Lossiemouth Church of Scotland

It’s the Third Sunday in Lent – 20 March 2022.

This week the teaching is about refusing to take the easy way. Why? For the sake of glories to come…

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It’s the Second Sunday in Lent – 13 March 2022. The main reading for today features Abram’s encounter with God in the first book of the Bible – Genesis – at Chapter 15.

Somehow, Abram did not seem worthy of the astonishing promise God made to him – but that’s how God works.

Below, you will find the main reading set out in full, then the Order of Service and, today, also the prayers. Towards the foot of this post is the video of today’s service from St James’.

Main Scripture for today

Genesis 15:1-12 (New International Version)
The Lord’s Covenant With Abram
15 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

“Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield,
your very great reward.”

2 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”

8 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”

9 So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”

10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.

…

17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—

Note that volunteers from our congregation are currently bell-ringing for Ukraine.

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The First Sunday in Lent falls on 06 March 2022. Rev. Geoff McKee’s Gospel text is Luke 4:1-13, in which Jesus is tested by the Devil in the desert.

Below, you will find the main scripture for today (taken from The Message translation of the Bible) and the video of today’s service from St James’ Church.

Main Scripture for today

Luke 4:1-13 (The Message)
Tested by the Devil
4 1-2 Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wild. For forty wilderness days and nights he was tested by the Devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when the time was up he was hungry.

3 The Devil, playing on his hunger, gave the first test: “Since you’re God’s Son, command this stone to turn into a loaf of bread.”

4 Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: “It takes more than bread to really live.”

5-7 For the second test he led him up and spread out all the kingdoms of the earth on display at once. Then the Devil said, “They’re yours in all their splendour to serve your pleasure. I’m in charge of them all and can turn them over to whomever I wish. Worship me and they’re yours, the whole works.”

8 Jesus refused, again backing his refusal with Deuteronomy: “Worship the Lord your God and only the Lord your God. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness.”

9-11 For the third test the Devil took him to Jerusalem and put him on top of the Temple. He said, “If you are God’s Son, jump. It’s written, isn’t it, that ‘he has placed you in the care of angels to protect you; they will catch you; you won’t so much as stub your toe on a stone’?”

12 “Yes,” said Jesus, “and it’s also written, ‘Don’t you dare tempt the Lord your God.’”

13 That completed the testing. The Devil retreated temporarily, lying in wait for another opportunity.

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These are the materials for the service on 20 February 2022.

The main Scripture for today is Luke 6:27-38. It’s hard teaching for us to hear from Jesus… The temptation is to regard it as an unattainable counsel of perfection.

The setting used for today is from The Message Translation (rather than our usual New International Version) “just for a change”.

Main scripture for today

Luke 6:27-38 (The Message)
27-30 “To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more payback. Live generously.

31-34 “Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run-of-the-mill sinners do that. If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden-variety sinners do that. If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that’s charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that.

35-36 “I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind.

37-38 “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.”

Video service

Musical Selection

“Make Me a Channel of Your Peace” by Sebastian Temple was written in 1967. It has appeared in twenty-six hymnals. It is a musical setting of the well-known Prayer of Saint Francis of Assissi. This prayer has frequently been used during times of war to encourage peace throughout the world. It is also very much a prayer for our world today.

The text of this prayer is about transformation—the movement away from darkness to light, from despair to hope. The words of this prayer also have similarities to the writings of the prophet Isaiah in Chapter 61 .

This beautiful performance of Make Me a Channel of Your Peace is arranged by Mark Hayes and is sung by David Michael Moote and accompanied on piano by Elaine Choi.

You can find a previous, similar version of today’s sermon on this website here.

Sunday 13 February 2022 is the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany.

The main scripture this week is Luke 6:17-26 – “the Sermon on the Plain” – a more “direct” version of The Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew’s Gospel.

In his sermon this week, Rev. Geoff McKee explains why Christians should take very seriously the call to live “simply”. You can tell a lot from how someone replies, for example, to a question such as “What would you say was the greatest moment in your life?”

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