Time to say thank you

posted: 24 Mar 2008 comments: 0category:

We had a wonderful creative Easter here in Bo'ness. I just want to pay tribute to a brilliant team of people who put together the Easter services and all the other reflective events many of which involved creative media. The chancel murals are quite outstanding thanks to the creative work of Rae and Heather and the back up team hat sorted the pulleys so that the paints could come up and down on a weekly basis. Thank you to all who helped with the Labyrinth. have a look...
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Offering Christ on the Street.

posted: 23 Mar 2008 comments: 0category:

ablb0nstreet.jpg Friday proved to be a very cold and windy day here in Bo'ness, as I think it was all around Scotland. However, I'm glad to report that a good number of ministers got out on the streets and took the church to the people. I was delighted that my colleague Len Bennett who is a Pastor in the Apostolic Church came up to join us for our Good Friday Service. Len, was  carrying a cross he made over 20 years ago he had  70x7 printed on the cross and this he tells me has been a...
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Don't passover the meaning of Passover

posted: 23 Mar 2008 comments: 0category:

ablbpassover.jpg Once again we used the idea of a Passover meal this year to help engage us all in the significance of the Passion. Putting the crucifixion in the context of the Old Testament story of the Exodus, is to place Jesus as the pascal lamb. It is to help us also understand the significance of Jesus being called the Lamb of God. The pascal lamb was to save the nation of Israel and bring them out of slavery.I believe we have a responsibility today to try and explain the...
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Penitence and the Joy of Forgiveness

posted: 15 Mar 2008 comments: 3category:

In my last post I invited ministers and others to get out on the streets this Good Friday and share the Good News that sins can be forgiven. This forgiveness thing , is really causing a lot of heart searching in the congregation of St Andrew's Bo'ness.  R.T. Kendall's book on "Totally Forgiving Ourselves" has caused many people  over this Lenten period to reflect upon the importance of receiving the wonderful gift of "Grace" for themselves. Until we face up to our need...
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Offering Christ On The Street.

posted: 10 Mar 2008 comments: 10category:

Last year  on Good Friday I took some bread and wine and placed it on a busy Edinburgh Street. I was interested to see the response that people would have to the image. Click here to see the video.This year I feel drawn to take the whole image a bit further forward. I'd like to invite ministers the length and breadth of the country to join with me on Good Friday and take the Bread and Wine back on to the streets. I wonder if we should take the symbols of Calvary  out...
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Songwriters with a message

posted: 7 Mar 2008 comments: 0category:

Thinking about Larry Norman got me remembering one of his songs "The Outlaw" it was a song that we included in our set in the Living Stones. I came across a recording of it as part of an Easter Rock Musical we put on.  Have a listen click here  then listen to the real thing. [kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/1hIWd3CX15k" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /] All this got me thinking about another singer who died in a plane crash I think in the...
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Larry Norman at the Tent Hall Glasgow

posted: 6 Mar 2008 comments: 14category:

images.jpeg  Larry Norman the famous American rock singer died last week. He was in many people's eyes the father of Christian rock music. He was for me the first real Christian artist who sounded authentic. He had an immense influence on all kinds of people from Dylan to the Pixies. Read his bio its quite extensive. He once said of his music;"I wanted to push aside the traditional gospel quartet music, break down the church doors and let the hippies and the prostitutes and other...
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