Sunday Worship 11.00 am and 6.30 pm Minister: Dr William (Bill) J M Parker
OUR PURPOSE
OUR PURPOSE
Sinclair Seamen’s Presbyterian Church aims to bring glory to God by gathering to worship then scattering to serve, and by being disciples and making disciples.
Our purpose is based on the two great commandments and one great commission which the Lord Jesus Christ left His church:
The Two Great Commandments
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… Love your neighbour as yourself. All the Law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. (Matthew 22:37– 40)
The One Great Commission
Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:19 – 20)
The first day of the week was significant for the early church because it was the day on which Jesus rose from the dead. The pattern of the infant Christian Church gathering on the first day of each week to worship God became its practice for this reason.
At Sinclair’s we gather as a fellowship of God’s people on the Lord’s Day in order to worship Him. Worship is such a vital activity for Christians that it is no surprise that God has given instructions in the Bible as to what constitutes acceptable worship. He has given guidelines to regulate our worship. It is what theologians call the regulative principle of worship. At Sinclair’s we believe that Christians may only do in public worship what the Bible says we should do. In other words, the Bible provides us with God’s directions concerning the essentials of worship. (Some denominations and local churches work off the premise that Christians may do anything in worship that the Bible does not forbid).
When we gather for worship the vertical dimension is primary: we direct our praise to God for He is worthy of all our praise as our Creator and Sustainer, and our Saviour. But there is also a horizontal dimension: we encourage each other.
Sinclair’s normally meets twice on the Lord’s Day: at 11.00 am and at 6.30 pm.
When Luke, in the book of Acts, tells us that the early church was scattered because a great persecution broke out against it (Acts 8:1), the word he used that is translated scattered means scattered in order to be planted. The Lord had said that the disciples would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8) and He used the persecution to scatter the Christians of Jerusalem in those directions so that they might bring the Gospel to where they would ‘fall’ and be planted. As those early Christians submitted themselves to Jesus’ teaching as His disciples they sought to obey the two greatest commandments and the great commission. They showed the love of Christ in how they related to their neighbour in their words and actions.
This was at least in part behind the thinking of the respected Dutch theologians Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck when they spoke of the Church as an institution (a gathered body that worships the Lord, hears His Word read and preached, and celebrates the sacraments) but also as an organism (scattered individual members who are salt and light in every sphere of life and who use every means possible to see God’s will done wherever they are scattered during the week – their home, office, farm, school, university, gym, sports club). Christians at Sinclair’s seek to pattern our lives in this Biblical way – gathering for worship on the Lord’s Day and then scattering to serve the Lord as faithful disciples where He plants us during the week.
What is a disciple of Jesus? The word disciple is related to the word discipline and discipline is systematic instruction intended to train a person in an activity, or to follow a code of conduct. So, a disciple of Jesus is a person who places himself under the discipline of Jesus' teaching.
In Luke 9:23, Luke records Jesus’ words that explain clearly what a disciple of Jesus is: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Jesus says there are three things that characterize a person being one of His disciples. In Luke 9:23 Jesus actually gives them as commands.
1. Self-Denial (9:23c; Isaiah 53:6; 2 Timothy 3:1-2). In other words, you stop relying on yourself for salvation – you rely on Jesus instead – and you live your life doing what Jesus wants you to do, not what you want to do. Simply put, a disciple of Jesus is someone who places him or herself under the discipline of Jesus’ teaching.
2. Daily Suffering (9:23d). Jesus paints a picture here of a person carrying the traverse beam of a cross to an execution site where they will be nailed to it and die. This cross-carrying displayed a person’s compulsory submission to the governing authorities. Jesus’ disciple must willingly die to self and submit to God’s way of salvation and of living life.
3. Submission (9:23e). Decisions to deny self and take up your cross must morph into continuous following of, and submission to, Jesus.
These essentials of discipleship speak of conversion followed by lifelong sanctification. Members of Sinclair’s recognise that we are called to be disciples of Jesus.
Before the Lord Jesus went back to Heaven, after His resurrection, He gave His disciples a Great Commission. It is clear from Matthew’s version of it, quoted above, that the chief work of the Church is to make disciples. This is sometimes missed because of the emphasis placed on go by many who speak on this verse. That is not where the emphasis really lies in the original language, Greek. In the original, go is a participle [as are baptizing & teaching] - an -ing word. Only the verb to make disciples is an imperative, a command. So, according to the great commission, Jesus’ disciples are to so work as to bring others under the discipline of Jesus teaching—to make other disciples. Jesus tells us how:
1. Baptising them in the Name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19b). Baptising presupposes that the person has repented (Acts 2:38) and repentance presupposes that the person has been called to repentance and faith in Christ (Acts 2:14-37). In other words, the person has been evangelised (Romans 10:14-15a).
2. Teaching them to obey Jesus’ teaching (Matthew 28:20a). Teaching others to place their lives under the discipline of Jesus’ teaching.
So, disciple-making involves evangelism, then teaching those who come to faith how to live the Christian life. Everything we do at Sinclair’s is filtered through the lens of Will this help us to make disciples?
To ‘make disciples’ is not complete unless it leads them to a life of observing Jesus’ commandments. R T France
Robust disciples are not made by watered-down teaching. James Montgomery Boice
This preaching and gossiping of the Gospel where Christians are planted is the spine and backbone work of any fellowship. We aim to make it the backbone work of Sinclair’s. It is the most effective way of spreading the good news of Christ. By doing this the highest number of people are reached with the Gospel.
In our world probably 99.9 percent of all Christians are not in the ministry. Unless everyone engages in evangelism – praying, initiating and fervently speaking the gospel – not much will happen. Will Metzger
Our purpose is based on the two great commandments and one great commission which the Lord Jesus Christ left His church:
The Two Great Commandments
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… Love your neighbour as yourself. All the Law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. (Matthew 22:37– 40)
The One Great Commission
Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:19 – 20)
Gathering to Worship
The first day of the week was significant for the early church because it was the day on which Jesus rose from the dead. The pattern of the infant Christian Church gathering on the first day of each week to worship God became its practice for this reason.
At Sinclair’s we gather as a fellowship of God’s people on the Lord’s Day in order to worship Him. Worship is such a vital activity for Christians that it is no surprise that God has given instructions in the Bible as to what constitutes acceptable worship. He has given guidelines to regulate our worship. It is what theologians call the regulative principle of worship. At Sinclair’s we believe that Christians may only do in public worship what the Bible says we should do. In other words, the Bible provides us with God’s directions concerning the essentials of worship. (Some denominations and local churches work off the premise that Christians may do anything in worship that the Bible does not forbid).
When we gather for worship the vertical dimension is primary: we direct our praise to God for He is worthy of all our praise as our Creator and Sustainer, and our Saviour. But there is also a horizontal dimension: we encourage each other.
Sinclair’s normally meets twice on the Lord’s Day: at 11.00 am and at 6.30 pm.
Scattering to Serve
When Luke, in the book of Acts, tells us that the early church was scattered because a great persecution broke out against it (Acts 8:1), the word he used that is translated scattered means scattered in order to be planted. The Lord had said that the disciples would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8) and He used the persecution to scatter the Christians of Jerusalem in those directions so that they might bring the Gospel to where they would ‘fall’ and be planted. As those early Christians submitted themselves to Jesus’ teaching as His disciples they sought to obey the two greatest commandments and the great commission. They showed the love of Christ in how they related to their neighbour in their words and actions.
This was at least in part behind the thinking of the respected Dutch theologians Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck when they spoke of the Church as an institution (a gathered body that worships the Lord, hears His Word read and preached, and celebrates the sacraments) but also as an organism (scattered individual members who are salt and light in every sphere of life and who use every means possible to see God’s will done wherever they are scattered during the week – their home, office, farm, school, university, gym, sports club). Christians at Sinclair’s seek to pattern our lives in this Biblical way – gathering for worship on the Lord’s Day and then scattering to serve the Lord as faithful disciples where He plants us during the week.
Being Disciples
What is a disciple of Jesus? The word disciple is related to the word discipline and discipline is systematic instruction intended to train a person in an activity, or to follow a code of conduct. So, a disciple of Jesus is a person who places himself under the discipline of Jesus' teaching.
In Luke 9:23, Luke records Jesus’ words that explain clearly what a disciple of Jesus is: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Jesus says there are three things that characterize a person being one of His disciples. In Luke 9:23 Jesus actually gives them as commands.
1. Self-Denial (9:23c; Isaiah 53:6; 2 Timothy 3:1-2). In other words, you stop relying on yourself for salvation – you rely on Jesus instead – and you live your life doing what Jesus wants you to do, not what you want to do. Simply put, a disciple of Jesus is someone who places him or herself under the discipline of Jesus’ teaching.
2. Daily Suffering (9:23d). Jesus paints a picture here of a person carrying the traverse beam of a cross to an execution site where they will be nailed to it and die. This cross-carrying displayed a person’s compulsory submission to the governing authorities. Jesus’ disciple must willingly die to self and submit to God’s way of salvation and of living life.
3. Submission (9:23e). Decisions to deny self and take up your cross must morph into continuous following of, and submission to, Jesus.
These essentials of discipleship speak of conversion followed by lifelong sanctification. Members of Sinclair’s recognise that we are called to be disciples of Jesus.
Making Disciples
Before the Lord Jesus went back to Heaven, after His resurrection, He gave His disciples a Great Commission. It is clear from Matthew’s version of it, quoted above, that the chief work of the Church is to make disciples. This is sometimes missed because of the emphasis placed on go by many who speak on this verse. That is not where the emphasis really lies in the original language, Greek. In the original, go is a participle [as are baptizing & teaching] - an -ing word. Only the verb to make disciples is an imperative, a command. So, according to the great commission, Jesus’ disciples are to so work as to bring others under the discipline of Jesus teaching—to make other disciples. Jesus tells us how:
1. Baptising them in the Name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19b). Baptising presupposes that the person has repented (Acts 2:38) and repentance presupposes that the person has been called to repentance and faith in Christ (Acts 2:14-37). In other words, the person has been evangelised (Romans 10:14-15a).
2. Teaching them to obey Jesus’ teaching (Matthew 28:20a). Teaching others to place their lives under the discipline of Jesus’ teaching.
So, disciple-making involves evangelism, then teaching those who come to faith how to live the Christian life. Everything we do at Sinclair’s is filtered through the lens of Will this help us to make disciples?
To ‘make disciples’ is not complete unless it leads them to a life of observing Jesus’ commandments. R T France
Robust disciples are not made by watered-down teaching. James Montgomery Boice
This preaching and gossiping of the Gospel where Christians are planted is the spine and backbone work of any fellowship. We aim to make it the backbone work of Sinclair’s. It is the most effective way of spreading the good news of Christ. By doing this the highest number of people are reached with the Gospel.
In our world probably 99.9 percent of all Christians are not in the ministry. Unless everyone engages in evangelism – praying, initiating and fervently speaking the gospel – not much will happen. Will Metzger