SPB Sermons | 175th Anniversary Service · 27 September 2026
The Faithfulness of God
From Generation to Generation
On 27 September 2026, St Paul's and St Barnabas marked 175 years of worship and witness in North Belfast. Guest preacher Rev Clint McBroom brought a message from Psalm 145:4 that was as personal as it was universal: one generation commends the work of God to another, and the God who was faithful then is faithful still.
1851 · 2026
175 Years of Worship and Witness
This church has stood on the edge of North Belfast through famine and conflict, through prosperity and decline, through every season the city has known. Generation after generation has gathered under this roof to hear the Word preached, to sing God's praises, to break bread, to pray, and to go back into their streets as the people of Christ. The same God. The same gospel. The same calling.
The anniversary weekend opened on Friday evening with a concert that drew around two hundred people and raised over two and a half thousand pounds for the work of the church. On Wednesday of the same week, a confirmation service saw five members of SPB confirmed by Bishop George Davidson. A new generation, stepping forward in faith. And on Sunday morning, with a guest preacher whose own family roots connect to this island, the congregation gathered to remember, rejoice, and reach.
The Man Who Came Home
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." — Hebrews 13:8
Rev Clint McBroom serves with the Global Methodist Church in Wichita, Kansas. But the day before he stood in this pulpit, he stood in a field not twenty-five minutes from SPB. Because in 1662, when the Act of Uniformity drove Covenanting Presbyterian ministers from their churches, one of those ministers was John McBroom. He had been a pastor here, on this island. He was Clint's ancestor. And Clint had never visited the site before this weekend.
Three hundred and sixty-four years of faithful gospel witness, carried across an ocean and back again. The God who sustained John McBroom in 1662 was the same God gathering his people in this building on Sunday morning. That is what Hebrews 13:8 means in practice. Not a theological abstraction, but a living reality carried in the lives of ordinary people across centuries.
1662: John McBroom, Covenanting pastor, driven from Scotland, settles near Belfast.
1851: St Paul's founded in North Belfast — the same gospel, different walls.
2026: Clint McBroom preaches at SPB's 175th anniversary, one generation commending to another.
The unchanged thread: the same Christ, faithful across every generation.
The Anchor Text: Psalm 145:4
"One generation commends your work to another; they tell of your mighty acts." That single verse from Psalm 145 carried the whole sermon. It is not a monument verse, not a verse for display. It is a verse about action. Commending. Telling. Passing on. One generation does not simply leave behind a building; it leaves behind a witness. The church exists not to preserve what was, but to commend what is still true to those who have not yet heard it.
Remember
What God Has Done
Memory is not nostalgia. In Scripture, remembering the works of God is an act of faith. We remember because what God did is evidence of who he is. 175 years of this congregation is not a record of human achievement. It is a record of his faithfulness.
Rejoice
In His Faithfulness
Joy is not the same as comfort. The generations who worshipped here through conflict, loss, and hardship were not comfortable. But they were joyful. Because joy is rooted not in circumstances but in the unchangeable character of the God who holds his people.
Reach
The Next Generation
Deuteronomy 6 does not give Israel a strategy. It gives them a way of life. You talk about these things when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. The next generation will not be reached by programmes alone, but by lives soaked in the gospel, shared in the ordinary.
The Heart of the Sermon
This Is Not Our Church. It Is His.
One hundred and seventy-five years of gospel ministry did not happen because the people of this congregation were exceptional. It happened because the Lord of the church is faithful. Every generation that has kept the simple things — the Word, the table, the prayer, the life together — has found him sufficient. And every generation that will follow will find the same.
The anniversary is not a moment to congratulate ourselves. It is a moment to recommit. To say again what the congregation said together at the close of the service: we will remember, we will rejoice, and by God's grace, we will reach. The same God. The same gospel. The same calling.
The Anniversary Commitment
At the close of the service, the congregation read together a commitment prayer that gathered up everything the morning had been. These are not words for one Sunday. They are a direction of travel.
"Heavenly Father, we thank you for 175 years of your faithfulness to this congregation. We remember your goodness and your grace poured out on generation after generation. We rejoice in the unchanging gospel of your Son, Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday and today and forever. And we commit ourselves, by your Spirit, to reach the next generation with the same good news — in our homes, our streets, and our city. Use us, Lord. Build your church. To your glory alone. Amen."
Listen to the Sermon
The full anniversary sermon is available to listen to now. Whether you were with us on Sunday or are picking it up later, we hope it stirs gratitude for what God has done and fresh faith for what he will do.
Join Us
You Would Be Very Welcome
St Paul's and St Barnabas is an Anglican evangelical parish seeking to make Christ known and to love our city in his name. We are a church family learning to follow Jesus, love one another, and serve our community in the hope of the gospel — and we have been doing so on this corner of Belfast since 1851.
Join us in person on Sundays at St Paul's and St Barnabas, 210 York Street, Belfast BT15 1JJ — or find out more below.
The Same God. The Same Gospel. The Same Calling.
One hundred and seventy-five years ago, a congregation gathered in this place for the first time. They opened the same Scriptures. They sang to the same God. They went back into the same streets with the same gospel. That is still what we are here for. And if the Lord tarries, those who come after us will say the same. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. That is enough.
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