May 2016

Index to this edition

• Latest news stories
• Foreshadowing of the future – A warning for the EU
• The Return of Christ – Pre-millennial
• SERMON: Digging again the wells of water
• A word from prisoner number 1425
• SERMON: The benefits of having the Bible
• NEW BOOK: Encounters with Christ
• Editor’s correspondence with ‘Father’ Patrick McCafferty:Part 5
• Pictures of Christ series of Bible studies for Kilskeery Independent Christian School

Foreshadowing of the future – a warning for the EU

A message preached by Dr. John Douglas, in which he expounds the Bible’s teaching on the development of the kingdom of the Antichrist and the role that the European Union will play in that development.

We would ask our friends who do not share in our view of prophecy – premillennialism – to give serious consideration to this message.

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The Return of Christ – Pre-millennial

by Rev Ivan Foster

(This message was given at the first meeting of 2000 of the Sovereign Grace Advent Testimony in London.)

“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (Daniel 2:44).

When it comes to the study of prophecy, this subject is a very elementary one, yet it is a subject to which many give little thought. Many Christians have a general view of the return of Christ, that it is going to happen, but they are not well versed on what the Bible has to say about that glorious event. That ought not to be. It is a subject with which God’s people should be well acquainted.

It is clear from the Word of God that the Christians in the days of the apostles were very well taught about the return of Christ. Indeed, when Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, he said he needed hardly to write on this subject as they knew about it perfectly (1 Thessalonians 5:2). It could be thought that those early believers would have had to learn so many subjects; that they were to be taught in doctrine of which they never had the slightest knowledge before the gospel came to them. Paul would have had to deal with the doctrine of God, His Person, His power, the mystery of the Trinity, and the inspiration of God’s Word. Although there was so much to teach, the apostle found time to tell those early believers about the second coming of the Lord and of the end times. Many ministers today would speak as if Paul had so much else to proclaim, that teaching about the return of Christ and the doctrine of eschatology could be left to a later generation. Read more or listen using the player below.

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Digging wells for our children to drink from.

(A message preached at a teachers’ day of prayer in Portadown FPC, May 14th, 2016, by Rev Ivan Foster.)

“And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them,” Gen 26:18

This portion of God’s Word is illustrative of the ongoing struggle that each succeeding generation of believers must engage, in if they are to enjoy the benefits of the covenant of grace.

That which ensures that there is an ongoing struggle is the unchanging enmity of the enemies of God’s people. Conquered by one generation of believers, they will rise up to challenge the next. Isaac found this to be so. “The Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham”.

Here in Ulster, the establishing and successfully running of independent Christian schools is central to that ongoing struggle.

I wish to apply this portion of God’s Word to that aspect of God’s work in Ulster today. Read more…

Listen to the message using the player below.

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A word from prisoner number 1425

An article by Rev. Ivan Foster (Written for a ‘pre-digital’ edition of The Burning Bush shortly after a third spell in jail in April 1986)

Rev. Ivan Foster was arrested at his church in Kilskeery in Co. Tyrone on Monday 21 April (1986) and taken to Crumlin Road Jail to serve a sentence of 14 days for refusing to pay a fine imposed upon him for his part in a protest against the R.U.C. carrying out Dublin’s orders to ban the Protestant parade in Castlewellan last July (1985). With full remission of sentence, and, because the Prison does not have weekend releases, Mr. Foster was set free on Friday 25 April. Read more…

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The benefits of having the Bible

[The slightly enlarged substance of a message preached in Kilskeery Free Presbyterian Church, 31st March 1991 by the then minister, Rev Ivan Foster.
At the service Bibles were distributed to the children of the congregation to mark the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Free Presbyterian Church on March 17th 1951.]

“The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple,” Psalm 119:130.

As a church we revere the Bible. It is given a prominent place in our services and in our lives. We preach its doctrines and contend for its truths. To mark the fortieth year of our church we can think of no better memento to give to our children than a copy of the Bible.
The word BIBLE comes from a Greek word BIBLOS = The BOOK. This is the BOOK for us in Kilskeery. We hope it will become the BOOK of all the children and young people here tonight. Read more…or listen using the player below.

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NEW BOOK: Encounters with Christ

“Encounters with Christ”, by Ann Foster, is a Bible-based record of some notable miracles of healing wrought by the Saviour during His earthly ministry. He healed multitudes, giving sight to the blind, casting out devils, cleansing the lepers, causing the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the maimed to be whole, the palsied to recover and imparting life to the dead. These miracles were always accompanied by earnest prayer, a consciousness of need and faith on the part of the one who sought healing. They also illustrate vital gospel truth. Sinners are spiritually blind, controlled by Satan, unclean, lame, maimed, paralysed and dead as a result of sin and they desperately need the spiritual healing and deliverance which Christ alone can give. They too must come with a deep consciousness of their sin, earnestly seeking salvation and believing that Christ alone can save.

The book also details some notable conversations with individuals. Again gospel truth is illustrated. In the Lord’s conversation with the woman of Samaria, He revealed to her the depth of her iniquity and His identity as the Messiah. The sinner must realise and acknowledge his sin in the eyes of a holy God and recognise Christ as God’s only anointed Saviour. In His conversation with Nicodemus, He stressed the necessity of the new birth even for a self- righteous sinner, spoke of His death on the cross, using the symbol of the uplifted serpent in the wilderness, to secure eternal life for His people.

However, not all who were healed were saved. Some, like Malchus, accepted healing for his severed ear, but rejected Christ’s message. Not all who talked with Christ, like the rich, young ruler, heeded His instruction to leave all and follow Him if he wished to obtain eternal life. Mercifully, Nicodemus was born again, despite all appearances to the contrary, for we find him at the cross with Joseph of Arimathea, carefully removing Christ’s body, wrapping it in spices and fine linen, laying it in the tomb and rolling the stone to the door.

To order a copy click here

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Editor’s correspondence with ‘Father’ Patrick McCafferty

Back in 2002, I entered into a correspondence in the pages of “The Burning Bush” with a Roman Catholic priest from Belfast. The correspondence arose after I wrote a letter in reply to an article by the priest in “The Belfast Telegraph” of August 24th, 2002.

I was grieved at such a platform being given to the errors and deceptions of Rome and commented on the priest’s article in a letter to “The Belfast Telegraph.”

It will be noted how our two replies to the priest were edited by the ‘Letters Editor’ of “The Belfast Telegraph” before they quickly closed the exchange after two exchanges.

The Word of God was not liked by that ecumenical newspaper back then and it is still the case. Every effort was made to shield and protect the priest of Rome from the rebuke of God’s Word.

We are republishing the correspondence, which continued for eight exchanges, and appeared in “The Burning Bush” from October 2002 until May 2003, because of the publicity given to the ‘warm relationship’ that was manifested between this priest and Pastor James McConnell during the recent trial occasioned by Pastor McConnell’s pulpit statements about Islam. Pastor McConnell asked ‘Father’ Patrick McCafferty to speak on his behalf during the trial.

All this “ecumenical camaraderie” between the pastor and the priest may appear to some to give endorsement of the teachings of Rome and it is for this reason we highlight again the errors this priest, like all Roman Catholic clerics, propagates.

Needless to say, it also highlights the folly of James McConnell!

Read Part 5 of the exchange here.

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Pictures of Christ series

Rev. Foster is engaged in an ongoing series of studies in Kilskeery Independent Christian School morning assemblies in which he deals with the theme, “Pictures of Christ in the Bible”, i.e. the descriptions and types of Christ given in the Scriptures.

Each new study will be added as it becomes available and you can listen to new studies using the player below.

Previously published studies in this series can be heard here.

Bible pictures of Christ Pt 52
Bible pictures of Christ Pt 53
Bible pictures of Christ Pt 54
Bible pictures of Christ Pt 55
Bible pictures of Christ Pt 56
Bible pictures of Christ Pt 57
Bible pictures of Christ Pt 58
Bible pictures of Christ Pt 59
Bible pictures of Christ Pt 60

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Latest news stories

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