Lossiemouth Church of Scotland

It’s the Second Sunday of Advent – 05 December 2021 – and there’s irony in our headline.

The main Biblical text for today is from the Old Testament Book of Malachi. It was written at a time when, across the land, the blame for the unacceptable state of society fell on the foreigners, the migrants and on the poor and the weak.

How lucky we are to live in more enlightened (!) times…

Main Scripture for today

Malachi 3:1-4 (New International Version)
3 “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.

Sunday 23 May 2021 is Pentecost.

On this day, Christians celebrate the birth of the Church – when Jesus’ disciples (all together in a house in Jerusalem) were filled with the Holy Spirit (a violent wind blowing from heaven, with ‘tongues of fire’) and visitors to the city from many nations were amazed to hear these Galileans speaking to them in the visitors’ own languages.

We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!

Acts 2:11

Below, you will find the main scripture for today from the Book of Acts, a Musical Selection by Kath Robertson, our musical director, and Rev. Geoff McKee’s video service with readings, prayers and sermon.

02 May 2021 is the Fifth Sunday of Easter and our Bible story from the New Testament Book of Acts is Philip’s meeting with the Egyptian Eunuch.

Because this text is relevant to the fundamental issue of racism, it’s a passage which comes up regularly in this period after Easter and previously on this website: Why Christians must share the Good News of Jesus without partiality or prejudice.

Below, you will find this week’s main scriptural reading, the video service from St James’ (recorded live on 02 May 2021) and a musical selection from Katherine Robertson.