Sandyknowes Blog

Living beside the busiest roundabout in Northern Ireland gives plenty of opportunity for watching the world go by. Sandyknowes Blog is the personal blog of Niall Lockhart (minister of Ballyhenry). Pull in and have a read…

This past week saw the very sad death of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes. Hughes died at the age of 25 after being struck on the head by a ball in a game between South Australia and New South Wales. An unspeakable tragedy for his family, his death has had a profound impact in his native Australia with the Sydney Morning Herald running the simple headline 'We love you.'

Earlier this week the Presbyterian Church in Ireland issued a statement reflecting on the apparent decision of the Equality Commission to take further steps towards legal action against the owners of Ashers Baking Company. The statement offers a thoughtful Christian response to this unfolding situation which has been prominent this week in our local news. To read the statement in full click here.

Earlier today I met up with Chris and Sarah Keiller. Chris and Sarah are OMF missionaries who are currently on ‘home assignment’ from Thailand. Before they left for Thailand in 2010 Chris and Sarah visited Ballyhenry and since then we as a congregation have followed them and their work with interest.

I’m not an X Factor devotee but I caught the start of the ‘Live Shows’ earlier this evening. If you were watching you will have heard Paul Akister singing Ella Henderson’s Ghost. The song (first released in 2014) includes the lyric: ‘I keep going to the river to pray / Cos I need something that can wash out the pain.’ I’m not sure the story behind those lyrics, but for me there a real echo of a story found in the Bible book of the Acts of the Apostles.

Recently in church we mentioned The Jesus Storybook Bible, and commended this as an excellent Bible for children of primary school age. This Bible is particularly good at helping us see how the Old Testament points to Jesus. On Sunday we quoted the following extract:

At the centre of the story, there is a baby, the Child upon everything would depend. From Noah to Moses to King David, every story whispers His name. Jesus is like the missing piece in a puzzle – the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together.

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