On the first Easter morning, Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb in the dark — grieving, searching, and not yet understanding. She finds the stone rolled away, the grave clothes lying empty, and angels where a body should be. And then, in a moment that changes everything, the risen Jesus speaks her name.

In this Easter sermon from John 20:1–18, Rev Andrew Irwin reflects on the restless searching that lies at the heart of every human life — the longing for something we can't quite name, the disorientation of loss and confusion, and the silence of an empty tomb that at first seems to make everything worse, not better.

But Easter doesn't meet us with an argument. It meets us with a person. A risen Jesus who walks in gardens, who calls us by name, and who invites us to stop searching — because he has already found us.

In this episode:

• Why Mary's confusion at the tomb is so deeply human
• What the empty tomb means before we understand it
• The moment Jesus calls Mary by name — and what that means for us
• How the resurrection answers our searching with presence, not just proof

Preached on Easter Sunday, 5 April 2026, at St Paul's & St Barnabas, Belfast.

St Paul's & St Barnabas is an Anglican evangelical parish in the heart of North Belfast, seeking to make Christ known and to love our city in his name.

Join us in person on Sundays at 208 York Street, Belfast, or find out more at www.spbbelfast.church

On Palm Sunday at St Paul’s & St Barnabas, Rev Andrew Irwin preaches on Psalm 31:9-16 and the strange, weighty tension at the heart of Holy Week. As Christ enters Jerusalem in triumph, he also walks towards sorrow, rejection, and the cross. This sermon explores the agony beneath the triumph, the honesty of David in suffering, the stubborn trust of faith, and the hope that comes from knowing that our times are in the hands of God. In a world shaped by pressure, fear, and the need to appear strong, Psalm 31 calls us to bring our distress honestly before the Lord, to trust him deeply, and to rest in his faithful love. A sermon for those carrying grief, pressure, anxiety, or uncertainty, and for all who need to be reminded that God is not absent in trouble, but present, faithful, and good.  

St Paul’s & St Barnabas Sermons
Galatians 3:13–14 | The Solution to the Curse
Rev Ethan McCarter (Crosscollyer EPC)

In this sermon from St Paul’s & St Barnabas, Rev Ethan McCarter of Crosscollyer EPC preaches from Galatians 3:13–14, opening up how Christ redeems us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. At the heart of the passage is the good news of the gospel: that through the cross, the blessing promised to Abraham comes to the nations, and that in Christ we receive the promised Spirit by faith.

At St Paul’s & St Barnabas, we are an Anglican evangelical parish in the heart of North Belfast, committed to preaching Christ faithfully, teaching the Bible clearly, and helping people grow as disciples of Jesus in the whole of life.

We hope this sermon helps you see more clearly the glory of Christ’s saving work and the freedom, blessing, and new life that are found in him.

For more information about St Paul’s & St Barnabas, visit:
www.spbbelfast.church

Part of our Lent preaching, this episode takes us into Matthew 4:1–11 where Jesus is led into the wilderness and tested with hunger, spectacle, and power. The devil’s first move is to unsettle identity: “If you are the Son of God…” but Jesus stands firm by the Word, answering again and again, “It is written.” This sermon calls us to Word-saturated endurance in the ordinary pressures of life, where comfort can become danger and shortcuts can look sensible, and it re-centres us on who we are in Christ as we return to faithful mission in our city.

Part 5 of the “Contending for Hope” series reflects on 1 Peter 1:22–25 on Transfiguration Sunday, drawing on the mountain-top glory of Matthew 17 and what it means to walk back down into the ordinary valleys of daily life. This episode explores how the Christian life is not sustained by moments of spiritual intensity but by the living and enduring Word of God, calling us to love one another deeply, to remember what truly lasts, and to live faithfully in the everyday as people shaped by a hope that does not fade.

In this sermon from 1 Peter 1:17–21, Rev. Andrew reflects on what it means to live as God’s redeemed people in a pressured and uncertain world, reminding us that we have been rescued not by perishable things, but by the precious blood of Christ. Set in the context of a church living as strangers and exiles, the passage calls us to take the holiness of God seriously, not as fear-driven moralism, but as a life shaped by grace, dependence on the Spirit, and reverent trust in a holy and loving Father. As St Paul’s & St Barnabas begins its 175th year of worship and witness in Belfast, this message invites us to locate our faith and hope not in circumstances or success, but in the God who has acted decisively in Christ and is still at work among His people today.

Rev Alan preaches this morning from Hebrews 11 and In this sermon, we are brought face to face with one of the most searching questions of the Christian life: what does real faith look like, and where does it come from?

Hebrews 11 opens by grounding faith not in emotion or optimism, but in confidence and conviction. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the certainty of things not yet seen. From the outset, Scripture reminds us that faith is not blind. It is anchored in the Word of God, the God who speaks and creates, the God who frames the world by His command and sustains it by His power.

Part 3 | 1 Peter 1:10–16 | The Beautiful Life Is a Holy Life

In Part 3 of our series through 1 Peter, we turn to 1 Peter 1:10–16 and consider what it means to live a beautiful life shaped by holiness. Peter slows the church down. Before calling believers to action, he invites them to dwell, to linger, and to reflect on the salvation they have received. This salvation was long anticipated by the prophets, marvelled at by angels, and now revealed fully in Jesus Christ. It is not a passing idea or a private comfort, but the foundation of Christian life in the world.

From this deep reflection on salvation, Peter moves to the call of holy living. Holiness is not about legalism or withdrawal from the world, nor is it about blending in without distinction. Instead, it is a life shaped by hope, marked by obedience, and rooted in the character of a holy God who has made us His children.

This episode explores how gospel truth leads to gospel living, why suffering often comes before glory, and how a renewed mind fuels faithful, visible discipleship in everyday life. Holiness, Peter shows us, is not an optional extra, but the natural outworking of a life grounded in grace. A timely reminder that the Christian life is formed not by rushing ahead, but by fixing our hope fully on Christ and living as His people in the world.

In this episode, we open 1 Peter 1:3–9 and reflect on what it means to live with a living hope in a weary and pressured world. Writing to believers in exile, Peter begins not with instruction but with praise, reminding us that Christian hope begins with salvation, is secured by the resurrection of Jesus, and is sustained even through suffering. This episode explores new birth, an inheritance that cannot fade, faith refined by trials, and the quiet, resilient joy of loving Christ in the waiting. In a moment when retreat and maintenance feel tempting, Peter calls us to faithful presence, confident worship, and hopeful witness, trusting that the God who has acted before is still at work today.

As we begin a new year and mark 175 years of worship and witness at St Paul’s & St Barnabas, we open a new teaching series: Contending for Hope.

In this first message, we turn to the opening words of Peter’s first letter. Written to a weary, scattered church under pressure, these verses speak with striking clarity to our own moment.

Peter reminds God’s people who they are before he tells them what to do: strangers in the world, yet chosen by God; set apart by the Spirit; sprinkled by the blood of Jesus; sent to live faithfully where God has placed them.

This is not a call to retreat from the world, nor to manage decline quietly. It is a call to live with confidence, clarity, and hope in a place that does not yet feel like home.

As we stand at the threshold of a new year and a significant anniversary in the life of this parish, this sermon sets the foundation for what it means to contend for hope in our city today: grounded in salvation, rooted in grace, and sent with peace.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.