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Saturday
the 25th of September was a day of rejoicing for the
congregation of Newtownards Free Presbyterian Church,
not only was it their anniversary but was also the day
the first sod was cut for their new Church building.
The Service, which began at 3.30, was attended by many
from neighbouring congregations, including some from as
far as Clogher Valley. It was planned to have an open
air meeting, but due to heavy showers the crowd of just
over 200 were accommodated inside the present Church
building.
The former minister in charge, Rev. J. Hartin, opened
the meeting in prayer and the Rev. F. Greenfield
ministered in song. Other visiting ministers included,
Rev. R. Stewart, Rev. T. Baxter and Rev. D. Creane.
The minister of Newtownards, Rev. T. A. Dunlop, in
welcoming the Moderator and the visitors made reference
to the need for a strong separated witness in
Newtownards.
Mr. Dunlop said that although he was conscious that he
had entered into the labours of others, in Newtownards,
still it was a special day for him in that it marked his
first anniversary there as the first ordained minister
to the congregation. The Free Presbyterian Church, he
said, depended not on frills or thrills in its
evangelism and he rejoiced that at the end of his first
year the plain preaching of God's Word had brought its
own results. The congregation had almost doubled in
numbers and many souls had been saved, with the
communicant membership also being increased.
The highlight of the occasion, however, was the sermon
preached by Dr. Paisley. Taking as his theme the first
mention of the word 'dig' in Scripture, Dr. Paisley
preached from Gen. 21-22 and ch. 26.
He said that the wells which Abraham had dug and which
Isaac reopened had lessons for the Church of Christ.
There were fine things connected with the wells that had
a direct relationship to the Church. In Gen. 21 there
was the well itself, the seven ewe lambs, and a tree
planted, and in Gen. ch. 26 an altar and a tent
completed the list.
Looking at these fine things in relation to the Church
we see that the tree is the centre of witness to the
Church. Dr. Paisley said that the Church goes from
strength to strength as it preaches the Cross. May we
never look for the spectacular or the entertaining of
the world but continue to preach the Cross of Christ.
The well itself, he said, was only a receptacle, it
contained the water, a channel only. Salvation is not in
the Church, but the Gospel well can be brought to men
through the Church and it can supply the needs of all.
The ewe lambs were not for sacrifice but for witness,
and the witness of the Church is the witness of new born
lambs into the fold. Souls saved were the witness to the
uncircumcised Philistines round about. [29]
The altar spoke to us of prayer and dedication. The
Church of Christ never prospered except when the altar
of prayer was in good repair. We must be constant in
prayer and dedicated to the work at hand. Finally, there
was the tent. It was a temporary dwelling, signifying
that we are moving forward, forward in progress, forward
in battle, forward until the day when the world meets
the Lord in Glory.
The congregation was very attentive as the Moderator
elaborated on these things with great liberty and
freedom, and a blessing was felt by all who heard.
The truth was expressed in lighter vein when at the
actual cutting of the sod, as Mr. Paisley handed back
the spade to Mr. Dunlop, he said, "I trust that you
will not only dig a well here, but a grave for apostasy
and all false doctrine, and may it be a Sadducees grave,
from which there is no Resurrection."
The offering that day came to eleven hundred and
forty-five pounds, with a promise of another two
hundred, and, just at the time of writing, another dear
lady has given a gift of 1,000 pounds. With the steel
structure being gifted and the tiles also as a present,
our hearts give thanks to God for His goodness, through
all His servants, and we look forward to times of
refreshing in Newtownards.
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