No.33 14th February 2025
VALENTINE'S DAY SPECIAL
Hi,
The magazine is a Valentine's Day Special this week...apparently there were at least three Valentines historically, and we don’t know all that much about any of them, each Valentinus having his own story. In 469 “Valentine” was given a feast day, to overshadow and out-manoeuvre the culture's February’s pagan feasts of love and fertility - replacing it with a theme of Christian love and martyrdom. You can decide if the scheme was a complete success story or not. Anyway, talking about saints in a Free Church magazine is poor form... I'll make amends with something worthwhile and substantial about love on Valentines Day… a new release today from the Getty's 'Here is Love, vast as the ocean'. Listen here or watch here.
This week the magazine is chock full - lots of news and info for this week and looking ahead and things to celebrate and encourage too I hope.
Enjoy the Mag.
MB
Sunday 16th February
Morning service- 10.30am
Rev Dr Scott Kirkland - Genesis ch4
Home Groups Week
Wednesday - PULSE Prayer Meeting
7.15pm - at the Merriman's
Letter from the Manse
Dear Congregation,
We have a small
Outreach Committee who prayerfully consider how we keep “outreach” at the front of our congregational life (Margo, Lorna, Jacqui, Thane, Susan C, me).
Last year we organised discussions on the book
“How to Talk About Jesus” because the most natural outreach comes when each Christian simply shares the Gospel with family, friends and colleagues personally and in the context of their relationship. However, we are not alone and we do want to walk with one another as a congregation in this task of sharing the grace of Jesus.
The Lord’s words to the apostle Paul are always an encouragement.
Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you…because I have many people in this city…So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.
We do not have that direct word from the Lord but who knows how “many people” the Lord might have in Newton Mearns and our family and friendship groups.
We have planned some initiatives for the coming year (we hold them with a light grip before the Lord). Some of these will occur over the next few weeks.
We are looking forward to 23rd February when Jenny Hamill from SU will come and share with us over lunch about the ongoing work of SU.
Please plan to remain for that lunch after worship. The lunch is free and we anticipate this will last for an hour or so. We hope to receive donations at the lunch for the work of SU.
On Thursday 27th of February, we invite you to a fun-night-out as we try 10-Pin Bowling at The Quay. There is no age limit (up or down), it can be an all-age event. However, we are hoping you come and maybe even bring a family member or friend. We hope this will be a simple way to have our “church-world” overlap with the world of your friends and family. Fiona Waugh has given some detail about the evening (below).
On 2nd of March we shall begin a Hope Explored series at Belmont (2nd , 9th , 16th March). Afternoon tea will be served! All are invited, however, it will be especially helpful for those exploring the Christian faith or thinking of professing faith publicly at MFC. This is for all ages but may be most suitable for adults (and perhaps 5th year at high school and up). Please email the office to sign up (office@mearnsfree.org). Leaflets will be on your chair again this Sunday to give to a friend or family member. You can also point friends/family to information on our website, Facebook and Instagram pages. You can share these across your own social media platforms.
On a different matter…
Emergency Evacuation Training…It was an odd way to finish worship last Sunday! However, we had a really helpful experience of hearing the alarm and then leaving the premises under that condition. We are reviewing the procedure. Generally it was very successful and took less than 2 minutes to clear the building (including checking that it was clear). However, we did not insist that you gather outside in one location and as a result we did “sprawl” somewhat across the carpark. In the event of a real alarm (or another drill), we should make our way to the far right hand side of the car park (the furthest corner away from the carpark entrance). In the event of a real alarm, sprawling across the carpark will limit access for emergency vehicles.
Finally… I was doing some research this week on the curriculum for our youth group. I came across a “Christian-remake” of the old Pharrell Williams song “Happy”. The remake had a parody of his original video also. It made me smile! I hope it makes you smile also. I have linked the youtube vidt
here. Give it a chance!
Look forward to seeing you on Sunday,
With Warmest Regards
Scott
I will give out free on Sunday a booklet called “Listen Up”. Perhaps oddly you will think, it is a practical guide on how to listen to a sermon! I believe it is so helpful it even has a closing chapter on how to listen to a “bad sermon”!
One reviewer said,
“The Director of the Cornhill Training Course in London, England, Christopher Ash has done congregations and preachers a great service...Each of the seven sections starts by introducing us to two different listeners and their approach to listening and why one profits from the sermon and why the other doesn’t. Each of the seven concludes with practical steps to take. In between is very good advice on listening. This advice is also good for the preacher to remember as he prepares his sermon.
Ash’s counsel is solidly based on the belief that the Bible is the Word of God. “However, when the Bible is faithfully opened up, we are to listen to the preacher’s voice as the voice of God Himself. The preacher stands in the great tradition of prophets and apostles who spoke the word of God” (p 4). He makes it clear that the preacher’s authority is borrowed and it is only as the preacher sticks to the truth of the text that he should be taken seriously. He advises the listeners to constantly ask themselves “where did the preacher get that from?” (p 10). He insightfully spells out why sermons should be listened to in person at church. He cautions against a steady diet of “celebrity preachers” (p 18).…Both preacher and listener will benefit from this booklet.”
Engagement!!
We want to congratulate Hannah McNicol and Daniel Dieppe who announced their engagement this week and thank them for timing this piece of news in order to appear exclusively in the St Valentine's Day edition of the church magazine.
Here they are pictured outside St Paul's before popping in to check on availability of Saturday afternoons later in the year.
27th February
Hollywood Bowl, Springfield Quay.
Cost? 2 games plus 1 drink £12.50 per person
(no discount at night for under 16)
Time? 8-10pm
If interested please get in touch with numbers of places by 20th February.
Can pay either by cash or bank transfer to Fiona Waugh.(Games need to be paid for when booking)
If anyone requires transport we can arrange lifts from Belmont School.
Contact Fiona Waugh
07795361752 with number of places wanting to book…
At last Sunday morning's service we heard from those involved in the Glasgow City Mission last week - it gave a really good sense of both the need that there is, and how those volunteering will be involved.
Fiona McN sent in this short note of her experience at the Mission when volunteering with Mary...
Mary and I arrived in good time for 6o’clock at the Glasgow City Mission in Glasgow’s Crimea Street. We were given our instructions by the two organisers and were told that if we had any concerns we were to speak to them. We could see people queuing outside several minutes before the starting time when doors opened at 6.30pm. There were six people at each table, and we were told to sit in the middle so that we could talk to the person on either side of us. At my table I was sitting next to someone from Springburn and someone from Sri Lanka. On the other side of the table was someone from Sudan. They each shared with me some of their stories and me realise how blessed we are in Newton Mearns where we have the essentials that they sometimes do not have. There were two choices for dinner one meat choice and one vegetarian choice. Some left before the 8 o”clock finish and others arrived to take their places at tables.
Valentines Day Survey!
The men at Mearns can be described in lots of ways - but let's not go there.
And we will avoid the legal minefield or medical bills by making this a caption competition.
(unless you really feel led to...)
For Valentine's Day we did a survey and asked:
'If you could choose between a romantic night out with your lady, or a round of golf with your friends followed by a curry, what would you go for?
Rogan Josh 15%
Chicken Tikka Masala 20%
Jalfrezi 41%
Vindaloo 24%
What does Christianity have to say about
HOPE? PEACE? PURPOSE?
Why not make March special?
3 Sunday events to explore where we can find real, lasting hope.
Look out for details and invites to explore with others at Mearns Free Church in an informal setting and Afternoon Tea.
Speak with Margo for more information
SU Weekend Away
Last weekend a group of four children, two teenagers and four adults from Mearns Free went to the SU Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde region P5-P7 weekend camp at Gowanbank.
Overall we had 32 children for the weekend from a mix of places and a mix of church and no-church backgrounds.
Our theme for the weekend was based on the film Inside Out 2 which deals with emotions such as joy, sadness, anger, fear and anxiety as well as identity. At each meal time we looked at a different emotion and how the Bible speaks into those emotions. During our 3 Bible times we looked at how we are chosen, made and loved by God, how we can have a relationship with God and our identity in Christ.
Tess getting some Bibletime in... Andrew 'Bushcrafting'!
The children also all took part in tree climbing and either archery or bushcraft led by SU Gowanbank instructors as well as crafts, games, silent disco, watching the film and playing Hunt the Leader all in under 48 hours!
One of our campers said "Camp was lots of fun but the best things were making new friends and learning more about Jesus"
Pauline
We asked Sandra to give us an update on how the Youth Work was going...
Our amazing team of young leaders are supported by not-so-young helpers on a rota. In this capacity, I have been along to Youth a few times. My job was to make sure there was a snack. This, I can do.
The format of Youth has the variety and individual tailoring that the education system dreams of: the first hour is filled with relationship-building games of all sorts - from frisbee and basketball to board games or the near-impossible game called "My Chair"; the second hour is small group Bible study.
The young leaders have excellent teaching materials. Usually the young people break into "older" and "younger" and work their way through the study prompts. There are tremendous opportunities for discussion and learning. …
Ladybird Book of Mearns Free Church
Chaplaincy
I have now been chaplain at Mearns Castle High School for 14 years. There have been many changes over these years but recently the biggest change is for me to lead a team of chaplains which includes leaders from the Muslim and Jewish Communities. At Christmas I also invited a parent from the Hindu community join with us. As lead chaplain I organise the assemblies and have been picking the themes. This week I chose a theme I have never dealt with in my 14 years as chaplain but I believed fitted well with the school week of Culture. It was on Music and Faith. In the absence of the Imam, a Muslim 6th year pupil spoke of his Pakistani heritage and Muslim faith.
Perhaps unexpectedly, because other “faiths” are represented it releases me to be very pointed about Jesus. I shared clips of Christian praise and how that praise is motivated by knowing our great God with His wonderful Gospel. To maximum volume, we listened to clips from Psalm 139 arranged by New Scottish Hymns, Amazing Grace by Carrie Underwood, I Cast My Mind to Calvary By Hastings/Ussher/Sampson and Happy Day by Tim Hughes. Please pray for these assemblies.
Pauline is also sharing in assemblies at Mearns Primary school and having time in classes. She runs SU groups at Mearns Primary, Eastwood High School and Mearns Castle High School also.
We have at least two other teachers from the congregation leading SU groups in other High Schools.
Please pray for all these school opportunities.
Scott
PLEASE NOTE - NO MEETING THIS TUESDAY 18TH FEBRUARY!
Each Wednesday we meet to pray for the church- local, national and worldwide.
you should try and get along - 1 hour flies by and it's such a important time of fellowship too.
7.15-8.15pm
We've been looking at this book on prayer for the past few weeks - Don Carson helps us see what Paul prioritised in his prayers, and encourages us to shape our prayer lives thoughtfully.
Prayer is a battle for many of us - if God is in total control why bother praying! Or is he calls us to pray and change things then we should pour every moment into asking for things??? These two extremes are looked at this in this extract from the book...
MB
Continued from last week...
Two extremes...
The first thinks that it's inappropriate to ask God for things. Surely he is sovereign: he does not need our counsel. If he is the one “who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will” (Eph. 1:11), surely it is a bit cheeky to badger him for things. He does not change the course of the universe because some finite, ignorant, and sinful human being asks him to.
Besides, if God is really sovereign, he is going to do whatever he wants to do, whether or not he is asked to do it.
Of course, if a Christian adopts this line, he or she is thinking in much the same way as a Muslim: the right approach to God binds you to a kind of theological determinism, not to say fatalism.
The second extreme begins with the slogan, “Prayer changes things.” In other words, petitionary prayer is everything. This means that if people die and go to hell, it is because you or I or someone has neglected to pray. Does not Scripture say, “You do not have, because you do not ask God” (James 4:2)?
Not to intercede is to flee from your responsibilities as a Christian. In fact, if you agonize in your prayers, fast much, plead the name of Jesus, and spend untold hours at this business of intercession, you cannot help but call down from heaven a vast array of blessings. Of course, if a Christian adopts this line, he or she is in danger of treating prayer much like magic: the right incantations produce the desired effect.
On the face of it, neither of these extremes captures the balance of biblical prayers, and both of them are reductionistic in their treatment of God.
Of the various models that usefully capture both of these poles, the model of a personal relationship with a father is as helpful as any. If a boy asks his father for several things, all within the father’s power to give, the father may give him one of them right away, delay giving him another, decline to give him a third, set up a condition for a fourth. The child is not assured of receiving something because he has used the right incantation: that would be magic. The father may decline to give something because he knows it is not in the child’s best interests. He may delay giving something else because he knows that so many requests from his young son are temporary and whimsical. He may also withhold something that he knows the child needs until the child asks for it in an appropriate way. But above all, the wise father is more interested in a relationship with his son than in merely giving him things.
Giving him things constitutes part of that relationship but certainly not all of it. The father and son may enjoy simply going out for walks together. Often the son will talk with his father not to obtain something, or even to find out something, but simply because he likes to be with him.
None of these analogies is perfect, of course. But it is exceedingly important to remember that prayer is not magic and that God is personal as well as sovereign. There is more to praying than asking, but any sustained prayer to the God of the Bible will certainly include asking. And because we slide so easily into sinful self-centeredness, we must approach this holy God with contrition and confession of our sins. On other occasions we will focus on his love and forbearance, on the sheer splendour of his being, and approach him with joy and exuberant praise. The rich mixture of approaches to God mirrored in Scripture must be taken over into our own lives. This rich mixture is, finally, nothing more than a reflection of the many different components of the kind of relationship we ought to have with the God of the Bible.
Last week we considered ways to focus our prayers - did you get a chance to look at the suggestions below?
How An App Revitalized My Prayer Life
Don Carson's strategy was before the time of digital apps
-however, here is how someone uses an app on their phone to help them
"I say it without hyperbole: PrayerMate revitalized my prayer life. It has been at least a couple of years since I made the move from organizing my prayers in a book to organizing my prayers in an app, and, at least for now, I don’t ever see myself going back. I know that praying from an app is not for everyone, but for me it has made all the difference. Let me tell you how I use it."
Read the 2 min article here
And see the videos about PrayerMate App here for intro and here for walkthru
Support Lunch - 23rd February
This is advance notice of a lunch EVERYONE is invited to!
After the morning service on 23rd February.
We want to support the work of Scripture Union Scotland as they work in East Renfrewshire and beyond including their weekends and holiday programmes.
More info about this lunch coming soon.
Bibles for Bairns
The Scottish Bible Society is encouraging families and friends to register babies born in 2024 to receive a free toddler Bible.
Once a child has been signed up, they’ll receive the Share a Story Bible on their 1st birthday.
On their 2nd, 3rd and 4th birthdays they will be sent birthday cards and Bible activity resources to encourage the whole family to keep engaging with the toddler Bible.
On their 5th birthday, they’ll be given a children’s Bible.
Anyone can register a child, but you must have the permission of the parent or carer, and the child must have been born in Scotland.
Click here for more info
Praying for One Another
The Free Church page on prayer is found here
It includes the Praying for One Another
Each week we send out a prayer calendar, via email, with prayer points for the week ahead.:
"We pray for the church locally, nationally and globally. It is a real encouragement to see all that God is doing in our communities.
What a privilege we have in prayer! We can approach the throne of grace with utmost confidence that we are coming before a God who knows us perfectly and loves us endlessly.
Click on the link to sign up for weekly updates.
LARGE PRINT - SONG WORDS
If you find viewing the song-words on the screen in Sunday worship a problem, we currently print a limited number of large-print song sheets for specific people.
We don't want to print unnecessary copies so please speak with the door team and we will begin to make these available for you each week.
Mearns Free Church has a What's App Group for Prayer -The "PRAY NOW" Group
Purpose: A platform to share information regarding a sudden and crucial need for prayer.
How to connect: Speak to Margaret Boyd if you would like to be added to this group or email Margaret at: mandmboyd@hotmail.co.uk
What tech do I need?: You need to have a Smart Phone with WhatsApp to get set up.
Emailing The Minister
Please be careful when emailing Scott that you are using the correct current email address minister@mearnsfree.org. A number of emails continue to be sent to accounts no longer in use. Please be doubly careful when sending from a device that is not your normal communication device (like a phone) or if you use “reply to all”.
Email Addresses For Mearns Free Church
Please make sure you change your email address list now we are part of the Free Church.
Tom Brown (Office): office@mearnsfree.org
Scott Kirkland (Minister): minister@mearnsfree.org
Sandy McDougall (Treasurer): finance@mearnsfree.org
Pauline Forster (Children and families worker): children@mearnsfree.org