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…

Hey Jude ... going further

3 August 2014

This morning we had the first in a two part series 'Hey Jude'. In real terms the talk focused on one verse (vs 1). In this verse Jude talks about the identity of the person who has been saved by Christ, and in particular what it means to be 'called', 'loved' and 'kept'. It's interesting the overlaps there are with the story of Samuel (1 Samuel 3 vs 1-21) which we looked at in the children's talk.

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Praying for the Middle East

2 August 2014

The situation in Gaza and Israel has been dominating the news over the last number of weeks. Reports from the region paint a picture of a heartbreaking humanitarian crisis. Since the beginning of July over 1600 Palestinians and 64 Israelis have lost their lives. News reports this morning speak of fresh waves of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City and renewed rocket attacks by militants on Israel. In the midst of all of this ordinary people's lives are being torn apart.

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A Game of Thrones

24 June 2014

The Queen was in Belfast this week and accompanied by the First and Deputy First Ministers visited Belfast's Crumlin Road. Later on she called at the set of Game of Thrones in the Titanic Quarter. Her visit prompted the question on Radio Ulster would she be 'swapping one throne for another'?

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Praying for Iraq

22 June 2014

Today at our morning service we were praying for Iraq. News currently coming out of Iraq portrays a picture of a country in great turmoil and in the midst of real crisis. The Bible encourages Christians to pray for the nations of the world, and to pray for the peoples of those nations. We have already mentioned Operation World in the context of the World Cup, but today let me encourage you to take a moment and watch this short video on Iraq (produced by Operation World).

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This Sunday - 15th June

12 June 2014

The sun is shining and we're well into the month of June. This Sunday at 11am we have a visit from Rev Ronnie Hetherington who will be speaking on the topic 'Called to Serve'. Ronnie works in Union Theological College in Belfast, where he has the role of 'Director of Ministerial Studies'. Ronnie has preached in Ballyhenry on numerous occasions and his visits are always very appreciated.

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