Lossiemouth Church of Scotland

04 December 20223 is the Second Sunday of Advent.

The main Bible reading today features John the Baptist – the wild figure who proclaimed that Jesus’ arrival on Earth was imminent.

John called people to ‘repent’ – literally, to think again. But he was not interested in only changing minds. He wanted to change lives. And so he called people to baptism; a baptism which would anticipate the baptism of Christ (by John himself), in which we all are invited to participate.

Christian faith is not about listing a few ‘essential’ decisions that individuals must take to find themselves ‘in’. The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the New Testament) present us with a person (Jesus Christ) who we encounter and respond to, rather than a set of propositions.

Today’s main Bible reading is taken from Matthew’s Gospel.

Main Scripture for this week

Matthew 3:1-12 (from The Message translation of the Bible)
Thunder in the Desert!

3 1-2 While Jesus was living in the Galilean hills, John, called “the Baptiser,” was preaching in the desert country of Judea. His message was simple and austere, like his desert surroundings: “Change your life. God’s kingdom is here.”

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Sunday 27 November 2022 is the First Sunday of Advent.

Traditional Advent Sunday majors on the theme of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. So we have this ominous – somewhat frightening – text in Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 24:36-44) which forms the basis of today’s sermon.

As Rev. Geoff McKee explains, he believes in the second coming of Jesus Christ. He believes that Jesus will appear again on earth as undeniably the King of all before him. However, as Geoff explains, he does not believe that the text in Matthew’s Gospel refers to that particular event.

Today’s Main Scripture for the sermon – from the New Testament

Matthew 24:36-44 (from The Message translation of the Bible)

36 “But the exact day and hour? No one knows that, not even heaven’s angels, not even the Son. Only the Father knows.

37-39 “The Arrival of the Son of Man will take place in times like Noah’s. Before the great flood everyone was carrying on as usual, having a good time right up to the day Noah boarded the ark. They knew nothing—until the flood hit and swept everything away.

39-44 “The Son of Man’s Arrival will be like that: Two men will be working in the field—one will be taken, one left behind; two women will be grinding at the mill—one will be taken, one left behind. So stay awake, alert. You have no idea what day your Master will show up. But you do know this: You know that if the homeowner had known what time of night the burglar would arrive, he would have been there with his dogs to prevent the break-in. Be vigilant just like that. You have no idea when the Son of Man is going to show up.

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Here is the Sunday morning service at St James’ Church, Lossiemouth on 20 November 2022, celebrating the Sacrament of Holy Communion.

The Service is led by Rev Christine McWhirter, Assistant Minister, focusing on Christian love and forgiveness.

Sunday 13 November 2022 is Remembrance Sunday.

Today’s service at St. James’ was conducted by Rev. Geoff McKee, Rev. Christine McWhirter and Rev. (Flt Lt) D. Young RAF.

The soloist is Mrs Helen McKellar, singing Fauré’s Pie Jesu from the Requiem in D Minor, Op. 48.

The Readings are: Psalm 46, 1 Corinthians 13; and Matthew 8:1-13.

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Sunday 06 November 2022 is the Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost.

The Gospel text today centres around the asking and the answering of two good sets of questions.

The “starter” question – asked of Jesus – was: ‘What is the greatest commandment?’

Having answered this question, in return, Jesus asked his own set of related questions. These questions were asked so as to lead the Pharisees to the point when they would know exactly what Jesus thought of himself without Jesus explicitly stating it.

Today’s Main Scripture

Matthew 22:34-46 (from The Message Bible Translation)
The Most Important Command
34-36 When the Pharisees heard how he had bested the Sadducees, they gathered their forces for an assault. One of their religion scholars spoke for them, posing a question they hoped would show him up: “Teacher, which command in God’s Law is the most important?”

37-40 Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.”

David’s Son and Master
41-42 As the Pharisees were regrouping, Jesus caught them off balance with his own test question: “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said, “David’s son.”

43-45 Jesus replied, “Well, if the Christ is David’s son, how do you explain that David, under inspiration, named Christ his ‘Master’?

God said to my Master,
“Sit here at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool.”

“Now if David calls him ‘Master,’ how can he at the same time be his son?”

46 That stumped them, literalists that they were. Unwilling to risk losing face again in one of these public verbal exchanges, they quit asking questions for good.

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