I find it hard to understand.
Why would God
The Father
God the Son
And God the Spirit
Three all one,
Agree as one
Feel as one
Live as one
Allow as one
The Son
to be stripped
Laid bare
Before
Such
Hate

Then
I think again
He stands stripped
Always stripped
Nothing to hide
The naked Truth
Alone
Pure
Undisputed
Integrity
The same on the inside
The same on the outside
Stripped
He is transparent
His clothes hide no shame
No mark
No blemish
Adam stands again
Innocent
God the Son

It is we who hide
Behind clothes
Labels
Brands
Crouched
Behind
Closed door
Closed hearts
Closed minds
Living out our secret thoughts and sins
Covering up
Covering over
Pretending
Preserving
Our own
Kingdom

Yet
You
Became
Sin
For me
For us
Stripped again
Of righteousness
Wearing our shame
Wearing our guilt
Wearing our shabby sin

So why would
God
Endure
The shame
Be stripped and stripped again
The question
Is asked
In heaven’s name

And from the throne a voice replies
God loves sinners
God loves sinners
God Loves sinners

Here in my nakedness
Stripped of self
My righteous rags
Fall to the ground
Clothe me Lord
From head to foot
Let your grace flow over me
By Grace I have been clothed
By faith alone

Check out my video podcast on the church website. I think it would be pretty cool to find painted stones all about our town with inspirational verses relating to hope and expectation painted on them.

Last Saturday was a really busy day with activities ranging from a Prayer Breakfast to an amazing Gospel Music Concert in the evening. Jimmy and Ian from Vangel were sharing some of their new material. It sounded really good. The Hollerans were also performing. They’re a Gospel singing trio. It took me back years as i found myself listening to tunes i have forgotten all about. It was a great night. I had my iPhone out doing a bit of recording. Well I thought I had but when I started sorting through it tonight I find there’s nothing saved.

Continuing on the” busy week theme” I’m looking forwatd to finishing an interesting mediatation that Rae Manger and myself are preparing for the next Sanctuary First Service this coming Saturday in Bo’ness at 7.00pm. Its a reflection from the cross using the seven phrases spoken by Jesus as recorded across the four Gospels. I think its going to be a really interesting Easter Weekend. After the Good Friday Services, which will include a service for the children centred around a creative story telling session ending up with juice and hot cross buns which non of the kids will like but their parents will eat. It will be over until the evening. We’re going to have a showing of Norman Stone’s film ” Man Dancin’ directly after the joint Churches Together Service at around 8.00pm I’m hoping that some of the older teenagers who normally attend the youth club wll drop in for the film. We hope to have a discussion about it later.

I’m looking for people to turn up on Saturday afternoon and help us put together the meditation areas for the service. I’m hoping we might have time to put up the Easter Labrynth before Friday . The only thing is that it takes up a great deal of time. it is spectactuar but often we only get a handful of people moving through it.

I’ve more to write about Holy Week so I’ll leave some material for use over the next few days. The picture you see on the left was a reworking of a photograph we found on the internet. It hung in the church a couple of yesrs ago during the Lent period. We were reflecting on the compassion we are called to show towards each other.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

Chocolate Sunday is all about debunking the idea that we should give our little pleasures up during Lent. I really think Lent is about a greater challenge. It is an inviatation to pick up the cross and follow Jesus. It is a challenge not to deny yourself chocolate but to deny yourself.

I was reading an article in the Guardian newspaper today which was focusing on the ethical dimension that needs to enter into politics. Nick Clegg the leader of the Lib Dems outlined his philosophy of human nature. He said he started from the premise that human beings are by nature good. The drive of his arguement was that if we can get the right economic policies in place and promote a society of “fairness” then things will get better. I thought to myself, Nick your following the old Liberal deception. All men and woman are by nature good. the truth is that all men and women left to their own devices will seek to do what suits them best not what suits the wider community best. We are all by nature sinners. There is hardly an action we carry out that doesn’t have the potential to be twisted for our own advantage. Take for instance the things we do or do not do at Lent.

The fact is that t many of us give up chocolate or give up this and that during Lent and we feel smug when we’ve finished. Its almost as though we pat ourselves on the back and tell people how proud we are of our self control. Its so strange we say we’ve given these things up for lent and all the time we’ve givn up following Jesus. The chocolate thing is more about our image and the Lent idea is more about an opportunity to engage in a slimmimg programme. You know deep down that you really need to lose some weight. Lent then becomes an excuse to allow you to do something that you’ve wanted to do because you want to improve your self image.

The real meaning of lent goes beyond the chocolate. it invites you to journey with Jesus to the place of obdedience to the place where you say ” Father not my will but your will be done.” So i guess the 40 Day Challenge is a call to pick up the cross and in doing so change your world.

You know something my spirits were raise this afternoon, the gardener has turned up and cut my grass. Is this a sign of old age?  Or perhaps a sigh of relief that Mrs iTalker will be very very happy. I’m told that in the modern world of home decoration the garden has become an extension of your home. Indeed it is looked upon as another room. It is not enough to have an attractive house inside, your garden has to reflect your personality. Hence the increase in all the gardening centres that have sprung up all over the place since the 1990s. So I thought you might like to see my wonderful garden. The heather has been a particular success it covers up the borders and means there is no need to do weeding. This is the brain child of Mrs iTalker.

All this has got me thinking maybe I have become mad. I bought a garden stove last week. I did so because I’m fed up with these electric paper shredders. I think I’m a jinx when it comes to using them. They always get jammed up and then I spend a good hour trying to free the blades. So I’ve come up with a cunning scheme – the wood burning garden stove. I’m going to use it to burn all my papers. No more shredding for me. It even has a wee grill on it so I might be able to cook a few burgers or sausages on it. Well as you can see the stove is a real burning success. But there is a downside I’m going to have to go for a shower I’m smelling of burning wood. I can see i still have a lot to learn about the use of these little wood burners but as I get more acquainted I’ll keep you up to date. Meanwhile I’m reasonably pleased with my acquisition. I know I’m doing something to environment but you must admit the wee stove looks good even a wee bit sinister? 

Gordon is an engaging speaker and he picked up on our theme for the day which was walking the road of holiness. Its worth listening to as a download. Go to www.standonline.org.uk. While your there have a look at the Holy Week video. Its worth a look. Jonathan Winkley presents the video really well. Looking at this reminds me of footage we shot a few years ago. If I have time we might use some of it for the Tenebrae Service this coming Saturday Night

Anyway getting back to what I was saying. The biggest challenge was the Sanctuary First Service. I must say we have a brilliant team. Everyone worked so hard and in the end produced a first rate piece of work. if i have any criticism it is this, once again I think it went on a bit too long. However regardless of the time I think the over all concept worked. the palms we got were outstanding.

Click here to view the embedded video.

We commissioned Jamie Stuart, the author of the Glasgow Gospels to do a piece to camera about the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It was a great wee video. I’ll try and get a hold of it and put it up on the blog. The idea or the theme behind the service was this ” Some people just can’t see it” You know what I mean. there are things in life, that you can talk about till your blue in the face and still some people just won’t get it. Where we give up the Easter story tell us that Christ never gives up. However he weeps for those who just can’t see. He weeps over Jerusalem.

Click here to view the embedded video.

We also used a track from U2s new album, “White As Snow” to introduce a meditation written by Maggie Lane while she was in Jerusalem last week. This song reflects the same tune as the Christmas or Advent carol, O Come O Come Emmanuel. U2 have adapted it a bit and written a whole new set of lyrics.

After this we invited the congregation to move to four stations where they could encounter the four Cries for Salvation. The Cries of Creation, the Cries of Humanity, the Cries of the Heart, and the Cries of the Christ. I think we could have perhaps reduced the prayer zones, but i’d be interested to hear other people’s view point on the whole service. One other thing it would be good to hear from all of yiou who have signed up on the lenten Journey I’d love to hear how some of these texts have impacted on your lives. During this week I’ll make a post on the Lenten Journey so that I can hear from all of you. I’ll get Neil to text everyone.

We had our second ‘Alpha Night’ at the Inchyra last night. There was a good mix of people from different backgrounds and I’m sure its going to be once again an interesting life changing experience for a number of people.

Our theme last night asked the question” Why did Jesus die?” It is an opportunity to talk about the central theme of Christianity namely, “Forgiveness” it seems to me that this is one of the central issues that faces all of humanity. All over the world people are looking for ways and means where by they can forgive. Last night I tried to explain the classic Christian doctrine of Justification. I also tried to explain the fact that the cross of Christ is like a diamond it has many sides to it and each side has an explanation that seeks to illuminate our hearts and our minds to the nature and power of the love of God.

One thing is for certain the cross of Christ has much to say to people who feel they are carrying sacks of guilt about with them. The cross is where God in Christ took upon himself our sinful humanity and became sin for us so that we might feel free from the consequences of our actions.

Inmyplace.mov

A few years ago we filmed the above clip as part of our TGI Sunday Service in may ways it is another facet of the cross and it is a diamond worth reflecting upon. I think the idea that total forgiveness invites us to let go of the things or the feelings that have hurt and abused us and then asks that we might never speak about it again is all about forgiving and forgetting. Finally receiving the grace to remember to pray a blessing for those who have wronged you is the ultimate sign of forgiveness. These three steps hopefully will be purued our various Alpha Groups. So what do you think of the idea of forgiveness?

However what has amazed me is that people who have professed Christ as Saviour are being re-awakened to ponder the implications of the cross. If I receive forgiveness for myself then I must begin to engage with the long journey to Calvary and in doing so face up to the cost of forgiveness.I’m glad ministers are getting back and making their posts on the blog. I too believe that preaching should accompany the sacrament, but I also believe that the sacrament can be a  converting experience because it points us to and invites us to, handle the cost of our salvation – the broken body and blood of our Lord.

Now what I am trying to achieve by taking the bread and the wine to the streets is to cause people to draw breath, to think, what is this? To reach people who have been far away from God and bring them near. Is it a communion service? No its not, its a preparation for them coming to the table some day. Its a reminder that something of  a universal significance happened the day that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, on a rubbish dump, near a busy street, beside a thief and a murderer.

 A few years ago when CH4 was being written, there was a shortage of songs on  penitence. Iain Cunningham  told me the committee were looking for material that would address the shortage. Colin Jamieson and I put pen to paper and submitted the following song, but alas it never made the big purple book. This is just a rough mix of the song which will be remixed in our next album. I wanted to put this film up because it is part 2 of  the little film that went up in the previous post.  

Well, iTalker is back after being silent for a couple of weeks. Life has been pretty hectic trying to catch up with the work of the parish, after the trip to Peru. Some things have got to go or take a back seat  in order to make sure the essential things are completed. I guess the blog falls into that category. Now its not that you guys who read this are not important, its just that some things have to take that higher priority.

Anyway I’m trying something different this week. So here is a sneak preview for those who read the blog.  I thought it might be an idea to put together a wee clip that promotes the services on a Sunday. I suppose a bit like a film trailer. So here is what Rae and myself have come up with. I’ve entitled the next lot of sermons “Seeing is believing” even the sermons in the morning on “Forgiveness”.  I believe as people see things in action they begin to believe the truth and reality of the teaching.