Lossiemouth Church of Scotland

09 April 2017 is Palm Sunday and Rev. Geoff McKee analyses the version of Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem from Mark’s Gospel (Mark 11:1-11). Jesus had arrived to liberate the people, but not in the way they imagined. The Scripture is immediately below and the sermon follows after that. You can download the Palm Sunday sermon as a pdf if you wish.

Mark 11:1-11 (New International Version)

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
11 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”

4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,

“Hosanna”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
10 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

[Read more…]

The prophecy of the dry bones from Ezekiel 37:1-14 is Rev. Geoff McKee’s scripture for the 5th Sunday of Lent (02 April 2017).  This Old Testament passage foreshadows Jesus’ resurrection and the great and glorious hope of resurrection for us all. The scripture follows immediately below and, after that, the sermon, which can also be downloaded as a PDF if you wish.

Ezekiel 37:1-14 (New International Version)

The Valley of Dry Bones
37 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”

“De Lawd, He thought He’d make a man
Dese bones gwine rise again
Made ‘im outa mud an’ a han’ful o’ san
Dese bones gwine to rise again

(Chorus)

I knowed it, indeed I knowed it, brother
I knowed it, dese bones gwine to rise again”
So goes the well-known African American spiritual song.

The consequences of God’s creation of humanity and humanity’s decision to disobey God would inevitably lead to the bones of humankind returning to the ground and drying out until only dust is left. [Read more…]

19 March 2017 was the third Sunday in Lent and Rev. Geoff McKee’s sermon is based on Exodus 17:1-7 (“Water from the rock”). He considers examples of in-fighting and division within the church (and other relationships) and explains why leadership in the Christian church must always be a team effort. The excerpt from scripture is immediately below and the sermon follows after that.  If you wish, you can download a copy of the sermon as a pdf. [Read more…]

12 March 2017 is the second Sunday in Lent and Rev. Geoff McKee’s sermon has The Call of Abram (Genesis 12:1-4) as its scriptural basis. It can be helpful to view our lives as subject to two different types of forces – surface winds (day-to-day life) and deep ocean currents (God’s power). He discusses examples of people who have managed to see God’s bigger picture for their lives – often requiring great personal sacrifice. How do we follow the example of Abram? – How to find freedom in obedience?

The Scripture follows below and then the sermon, which you can also download as a PDF, if you wish.

Genesis 12:1-4 (New International Version)

The Call of Abram
12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.

During the US civil war, Abraham Lincoln met with a group of ministers for a prayer breakfast.

Lincoln was not a church-goer but was a man of deep, if at times unorthodox, faith.

At one point, one of the ministers said, “Mr President, let us pray that God is on our side”. Lincoln’s response showed far greater insight: “No, gentlemen, let us pray that we are on God’s side.” [Read more…]

05 March 2017 is the first Sunday in Lent and Rev. Geoff McKee’s sermon comes from the well-known story of Adam and Eve (“the fall of man”) in the first book of the Bible (Genesis 2:15-17 and 3:1-7). Geoff discusses how Adam’s disobedience could only be put right through the perfect obedience we have seen in Jesus: how the tree of the fall can only be restored by the tree of the cross.

The scripture is immediately below and the sermon follows after that. You can download the sermon as a PDF, if you wish.

Genesis 2:15-17 (New International Version)

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” [Read more…]