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| 2017 | Topic and Theme | Sunday
24
December
Christmas
Eve | Christmas Eve at St. Mungo's - 24 December
 Christmas Eve Sunday started with our morning service at 11am.
John
took the theme 'courage of Mary' for his sermon, drawing on the work of
Timothy Keller and his book 'Encounters with Jesus'. We were asked to
think about Mary and her courage to think about what she had heard, to
reason and consider how could the message from the angel be true. John
explained the difficulties that Mary faced in being told what is about
to happen. How Mary is open and honest with God about her
uncertainties, before making herself ready, and committing to what will
happen.
All-Age Christmas Eve - 24 DecemberChristmas
Eve afternoon saw the Messy Church team put on the Christmas
Story for all ages. Joan Cape led the service with help from
Sheila Anderson, Margaret Webster, Rae Hunter and Olivia, to tell us
the story of the journey to
Bethlehem by Mary and Joseph and the birth of the baby Jesus.
The story contains links to hear what happened during the live
service at each stage. Full Story
Watchnight Christmas Eve - 24 December
 St.
Mungo's played host to the Penicuik Churches Working Together (PCWT)
watchnight service, welcoming members from both North and South
churches to join us as we welcomed in Christmas Day and the birth of
our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
The choir opened the service with an introit of 'O come all ye faithful', following which the congregation sang
'Hark the Herald angels Sing'. John continued with an opening prayer,
leading to the carol 'Love came down at Christmas' . There followed a reading from Isaiah, leading to the carol '
On Christmas night all Christians sing'. Our New Testament
reading was taken from Luke. John presented a short Christmas sermon
which culminated just as the clock struck midnight. John lit the final
Christ candle on the advent wreath, after which we wished each
other a merry Christmas. A closing prayer was followed by 'O come all
ye faithful'' and the benediction.
| Sunday
17
December | Third Sunday of Advent, and Nativity Play - 17 December
The
focus of today's service was the nativity play, a re-enactment of the birth of Jesus.
John
also took the theme of 'peace' brought by the Roman Empire, through
fear and slavery, and killing. He compared that to the peace brought by
Jesus. It was Jesus who was the true saviour of the world, paying with
His life to save us.
| Sunday
10
December | Second Sunday of Advent - 10 December
The
advent theme of 'who is Jesus?' continued with John using the all-age
talk to remind us of the real meaning behind the arrival of Jesus above
the 'noise' of all the adverts for Christmas gifts and bargains.
He encouraged us all to invite people to join us each Sunday to
worship God, using a festive video as part of the story.
The
sermon took the readings from Isaiah and Romans to explain the meaning
of Christmas, to understand who Jesus is. Taking us back into biblical
times we recalled some of the history of that time, the injustices and
idolotory and injustices experienced by the people. John then
explores the influence of God and Jesus.
| Sunday
3
December | First Sunday of Advent - 3 December
 John
used the All Age talk to show how God gives people strength to
complete tasks that appear beyond their own strength, using the
invention of the architectural 'flying buttress' to
explain.
The
sermon continues with Matthews gospel 'in their weakness they were made
strong, when they turned to God'. The importance of ancestry in
biblical times was of great importance and John explores Jesus's
own ancestry, and family tree, through the gospel of Matthew.'Who
is Jesus?'.
| Sunday
26
November | The Last of the Three Parables - 26 November
 The sermon
looked at the third parable in our series of accountability, 'the
sheep and the goats', continuing the series which started with the wise
and foolish young women, which talked about being ever ready. This was
followed by the three servants, testing if we
are faithful with what we have been entrusted with. The focus broadens
this week to the nations and being accountable for their treatment to
those who spread the gospel. Those who carry the gospel to others will
at some point suffer. We recalled the sermon from Mike Parker 'Who do you say I am', back in August. Listen to how this progresses and concludes.
| Sunday
19
November | What has God entrusted to You? - 19 November
 The
sermon built on the earlier reading 'Parable of the Three Servants',
using the TV programme 'The Apprentice' to illustrate the story.
Using three questions that come out of the story, starting with 'What
has God entrusted to you?' Is it you time, responsibilities to your
friends or family, the gospel, the good news about the Bible, a dream
or a vision?
'What has God given you?' Your talents, and how you use them. Listen to the sermon to see where this leads to.
| Sunday
12
November | Remembrance Service - 12 November
 St.
Mungo's once again hosted the British Legion Armistice service on Sunay
12 November, honouring those who gave their lives defending our freedon
in all conflicts since the Great War.
The Rev
John Urquhart introduced a short video 'The Poppy Story'
relating the history and the background of the poppy that we all wear
proundly at Remembrance. You can view this video
The sermon
started with Rev John Urquhart showing a copy of a pocket
sized Gospel of St. John, given to
every soldier in the First World War, and what it meant to many, before
exploring the readings we had heard from Debbi McCall and Sir Robert
Clerk.
You can read the full story of the service Remembrance 2017
| Sunday
5
November | God's mission, God's power. - 5 November
 The
All Age talk set the scene for this morning's theme. On display were
over 500 knitted hats, gloves, scarves, and blankets. John explained
how our practical love as Christians, reaching out to those
with little cheer at Christmas, know that God loves them. A video
showed us what happens to our knitting. Click to see the video
 John
started sermon started by showing us the picture restoration of
'Adoration of the mystic lamb' which hangs in Ghent cathedral. We see a
section before and after, and see what the original looked like. This
is what the new testament does, where we see a new picture of the old
testament church and what we can learn from it. What we can apply to
our church. John developed this mornings readings from Acts, first
covering the discouraging items. Listen below to how the sermon story
progresses.
| Sunday
29
October | Commitment to Jesus. - 29 October
 The
theme of both the All Age and Sermon explored the difficulty in making
our commitment to Jesus. There are so many other callings on our lives,
important things we need to do. How do we make that commitment to
follow Jesus? The scriptures offer help, from Paul and James and
John. Our sermon used stories from scripture to help us make our
commitment decision.
A full holy communion, sacrament of the last supper followed.
| Sunday
22
October | Peter Restoration. - 22 October
We
continued our theme with Peter. Starting with the All Age where we
heard of Jesus leaving Jericho and the small man in a tree, Zacchaeus,
the tax collector, public enemy number one, the most hated person! The
people hoped Jesus would scold Zacchaeus. But he went to his house.
Zacchaeus had come to hear Jesus, to repent his greed.
John
Urquhart then presented a dramatic monologue in the person of Peter as
his sermon. Peter talks of his last times with Jesus, and how Jesus
told Peter that before the cock crows he would fail and disown Jesus
three times. Listen to the full sermon. Click on the link below
| Sunday
15
October | Peter Crumbles - 15 October
We
returned to the story of Peter, after the break for Thanksgiving, and
were presented with a short video in the All Age talk. We watched and listened to the conflict Peter fought with, when he
denied being a follower of Jesus, not once but twice.
The readings
and sermon developed this story and how Peter came to terms with the
denials he had made to the crowd, and how he faced his Lord Jesus,
finding restoration and a new start. Listen to the service.
| Sunday
8
October | Harvest Thanksgiving - 8 October
| Sunday
17
September | Developing and Understanding - 17 September
 John
opened his sermon by showing how misconceptions can lead us down the
wrong path. Using a personal story from John's childhood we were led
into the story of how Peter and the crowd had misconceptions of
the identity of Jesus. When asked by Jesus 'who do people say the son
of man is?' the disciples reply they say 'some other prophet'. Though
many people admire Jesus, and think well of him, their miconception is
they do not realise that God is doing something special through Jesus.
We hear how Jesus describes to Peter that he is the Messiah,
but then tellsPeter not to tell anyone. This confuses Peter. Hear how
this story unfolds, how Peter rebukes Jesus, as he cannot understand
what he is being told.
| Sunday
10
September | Developing Faith - 10 September
 John took the theme from Peter 3, exploring how we develop faith.
John
talked with Margaret Webster in the All-Age talk, of her experience as
a child with scarlet fever. How she had used prayer with Jesus, as she
had been taught at Sunday School, to see her through her time of
suffering.
John in his sermon told us how Jesus works with us,
how we are challenged, when experiencing grief, and how Jesus can turn
that desolation of grief, and heal us. He described the feeding the
five thousand, where Jesus turned the problem around. Getting the
people to buy the food, with Jesus taking the inadequate amount of
food, all that they could afford, breaking it and making it sufficient
for the crowd.
Further examples are presented, where asking
God through prayer, will provide. Trusting God, as Simon Peter did when
he saw Jesus walk on water, when they were fishing.
We should
follow God's guidance, though it may be easier to remain where we are
in our comfort zoThe
theme of both the All Age and Sermon explored the difficulty in making
our commitment to Jesus. There are so many other callings on our lives,
important things we need to do. How do we make that commitment to
follow Jesus? The scriptures offer help, from Paul and James and John.
Our sermon used stories from scripture to help us make our commitment
decision.
A full holy communion, sacrament of the last supper followed. ne. The sermon concluded with a reflection.
| Sunday
3
September | Do not be afraid - 3 September
 John
introduced his theme using the All-age talk, with the help of a video
clip depicting God speaking to Moses out of the burning bush on
Mount Horeb. The story shows Moses overwhelmed, frightened and afraid,
at hearing God and what he was being asked to do. His fear however was
tempered by God telling Moses not to be afraid, as 'I am with you.'
 The
New Testament reading told us the story of Simon Peter, who, after
fishing all night catching nothing, had faith in Jesus when asked to go
out in the morning to fish in deeper water, even though he was not sure
it would work. John analyses Luke's account of the incident. How Jesus
changed His disciples into fisher of men.
| Sunday
27 August | Who do you say I am? - 27 August
John
welcomed the Rev Canon Mike Parker as guest preacher to the Sunday 27
August service. Mike's theme was Christianity in the Middle East, in
particular Egypt, where he has worked in conjunction with the Christian
community.
Mike set the scene for his All Age address. Egypt has seen a time of revolution, and just as Egypt experiences a new start, stumbling at the moment, we here in St. Mungo's are embarking on a new start., What is important to us in our new start?
Mike
focused on Christians in the middle east. Using young helpers, inluding David,
Adam, Charlie, and Ester, from the congregation to display the Egyptian
flag, the Egyptian pound, and a copy of the Egyptian bible.
Our
friends in Egypt find it really important to understand who they are,
their nation and nationality. They say Egyptians have three identities.
When
they play football they are Africans. Sometimes they are middle
easterners, and sometimes they are just Egyptians.
A
friend of Mike in Egypt for 25 years knows Arabic backwards, and makes
papyrus. Mike brought scrolls and book markers 'for you at a
special price!' as they say in Egypt!
 What
the Egyptian Christians need to hear is Gods word. We saw a Bible in
Arabic, reading right to left, and also in English, left to right,
making a big book. Some words in blue and red. for their Muslim friends
so they know what salvation, communion, fellowship, the cross mean. To
hear that Jesus did not die but lives on. We recalled that Jesus had to
flee Israel into Egypt, which is important to todays Egyptian
Christians, setting the question Jesus asked 'Who do you say I am?'
Mike continued the Egyptian theme in his sermon,
using a couple of videos to highlight the turmoil the country is
experiencing as the Christians struggle to maintain their culture,
under extreme pressures.
Listen to Mike's stories below.
The service was followed by our short monthly communion, led by the
Rev John Urquhart.
| Sunday
20 August | Whats in a name?" - 20 August
In
the first full service led by the Rev John Urquhart, we opened
with a Call to worship then Hymn 60 'Come, let us praise the Lord.'
John led into his 'all-age' talk with an opening prayer.
 John
started his 'all-age' talk by building a cardboard box. With the help
of Gordon MacDonald he turned a flat, soft weak item into a strong
useful box to carry things in. The apostle Peter was a bit like that.
John told us the story of Peter, how Jesus changed his name from the
unreliable Simon, and how Jesus would change, and shape him to make him
strong, just like he can do with everyone of us. John would develop
this theme as he embarks on a new series on the life of the apostle
Peter.
Finishing John explained how we will start a 'wall of
names' where our photograph and name will be available for all to see.
No more trying to guess which name goes with that well known face we
see every Sunday in church.
For the sermon John opened with a
slide of John Noakes, mostly remembered for his time in Blue Peter.
John recalled when John Noakes visited his boyhood home village in
the highlands. Recalling his attempt to see his boyhood hero, at his
hotel, then his awe in following him, unable to say anything to him. He
then switched to two disciples of John following Jesus. When Jesus
turned to them he spoke his first words. What were those first words we
were asked? The disciples were star struck. Did they ask a profound
question? Listen to the sermon to hear what happened, and what it
means. We hear how difficult it can be to become a follower of Jesus.
| Sunday
13 August | Is our God "too small" - 13 August
Following
the Rev John Urquhart Induction service on Thursday 10th August, our
new minister was 'preached in' to his new charge by visiting minister
and friend the Rev Shirley Fraser.
John opened the service, by
introducing himself, as our new minister, to the congregation, some who
were not at the induction service, but would remember him when he
preached as sole nominee service at the end of April.
 Handing over to Shirley, we opened with our Call to Worship, followed by Hymn 202 'Stand up and bless the Lord'.
With
the Sunday School still on its summer break Shirley presented an
'All-age' talk. Recalling that John had arrived when he preached as
sole nominee with a backpack containing goodies to show the children,
Shirley apologised that she had no back pack, but did have a bag. What
could be inside?
First out was a copy of the Edinburgh Fringe
programme, packed with shows for everyone. Of particular interest was a
play at Palmerston Place church, 'Questioning Aslan', an evening with
C.S.Lewis. Those who have read any of the Lewis Chronicles of Narnia
stories will know that Aslan is a lion in the stories. Shirley produced
a soft toy lion, named Aslan, so the scene was set.
 Referring
to the Chronicles of Narnia where the children step through the
wardrobe into another world, they meet Mr and Mrs Beaver who refer to
Aslan. Who is Aslan? the children ask. He is of course the king, the
lord of the whole wood replies Mr Beaver. Not a man, but a lion, the
great lion. Is he safe? No. But he is good. Shirley would develop this
theme of greatness and good later in her sermon.
Shirley told us
that Rev Hugh Davidson's sermons were often questions, and followed the
format asking 'Is our God too small'? What did we think the answer
would be, if we asked the people of Penicuik? Referring to our
reading form Paul's letter to the Romans, where he describes what God
really is. God is the source of many things, His grace and goodness,
but Shirley focussed on God's patience and encouragement, or endurance.
How patient God was when Moses was driven to distraction in the desert,
keeping his faith in God. Are we thankful that our God is so patient
with us?
At this time of new beginnings we at St. Mungo's made
new promises at John's induction, including to follow and serve Jesus
Christ, and we have to keep them.
John returned at the end of the service to deliver the benediction.
Listen to how Shirley developed the theme and how we can move forward with John in our new beginning.
| Thursday
10 August | John Urquhart Induction Service - 10 August
 The
Rev John Urquhart was officially inducted into his new charge at St.
Mungo’s on Thursday August 10th at 7.00pm. The Rev Neil Dougall
led the service with members of the Presbytery joined by a congregation
with members of for all the Penicuik churches, and Craigmillar Park.
St.
Mungo's church was filled with a congregation from across Penicuik,
Edinburgh and beyond. Presbytery was well represented with the lead
team consisting of Rev Neil Dougall who would lead the service and
formal induction, Rev Anikȯ Schütz Bradwell, preaching the sermon,
and John McCulloch, Clerk of the Presbytery of Lothian.
Click on Full Story to read about this happy occasion.
| Sunday
30 July | Can we tell right from wrong? - 30 July
Hugh
preached his last sermon with us on Sunday 30 July, taking his theme
from our New Testament readings earlier that morning. We heard
the parables of the Mustard Seed, the Yeast, the hidden treasure, and
the prearl. Hugh took the parables Jesus used in His teachings to
explore what our world is like today, and are the parables still
relevant? Can we still learn anything from them?
 Opening
with the current role of business ethics, using the banking industry to
highlight our approach to right and wrong. People no longer have
absolute standards, everything being relative. We now expect to reach
our own conclusions, using our own rules, abandoning the moral
standards of our predecessors, ignoring the signposts that have
provided guidance in the past.
 If
we abandon the teachings of these parables, how do we know if we are
improving and lifting the right, rather than the wrongs of society.
Christians
have always tried to follow scripture to provide principles to follow
in identifying what is right, the 'rules for living'. The rule book
approach favoured by the pharisee's was complex, strict and inflexible.
 The
alternative is to follow a more flexible approach, as in the
commandments, the beatitudes, Matthew and Mark, and perhaps Christs
11th commandment, to love one another as Christ loved us, not that we
love our neighbour as we love ourselves.
The sermon explores
Paul's letters to identify love, knowledge and insight, as the key
elements in a confusing landscape. How to look at the world through
Christ's eyes, and following His teaching.
| Sunday
23 July | Revelation, baffling or encouragement? - 23 July
 From
last week’s sermon, taken from the first book of the Bible,
Genesis, Hugh took the last book, Revelation, as the theme for his
sermon this Sunday.
From the puzzles of Genesis, the Adam and
Eve story, Kane and Abel, Noah and the flood, etc, it does not come
close to the ‘weirdness’ of the Revelation of John.
To
most readers the book of Revelation is somewhat baffling and
impenetrable. Hugh explores the book, as written by the prophet John,
on an island of the west coast of Turkey at a time when God's will was
not being done, a disappointing world. The book is in fact a letter,
addressed to seven churches on the Turkish mainland, and designed to be
read aloud in these churches.
We hear of John’s vision
of the regal throne room, the four priests that praise God day and
night, the divine council of 24 ‘elders’, or rulers, the
‘government’ of heaven.
Hear the full story as Hugh unlocks the book, and how we too are encouraged to follow God’s will.
| Sunday
16 July | What is the point in being here? - 16 July
 Using
the reading from Genesis, Hugh took us through the history of origins,
addressing the questions asked throughout the ages, 'Why am I here?'
and 'Who will remember me when I am gone?' 'Whats the point in being
here?' This of course leads on to 'Why is anybody here? Why is anything
here?'
Genesis explains why everything is here, namely that God
has put us here, and the purpose for His creation. We are an important
part of that. Ours is to understand why God put us here, even though it
sometimes appears a challenging task. Could creation have been so much
simpler? Why do we speak so many different languages? Would it not have
been easier if we could all talk to each other in the same tongue?
Through
the story of Abraham, and the children of Israel, Hugh walked us
through some of the old testament stories, explaining the thinking of
the authors of the books of Genesis, and Kings, showing how our
weaknesses and frailties, similar to Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and
Jacob, lying and cheating, which challenge us even today, every
day.
Like the potter in Jeremiah who does not discard the failed
pot, he returns the clay to start again until he achieves success. So
too God, despite our weak and wayward traits, continues to remake us
through the generations, to follow Him and become His faithful servant.
| Sunday
9 July | Chaos, Greed, and Sin - 9 July
 Hugh
started his sermon by plunging us into chaos theory, causing a few
startled looks, but cetainly grabbing everyone's attention. Something
to do with random behaviour within systems governed by well known laws
with known and predicatble consequences. So how does this fit in with
todays scripture readings?
Gently easing us into the sermon Hugh
took the example of weather forecasting, and just how difficult it is
to predict when the climate is governed by well known laws of physics.
Yet the weather seems to be a law unto itself, with a minor change in
one part of the world creating a major upset somewhere else in the
world. This led to exploring the root cause of the US mortgage crisis
some 10 years ago, and the economic tornado that ensued. What really
caused this? Was it the complex financial mechanisms created by smart
young financiers, to boost their own commission and bonuses, without a
care for the consequence? In other words good old fashioned greed!
But
are we not told that morally greed is a sin, often followed by
unintended and unwelcome consequences? Now we can see where Hugh is
going.
Does the Bible give us any guidance? Hugh explained how
God assures us that while chaos is around us, it will not overtake the
world. Order will be maintained, chaos will not engulf creation. We
have been given the role to subdue unruly elements intent on creating
chaos.
The story builds on the readings of Adam, Eve, and the
snake, from Genesis and Matthew where Jesus preaches 'Come to me and
Rest'.
| Sunday
2 July | Expectations of God - 2 July
 Hugh
took the story of Abraham from Genesis and his despair at his God who
kept changing His mind. Surely God is supposed to be reliable, but how
can you rely on anybody who says one thing yesterday, and the complete
opposite today! God had raised Abrahams' hopes, providing a child for
Abraham and Sarah, when they thought Sarah was well past child bearing
age. When Isaac was born both were filled with a new hope.
Later
God then asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, plunging Abraham
into the blackest hopelessness. Why was God so heartless? God often
does seem inconsistent. He loves the world, but it is a loveless place.
He urges us to pray to Him, but seems to often ignore them.
He
tells us that faith can move mountains, but seems weak compared to the
world powers. Is there a disconnect between God and His creation? Hugh
explores how Abraham came to terms with his bewiderment, and how he
maintained his faith in God. We can all have our faith shaken in time
of grief and trauma?
In the story of John the Baptist we heard
how God sacrificed His own son Jesus to save the world, in the same as
Abraham was asked of Isaac.
| Sunday
25 June | Adventurous Faith - 25 June
 Matthew's
new testament gospel reading was taken by Hugh as his theme, explaining
the structure of Matthews gospel, from Jesus's birth to death. Focusing
on chapters 24 and 25 when Jesus talked to his disciples about the
future, after he had gone. The trials and tribulations the world would
encounter, and to 'Be Ready'.
Exploring one of the criteria for
admission to the kingdom of heaven, whether we are fit or unfit. Have
we been adventurous with our faith? The story of the rich man entusting
his wealth to three servants. Two invested wisely and grew the wealth,
while the third buried his share in the ground. The two who took the
risk were welcomed back into their masters home, the other thrown out.
We
are blessed with the treasure of Christian faith, and not to bury it.
We must take our faith out into the community, exposing our faith to
other faiths, or those with none. Take risks; that way you will see it
grow.
He brought the message into our time, reflecting
how our nation stands up to scrutiny, using the Grenfell Tower tragedy
to illustrate his point.
| Sunday
18 June | Love, faith, hope, and endurance - 18 June
 Hugh
took the subject of Love as covered by Paul in his letter to the
Corinthians which we had just heard, describing love as patient and
kind, not jealous boastful arrogant or selfish, or gloating. There is
no limit to its faith hope and endurance.
In these four verses
from Paul, he lists 15 characteristics of love. Hugh went on to
describe some of theses attributes using President Abraham Lincoln and
his political rival, Edwin Stanton who treated Lincoln with contempt.
How Lincoln reacted to this onslaught unfolds, displaying love as
patient and kind.
Hugh continued about love and religious
people, describing some terrible sermons he had sat through, and a few
that he had given, which raised light laughter. Hugh referred to
Lorimers Auld Scots translation, which we have heard before, to further
illustrate the characteristics of love.
The sermon was followed by the baptism of Brodie Henderson.
| Sunday
11 June | Trinity Sunday - 11 June
 Our
Interim moderator, the Rev Yvonne Atkins, opened with a 'haunting
question' - Who dreads Trinity Sunday More? The preachers who
have to explain it to the congregations, or the congregations who have
to listen to those sermons?
Yvonne continued with several amusing scenarios, which raised a few laughs from the congregation.
When
we had settled down Yvonne delved into the explanation of the Holy
Trinity contained in the creed of St. Athanasius, which has been
used by Christian churches since the sixth century. It is the first
creed in which the equality of the three persons of the Trinity is
explicitly stated. Expanding the incomprehensibility of this trinity
where there are not three, Father, Son and Holy Ghost but one eternal
and incomprehensible. 'Clear, as mud'? Asked Yvonne.
Using
further analogies, taking the three states of water, ice, liquid and
vapour, where all states are still water. Similarly the three petal
shamrock is another example, three petals one plant. The sermon builds
on these examples in an intriguing tale, that displays the enormity of
the 'Trinity', and why we should praise this everlasting
presence.
| Sunday
4 June | Pentecost - Sunday 4 June
 Pentecost
is the day the Spirit descended upon the apostles, and on which, under
Peter's preaching, so many thousands were converted in Jerusalem.
Hugh
theme took the role of Banks, where money from those with surplus money
on deposit is loaned to those requiring money for immediate needs, with
the Bank gaining interest on the transaction. He then looked back some
500 years to medieval times, where a serious shortage of 'goodness'
worried the populace. The medieval church taught members that being
'very good' you went straight to heaven, but if you were 'very bad' you
went straight to Hell.
However if you were neither very good,
or very bad you would be sent to 'purgatory' after death. Only when you
paid off your lack of 'goodness' would you be raised to heaven. The
medieval church came up with the idea of a 'Goodness' Bank, or
'Treasury of Merits'. Heaven was full of saints with an abundance of
'goodness', so why not allow people to 'borrow' some, through an act of
piety or a 'monetary gift' to the church to ensure they would have
enough 'goodness' to be raised directly to heaven after death.
A
monk called Martin Luther in 1517 was very unhappy about this 'pay for
goodness' system, which eventually started the major reform in the
church that followed.
| Sunday
28 May | Ascension - Sunday 28 May
 Hugh
opened his sermon with ceilings of gothic cathedrals and the decorated
bosses on the arches holding up the roof. The designs can be
sometime surprising, such as York Minster, where the bosses are
decorated as simply two feet, viewed from below. This represents the
ascension of our Lord, as witnessed by the disciples, where the soles
of his feet would be all that they would see of Him as He dissappeared
into the great blue yonder. It is of course somewhat comic, and strange
to our ears. But back then the blue sky we looked up to was literally
seen as the underside of the floor of heaven, so being lifted through
it to Gods heaven seemed logical.
Our modern knowledge of the
heavens puts a different understanding to this explanation. Hugh then
explained the doctrine of the ascension, with the method being
unimportant.
The act of Holy Communion, the sacrament of the last supper followed the sermon.
| Sunday
21 May | Christian Aid - Sunday 21 May
 We
celebrated the end of Christian Aid Week by looking at the breadth of
outreach the charity has achieved in over 60 years, and continues to
achieve. In the service, led by the Elders, as our minister Hugh was
still on 'sick leave', and our Sesion clerk, Sandy Robertson, who would
normally lead, was also incapacitated.
We heard about, and watched a series of videos. These included '60 years of Christian Aid', 'Theodor - the refugee who never forgot',
a moving and touching story. Praise and scripture form the book of
Acts, and the story of Nejebar and Noor, refugees from Syria, opened
our eyes to the trauma and difficulties refugee's face in a foreign
land unable to understand the language of these strangers, who are
depsperately trying to help. A video 'The Refugee Crisis - The way forward' offered some ideas on how to resolve this problem. Our final video ' The song of Kingdom Come' allowed us to sing along to a song of uplifting hope.
click on the video links above to see the full story on YouTube.
Eric Marchant closed our service with a superb review of the mornings service, leaving us with much to think about.
| Sunday
14 May | I am the Way - Sunday 14 May
 Sandy
Roberston took the service on Sunday 14th as Hugh, who was suffering a
bad cold the previous Sunday, was none the better. Only Hugh would send
apologies for being unwell, so Sandy would send our best wishes for a
speedy recovery back.
Sandy took the theme of Jesus
telling his disciples that 'I am th eWay to the Father'. His address to
the children was all about questions questions, and how we need to be
clear and concise to avoid imparting the wrong meaning which can
ellicit an answer that is unexpected. He used this theme when talking
about the morning reading from St.John, where Peter, Thomas, and Philip
had difficulty in undertanding Jesus telling his disciples that He is
the Way to the Father.
| Sunday
7 May | The Parable of the Shepherd - Sunday 7 May
 The
theme for Sunday 7 May followed the parable of the Shepherd, where
Jesus tells us the difference between the Shepherd and the thief. Hugh
took this parable relating it to the events of 40 years ago when the
world went mad about 'markets'. If we reorganise the market then
things will only get better! If only. The raft of changes rose to a
status not short of 'divine', at least to those devotees of change.
One
of the Lords memorable soundbites 'The sabbath was made for man not man
for the sabbath', could be translated to 'The market was made for man,
not man for the market'.
Financial markets and the uninhibited
flow of capital became an absolute article of faith. Governments were
convinced by Merchant Bankers, financiers, currency dealers, and the
like to deregulate the market and trust the financiers to make the
world a better place. We all know that some 10 years ago we arrived at
the precipice of disaster. Why did it happen?
Hugh relates the
need for man to be regulated, to prevent human irresponsibility and
guarding against our own excesses. We need to be shepherded, otherwise
the sheep run amok.
| Sunday
30 April | New Minister voted a success - Sunday 30 April
 The Rev John
Urquhart used the readings from Peter and Luke, taking the role of Cleopas on the journey from
Jerusalem to Emmaus with a friend, after the crucifixion and
resurrection. He started as Jesus walked up to and spoke to them.
Neither recognised Jesus and were baffled that this stranger knew
nothing of what had happened in Jerusalem.
The story unfolds as
the conversation continued, and how the deliverer everyone hoped for
was also God's servant who suffered for our wrong doing. John continued
with a story of Justin, the pagan. Following his search to be a
philosopher, and his discovery of
God.
| Sunday
23 April | Doubting Thomas - Weakness or Stength - 23 April
 The
Rev Hugh Davidson's theme for this first Sunday following the Easter
resurrection of Jesus was 'Doubting Thomas'. Was he weak in daring to
doubt that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead, or strong, in that he
dared to question the Lord and see for himself the holes in His hands
and wound in His side?
He developed the morning readings with
a story of how young children never seem to end their questioning,
using a visit to the zoo to illustrate his point. Questioning is how we
learn, and is a sign of strength, not taking for granted the prescribed
wisdom of the day. Listen how the sermon develops doubt and faith, and
how Thomas uses both, to spread the word of God far from the Holy
Land.
|
Sunday
16 April
Good Friday
14 April
Monday
10 April | Easter Week Services at St. Mungo's
Easter Sunday 16 April
 The
Easter Sunday morning service, led by Rev Hugh Davidson, started
with the reasons for our Easter celebration, life over death,
good over evil, love over hate, hope over despair, rejoicing in the
resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. Christ is risen,
risen indeed. Alleluia!
Our praise refected this resurrection day, supported by the readings from Corinthians and St. John.
Bill
Webster read from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 15:
verses 35-50, where Paul talks of the difference between earthly bodies
and heavenly bodies, mortality and immortality, weakness and strength,
using Adam to ilustrate the difference between our earthly and heavenly
bodies.
Margaret Webster continued with St.John chapter 20
verses 1-18, where John relates Mary Magdalene discovering the stone
rolled back, and the Lord taken from the tomb, the disciples
investigation, and Mary later meeting the angels, and seeing her Lord.
Hugh
explored the readings starting with Paul's letter to the Corinthians
where Paul describes the resurrection and Jesus as a new creation, and
as the last Adam. How a crucified carpenter became a life giving spirit
with a capacity to create us anew, and how to undersand it. He then
related the early Christian behaviour, faced with persecution, and
being thrown to the lions by their persecutors. How the Christians won,
by praying for their persecutors, so defeating Caesar. The freedom to
defy death itself is the freedom held out to each of us by the Easter
gospel.
We continued with the celebration of Holy Communion, before closing with Hymn 419 - 'Thine be the Glory'.
Good Friday 14 April
 The
Good Friday service tooked at St. Luke's account of our Lord's
crucifixion. Through sermon reflection and song we reflected on that
death.
God commends His love to us, that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
Hugh's
sermon compared the Rev Sydney Chambers, the fictional vicar of
Granchester in Cambridgeshire, an ameteur sleuth, penned by author
James Runcie, the son of Robert Runcie the late Archbishop of
Canterbury in the 1980's, and how his 'who done it' stories
are supposed to improve our memories, to solve the mystery.
What
of the mysteries of God? Can they ever be solved? Why did Jesus die the
death that He did? This is the mystery that confronts us every Good
Friday. Hugh explored the variety of solutions put forward over
time, before drawing his conclusion. Listen to his sermon to find out
how this 'mystery' unfolds.
Monday 10 April
 Following
Palm Sunday, we continued the Easter Week on Monday 10th with the Rev
Ian Cathcart leading the congregation at St. Mungo's. With members from
all the other churches in Penicuik joining our own members Ian explored
'What type of Christian am I?' in his sermon. With each member of the
congregation equipped with a piece of 'silver', and with support
from Rev Ruth Halley, Rev Lynsay Downs and Rev Hugh Davidson, Ian used
the extremes of Judas and Mary, both Christians, but at opposite ends
of the spectrum, to show how we can journey toward the adoration that
Mary reflected.
Listen again to the key elements of the service.
| Sunday
9
April | Celebration of Gifts Praise Service - 9 April
 The
Palm Sunday service took the theme 'Celebration of Gifts'. Led by Joan
Cape with music provided by Graham McDonald on piano, Caroline Toms on
Guitar and vocals, and Neil Cape on bass guitar. The service covered
the use of our gifts from God and how we can use them. Joan interviewed
a number of members to find out how they used their 'gifts'. The
readings reflected how God wants us to use our gifts and talents in His
name. A great selection of hymns were sung, and you can listen again to
each part of the service.
| Sunday
12
March | Genesis and God's grace - 12 March
 Hugh
took the reading from Genesis chapter 12, and the introduction of
Abraham, marking a significant point in the Old Testament, the change
from pre-history to history. The first 11 chapters are known as the
primeveal history, where we find the stories of creation, Adam and Eve,
Kane and Able, Noah and the flood, the tower of Babel etc.
Whilst
many include places recognisable, still on the map, with people just
like us, there are others, e.g. Methusala, who lived many hundreds of
years. Whilst the period is one of sin and moving further away from
God, with the well deserved punishments forthcoming, the biblical
writers did however record God's continual mercy, never
giving up on His created people. For God so loved the world, he
gave His only son, not to pass judgement on the world, but that the
world may be saved through Him.
|
Sunday
5
March |  The meaning of Lent - 5 March
We
welcomed back the
Rev Hugh Davidson on Sunday 3rd March. Hugh explained in his talk
with the children, the origins of Lent, why and when it
occurs, what it means and what we should think about and do. His
sermon took the Lord's prayer and the origins of 'trespass' an
'debtors', and the rise in credit, which is just debt by another
word.
| Sunday
26
February |  If you love me, show me
The
Rev Andrew Don theme took the first 10 chapters of Genesis to present
every soap opera situation and story line, all the ills of the world,
lies and deceit, murder etc. How you can find these chapters echoed
across families in Penicuik, broken homes and families, hunger and
poverty. Yet at the end of those chapters there is hope, as the rainbow
appears. From the childrens talk to the closing prayer, the theme
haunts us with tales of those fighting personal demons and what we can
do, by taking the word and love of God to those crying out for help.
| Sunday
19
February | Gods Love is unselfish, unending, and unconditional
The
Rev Elisabeth Spence preached on Sunday 19 February taking the theme
God's Love, and usiGods Love is unselfish, unending, and unconditional
ng the childrens talk, readings, and sermon, showed
us how his love is unselfish, unending, and unconditional.
| Sunday
12
February | Decisions Decisions - Moving forward
 The
Rev Ian Bird led our worship on Sunday 12 February and started his
title theme with the children's talk. Recounting a trip to
Lightwater Theme Park in North Yorks with his children some years ago
he was presented with a 'Dare' from his son to ride the 'Hells Slide'.
This slide started higher then the gallery in the church in a  near
vertical fall to the bottom. Decisions Decisions. Keep going and
challenge the dare, or turn back to where he came from. This dichotomy
was developed from the Joshua reading, where Joshua had to cross the
River Jordan in spate, to reach the promised land. Easier to go back?
Again in the Matthew reading where Jesus told
the disciples to go everywhere and make men His disciples.
Easier to go back?
| Sunday
5
February |  Salt and Light
The
service on Sunday 5 February was led by Sandy Robertson and the Elders.
The readings, poems, stories and sermon reflected the theme of
Salt and Light, taken from Matthews gospel.
| Sunday
29
January | Why does God not answer our 'demands'
 The
Holocaust Memorial Day on Friday January 27th brought focus to the
theme of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, where he wrote that
'Jews call for miracles' while 'Greeks look for wisdom', while we
'preach Christ crucified'.
This can be rendered as Jews demand
action while Greeks ask for explanation. Hugh's sermon explored how we
often 'demand' God 'do something' to save us, as in the death camps of
the Nazi era. Why does God not answer our demands for help?
| Sunday
22
January | Simon and Andrew - fishers of men
 The gospel reading from Matthew we heard Jesus say to Simon and Andrew to come after Him and He will make them fishers of men.
We
then turned to the story of 'Lord Hippo' and his overpowering need to
gamble, with the inevitable consequences. Approaching his son, the
'Earl of Pottamus' to be bailed out merely served to fuel his gambling
addiction. The increase in gambling is closely linked to poverty, as a
quick way to riches, always hopeful of that 'windfall'. Being 'hooked'
on gambling, or 'hooked' on Christ was explored, with the gift of hope
He offers.
Isaiah 9: 2-7 - (Janis Hogg)
Matthew 4: 12-23 - (Fiona hutcheson)
Fishers of men - (Rev Hugh Davidson)
| Sunday
15
January | The baptism of Jesus
The
sermon took the gospel story from todays Matthew reading, where Jesus
asked John the Baptist to baptise Him. Such was John the Baptist
surprise, saying that he, John, needed to be baptised by Jesus. John's
baptism was for repentance, but Matthew implies that Jesus was sinless,
thus he could have nothing to repent.
Listen now to hear how this puzzle unfolds.
Isaiah 42: 1-9 - (Dorothy Paterson)
Matthew 3: 13-17 - (Isabel Donachie)
Jesus baptism - (Rev Hugh Davidson)
| Sunday
8
January
|  Do we really care about the truth?
After
the 12 days of Christmas it is tempting for ministers of the church to
offer their allegedly sage reflections on the past 12 months, and to
make perceptive 'prognostications' about the year ahead. Hugh did
resist the urge to follow type, though 2016 had produced more material
ripe for comment than any year he could think of.
There was
however one topic he did take up, that of 'post truth politics'. The
term is not just that politicians are 'economical with the truth', or
the telling of clear 'untruths', but how it gets to the stage that
nobody really cares if what we are being told is true or not! 'Brexit'
is prime example. Does this mean that truth doesn't matter? What is
'truth' was explored, going back to the time of Jesus, Pilate, and the
parables used by Jesus.
Isaiah 60: 1-6 - (Gordon MacDonald)
Matthew 2: 1-2 - (Gordon MacDonald)
Do we care about truth - (Rev Hugh Davidson) | Sunday
1
January
New Years Day | The Mystery of Christmas
 We
all know and love the Christmas story, the birth of Jesus. But for the
first 300 years of the Christian Church the birth of Jesus was not
acknowledged or mentioned. Easter, the crucifixion and
resurrection yes, but not His birth.
Hugh took us on journey to solve the mystery, 'Who is Jesus?' which is more intriguing than you can imagine.
Isaiah 63: 7-9 - (Ian Dickson)
Matthew 2: 13-23 - (Christine Jackson)
Mystery of Christmas - (Rev Hugh Davidson) |
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