Laich of Moray Parish Church (formerly Lossiemouth Church of Scotland)

This is the Sunday morning sermon by Rev Graham Crawford for 17 May 2015 (Luke 24: 44 – 53, Ephesians 1: 15 – 23):

Jesus is alive, we claim.

In some traditions, we should have opened every service between Easter and Pentecost with the minister proclaiming: ‘Christ is risen’, with you, the congregation, shouting back (not just murmuring under your breath): ‘Alleliua!’

But on what basis do we make that claim? [Read more…]

The March 31, 1997, edition of Newsweek ran a cover story on prayer. A couple of responses from readers to the story (found in the April 21, 1997, issue) illustrate just how “presuppositions” shape the way that people understand God’s participation, or lack thereof, in the affairs of life. [Read more…]

Have you ever heard a group of musicians play or choristers sing when one person is either out of tune or out of time with the others?

It sounds horrendous. But sometimes we are not in tune with everyone around us. That is what happened to the disciple, Thomas.

All the disciples, in the locked room, saw the risen Jesus, but there was one who did not. He was not there for some reason, which meant that there was always going to be the one who would be different from the others. When they later would go out in groups to tell the story of Jesus, Thomas’ story would never blend in with theirs. So, Jesus came again, especially to see him – and so enable him to be in harmony with the others, when they went out to tell everyone the difference made to the world through Jesus rising from the grave.

A difference just as great as when all musicians play in harmony with each other. We have a story to tell everyone, a story that Jesus is risen, he is alive and is with us today. That is a story we can all tell and we will all be in tune with one another. [Read more…]