The Semper Reformata Podcast

24/06/2025

How to Pray with Confidence.

1 John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

Prayer is an essential part of the Christian life, so as soon as John has established that we KNOW that we are eternally saved, with a heavenly destiny, through faith in Christ, he moves on to prayer… and that same confidence that we have in our eternal salvation applies to our prayers. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will...

1st John 5:14-15

22/06/2025

Ministry Ethics
Matthew 10:8-17
Jesus has called his disciples, and now they get some really practical good advice for ministry, part of their ‘Seminary Evangelism Module’ – and its not just good advice for them, but for us also as we seek to represent the Saviour in this godless world:-

Wisdom in Accounting
Wisdom in Association
Wisdom in Abandoning

Apologies for the sound quality of this recording. this sermon was recorded live at Ballymacashon, and there is some echo and extraneous noise.

Matthew 10:8-15

17/06/2025

The Internal Witness
1 John 5:9-12 V10 He that believed; on the Son of God hath the witness in himself…

For this week's Bible Study I've reprised an episode from October 2024, recorded at TRC. No point recording the same thing again!

Do you know for sure that you are saved and forgiven, through repentance and faith in Christ, and that because of his atoning death on the cross you have forgiveness of all your sins and a certain home in heaven? The record is there for us! The testimony is available for all to see! Changed lives, the Word of God, all the objective tests. But to be saved and have eternal life, we must know the Lord Jesus Christ personally!

1st John 5:13

16/06/2025

Another Monday morning meditation to help you start the week. This time a wee look at an incident from the history of the early church.

Polycarp the Martyr

In this episode were going to be thinking about the persecution of the early church, and focusing in on the martyrdom of Polycarp, the pastor of the church at Smyrna, in what is now called Turkey. Polycarp’s testimony for Jesus Christ led to his arrest and to his death in the city of Rome in the 2nd century AD. May his perseverance and steadfast determination to follow Jesus whatever the cost be an inspiration to us also, in these days, when many Christian throughout the world still face persecution for the faith.

Persecution and Death in the Early Church

14/06/2025

Ministering in Word and Sacrament
Matthew 10:5-8

Christ's were being trained in the school of the master, and they were to go forth as ambassadors, and missionaries, sent out to represent Christ in their words and acts. Now we see a little more detail about that commission…
* The margins of their ministry. To LOST SHEEP.
* The message of their ministry. The KINGDOM is at hand!
* The method of their ministry. To minister in WORD and SACRAMENT.

https://shows.acast.com/srp/episodes/disciples-ministering-in-word-and-sacrament

10/06/2025

The Water and the Blood
1st John 5:6-8

What does John mean by ‘ Water and Blood?’ There are four possibilities:
1. The Wounded Side of Christ.
2. The Sacraments
3. A Witness to the Historicity of Christ's Baptism and Death - as an answer to gnosticism.
4. The Application of the Cleansing Power of Christ to the believer.
We look at these four possibilities - all of them views held by reformed evangelical commentators.

1st John 5:6-8

03/06/2025

Overcomers
1st John 5:4-5 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

We know that we are Christians because we have overcome the world, and we are overcoming the world! This is John's next point. So, what is the WORLD that we have overcome, how have we overcome it, and when did that happen?

1st John 5:4-5

02/06/2025

Can We Die Before Our Time?

Here's some seemingly opposed and contradictory texts:

1. Ecclesiastes 7:17 Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time
2. Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: Psalm 31:15 My times are in thy hand:

Which statement is right? Or are both? Let's unravel the mystery of Ecclesiastes 7:17!

Ecclesiasties 7:17

01/06/2025

The Victory
1 Corinthians 15:50-58
It is only because Jesus rose from the dead, that we too will also rise – on that final day of this earth’s history, when the trumpet of God shall sound, and the Lord Jesus will return to judge this world. The Apostle Paul turns his attention to the events and results of that last day.
Bob's sermon for Easter Sunday morning, 2025. Recorded at Ballymacashon - so please excuse the echo.

1st Corinthians 15:50-58

27/05/2025

Christian Obedience
Text. 1 John 5:2-4a

Is there an objective test for brotherly love? John suggests that there is. It is obedience. We will know that we love God's people, when we love God, and obey him. So we need to examine these verses and see what John is speaking about:
* The Legal Background to Christian Obedience.
* The Light Burden of Christian Obedience.

1st John 5:1-4a

22/05/2025

REPARATIONS - Britain, the Bible, and the Slave Trade.

You can’t have missed the increasing demands for the British government to pay ‘reparations’ for its part in the slave trade. Is there a biblical perspective?

Britain, The Bible and the Slave Trade

20/05/2025

Love Is…
Text: 1 John 4:19-5:5
John has been spending much time and ink on the importance of love. God’s love for us, and our love for God, and the resulting love that we have for each other. He tells us that:
* Love is a REACTION (To Christ's love for us)
* Love is a REVERSAL (Of the opinions and values of the world)
* Love is a RESPONSIBILITY (To obey the commandment given by Jesus)
* Love is a REINFORCEMENT (of sound doctrine)

1st John 4:19- 1st John 5:5