No.68 28th November
Hi, hope this finds you well
Advent is upon us this weekend...The 'Tea Break' link below takes us to an aspect of how Churches had walked through Advent I hadn't been aware of before, ie that over the Advent period it was traditional for churches to consider the
'Last 4 Things' - Death, Judgement, Heaven and Hell. So, over the 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas Day these would be 4 topics of the sermons... I'm thinking that 3 out of 4 of these might not be what we would typically think about (or
want to think about) and perhaps for our culture (if not our church?) having sermons on Presents, Rest, Family and Food might be more appealing. But the Lord Jesus leaves the glory of Heaven and is sent into the world by His Father as our rescuing Saviour, not just to tidy up around the edges of our lives to make us a bit more comfortable.
In the magazine you will see that during December, through Advent Sunday morning services and other special events we are given a number of ways to focus our minds on Advent and the Peace which Jesus offers each of us. What about inviting others?...allowing them to hear about our Prince of Peace and his plans for peace in this world - and, remarkably, even peace with God.
Enjoy the Mag.
MB
Sunday 30th November
FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Morning service - 10.30am
Rev Scott Hamilton
"The Prince of Peace" - Isaiah 9:1-7
This week the Home Groups continue - this is the last meeting of 2025.
If not involved yet, speak with Scott K or Scott H and find a spot in 2026.
Wednesday
We meet on Wednesdays at 7.15pm for one hour.
For the first two Wednesdays in December at the Cooper's.
Speak to Scott about being added to the 'Signal' app for getting PULSE messages.'
December...
Below are the dates for the service and events coming up in the next four weeks.
You can copy and paste this into WhatsApp messages for sending to friends and family and let them know what is on over the Advent season.
If you are inviting people to our Special Musical evening on the 14th December you can use the image below to do that. Speak with Scott H or Margo for more info about this evening.
From The Manse
Dear Congregation,
It was an absolute delight last Sunday to
give thanks to the Lord for the new physical life of Toby, Rose, and Caleb. Let us pray that they might grow up healthily but always knowing the loving kindness of God the Father, the saving graces of God the Son, and the
regenerating power of God the Holy Spirit.
Let us also pray for their parents, asking that they be given the grace to
uphold and keep the promises, commitments, and faith they shared publicly with us.
This coming Sunday is the first Sunday in Advent. As I lead worship at Lochgilphead, Scott Hamilton will begin our walk toward Christmas. Four of us from MFC will be joining the congregations of Tarbert and Lochgilphead for the Lord's Supper.
The following Sunday, which is the
December 7th and the second Sunday in Advent, we look forward to hearing the profession of faith from Adriana, Javier, and Liam Barbour (whom I will also baptize). What great joy this is for us all as a congregation—and we must not take it for granted!
Jesus tells us in Luke 15 in three different ways that the angels in glory rejoice when even just one sinner repents and turns to Christ in repentant faith! (Luke 15:7, 10, and 24/32). Surely we should join with them in that celebration.
It is
astonishing to consider the reality that every soul brought to
new spiritual life in Christ is as great a miracle as the one performed by Jesus when he powerfully called Lazarus from his tomb after four days of physical death (John 11:1–44). As Paul puts it to the Christians in Ephesians 2:
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved…For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God…
On the 7th December, we will also greet those whom our elders have recently welcomed from other congregations. What joy!
On another matter…As I write this letter, I am acutely aware of the tragedy unfolding around the fire in the apartment complex in Tai Po, Hong Kong. One hundred and twenty-eight people have tragically lost their lives so far. For many of us in Mearns Free Church, this may be just another distant event we hear of in our news feed. However, for some of our congregation and neighbours, this is a sad tragedy unfolding in their homeland. Our prayers are with those affected directly by the fire in Hong Kong but also our brothers and sisters in Christ among us who watch across the waters with sadness. There are several churches in that neighbourhood. Let us pray for these congregations that they can minister into this awful situation with the compassion and love of Christ.
Warmest Regards,
Scott
Ladybird Book of Mearns Free
Each week Scott has been using the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) as a framework for prayer - helping us to pray through the great truths contained there... you can read the others by looking back at previous magazines.
This week's prayer is on SANTIFICATION and is a prayer which gives God thanks for His ongoing work in us through His Spirit, but also is realistic and recognises that we are a work in progress. Click
here to read the prayer.
A number of folk from Mearns Free joined with others at Maxwell Halls to help get the boxes ready to go out - this year to Ukraine. A real privilege to be involved. We had a note sent from Denise...
Final total 4534 😍🤩.
A huge thank you to everyone who prayed for this outreach and for every person who joined us at the table, checking and filling the boxes.
Thanks also to all those who provided fillers or bought cards and jam, resulting in us being able to purchase fillers.
You are all amazing and we are blessed to be part of this mission.
Denise
Click
here to watch the video of the process of getting these gifts out and into the hands of so many grateful people.
BOOK STALL
There is still an opportunity to support the work of Blythswood this Sunday morning.
This Sunday we will have a range of books available again at the back of the hall where proceeds will go to Blythswood.
The books are already heavily discounted and they range from smaller 'stocking filler' books (£1 & £2) to more substantial ones.
Reading Christian books is a great habit to get into and these come well recommended for helping understand the Bible better, or be more confident in what you believe as a Christian and facing difficult questions. Great for giving to teens as they are short books and very accessible.
Some examples..
Can I really trust the Bible
The Bible makes big claims for itself – that it contains God’s trustworthy revelation of himself to a world in desperate need of the truth. But how does this claim stack up?
Is the Bible true? In this short, readable book, Barry Cooper explores the question with insight, wit and integrity.
True Friendship
In a culture where online communications and communities can be set up in seconds, it is striking that loneliness is still rampant...Vaughan Roberts takes us back to the Bible, and challenges us to consider our need for true friendship. He’s both honest and clear in his approach as he shows us that knowing and being known by God is the hope we need to begin to deal with the sickness of our ‘self–love’ society.
Everyone a Winner
Every One a Winner is a collection of true stories about sportsmen and women past and present, including cricketer Henry Olonga, rugby international Euan Murray, and Olympian Eric Liddell. All the contributors, has found something that means more to them than sport …a meaning and a purpose that goes beyond the track and the field. An engaging, very real and ultimately challenging read for anyone interested in sport and the people who play it.
Partner with
An Invitation to Partner with Glasgow City Mission again in 2026
Church Volunteering Week (Evening Drop-In)
GCM’s vision is to work alongside the local church to extend Jesus’ model of the Kingdom of God—living out love, truth, mercy, and forgiveness. They are asking us to partner with them again this year for the evening Drop IN.
The Drop-In is a warm, safe space where guests receive a hot meal, share meaningful conversations, and begin to build trust with staff and volunteers. We are looking for two volunteers per evening, from 6pm–8.30pm, Monday 2nd February.
Thank you to those who volunteered last year. If you would like to be involved this year, please contact Sue Amery-Behr on amerybehr@gmail.com.
Thank you.
Sinclair Ferguson gives five short talks on Advent - they are designed to be used daily, or since they are only 5 mins or so each, you can do more than one quite easily - whatever suits. The first one introduces the next four... and the links have the actual transcript if you would prefer to read.
"The Four Last Things of Advent
Talk 1 Historically, the season of Advent was a penitential time when Christians were encouraged to meditate on "The Four Last Things" in preparation for Christ's second coming and their own mortality.
Talk 2 Death: Reflection on the end of one's earthly life and the separation of body and soul.
Talk 3 Judgment: The belief in both a particular judgment at the time of death and a general judgment at the end of the world.
Talk 4 Heaven: The promise of eternal happiness and full communion with God for the righteous.
Talk 5 Hell: The consequence of eternal separation from God for those who reject Him.
These themes served to prompt self-reflection and a renewed focus on one's spiritual life, encouraging believers to "begin with the end in mind"
All available on Spotify too, just search Unseen Things podcasts.
Concert Date for your Diary
Singer Song Writer Christy Campbell invites you to her
online Christmas Concert.
Monday 22nd December at 7pm
"I’ll be playing and singing my (and your) favourite Christmas songs and carols.
Look out for the link to the concert coming soon."
christycampbellsongs.com
Mearns Free Church also has a What's App Group for PrayerThe "PRAY NOW" Group
Purpose: A platform to share information regarding a sudden and crucial need for prayer.
How to connect: Speak or email Margaret (mandmboyd@hotmail.co.uk) if you would like to be added to this WhatsApp group.
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.
Emailing The Minister
Please be careful when emailing Scott Kirkland 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
Scott Hamilton (Associate Minister): associate@mearnsfree.org
Sandy McDougall (Treasurer): finance@mearnsfree.org
Pauline Forster (Children and families worker): children@mearnsfree.org