No.91    15th May, 2026

Hi, 

I'm sure you've noticed how having people on the various rotas to help, makes such a difference. For instance, last week Sarah stepped up to manage the set up of the rather tricky coffee percolator. Then I was helped at the AV desk by Eilidh who kept her cool and fixed the tech hiccup at start of the service slides - this meant I didn't need to power up the defib and attach to either me or the laptop.
Then, Alan noticed a silly oversight - the date (just a small matter!) was missing for the Covenanters' Walk advert - good to get that right (have you booked up yet?)
And then crucially, Eric pointed out that there was a unnecessary apostrophe in a line of one of the hymns on the screen...phew another bullet dodged!

Enjoy the mag,

MB

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Sunday 17th May

Sunday Morning
Rev Scott Hamilton
Mark 14:53 - 65

Sunday Evening

This week the groups are studying the account of Deborah in Judges ch4 and 5.
These are difficult Bible passages to see as being relevant to being a Christian in Glasgow in 2026 - in the Tea Break link below John Lennox answers a question about the violence we read about in these stories and how we can best understand it.

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Letter from the 'Other' Manse

Hello church family,

“Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer”
We sang these words on Sunday morning. They’re great words of a great song that touch on the incredulity we feel as those who are saved from our sins by Jesus.
We have not done anything to earn or deserve our place at His side. Think of the things you and I might present to our God to earn His favour, whether our habits, our heritage, or our history. All of these are as rags before Him, according to Isaiah 64:6.
Why would Jesus usher you and I into His Kingdom, especially given we were still His enemies as sinners? His grace goes beyond our wildest imagination. The substance and the security of our salvation are things we sometimes fail to fathom. All of the blessings from our God are so incredible and undeserved. In that sense, I “cannot give an answer” as to why I should gain from the reward that God gives to Jesus. I cannot give an answer as to why He’d share His glory with you and with me. I cannot give an answer as to why I stand before the Father as one of His adopted children, a brother of God the Son.

I will continue to sing these words in wonder at my salvation, yet equally, the Bible also makes it really clear “why we should gain from His reward”.
First, as we are saved, our God is glorified. As He redeems His people from their sins, He receives the glory that He is due for who He is and what He has done. We “praise, laud, and bless His name always, for it is seemly so to do”. Glorifying Him is fitting, seems fitting, and even feels fitting for the Christian to do. This is because it’s the very thing for which we were made. We can point to the glory of our Father as one of the reasons why we gain from Jesus’ reward.
Secondly, our God is good. He is for His people. He made us in His image, and He desires to share His glory with us, as He shares it with His Son, and as His Son shares it with us. He washes us clean and We can point to the selfless love, grace, mercy, and generosity of our Father as one of the reasons why we gain from Jesus’ reward.
This is the nature of our salvation. It is often hard to grasp, truly, especially given the scale of our sin and the extent to which Jesus went to save us, but God tells us that we are saved for His glory and for our good. Isn’t He marvellous from our perspective, in the truest sense of the word?

Scott H

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General Assembly  2026– Free Church of Scotland
The Assembly is running next week and a lot of the meetings can be watched using this link.
Scott K, Scott H, Sandy McD and Murray M will be representing Mearns Free Church. 
Scott H will give us a report next week on the matters discussed and issues arising.

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Darkness scares us.

It feels wrong, or uncomfortable. We don’t like not being aware of our surroundings, or feeling exposed, or alone. There’s something beautiful about a starlit sky, but something frightening about oppressive about a darkness to which our eyes cannot adjust.
God’s Word tells us that we are plunged into such a darkness as humanity, not a physical one, but a spiritual one.
Isaiah chapter sixty tells us that “darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples”. How did we respond to this darkness? Strangely, we loved it. Jesus tells us in John chapter three that “people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil”. We sinned, loved the darkness, and we doubled down.

It’s seen all over the news and in our own lives. The darkness permeates our thoughts and our actions, from the subtle to the more obvious and explicit. We see people committing great and small acts of evil and they seem content to continue doing what they do. There is a part of the darkness that our hearts love. We can “hide” from God and indulge our sinful desires.

The good news that we were thinking about at Youth is that our Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”.
He offers us guidance in a confused world. He offers us perspective to see and to understand morality, what is good and what is bad. He empowers us to fight against sin and evil in our own lives and in our lands. All of this is possible because of the biggest way that our Jesus is the Light of the world, His battle against the darkness on the cross and His subsequent victory over Satan.
This means that, if we follow Him, we will never walk in darkness. We will occasionally stumble into sin, and find our hearts still clinging onto darkness, but Jesus is helping us every day to teach us, transform us, and lead us to walk in the light as His people.
We are children of the Light who still walk in the darkness. We are children of the day who still walk in the night. This explains the strange unease and unfamiliarity we feel in our world, because this dark world is no longer our home.
That Isaiah verse goes on to say, “the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you”. Jesus has not left us in the thick darkness. He has responded to the darkness by stepping into it for Himself, and the darkness has not overcome Him. Our privilege is to live out His light into our world, to glorify our God, and so that we radiate the hope of rescue to those who are still plunged deep in their sin and rebellion against our God.
Scott H

We are keen for everyone to follow what the Youth are studying and to pray for them from week to week.
Scott will keep us up to speed on which verse they are looking at each week. If you ask Scott or Martin B they can WhatsApp you the image for each 'I am...' statement as a reminder and to help you memorise the verse, as Scott encourages our young folk to memorise these words too.(or you can cut and paste from the magazine into your phone) 
THIS WEEK (17TH) THEY ARE LOOKING AT I AM THE DOOR - see below.

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TUESDAYS  2 - 3.30pm

at Newton Mearns Baptist Church

A great opportunity to meet friends, and enjoy some tea, coffee and home baking.
If you want more information or need a lift to get along to the Cafe speak with Elizabeth Smith.

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We meet again for prayer this Wednesday
and throughout May at the McDougalls'
7.15 - 8.15pm

To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. —Psalm 28:1
In prayer we connect human need with the promises of God. All true prayer comes forth when our need and God’s promises meet.
We need everyday wisdom and understanding.
We need power to live within the sufferings and afflictions of human life.
We need courage, humility, hope, faith, and love.
We need forgiveness every single day.
We need the presence of God himself in our lives.
We need provision, both tangible and spiritual.
We need hope. We need to know that the King will come.
We need indestructible friendship.

David Powlison

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Can You Help?

It's always great to see various church teams mobilising throughout the weekend as we set up and clear away for our Sunday activities.
Can you help? Speak with Margo or Scott K if you would like to be involved in any practical ways...it wouldn't need to be a weekly responsibility and there are a wide range of ways to help out.

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SU Regional Weekend Away

PARENTS - Sign Up ASAP!
There are only a few spaces available!
04 - 06 Sep, Gowanbank ,
S1 - S6, £110.00
This is the weekend away specifically for teens in our area.
Alongside the Bible teaching there is Archery, Bushcraft, Crafts, Crate Climbing, Escape Room ,Sports and Games ,Team Challenges ,Tree Climbing
Speak with Pauline if you have any questions about this - lots of information and booking page is HERE.

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John Lennox responds : "Why did God command Killing in the Bible?"

Has God Changed His Mind? This is a question Christians get asked, or even an issue Christians feel nervous about as they read the Old Testament accounts of Israel going into the Promised Land and clearing out the enemies there.  
In the Home Groups this week we look at the accounts of Rahab and this week Deborah, both of which lead us into this territory. 
'Is the God of the Old Testament different from the God who is love in the New Testament?' is often what perplexes.
Take 10 mins to follow John Lennox's argument to show that this is not the case at all. Watch it here.

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Book up for Saturday 30th May

Enjoy a day out (to mark our 2nd birthday) at the Covenanters museum, a picnic lunch and optional walk along the trail, whilst learning more about the Covenanters - what motivated them, the actions they took, how they were treated and our response.
It's open to all...bring a friend!

There are a couple of ways to join in…see below which one suits you best. It’s all walkable (along a country pathway, not a difficult hike) up to the Lochgoin Covenanters’ Museum.

The Plan for the day:

• Meet at the Lochgoin Covenanters’ Museum carpark at 11.30am (KA3 6EX, NB this is not the Whitelee Windfarm) The carpark is adjacent to the main road. There is a walkable track about - 1.6m mile from carpark to museum.
• After our first History Bite we will walk to the Museum (1.6m) stopping off at Covenanters’ Memorial.
• At the Museum we will have another History Bite - there will also be time to look around the museum and there’s space outside where we can spend time together with a picnic lunch. Bring your own packed lunch/blanket
• Around 12.45pm there is the option to go on the Covenanters’ Trail. We know the 2.5hour walk might be too much for some, so free feel to head home at this stage. Great that you could make it along.

The Covenanters’ Trail will take us to Fenwick Parish Church  - it’s about 7 miles so wear sturdy shoes. Along the way Eric will give us more short History Bites as we head past the caves and over to Fenwick. We expect to be at Fenwick around 3.15pm and cars will meet us there to take us back to Lochgoin carpark.

Use this Eventbrite page link to register that you are coming along to the Museum and if you require transport back from Fenwick after the trail.

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Ladybird Book of Mearns Free Church

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PVG TRAINING - THIS MONTH

Everyone who has PVG certification through Mearns Free Church must undergo safeguarding training (or refresher training) every 3 years. Some have still to undertake this training. The Free Church provides excellent online safeguarding training (places can be booked through the following link: Safeguarding Training Booking – Free Church of Scotland).
The next training session : Monday 25th May – 19.30

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‘Left to Their Own Devices’ - A Care for the Family Meeting

Parenting support event to Glasgow on the 19 May,
Newton Mearns Baptist Church at 7.30pm.
great event for parents of children aged 8+

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