Lossiemouth Church of Scotland

Rev. Geoff McKee’s scripture for 03 September 2017 is the well-known “A Time for Everything” passage from Ecclesiastes 3:1-11. God has set eternity in the human heart. What does that mean for us, in practice?

This is the second in Geoff’s series of three sermons about Stewardship of Time.  The first sermon is available here.

Click here if you would like to download a pdf version of the sermon.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 (New International Version)

A Time for Everything
3 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
9 What do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

“This is the age
Of the half-read page.
And the quick hash
And the mad dash.
The bright night
With the nerves tight
The plane hop
With the brief stop.
The lamp tan
In short span.
The Big Shot
In a good spot
And the brain strain
The heart pain.
And the cat naps
Till the spring snaps —
And the fun’s done!”

I was enjoying a lunch out with Annie recently and, when we were waiting for the waiter to arrive with the food, I noticed another couple sitting opposite each other at a table.

Instead of engaging in conversation – or staring into each other’s eyes – they were both fiddling about with their mobile phones.

When I looked back at the end of our meal, the other couple had finished their meal too and – guess what? – they were both engrossed in their mobile phones. Busy – very busy – doing nothing! [Read more…]

In his sermon for 27 August 2017, Rev. Geoff McKee considers an aspect of Stewardship – looking at what could be described as Time Management for Christians. Lots of questions to address here!

This is the first in a series of three sermons about Christians’ Stewardship of Time.  The second in the series – discussing “A Time for Everything” from the Book of Ecclesiastes – is available here.

Click here, if you would like to download a PDF version of the sermon below.

Genesis 1:14-19 (New International Version)

14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

Genesis 49:14-15

14 “Issachar is a rawboned donkey
lying down among the sheep pens.
15 When he sees how good is his resting place
and how pleasant is his land,
he will bend his shoulder to the burden
and submit to forced labour.

I remember watching a television programme a few years ago about George Best, the footballer.

One part of the programme stuck in my mind.

It consisted of a brief clip of Best weaving his way in and out and around an opponent, all filmed in slow motion. And it was very evident, in the revealing nature of the slow motion, that Best’s body movements were beautifully balanced and flowing in contrast to his opponent’s – which were jerky and haphazard.

Best seemed to have all the time in the world while his opponent was all at sea: ‘all the time in the world.’ [Read more…]

Christians need to show determination in adversity and in the face of rejection. The Canaanite woman’s encounter with Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel is difficult for us because Jesus’ behaviour towards her, on the face of it, is rude to the point of being outrageous. Nevertheless, through her determination, in the face of Jesus’ initial rejection of her pleas, her wish is granted by him. Rev. Geoff McKee (in his sermon for 20 August 2017) discusses the lessons we can draw from her persistence, for our own lives.

If you would like to download a PDF version of the sermon – which follows below – please click here.

Matthew 15:10-28 (New International Version)

10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”

12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

15 Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”

16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. 17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”

23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

At 25 years, Poon Lim was appointed second steward on a British Merchant Ship.

There were a crew of 55 when the ship left Cape Town on 23rd November 1942. A few days later, a Nazi U-boat torpedoed them.

The ship was sinking and on seeing this, Poon jumped overboard. The ship sank into the ocean and Poon tried to gasp for air in between the waves. He found a raft after two hours of struggle, swam to it and hauled himself on board. [Read more…]

Rev. Geoff McKee’s sermon for 13 August 2017 deals with the well-known passage in Matthew’s Gospel when Jesus walks on the water – and Peter gets out of the boat, which is a faith lesson to us all.

Click here to download a pdf version of the sermon, if you wish.

[Read more…]

The well-known story of the Feeding of the Five Thousand (Matthew 14:13-21) is the scriptural basis for Rev. Geoff McKee’s sermon for 06 August 2017. He explains the background to the story and the significance of its “wilderness” setting. He also discusses the issue of miracles, generally, given that a miraculous number of people were fed with the raw materials available (and there were leftovers). You can download a PDF version of the sermon, if you wish, by clicking here.

Matthew 14:13-21 (New International Version)

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

When on holiday in Northumberland recently we visited the beautiful market town of Alnwick with its stunning castle, the home of the Duke of Northumberland.

Alnwick also has a very fine second-hand bookshop and, on a rainy day, a browse there helps to pass the time. I’ve bought at least one book every time I’ve visited, over the years.

But my latest purchase from the shop wasn’t a book at all but a CD box set of Richard Strauss’ Salome.

I’m not very familiar with Richard Strauss’ music and I wanted to explore it a bit and so I bought the recording second-hand. I can’t say that I’m enjoying listening to it. [Read more…]