As we remember 70 years since the founding of the Free Presbyterian denomination, we look back at a sermon preached in Mourne Free Presbyterian Church by Dr. S.B Cooke.

On 17th March 1951, the first Free Presbyterian Church was constituted in the little village of Crossgar, Co.Down. At the heart of this new denomination was a young and widely used evangelist the Rev. Ian Paisley:

After a lot of consultation and prayer we felt the time had come for a new Presbyterian denomination to be born in N.I; which would be absolutely outside the World Council of Churches, which would be militant in its evangelism and which would conserve the fruits of the revival we had experienced in those early days.

We had also clearly seen, through the actions of Down Presbytery and the General Assembly: the ecumenical thrust of the Irish Presbyterian Church, its modernistic apostasy and also its anti-Protestantism and anti-Biblicisim – these things caused great concern to the people. ‘

Dr I.R.K.Paisley

In this video Dr Bert Cooke preaches from the Free Presbyterian pulpit in Mourne and declares why we should still maintain the strong stand of Free Presbyterianism today.

A stirring message to challenge a rising generation in a day of Apostasy

Dr. Cooke is the former deputy moderator of the Free Presbyterian church; he also lectured for some 20 years in their College as Prof. of Homiletics and Pastoral Theology.

After serving the Lord for many years in the Armagh congregation he retired to his new home in Newcastle, Co. Down. Mr Cooke is still ministering around the churches where his faithful and forthright preaching is still enjoyed today.

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