certain establishment. I found it on the internet and everything looked fine. However, when we arrived, things did not quite appear to be as kosher as we thought. There was a certain nervousness about the caretaker and a few shady characters were hanging about, both outside and inside. (One followed us in and kept an eye on us.) So we beat a quick exit and arranged to stay in Limerick again, even though it would entail more late night travel after the meeting. I'm afraid my skills at arranging places to stay are becoming as notorious as the places I unknowingly happen to choose.  However, it gave us all something to smile about.

18 locals came in. Some were professing Christians from local Charismatic churches - nothing like the chorus of Amazing Grace - as an excuse for them to get the arms up in the air :o) Some others were Roman Catholics. One of the lads who stayed over in a B&B got the proprietor to come along. It fell to me to preach again. I decided to forgo the Introduction, proposition and 3 points (alliterated or otherwise) method and simply read John 8:1-11 about the woman taken in adultery and went then down the passage verse by verse for around 30 minutes. I had good liberty and the word was well received. We had tea/coffee and biscuits afterwards and some good conversations with much literature (free) taken from the book table. Quite a number left their names and addresses to be contacted if we have another meeting. 


We travelled home yesterday after a later night and early start. Debated AMill vs PreMill with a couple of the brethren in the minibus home. That always helps to shorten the "lang Scots miles" - OK, the Irish stuff but HT to Rabbie Burns. 

Took today off and after coffee out with my longsuffering wife, I did the round of charity bookshops again in Enniskillen. Picked up a few books at 50p each which will find their way to the Free Presbyterian missionaries in Kenya. They run a couple of bookshops and there is a denominational push on at the moment to get good second hand books out to them. I therefore bought some books that I wouldn't necessarily buy for myself. Some of these books I already have - others I have similar to - but it helps to see the wider picture. It is a nice thought that a book picked up for a few coppers in Ulster might help some soul thousands of miles away in East Africa. I'll take them with me on Friday night when I go to the Missionary Council meeting in Aughnacloy FPC. 

So that's it for another while. Keep in touch.


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