No.71      19th December

 

Hi, hope this finds you well and warm and antipating a Happy Christmas. There is still lots going on as we head to the sharp end of Christmas events and services- all the details you need are below. 

Your Christmas present from the Magazine this year is that BOTH Scott's have sent in a Letter from their respective 'manses' - don't say we are not good to you!
Actually, although both letters are quite different in their focus, both show how understanding the Gospel, and understanding Bible truths which reveal God's character and ways, allows us to understand how we should live in the real world with all the pain and mess of broken relationships and broken bodies and minds which we are part of.

Alongside that, this week we have the last of three articles about singing, and in particular how we each sing in church.
From the article you can see how Tim Challies would like us to reflect on the fact that God calls each of us to sing...which is a relief because it means it's not me writing an article saying how I think we as a congregation don't really sing out and lift our voices in praise as much as I think we could...Challies adds. "And if we are to sing, don’t you think God means for us to sing out, to sing loud, to sing as if our singing really matters? God calls upon the heavens and the mountains to sing and commands the beasts of the field and birds of the heavens to praise him. Who are we to lag behind the animals? ...So prepare yourself to sing! 

I hope taking all that onboard will get you in the right frame of mind for our Joint Carol Service with NMBC on Sunday night, AND then, the following evening you can take it easy and just enjoy Christy Campbell singing to you - Christy has an online Christmas Concert on Monday evening she is inviting us all to - see details below.

Enjoy the Magazine

MB

---

Sunday 21st December

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Morning service - 10.30am

Nativity Service

Rev Scott Hamilton. 
Luke ch2

EVENING...

Joint Carol Service with NMBC
at 7pm at the Baptist Church.
The joint services on Sunday evenings have been very good in terms of Bible teaching and fellowship together.
This evening promises to be a really special time of Christmas Praise.

---

---

 

Remember the Wednesday mid week prayer meeting is now on a break until the new year.

---

The 3 (or 4) Schools of Singing

I have heard it said that there were traditionally three different schools of singing: French, German, and Italian. I lack the musical knowledge to confidently distinguish between them, but my understanding is that the French school values vocal clarity and agility, the German school values vocal power and drama, and the Italian school values clear and beautiful tones.

To these schools of singing I would like to add a fourth: The school of Christ. The German school expects its singers to focus on projection and resonance, the French school on precision, the Italian school on a kind of agility that allows them to create beauty through complexity. But the school of Christ has an entirely different focus.

The school of Christ is much less concerned with the outer man than the inner.

• It does not demand a voice that is flawless but a heart that is broken.
• It does not demand excellence in performance but contrition before the Lord.
• It does not look to the affirmation of an audience but the smile of God.

In the school of Christ it counts for little if a voice precisely communicates outward emotion, but it counts for much if the heart has been moved with sorrow over sin and moved with joy over salvation. It means little if technique is met with approval from critics but means much if a simple song is met with the smile of God. This music, though coming through the mouth of an untrained individual, is much sweeter to the ear of God than music that is technically perfect but spiritually rebellious. It is better to be tone deaf and sing to the glory of God than to be a world-class talent and sing for the glory of self.

As we consider how we worship, we need to acknowledge that God calls each one of us to sing. We are to sing even if we are untrained, even if we are unskilled, and even if we are self-conscious. And if we are to sing, don’t you think God means for us to sing out, to sing loud, to sing as if our singing really matters? God calls upon the heavens and the mountains to sing and commands the beasts of the field and birds of the heavens to praise him. Who are we to lag behind the animals? Who are we to defy God when all of creation obeys?

So, as you prepare to gather with your church this weekend, prepare yourself to sing! You have been drawn into the school of Christ and can be assured that he loves to hear you sing—to hear you sing out the joy of your salvation.

You can Listen to the 3min article here.

---

December diary...

---

From The Manse

 Dear Congregation,
We had a wonderful "Missing Peace" evening last Sunday. Many thanks to everyone who prepared the evening and led us in song and word. Let’s pray the Lord received all the glory due to His name.

This weekend, due to an urgent need at Covenant Free Church Newmilns, I will be heading there to lead worship. Scott Hamilton and Pauline will lead our Nativity Service at MFC. On Sunday evening, we are invited to join a community Carol Service at NMBC. Scott H. and I have been invited to read and pray. We understand the service will also be led by several prominent members of the Newton Mearns community.

Christmas Worship

We look forward to our own Christmas Eve service (7:00 pm at Belmont on 24th December) and a forty-five-minute service on Christmas Day (10:30 am at Belmont). I hope you will join us for both. Please see the magazine below for additional Christmas and New Year activities for all ages.

Reflections on Bondi Beach

Last Sunday morning, as I was preaching on the reality of the peace brought by Christ's incarnation, news of the tragedy at Bondi Beach, Australia, began to filter through. I had just shared in a High School Assembly with a Jewish youth worker from the local synagogue; it is a sobering thought that had she been on holiday there at this time, she could easily have been among those attacked.
It is difficult to make sense of such senseless carnage. However, as Christians, it is helpful to be humbled by Jesus' words when His attention was drawn to the murder of certain Galileans. Jesus said: "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans...?" (Luke 13:1ff).
All of us possess physical and spiritual life solely by the grace of God. None of us will escape physical death; it is the universal judgment on sin. The only questions are when and how we will die—questions to which God does not provide advance answers. As Paul reminds us, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
Jesus does not explain the specific "why" behind the suffering of those Galileans. Instead, He reaches a pointed conclusion: hearing of such suffering and sin should provoke us all to repentance and faith. He warns, "I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish" (Luke 13:3).
We know that Jesus Christ came to rescue us from death, judgment, Satan, and sin. One day, there will be a glorious resurrection life and the restoration of all things—a future secured by Christ through His incarnation, atonement, and resurrection. The benefits of his work flow to all who in their lives turn to Him in repentance and faith.
In addition to this, Hebrews 4 tells us: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he was without sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
When we suffer, we must come to Jesus to receive His grace. When we see others suffer, we should have compassion for them just as Christ has had compassion for us. We should pray for them, assist them where possible, and pour ourselves out for them. We need to cultivate a humility rooted in God’s grace—loving others in their suffering while becoming even more eager to speak the name of Jesus, the only Saviour who has remedied such evil. Let us overflow with His Spirit as peacemakers in a sin-soaked world.
Finally, we should groan (Romans 8). We groan in sadness for this present world but our groaning is in anticipation of Christ's second coming, when all things will be made new. Come Lord, Come.

Warmest regards,
Scott K.

---

From the other Manse

“O be careful little mouth what you say”

These words might be familiar to us from our childhood. I vividly remember singing them at a holiday club and at my home. As those who follow Jesus, our speech really matters. This has been made very apparent to me as I’ve gone through Ephesians with Youth on a Sunday evening. The letter is littered with instructions on how Christians are to use their words for God’s glory, privately and publicly, as a key feature of their new life in Christ.

God’s building project is His church. He is creating and keeping a people for Himself to display His glory to the “heavenly places” (Eph 3:10). Think about that with me for a moment. Our purpose is to radiate God’s glory to the nations, and also to display the manifold wisdom of God to the rulers and authorities of the heavens.
You and I are evidence of God’s goodness as He puts us on display to all of the spiritual forces that oppose Him.

How does that play out in our day to day lives?
Well, one of Paul’s big applications is speech. As those who are alive in Christ, as those who are now in God’s big plan to showcase His power and goodness to all who see, our speech really matters. We instinctively understand this. We know that how we speak often reveals our hearts, our desires, our wants, perhaps even our idols and our sins. At various points in Ephesians, Paul commands the church to speak the truth in love, to put away falsehood, and not to allow unwholesome talk to appear in the life of the church family. He wants an end to bitterness, rage, slander, obscenity, foolish talk, and coarse joking. These are not symptomatic of the new life in Christ Jesus but are a sad throwback to who we once were, before we were made alive in God the Son.

Christians can still have as much fun as the world can as we laugh, joke, and even poke fun at one another and ourselves. We are those who are reunited to the God who created us to enjoy His creation. Yet Paul’s reminder and exhortation to the church is that their words need to stand as distinct from the world in which we live.
Our words are not to be weaponised for our own glory, or for our own protection, or for putting others down. Instead, our words are to be wielded for God’s glory, for the protection of His people and His gospel, and to raise others up above ourselves, chiefly exalting Christ as our King.

I wonder how this will play out over the Christmas period. I know tempers can run short as we spend large quantities of time around people we might not always agree with. Whatever the circumstances, Paul would say we must watch our speech. It might mean deescalating an argument, or choosing not to rise to something someone else says. It might mean choosing to be complimentary, even if you know someone you’re speaking to is often critical.

Our words reveal our new life in Christ Jesus, stand in stark contrast to the world, and should be “different” to those around us who don’t yet know or love Jesus. What an opportunity to show something of our faith, something of the gospel we believe, something of the Christ who has come to rescue and redeem us, as we speak the truth in love to one another this Christmas.

Scott H

---

Update from Pauline

SU Scotland news and prayer points from this term across East Renfrewshire

Come and join us for an SU Scotland ceilidh and quiz Night on Friday 16th January. Details are in the image above.
This will be a family friendly event with ceilidh dancing, a Scottish quiz and entertainment.
We will be raising money to support the work of SU Scotland in the region of Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde. 
Light refreshments will be provided. £5 per ticket or £20 for a family ticket. Please pre-order these using this link  . Money will be payable on the night. 

SU regional primary weekend

There are still spaces remaining for the Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde weekend for P5-P7 pupils. Pauline and Lynne Hamilton are leading this weekend and it should be filled with fun activities, good food and exploring the Bible together. Book here. 

SU Holidays - Easter, Summer and October
Bookings are underway for 2026 SU Holidays. The early bird rate expires on 31st December so if you can, get booked in soon! What a great Christmas present for kids and grandchildren! There are also new camper discount for those who haven't been to an event that's longer than 3 days before - enter the code NEWCAMPER26 at checkout and there is a refer a friend scheme too. Browse all the holidays available here or pick up a flyer at church on Sunday. 

Christmas Schools Ministry

It's been a busy few weeks for me with both my Mearns Free and SU hats on - sometimes both at the same time!

December began with a visit to Bubblegum and Fluff in Barrhead St Andrew's church with P6 pupils from Hillview and Cross Arthurlie primaries coming along to discover the real Christmas underneath all the modern day 'fluff' surrounding December!

The rest of the week I joined the team from Newton Mearns Baptist Church delivering a similar programme called Adventure Trail for over 400 P6 pupils from Kirkhill, Crookfur, Neilston, Uplawmoor, Mearns, Maidenhill, Hutchesons and Belmont schools. During the discussion times at least three pupils asked the question 'Is this a real story?' and we were able to explain why we as Christians believe it to be true. (The photo shows Andrew getting involved in Craft Time at Adventure Trail')

• The following week Dave Lazonby and I were in Mearns Primary leading Christmas assemblies. This year we looked at the birth story 'nativity' of John the Baptist and how he pointed forward to Jesus coming and turned the hearts of people back to God. 
•  
• Then this week I was invited into Isobel Mair to watch the nativity performed by Iona and Mull classes and say a few words at the end. It was chaotic, noisy and a shepherd ran away but I believe Jesus would have loved it. 
•  
• My SU groups have also been exploring the Christmas story - looking at prophecies of Jesus birth and reading the Bible account of his birth using chocolate advent calendars! 

We have had amazing opportunities to share with children and young people in schools in the last few weeks and God seems to be opening doors for more input in schools in the new year. Please continue to pray.
Pauline

---

  Ladybird Book of Mearns Free

   

---

---

"Glory to the Light of the World"

A video from Covid times  at Maxwell Mearns Castle Church
See who you can spot !
Watch here.

---

Each week Scott K 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 focusses on Good Works. Often, those who are 'card carrying evangelicals' will first of all be quick to point out that we are not saved by God because we have done enough 'good works'. That's certainly true, but this prayer begins with the reminder that faith which "is not demonstrated in our lives is not true, living faith. We know that you call us to serve you, your church, and your world through what we call "good works."  Take a look and work through what Scott is saying as you pray. Read it here.