Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Ephesians 2:8-10 at evening worship on Sunday 8th February 2026 in First Ards.

This sermon in our Doctrines of Grace series explores how anyone comes to faith at all. Salvation is by grace, received through faith and even that faith is God’s gift, leaving no room for pride. God doesn’t just invite from a distance. By his Spirit he works within, making unwilling hearts willing and drawing people freely to Christ. This helps us see our own conversion more clearly, pray for others more hopefully and rest more confidently in the fact that our faith began not with us, but with God’s amazing grace.

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Hebrews 4:14-16 at morning worship on Sunday 8th February 2026 in First Ards.

This epilogue on Hebrews 4:14–16 at the conclusion of our Prayer Weekend reminds us that prayer rests on what we already have, Jesus, our great high priest. Because he stands in God’s presence for us and understands our weakness, we approach a throne of grace with confidence, not hesitation. Prayer becomes a repeated drawing near for mercy, grace and help in every need, grounded not in our words but in Christ’s finished work.

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 8:40-56 at morning worship on Sunday 1st February 2026 in First Ards.

Jairus pleads with Jesus for his dying daughter while, on the way, a woman who has suffered for twelve years quietly reaches out in faith and is gently brought from hidden shame into public peace as Jesus calls her “daughter.” As news arrives that the child has died, fear declares the situation finished, but Jesus calls Jairus to trust his word instead and, in a silent room, he takes the girl by the hand and restores her to life. Together these two scenes show that Christ’s voice is stronger than fear, stronger than shame and even stronger than death itself.

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 8:26-39 at morning worship on Sunday 25th January 2026 in First Ards.

Jesus steps ashore and meets a man utterly ruined by demonic power and, with a word, restores him to dignity, sanity and peace, showing that even a “legion” is subject to his authority. Yet, while the healed man longs to stay with Jesus, the townspeople, unsettled by his holy presence, ask him to leave and Jesus instead sends the restored man home to tell what God has done. This leaves us with the question of whether we will push Jesus away when he comes close or come to him for mercy and then speak of his grace where we are.

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Ephesians 1:7-10 at evening worship on Sunday 18th January 2026 in First Ards.

Paul traces the work of salvation from God’s eternal purpose to Christ’s finished work, showing that the cross wasn’t a vague offer but a decisive achievement. In Christ, redemption has been secured through his blood and sins have been forgiven, not potentially but actually, according to the lavish riches of God’s grace. The cross stands at the heart of God’s wise and loving plan to gather his people and ultimately bring all things under Christ’s rule, producing believers with settled consciences, grateful obedience and a humility shaped by a salvation fully accomplished outside of themselves.

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Like 8:22-25 at morning worship on Sunday 18th January 2026 in First Ards.

Jesus leads his disciples into a boat and straight into a violent storm, revealing that obedience to his word doesn’t guarantee calm circumstances. As fear takes hold, the disciples interpret reality through the danger they feel rather than the promise they’ve heard, until Jesus silences the wind and waves with a word. The calm exposes not only his authority over creation but the deeper question of who he truly is. The passage shows how storms uncover what governs our trust and how Jesus uses both danger and deliverance to train his followers to listen to his word above every other voice.

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Ephesians 1:3-6 at evening worship on Sunday 11th January 2026 in First Ards.

Paul traces our salvation back beyond our decisions or responses to God’s gracious purpose before the world was made, showing from Ephesians 1 that grace begins not with us but with God’s loving choice in Christ. Before we existed or did anything good or bad, God chose a people in his Son, not because he saw something worthy in them, but out of sheer love, with the aim of adopting them into his family and shaping them to be holy in his sight. Election, far from being cold or abstract, is presented as deeply personal and relational, rooted in the Father’s love, centred on Christ and designed to end in worship. This truth strips away pride, grounds assurance, fuels holiness and prayer and leads the church to say with joy and humility, “Not to us, O Lord, but to your name be the glory,” as all praise belongs to God’s glorious grace alone.

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 8:16-21 at morning worship on Sunday 11th January 2026 in First Ards.

Jesus presses home that hearing God’s word is never neutral. When it’s truly received, it brings light that shows itself in changed lives. Using the picture of a lamp, he warns against a comfortable, hidden faith that listens without obeying, and urges us to consider carefully how we listen, because careless hearing dulls us while responsive hearing deepens us. He then makes it clear that real belonging to him isn’t about proximity, background, or familiarity, but about hearing God’s word and beginning to put it into practice, however imperfectly or dependently and by grace, so that those who listen and follow are shown to be part of his family.