Lossiemouth Church of Scotland

The sermon for 02 October 2016 is based on Luke 17:5-10. The passage from Scripture follows immediately below and then Rev. Geoff McKee’s sermon. You can download the sermon as a PDF by clicking here (74kB). It’s a deceptive passage which discusses faith and the plain meaning of Scripture – a description often invoked by preachers – can in fact only be uncovered by some digging, in this instance, as Geoff explains.

Luke 17:5-10 (New International Version)

5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

7 “Suppose one of you has a servant ploughing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? 8 Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? 9 Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

I defy anyone to listen to the passage being read from Luke’s Gospel this morning without wincing.

It is possible for a preacher to go seriously wrong with this text  – and to do so confidently.

The text is so sure of itself and, therefore, it so easy to go with it. Preach it, brother; let it speak for itself; let the plain meaning of Scripture be heard.

The ‘plain meaning of Scripture’

That phrase, when I hear it, causes me to tighten up inside because, in recent times, it has so often been the prelude to an abusive interpretation of God’s word. [Read more…]

This is the text of Rev. Geoff McKee’s sermon from 25 September 2016, taking as his text Luke 16:19-31 (The Rich Man and Lazarus). The Scripture (from the New International Version of the Bible) is immediately below and then the sermon itself.  You can download a version of the sermon in pdf format (which includes footnotes and references) by clicking here (download begins immediately).

The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

The following article appeared on the BBC news website recently.

“At the south-western tip of California, straddling the dirty trickle that is the Tijuana river, stands a wall – or rather a series of walls, fences and ditches. [Read more…]

Continuing our journey through Luke’s Gospel, Rev. Geoff McKee discusses Luke 13:10-17, where Jesus’ healing act of love and compassion was criticised because it was the ‘wrong’ day of the week. The scripture follows immediately below, followed by the text of the sermon. You can download this article as a pdf (85kB; download begins immediately) by clicking here.

Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman on the Sabbath
10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

[Read more…]