PREACHED YESTERDAY FRAE...
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1 Timothy 1:17 in the mornin' meetin' ("Now unto the King eternal, immortal etc.,") In the evenin' meetin' I preached frae Luke 1:4 on the certainty of the things o' God wi' the emphasis bein' on the certainty. If we cannae preach a sure message, then we have naethin' tae say tae the sinner facin' eternity. Smith's Braid Scots NT retains the word "certainty" as in the AV, while Lorimer in his Scots NT gies us the words: "siccar an' savendle." I have come across siccar afore, but savendle is a new yin tae me.

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We got this clue the other nicht in the cryptic crosswords which was a bit abstract:

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CLUE: Letter opener (4)

ANSWER: Dear [I thocht the answer came frae this formula: "D" = "letter" an' then "ear" = "opener" but Olive discerned an easier explanation: "How do you start (or "open" a letter? Ans:- "Dear" (Sir/Madam etc.,) We got it yin way or the other. We dinnae need tae be a purist to get the richt letters intae the richt boxes.]

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It is a dull enucht day here - nae spring sunshine tae brighten the day fir us. I picked up the Stone o' Destiny CD by Steve MacDonald second hand on Saturday in a charity bookshop. It is a kind o' contemporary musical journey through Scottish history. Some nice pieces (Auld Lang Syne an' Skye Boat Song) - maybe the other will grow on me? I finished the book on the History o' Reconstruction in the CSA as well an' I've moved on now tae a bio o' Joseph Stalin. I love readin' history tae relax.

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I better rin on. See ye a' aroun'. Keep her lit.

THE SOWER SOWED THE SEED...
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We know that the seed in this great parable is the word o' God. Sometimes the evangelist sows the seed straight i.e. he gives us portions o' various sizes or even complete copies o' the Bible. Sometimes, it is delivered in tract form with a human interest story to introduce it and many human words to convey it. The tract, being scriptural (rather than pure scripture) is still, IMHO, the good seed. Words are only there to convey the overall message and when some yin reads a tract that conveys to him his need o' a Saviour and reveals salvation to be by faith in Jesus Christ, then the seed has been sown.

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Ower the last few days, we distributed quite a hantle (around 1,000) o' little business cards givin' details o' oor kirk here (address, times o' meetings etc.,) Part o' the tract was simply tellin' the fowk that we are a Reformed an' Evangelical kirk who take the Bible seriously. In the scale o' what constitutes the guid seed, I suppose this is pretty low scale stuff. We make reference to our 24/7 telephone hotline where those who take the time to ring receive a two minute gospel message. Again, this in itself is pretty low scale stuff - another means tae a greater end. It advertises oor kirk website where the gospel is clearly presented, although amang a whole lot o' other issues that might bewilder a new enquirer. But that cannot be helped wi'oot dumbin' down the website. The hope is that they wull heid fir the evangelistic stuff that is clearly displayed. (On other evangelistic business cards, we direct the enquirer to a specially drafted page, like here and here. We have around 20 such cards, all numbered accordingly.) The card we were distributin' the day for oor kirk also tries to take advantage o' the reader's dissatisfaction wi' the Roman Catholic kirk - it's tread mill type religion that simply cannae deliver. Another means tae an end an' in itself low scale stuff.

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But it also points out that we can have a personal relationship wi' Jesus Christ, gies a one liner about the blood atonement of the yin sacrifice on the Cross an' quotes Ephesians 2:8-9 word fir word. Quite a bit o' a little card! I enjoy distributin' these cards. Today, I listened to this mp3 message (which was mair historical than anything else) as I posted these little cards, so it wasnae hard. However, every time yin o' these cards went through a letter box, I felt like the sower in the parable. There goes another seed! I cannae tell ye what wull happen tae each an' every seed that has gone oot. I do not doubt that some wull hardly be read beyond the openin' line which shows it tae be of a "religious nature" an' therefore anathema tae some. That's not my part o' the work. I'm just the sower. Maybe later on this week, I'll get oot wi' a few mair seeds an' who knows (Dae ye?) that the guid seed wull bear root downward an' guid fruit upward in some son or daughter o' Erin's heart an' cause the angels in Heaven tae rejoice when the yin sinner repents.

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Forgive my ramblin' thochts here. I write them fir mysel' as much as fir any yin else, although I am not discouraged the day as sometimes I can be. Even if discouraged, the sower is no' tae be deterred. God's word does not return unto Him void, but it must accomplishe that whereto He sends it. Who cannot but say "Amen" tae that?

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I finished readin' Calvin's sermons on Acts 1-7. Found them encouragin' as usual. I've started readin' the Log College by Archibald Alexander which charts the evangelistic efforts o' some o' the early Presbyterian Evangelists in the USA who foun' great kinship wi' George Whitefield when he came ower an' saw revival. It all helps tae keep the fire burnin'.

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Fair fa' ye!

WELL...MAYBE JUST A PADDLE...
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The weather here has turned guid as it usually does fir about a week in Ireland in May. So, on this oor day off, (DV) we'll heid fir the city centre this mornin' fir oor coffee out an' then tae the beach this afternoon when we pick up Andrew drae school. The wee soul has bin askin' about summer now since about last January an' he is anxious tae get tae the beach. Maybe I'll venture in fir a swim...maybe just a paddle as it takes the water a while tae warm up. I'm definitely no' yin o' those macho boadies who turn up an' plunge in. I can feel the shiver go don my back even as I type about them :0)

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I pit a new slide presentation up on YouTube twa days ago on Padre Pio. They dug him up recently (or asked him to "vacate his tomb") an' now the ghoulish can go an' see him on display. I recently got an email frae some yin in Florida who converted from Protestantism tae Rome an' who wasnae happy wi' some o' our other stuff on YouTube. he tule me that I will be in hell - unless I join the RC Church. I suppose ye cannae keep them a' happy.

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I picked up a biography on Abraham Lincoln fir €1 last week in a charity shop. If you want to refight Gettysburg, then ye can read some interestin' quotes frae Lincoln here. I sent off a very bob tae fir the history o' the ACW by Winston Churchill. A young lad in the comments box o' my last postin' gie me a bit o' a scare when he tule me that there was another Winston Churchill (An American writer) who did history, but I have established that it was the British Bulldog Yin who wrote the history. It wudnae hae been the end o' the world if it hadn't, but I am glad that it was "Oor Winston"

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Sorry tae see that Glasgow Rangers got beat 2-0 last nicht in the UEFA Cup Final by thon team frae Russia. Although, tae be honest, I think that Rangers were playin' very negative fitba' - constantly defendin' an' hopin' tae score on the break. It's yin thing tae dae this now an' again, but tae have it as a policy isnae kosher in my book. Ah well. It's a' history now.

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Tae finish on a spiritual note, I had a guid time in Macroom on Tuesday wi' the gospel literature. I had a guid chat tae yin lady about the things o' God.

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Must go. Behave yersel's. Haste ye back.

KILKENNY CASTLE
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On Monday past, we went tae the Car Boot Sale ("trunk" tae the Yankies an' Confeds) where we did quite well, thank you very much. Thankfully, we sold muckle mair than we bought, although I was pleased tae pick up an odd volume o' Kenneth Wuest's Greek Nuggets fir the gran' sum o' €1 (Yin Euro).

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On Wednesday, the three o' us heided off tae a tremendous mid week break in Kilkenny City which is about 100 miles awa' tae the north east. The weather was perfect. We stopped in Cahir in County Tipperary (pronouced Keer, ryhmin' wi' queer) an' looked round the castle there. It is nice when Andrew gets in free, although admission prices were cheap anyway. Ye can read about the Castle here. We motored on tae Kilkenny an' had a lovely twa nichts in the newly opened Pembroke Hotel (4 star) hotel wi' use o' their swimmin' pool etc., Kilkenny also has a lovely castle wi' a great tour - again, cheap tae get intae. On baith occasions, the said castles got a visit in the mid 1600's frae a guid freen o' mine - yin Oliver Cromwell. Funny that...I've bin roun' stately hames an' castles an' cathedrals in Ireland an' England, an' Cromwell's name alwa's crops up. Ye never hear the guide sayin: "Oliver Cromwell turned up an' offered tae build the west wall etc.," Usually, his great canons helped remove them :0) In Cahir, the video had an actor playin' him writin' the folk a letter, offerin' them the richt tae leave their castle an' march out unmolested wi' their banners flyin' etc. On the other haun' if they elected tae stay in an' fight, then such generous terms could not be guaranteed (an euphemism). Amazin'ly Cromwell signs the said letter: "Your servant, Oliver Cromwell" :o)

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I did a wheen o' bookshops in Kilkenny, but purchased nothing. There was an interestin' enucht book fir sale - Winston Churchill's account o' the Amercian Civil War (or Northern Agression etc.,) However, it was dear enucht at €15 (euro) an' not in great condition. I see, I can get it a lot cheaper here, so my miss was my mercy. I dinnae even know it existed.

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Anyway, back tae the work o' God again the day. I'll work this morn' on a message fir the marra nicht an' then get down intae the city centre this afternoon wi' a whole hantle o' tracts.

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Fair fa' ye!

500th POST!
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Accordin' tae the records, this is my 500th post on Goodnightsafehome. I first posted back on 15th September, 2005 an' I've kept them a', although I wull probably delete some, especially if/when the space Blogger gie me here runs done. As far as I can see, there is no way o' knowing how much space I have left. At the beginnin' when the bloggin' bug was still strong, I blogged practically everyday, but soon cut it down tae manageable proportions. So here's tae the next 500 posts...if the Lord wull.

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I preached this mornin' oor second message frae 1 Timothy (1:5-11) about the law and the Christian. You can access the notes here. I'm preachin' the nicht frae 1 Peter 1:25 about the word of the Lord enduring for ever, or as Smith pits it in his Braid Scots NT: "But the sayin o' the Lord bides for aye!" Lorimer renders it: "But the Wurd o' the Lord bides evirmair" Notes here (later on after I've preached.)

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I've bin enjoyin' the evangelism o' late. I saw twa old contacts frae years ago whom I had forgotten a' about. Funny that - twa in twa days. In fact, if I had even remembered them, I wud've said that yin o' them was probably deid - bein' an old man. he just waved over at me. I spoke also wi' a young man who has bin on oor kirk website but who has got himsel' mixed up in the Mormons. He made e-mail later on again, so there is a fresh contact. We are fir a car boot sale the marra - I think the Americans call it a garage sale, although it is held in a local sports groun'. Olive has been reddin' oot the place like a wumman possessed an' hopes tae garner a few quid fir her efforts. Alang wi' oor household stuff, I'll take doon a few Bibles, tracts an' an Evangelistic board an' see how I get on. I usually get talkin' tae a Seventh Day Adventist at this event, although I havena bin there (at least wi' a stall) fir about twa years. The last time we were there, we went back tae oor second car tae discover that some galoot decided that oor back windscreen needed replaced.

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So that's the plan frae oor human perspective. Maybe God has something else fir us, and if so, it wull be somethin' better.

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I'm goin' tae run the spellchecker ower this piece now. The misspelt (English) words come up, highlichted in bricht yellow. I usually need my sun glasses, just tae look at the screen :0) When will Blogger gie us the option o' spell checkin' in Lallans an' Ulster Scots?

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Enjoy the rest o' yer Sabbath Day. Haste ye back. Keep her lit.

GREEN HILLS O' TYROL:
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If you liked the last Scots item wi' the pipes, then you'll like this yin tae:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8sSxw6GcXw
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Listen tae the lovely soft Scots accent. Very movin' stuff.
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And now this soldier this Scottish soldier
Who wanders far no more, and soldiers far no more
Now on a hillside, a Scottish hillside
You'll see a piper play this soldier home
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Fair fa' ye!

MY SON IN THE FAITH...
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We started a new series the day on 1 Timothy where Paul describes Timothy as his "own son in the faith" (1:1-4) We got off tae a guid start.

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Preachin' the nicht on the instructions God gave in Exodus 20:24-26 where the COI were not tae use any hewn stones to build their altars. I love these OT pictures.

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Still reading John Calvin's sermons on the Book o' Acts 1-7. There are 44 sermons in a' an' I've managed tae read about 37 o' them. Presently, he is spendin' a lot o' time on Stephen's sermon in chapter 7. It's a pity that many o' these sermons were lost, but the Banner o' Truth were right tae go aheid an' print what they had anywa'. I finished William Davis book last nicht on the history o' the CSA's. I hope tae start a short account o' the period o' reconstruction next week. I was "fingerin'" my biography o' Dabney by Lucas which I read last year. Maybe I'll get intae that again. Boys! Have I got a books tae read, never mind reread!

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Hae a guid Sabbath!