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.