For the glory of God and the hope of the Gospel
STC Ministries
Christian Resources
"Behold, a sower went forth to sow..."
SAMUEL T. CARSON
Northern Ireland
ABOUT
SAMUEL T. CARSON
1934-2025
I was born into a Christian home in Londonderry, N. Ireland and my godly parents did not neglect my early training in spiritual things. On Sunday afternoons after Sunday School, and for a small reward, my father would occupy me learning a hymn (usually out of Redemption Songs) or some verses of scripture. This meant that from a child I knew the Holy Scriptures that made me wise unto salvation! Indeed, the things I learned in early life remain with me to this day.
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In early teens I trusted Christ as my own and personal Saviour. On reflection, I seem to have lost a couple of years after that because I did not sink my boats and burn my bridges. And yet, in the amazing providence of God, those years were not wasted for through all my life I have ministered to many young people who were in the same position I was then in and from my own experience I think I was able to help them.
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In due course, I was introduced to service for the Lord by some men who majored on tract distribution and open-air preaching and it was in their company I found my feet and learned to take my stand for the Lord. One man in particular introduced me to Bible Study. He was to me like what Paul was to Timothy, he showed me Concordance work and imparted to me a love of good and wholesome books. He showed me how to trace themes through the scriptures and how to put thoughts together to form short addresses. This, in turn, led on to me speaking at meetings.
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Following some years in secular employment, and quite unexpectedly, I was invited to assume the pastorate of the newly formed Ballyclare Baptist Church. The circumstances of the call were such I could not doubt that it was of the Lord, and so I was launched upon what has proved to be a life work. After one year in Ballyclare I asked Christine to marry me and thus began a union that has lasted to this day and one that must surely have been made in heaven.
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Space does not permit me to detail all the way the Lord has led across the years. The forty years spent in full time pastoral ministry in Ballyclare, Shankill, Newtownards and Banbridge, not to speak of the further twenty years spent in itinerant ministry have together proved an amazing journey. To God be all the glory!
The wonderful fellowship extended to us by the many believers we have touched over all these years, not only throughout the U.K. but also further afield, has been a benediction to our souls. Not least, Christine and I often reflect, with gratitude to the Lord, how the good people of Ballyclare in those early days stood by us and supported and sustained us and enabled us to lay a good foundation for the years that were to follow. And the end is not yet! How good is the God we adore!
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Statement of Faith
I like to think the broad sweep of my ministry has been ‘The whole counsel of God’ and within that context I have sought to maintain an unqualified emphasis on ‘The free offer of the gospel’ and a clear and definite testimony to ‘the pre-millennial return of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.’
Why this library exists
Over the years a number of people, who I judged to be people of some discernment, urged me to put this ministry in writing. Having done so, I have now been urged to put it into a still more permanent form. May the Lord be glorified in all!
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At home with the Lord January 2025.
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CATALOGUE of WORKS
Philippians (the epistle of the Mind of Christ)
It may be little more than an interesting aside but the fact remains, and it is certainly a remarkable coincidence that the line upon which Paul and Silas stood at the beginning of this Christian era is where the European Union stands today! Political thinking in Europe is currently divided on the question of going beyond the borders of so-called ‘Christian Europe’ to embrace a country like Turkey that is not only Asian but Moslem as well. Philippi was the first city Paul and Silas came to in that part of Europe known as Macedonia. It was named after Philip of Macedon, and because it straddled the Great Roman Way it was considered a city of some commercial importance. A church was formed in Philippi soon afterwards and to that church Paul addressed himself in the epistle before us … it would seem that in the larger picture the Spirit of God had chosen the church at Philippi to highlight a great ideal. Put simply, this ideal was that the spiritual oneness of the Body of Christ should be expressed in the practical oneness of believers in their local churches.
The Hope of Israel (as seen by the Major Prophets)
This book has been designed to give the reader an insight into the four Major Prophets, and to make known their perception of the Hope of Israel. Isaiah saw that Hope in terms of an earthly kingdom centred in Jerusalem, while Jeremiah insists upon a re-gathering of a remnant of the Chosen People in the last days to possess the kingdom. Ezekiel tells of the spiritual regeneration that will be accomplished in the remnant at that time, and having traced the course of ‘The Times of the Gentiles,’ Daniel sees the establishment of the kingdom, at the appearing of the Son of Man, as marking the end of Gentile supremacy in the earth.
Biblical Times and Seasons (the ages and dispensations of scripture)
During the first 2000 years of human history from Adam to Abraham there was only one people group on the earth, they were all Gentiles. In the second 2000 years from Abraham to Christ two people groups appeared, they comprised Gentiles and Jews (the Jews came in with Abraham). In the third 2000 years, the period in which we are now living, there are three people groups on the earth, the Gentiles, the Jews and the Church. This little book addresses the out-working of God’s purpose in ‘Times past & in these last days’ (Hebrews 1: 1, 2).
Songs of the Servant King (a study in Isaiah’s servant songs)
The Servant Songs are presented to us in language that has been described as some of the most beautiful poetry in Hebrew literature. They pass before the mind as a series of prophetic visions, a kind of prophetical anthology. Taken together, they reveal the purposes of God for the whole earth! The songs are so clearly messianic it is not difficult to see their reference to the Lord Jesus Christ, and their ultimate fulfilment in Him. Intertwined and developed in each of the four songs are two distinct ideas: the first is the servant-hood of Christ and the other is His sovereignty. Hence, the title of this volume ‘Songs of the Servant King.’
Desert House (the Tabernacle)
We believe and are sure that all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. This is true both of the Old and the New Testaments. However, we often convey an different impression because large tracts of scripture, especially in the Old Testament, are seldom discussed and some are almost entirely neglected.
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An example of this is found in the writings of Moses, in the first five books of the Bible. Following on from Genesis, the book of beginnings, God has given us an incredible object lesson in five parts, and each part is brimming with what have been aptly termed heaven-drawn pictures. The whole is a marvellously comprehensive picture gallery illustrating practically all the salient truths of the New Testament revelation.
Simon Peter (Moulded by the Master)
The story of Simon Peter has fascinated readers in every generation. Even to this present day people are able to identify more easily with Peter than with any of the other disciples. Nor is it difficult to understand why this fisherman-turned-apostle seems to come closer to us than any of the others.
Apart from the Lord Himself, Peter features more often than anyone else in the gospels. He is mentioned over twenty times in the first gospel whereas Matthew is referred to by name only four times in all four gospels. Again, in the first twelve chapters of the ‘Acts of the Apostles’ Peter is by far the most prominent apostle.
In addition to hearing a great deal about Peter we also hear a great deal from him. Time and again, when the others felt they had to be silent, Peter would assume the role of spokesperson for the entire party.
Election (a biblical perspective)
The writer recalls an occasion when he was requested to visit a man in hospital who, it was thought, would not survive that day. “When I found him he certainly had a distressed look about him and when I enquired if anything was troubling him, he immediately blurted out “I don’t know if I’m one of the elect.”
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Now what do you say to a mature and sensible man who is on the verge of eternity, and whose trouble is that he does not know if he is one of the elect? I pulled up a chair and sitting down I looked him in the eye and said, ‘My friend, I have good news for you, in fact, I said, I have very good news for you: the only thing you need to know in order to be saved is that you are a sinner.’ I went on to share with him the good news that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1Tim.1: 15).
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The Bible certainly speaks of election and that in more senses than one. In the Old Testament it is first mentioned with reference to Abraham and his seed. (See Gen.11: 31 – 12: 7, Deut.7: 6-8 & 10: 15.) This would suggest that election should be considered, first and foremost, as a corporate or communal truth. In that context, of course, we also read of individuals who were chosen by God to special offices and services. (i. e. Deut.18: 5. & 1Sam.10: 24.)
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Moreover, that there is an elect company upon the earth today is beyond contradiction, but how that company is constituted, and by whom, calls for a careful consideration of the relevant scriptures! This paper is sent forth as a brief contribution to the larger debate.