Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Genesis 31 at evening worship on Sunday 26th October 2025 in First Ards.

Jacob finally heads home, but not because the circumstances are easy, they’re actually falling apart around him. Laban’s family turns against him, idols get smuggled out under a saddle and a furious chase follows through the hills. Yet in every moment, God is quietly at work guiding Jacob forward, restraining harm, exposing false gods and defending a man who’s tried to live with integrity. This chapter reminds us that when God says “Go,” He also says, “I will be with you” and that promise is enough.

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 6:46-49 at morning worship on Sunday 26th October 2025 in First Ards.

Jesus ends His Sermon on the Plain with a simple but searching question: why call Him “Lord” and then ignore His words? He says real disciples don’t just enjoy the sound of His teaching, they put it into practice. Like a wise builder who digs down to the rock, obedience gives our lives depth and stability when the storms come.

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 6:37–42 at morning worship on Sunday 12th October 2025 in First Ards.

Jesus shows us what mercy looks like when it really gets down into the heart. Instead of picking up the gavel of judgement, we’re called to take up the scoop of generosity, giving others the same grace we’ve received. The measure we use matters, because it reveals what’s shaping us. True sight begins with humility and real correction starts with confession. The good news is that Jesus has already carried our beams at the cross, so we can see clearly, forgive freely and live with the same mercy we’ve been shown.

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Genesis 29:31-30:24 at evening worship on Sunday 5th October 2025 in First Ards.

In a household marked by rivalry, jealousy and heartache, God’s grace quietly holds the centre. Leah, unloved and overlooked, discovers that the Lord sees her misery and hears her cries. Rachel, jealous and scheming, finds that the Lord remembers her and opens her womb. Across all the bitterness and bargaining, it’s God, not human striving, who moves His promises forward. He’s the God who notices the unseen, listens to the broken, remembers the forgotten and gives life where none can be found.

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 6:27-36 at morning worship on Sunday 5th October 2025 in First Ards.

Jesus calls His followers to live differently: to love their enemies; to do good to those who hate them; to bless those who curse them; and to pray for those who mistreat them. This love isn’t sentimental but deliberate, a grace-shaped mercy that mirrors the Father’s heart. It’s the love Jesus Himself displayed at the cross: kindness to the undeserving; forgiveness to His enemies; and mercy to those who could never repay.

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Genesis 29:1-30 at evening worship on Sunday 28th September 2025 in First Ards.

After the vision of Bethel, Jacob doesn’t find angels or ladders, only a well, some shepherds and a young woman arriving with sheep. Yet through these ordinary details, God leads him to Rachel and into the next stage of His covenant plan. Even amid love, labour, deception and disappointment, God is at work quietly guiding His people, exposing idols, disciplining sin and preparing the line of Christ. In Jesus, the true Bridegroom, we see the One who doesn’t deceive or exploit but the One who gives Himself in love for His bride.

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 6:20-26 at morning worship on Sunday 28th September in First Ards.

Jesus opens His kingdom manifesto with shocking verdicts. He pronounces blessing not on the rich, the comfortable, or the popular, but on the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and the hated, those who belong to Him. And He speaks words of lament over those who look secure now but are storing up emptiness for eternity. True blessing isn’t about your circumstances today but about belonging to Christ and living now in light of His promised future.

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Genesis 28 at evening worship on Sunday 21st September 2025 in First Ards.

Jacob runs into exile with guilt on his conscience, a stone for a pillow, and nothing to his name. Yet it’s there, in a “certain place,” that God meets him, not because he deserves it, but because God comes down in grace. Jacob sees a stairway between heaven and earth, a vision fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the true Bethel, the living gate of heaven. And in this we see the gospel, not that we climb up to God, but that God comes down to us in Christ.