Lossiemouth Church of Scotland

“Christ the King” Sunday is 20 November 2016 and here is Rev. Geoff McKee’s sermon, taking as its basis a reading from Luke’s Gospel (23: 33-43). The NIV version of the reading is immediately below, followed by the sermon itself.  You can download a PDF version of the sermon, if you wish, by clicking here (80kB; download begins immediately).

Luke 23: 33-43

33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

38 There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

I would like to read you a brief account of a young girl’s memories of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, way back in 1953. (Quoted from the BBC website).

“I was nine-years-old on coronation day, and sat in the Mall, with my mother and brother.

It rained a lot during the day, but the sun shone on the Queen of Tonga, wearing colourful robes, and our own Queen’s golden coach. [Read more…]

Luke’s Gospel again provides the basis of the sermon (30 October 2016) – and the story is of Zacchaeus the Tax Collector (Luke 19:1-10) and his encounter with Jesus. Rev. Geoff McKee’s sermon follows after the scripture (New International Version), below.  You can download the sermon in PDF format, if you like, by clicking here.

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector
19 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

The story of Zacchaeus is one of the best short stories in the Gospels.

It only appears in Luke’s Gospel and I can remember first hearing it in Sunday school, when I was very small. [Read more…]

The sermon for 23 October 2016 is based on Luke 18:9-14 (The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector). The Scripture is immediately below and Rev. Geoff McKee’s sermon follows on below that. You can download the sermon as a PDF document by clicking here.

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

The Anglican Book of Common Prayer contains the following Prayer of Confession for use at Matins and Evensong.

“ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father;
We have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep.
We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts.
We have offended against thy holy laws.
We have left undone those things which we ought to have done;
And we have done those things which we ought not to have done;
And there is no health in us.
But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders.
Spare thou them, O God, which confess their faults.
Restore thou them that are penitent; According to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake; That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, To the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.”

It is often said that confession is good for the soul.

We don’t follow the Roman Catholic or High Church tradition of confessing sins to a priest, who has the authority on behalf of Christ, to grant absolution for sins.

But we do always include a prayer of contrition and confession in our public prayers of worship.

It could be argued that, whilst these communal prayers are important and helpful, they are insufficient when compared to the stark reality of the confessional. After all, it is easy to hide behind the ritual of public worship but not so easy when confronted one to one.

Nevertheless, regardless of the tradition followed, confession should have its place across the spectrum of Christian faith and practice. [Read more…]

Isaiah 5:8-10 is the Scriptural basis for Rev. Geoff McKee’s sermon of 09 October 2016 (Harvest Thanksgiving). Geoff’s discussion includes ideas as to how Christians should respond to global warming and ecological injustice.  The Old Testament passage from Isaiah follows immediately below and then Geoff’s sermon. You can also download the sermon as a PDF by clicking here.

Note that, in the following Scripture: a “bath” is about 6 gallons or about 22 litres; a “homer” is probably about 360 lb or about 160 kg; and an “ephah” is probably about 36 lb or about 16 kg.

Isaiah 5:8-10 (New International Version)

Woes and Judgments
8 Woe to you who add house to house
and join field to field
till no space is left
and you live alone in the land.
9 The Lord Almighty has declared in my hearing:

“Surely the great houses will become desolate,
the fine mansions left without occupants.
10 A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath of wine;
a homer of seed will yield only an ephah of grain.”

The world media picked up on an interesting spat between the well known physicist Brian Cox and a newly elected Australian senator on Australian television in August. [Read more…]