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 Sunday - 28th September

26 September 2014

On Sunday morning (11am) we come to the second part of our series on the Sermon on the Mount. This week our topic is 'Beyond the Law' when we will be looking at Matthew 5 vs 17-26. One of the big questions that lies at the heart of this passage is 'How can I enter into a right relationship with God?' That question (of particular interest to those who aren't yet Christians) is balanced by a discussion within this passage on what it means to live the Christian life.

Read more

This Sunday - 21st September

19 September 2014

This Sunday morning (11am) we begin a new morning series on The Sermon on the Mount. This week Niall will be opening the series by looking at Matthew 5 vs 1-16 under the title 'The Good Life'.  If you have time read through the passage in advance of coming along to church seeing how in particular Jesus paints a picture of what it really means to be 'blessed' by God in the ordinary everyday things of life.

Read more

Home Based Fellowship Groups

16 September 2014

Home Based Fellowship Groups meet regularly on alternate Wednesday evenings throughout this term.  Fellowship Groups have become a central, and appreciated, part of our life together in Ballyhenry over the last few years. Meeting in six homes around Newtownabbey groups give individuals the opportunity to meet together, to enjoy a cup of tea, to chat, to read the Bible and to pray together (though no one has to say or do anything!)

This term we are working our way through the book of Ephesians under the overall title 'Building a Community where Jesus is at home.'

Read more

Treasure Find Near Newtownabbey

10 September 2014

A number of news and media outlets have carried news today of a treasure find on the outskirts of Newtownabbey. Treasure Hunter Tom Ross found a rare 300 year old ring in a ploughed field that apparently used to be the site of a church and graveyard.  From the 1500s on engaged couples exchanged 'posy rings' as a sign of their commitment to each other and it is one of these gold rings that Tom found. 

The ring contained an Old English inscription 'I noght on gift bot gifer' which translates into modern English as 'Look not on the gift but to the giver.'

Read more

The Fight

7 September 2014

Northern Ireland has a new world champion. Last night Belfast born Carl Frampton outpointed Spain’s Kiko Martinez in front of a sell out crowd of 16,000 in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter. For many the fight will have brought back memories from the mid 1980s when Barry McGuigan (Frampton’s manager) secured his own world title to the unforgettable strains of ‘Danny Boy’. The fact that Carl is a former pupil of Glengormley High School has heightened local interest in his victory, with the Newtownabbey Times having given full coverage to the fight build up in last week’s paper.

Read more

Pages