Drung Group of Churches

What is life all about? What is the meaning? Is there any meaning?How would you answer the question? You can listen to the sermon recording at the link below:

Isn't it very easy to be grumpy? I find it much easier to be grumpy than grateful. Grumpiness seems to be acceptable, but at its heart it is expressing dissatisfaction with what God has given us and is a sin that I know I need to repent of often! You can listen to the next part of Ecclesiastes as the preacher instructs us to rejoice and remember.

What do you do when you don't know what to do? The temptation is to procrastinate. The uncertainties can leave us feeling paralyzed. What if I do this, what if I do that? And we end up doing nothing! We can't avoid risk. And the preacher of Ecclesiastes wants us to trust God and get on with life. You can listen to the recording from Sunday at the link below.

How can we make the most of the life God gives us? You can listen to the recording from the sermon on Ecclesiastes 9 at the link below.

On remembrance Sunday we were joined by Rev David Martin from Irish Church Missions. You can listen to his very helpful sermon on “Can death ever be a good thing" at the link below.

How do you come to church? Most of us drive or get a lift, maybe you walk. When I lived in Brazil we used to get a lift to church on a trailer behind the tractor! I suppose it doesn't matter to much how you get to church, the important this is that we come, but what about our attitude is we come to church? What are you thinking on your way in? I hope we sing some nice hymns, I hope the preacher is interesting and doesn't go on too long! Maybe you're looking forward to catching up with each other. Maybe you don't think too much, you just come out of habit. Or maybe you come, desiring to get to know God better, maybe even to hear Him speak. In Ecclesiastes 5 the preacher moves from vanity to something weighty - worship. He warns us to be careful about our attitude as we come to worship. The Bible reading was Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 and the recording is below:

There's a peanuts cartoon where Sally wakes up Charlie Brown and he asks her why she's waking him up early, she says so he can get an early start, he says “For what? I'm not going anywhere!” Sally replies: “That's too bad...you could have been the first one there.” Does life ever feel like that?! That you're rushing to be first, not wanting to miss out, but you never actually seem to get anywhere! In Ecclesiastes 4 the preacher challenges us to flip things around and make life about "we not me".

Sometimes life feels like we are trying to juggle so many different things, trying to make it all fit and work. But what if we're not actually meant to be in control of it all? In Ecclesiastes 3 we have the beautiful poem about time, and then the preacher's explanation of what God is doing with the times and seasons and why we can trust him. You can listen to the recording below:

What is it all about? Do you ever wonder that? We saw last week that life is short and elusive, like the smoke when you blow out a candle. But what are we meant to do with that? How do we answer the big question of what we gain from all our toil? Is the answer really “not much”? Isn't the world your oyster, can't we dream big? Can't we be the ones who really gain in life? Isn't it worth trying to get ahead? Can we not find some gain in life? You're very welcome to join us this Sunday as we listen to the preacher from Ecclesiastes telling us what he learned as he tried to find meaning in all sorts of places. There is a youtube recording below but we had trouble with the microphone so the sound quality is better at the above link

“Inside every old person is a young person wondering what happened”! Words attributed to author Terry Pratchet, but maybe you can echo them in your heart. Life just seems to go so quickly and sometimes we're left wondering, what happened, what was it all about? This September our group of churches are going to begin looking at the book of Ecclesiastes. It's a book that wrestles very honestly with the sense of frustration at the all too fast passing of the years. It's a book that teaches us about the fragility of life, and asks the hard questions, and teaches us how to enjoy the life God has given us.

Recently, I met a woman in a hospital car park, she was very upset, a family member had had a stroke. The doctors were talking about end of life. What can you say in such a circumstance? The truth is at times, “we all have needs and problems we cannot solve, besetting sins, broken relationships, incurable disabilities, disease, weakness that leave us feeling discouraged & defeated.” What can we say? This Sunday we will hear about a time Jesus met two people in desperate need and what he did for them. We'll be thinking about what he still offers to do for us and how that helps in the desperate times.

Sadly we didn't have enough internet to livestream, so here's a recording of the audio from the funeral of Maud Campbell for those who weren't able to get there: And here's the order of service:

Do you ever ask the question "Why doesn't God stop evil?" Maybe its a question that people ask you, a question that stops people believing. This Sunday we will be hearing about a time that Jesus confronted evil and how this helps with the answer to that tricky question. You're very welcome to join us

All sorts of things may cause us to tremble, but what about God's Word? This Sunday we well be joined by Rev Richard Balmer from Crosslinks and he will be speaking from Isaiah 66 about trembling at God's Word.

We are very privileged to be joined by David Turner from Church in Chains at our united service in Ballyhaise this Sunday (30 July) at 11am. Church in Chains is an Irish voice for persecuted Christians and David will be speaking about the working he's involved in and teaching us from God's Word in 1 Kings 18 about "who is the real God"?

Wild fires raging across parts of Europe, health warnings in place in parts of Asia, Europe and North America. Should we be afraid? What about some of the other storms that we face in our own lives? What do you most fear? You're very welcome to join us as we think about these sorts of questions and see how faith in Jesus helps us.

Imagine you just bought a new car! What would be a really foolish thing to do? What about an exercise bike? In our Bible reading for Sunday Jesus tells us 2 foolish thing to do with a lamp to teach us about the importance of listening to His Word and putting it into practice.

This Sunday we're going to be looking at one of Jesus' most famous parables - the parable of the sower and learning how we should listen to Jesus word.

In Simon's world, there were two kinds of people, the decent morally upright hard-working people like him and his friends, and the “sinners”! Thankfully, Jesus was more gracious! This Sunday we will see how Jesus' forgiveness of us leads us to love Him more.

Why don't you believe? What causes you to doubt what you believe? Maybe its some clever person on TV or the radio challenging what you believe, or a friend who tells you its nonsense? Or maybe its an experience in life that makes you question your fatih. For John the Baptist, it was possibly his experience that had led him to have questions. He had been so certain, but now he's not so sure. You're welcome to join us this Sunday to see what helped John did with his doubts and hopefully it will help us to!

“Children were made for sun and laughter, for sunshine, not for pain. When a child dies, part of the parent is buried.” The lady we meet in this Sunday's reading was about to bury a part of herself. She had lost her only son, and what's more she was a widow. Join us this Sunday to discover the compassion of Jesus towards this woman and to find hope.

What is faith? How can sickness be a blessing? Does Jesus still heal today? Join us this Sunday as we return to Luke's gospel and discover what Dr Luke teaches us about these important questions.

There is an episode of the Simpsons when Homer forgets to pick up Bart from soccer practice. Despite Marge reminding him, and Homer assuring her “I'm on my way” – he totally forgets! Even the dog starts barking “Bart, Bart” but Homer still forgets until he drops off to sleep and has a nightmare and remembers! Sometimes we may feel that Jesus has forgotten about us. Maybe some experience in life has left you feeling broken or abandoned. You're very welcome to join us this Sunday as we consider the truth and comfort from Jesus' words "I am coming soon" The online video got cut off, but here's the start, and I'll post the end in a separate video:

Sorry to those who got cut off in the livestream this morning, here's the recording of the sermon from Killougher.There is an episode of the Simpsons when Homer forgets to pick up Bart from soccer practice. Despite Marge reminding him, and Homer assuring her “I'm on my way” – he totally forgets! Even the dog starts barking “Bart, Bart” but Homer still forgets until he drops off to sleep and has a nightmare and remembers! Sometimes we may feel that Jesus has forgotten about us. Maybe some experience in life has left you feeling broken or abandoned. You're very welcome to join us this Sunday as we consider the truth and comfort from Jesus' words "I am coming soon"

Why does a job always take longer than you expect?! Why is there almost always something that goes wrong? But its not just work, stress also comes from relationship struggles, from health challenges, sometimes life can feel overwhelming. Sometimes we may wonder if we can carry on. This Sunday we will discover hope and true satisfaction in what God promises in Revelation 21 and we'll be praying for those who have suffered bereavements this week.

You're very welcome to join us this Sunday for a United Service in Drung at 11am. This means all the churches from our group will be meeting together, but you're very welcome whatever your background. We will be joined by Alan Cousins from SAT-7. Here's a recording from the service.

"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea." Join us this Sunday as we consider why people wanted to partner with the apostle Paul in spreading the gospel and what it might mean for us today.

What's the best deal ever? Join us this Sunday to celebrate the greatest ever offer that flows out of Jesus' death and resurrection. "Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price."

On May 6th in England, King Charles III will officially be crowned at Westminster Abbey. They are currently restoring the 700 year old oak chair for the occasion! He will be anointed with oil—not containing animal products! He will be presented with various items, including the Royal Orb, the Sceptre, and a crown. 8000 guests will attend. The cost will be???! Today, Palm Sunday, we travel back almost 2000 years and hear the celebration of the royal procession of King Jesus into the royal city of Jerusalem. The cost of his procession was significantly less even though he was going to reign forever!You can watch or listen to the service at the links below.

We've also been asked to host the talks for the Cavan Christian Women's Conference talks from 2022, the speaker was Dr Carol Watson. The first one was recorded live but unfortunately the fire alarm went off and so the second one wasn't recorded live but Carol kindly recorded it afterwards.

What stops you praying? Tiredness? Busyness? Independence? Or maybe its experience, you've tried and God didn't seem to answer and you don't want to try again. This Sunday we're going to be encouraged to not give up praying because of the character of the God we are praying to.

Cavan Christian Women's Conference have asked us to host their 2023 talks on our website, so here are the three talks from the book of James.

Mothering Sunday isn't always easy for everyone, but we still want to give thanks for those who have mothered us and recognise the sacrifices they have made. We will also be praying for those for whom it is a hard day. We'll be taking comfort from God's word as we look at Hannah pouring out her heart to the Lord and seeing the comfort the Lord gave her in 1 Samuel. You can watch or listen at the links below.

What have you experienced this week that has made you think—this isn't the way it should be? Maybe its an ongoing struggle with your or a loved ones physical or mental health and you feel, it shouldn't be like this. Bodies shouldn't be so vulnerable, relationships shouldn't be this fragile, life shouldn't be this lonely. At the end of the Bible we see that one day, God will make everything right forever for those who belong to Jesus. You can listen to a recording at the links below:

If you saw a ferocious dog coming running towards you, what would you do? How about if you saw that it was chained up! What a relief! Revelation 20 tells us that Satan is bound for 1000 years so that he cannot deceive the nations. When is this and how can we make the most of the opportunity this gives us?You can listen to a recording of the service below:

Sara Ahmadi is serving 8 years in prison in Iran for her church involvement. She features in Church in Chains Lent Project this week. Her husband suffers from advanced Parkinson's and is also in prison. How would you cope? This Sunday we will see how John's vision in Revelation 19 must have helped him when he was in prison in Patmos and how it might help Sara (and us) today. You can listen to the service recording below:

How long does it take to get ready for a wedding?! Depends who you ask! If you ask the groom—might say as long as it takes to have a shower, and put on a suit! If you ask the bride—you're talking months, if not years! There's a lot of work that goes into getting ready for the big day, even for the groom! The venue, the food, the music, the clothing, the rings, the invites, seating plan, flowers, cake, car, maybe trying to squeeze in some exercise so that the suit still fits! Planning a honeymoon, and somewhere to live!You can listen to a recording about getting ready for the most amazing wedding ever (Revelation 19:6-10). We also had a baptism, but unfortunately the microphone cuts out for some of it.

On the news we see disturbing images of people searching the rubble for survivors. Sometimes there is rejoicing as someone is found alive. Other times, there's the sound of wailing as someone is discovered to be dead. It is heart-breaking, and we pray for those who have had their lives shattered, and no doubt we want to give to support them as well. One of the images that struck me was of the collapse of a high rise building. It just crumbled in seconds. It's a powerful picture for what we're looking at in Revelation 18. Here we see the fall of Babylon. A kingdom that looked so secure, so wealthy, so prosperous, years and years of building, and its wiped out in an instant. And just like the high rise buildings that crumbled, Revelation tells us that one day all opposition to God will end suddenly. Jesus calls His people “Come out of her.” It's a challenge, we need to live in the world, but we are not to be of the world. Christians are to be distinctive from the worldly culture around us and to build our lives on Jesus.You can watch or listen to a recording at the links below:

The church was in danger of getting deceived by wealth and going the way of the world. In Revelation 17 we get our eyes opened to the reality of what's really going on.You can listen to a recording of the service below.

What do you make of the wrath of God? This Sunday we are returning to the book of Revelation and picking up where we left off in chapter 15. We face the challenging subject of the wrath of God. You can listen to a recording of the service below:

This Sunday we're blessed to be joined by Rev Dr Mark Earngey. We're even more blessed that he will be teaching us about God's unbreakable love in Romans 8. You can listen to the recording below:

Here's the 3rd talk from our reader training morning and the discussion questions are below

Here's the recording from our second session on Philemon with Rev Dr Mark Earngey, and below you can see the discussion questions. And here were our discussion questions…

It was a great privilege to have Rev Dr Mark Earngey join us for our reader training today, he gave three talks on Philemon, the first of which is below and the next 2 will be in subsequent posts with the relevant slides foe each talk. We also had great discussion in small groups using COMA to help us think about understand Philemon. COMA studies a Bible passage in four steps: Context, Observation, Meaning, and Application., you ca see the questions that we looked at in small groups below.

How do you find strength for the Christian battle? You can watch the service or listen to it at the links below.Our readings were from Isaiah 40:1-11 and John 1:19-35.

For those that were unable to get to the recent funeral service of Roy, you can listen to a recording of the service below. We continue to remember the family and friends in our prayers. May the God of all comfort give you His peace that passes understanding. You can see the order of service with some lovely photos below.

We all want to belong somewhere. We have a desire to fit in, to be accepted. Here's a recording from the first Sunday of Epiphany - a time where we consider the baptism of our Lord. We will see that even though Jesus is the eternal son of God, he choses to identify with people like you and me, and amazingly this means we can find a place where we truly belong and are accepted.

Here's a recording of our Christmas Day service,

Why do you believe what you say you believe? We declare our faith in the Creed—I believe—but why? Do you just believe it because you've been taught to believe it? Maybe you've been told not to question but just to believe? Maybe you're not sure if you believe it, but it's a bit of an insurance policy, just in case...its true. Sometimes people say “I'm sceptical, and ask a lot of questions. Religious people do not—they just believe.” Is that true? Join us this Christmas to learn from Mary in her questioning journey of faith.

This week has seen further suffering, from the awful earthquake in Indonesia to more strikes in Ukraine one of which took the life of a newborn baby. There were shootings in Virginia Walmart, and then there's the personal stories of suffering that we all live with. Sometimes people say "if God is all loving and all-powerful, he wouldn't allow suffering. Suffering exists, therefore, cannot be all-powerful, all-loving God." How would you answer that? You're very welcome to join us on Sunday morning as we consider this important question and see the hope the Bible offers in our suffering. You can listen to a recording of the service or watch the recording below:

The Spanish Inquisition, Christianity being used to justify slavery and apartheid. Religious figures have been able to use their position and influence to prey on some of the most vulnerable. Religious institutions have closed ranks and covered up truly unspeakable acts. If that is what Christianity is all about, who in their right mind would want anything to do with it? And yet, there's something beautiful about Jesus' teaching and example that could be the answer.You're welcome to listen to a recording of the service or watch it on YouTube below.