Presbyterian Moderator, Rt Rev Dr David Bruce, continues his weekly service of worship for the whole Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Recorded in the Weir Chapel in Assembly Buildings, Belfast, the Moderator will bring this service to the wider Presbyterian family during the summer months and into September. This morning he continues with the Apostle Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, exploring the theme, ‘A church full of the Holy Spirit.’

Today Dr Bruce looks at Ephesians 3:14-21. “This morning we will see that Paul prayed for the church in Ephesus – a church with all the potential for failure and division within it – and asks God, the Holy Spirit, to equip them. Paul’s prayer shows how they can succeed, by being revolutionaries of a new humanity,” he said.

The Moderator continued by explaining that having reached the midpoint of the letter to the Ephesians, Paul has been looking at what God has done in bringing this diverse and unlikely group of people together in Christ. “After this point, with the end of chapter three, there is a major shift from principle to practice. For the next number of weeks we will be looking at how this teaching about the Church works out in the way we organise ourselves, do our work and live our lives.”

As in previous weeks, members of PCI’s 19 local presbyteries will take part in the service. Joining Dr Bruce this week is the turn of Ards Presbytery. During the service Presbytery Moderator, Rev Graeme Kennedy, minister of Ballygrainey Presbyterian Church, will be joined by Presbytery Clerk, Rev John Flaherty, minister of Millisle and Ballycopeland Presbyterian Churches. They will introduce the Presbytery in a short video, read and pray.

Presbytery of Ards

The Presbytery of Ards stretches from Helens Bay, on the eastern shore of Belfast Lough, and follows the North Down coast taking in swathes of County Down as it sweeps inland and down the entire Ards Peninsula.

It includes the main towns of Bangor, and Newtownards, and 32 local congregations that bring together a Presbyterian family of over 20,000 people. While the earliest Presbyterian minister began his ministry in the area in 1615, it wasn’t until the 1640s that several congregations were established – each of them continuing to this day.

Songs included this week include:

• How deep the father’s love for us
• Holy Spirit, living breath of God
• Love Divine, all loves excelling

At the close of the service, Susan Hamilton, who is the Clerk of Session of First Presbyterian Church, Bangor, will lead prayers for others.

Next week…

Next week’s service will explore how the Church, of which we are part, is a gifted Church.  We will be joined by members of the East Belfast Presbytery, and will look at Ephesians 4:1-13 under the title ‘A Gifted Church’.