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.

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 6:17-19 at morning worship on Sunday 21st September 2025 in First Ards.

Before Jesus speaks a single word of the Sermon on the Plain, Luke slows us down to look at Him. He comes down among ordinary people, His presence is both heard and felt and power flows from Him to heal and restore. Here is the Christ who is accessible, compassionate and sufficient. The call of this passage is clear. Will you entrust your life into His hands?

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches Luke 6:12-16 at morning worship on Sunday 14th September 2025 in First Ards.

Before choosing the twelve apostles, Jesus prayed through the night. Out of many disciples, He called ordinary people - fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot, doubters and brothers - to be His witnesses. Their mission rested not on their brilliance but on His blood. And still today, Jesus calls, chooses and sends His people to bear lasting fruit in His name.

Rev. Craig Lynn preaches an epilogue at evening worship on Sunday 7th September 2025 in First Ards.

At the start of a new church year, we’re reminded of three simple but life–shaping words: WE SHARE CHRIST_._ Together we belong to one another in Him, we joyfully share the gospel and our lives and we keep Christ at the centre of our worship, welcome and witness. This is our calling and our privilege as His people.