The Record - January 2019 by Free Church of Scotland

THE

RECORD

MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF THE FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND JANUARY 2019 • £2.00

Editor • Rev. David A Robertson The Editor, The Record, St Peter’s Free Church, 4 St Peter Street, Dundee, DD1 4JJ 07825 748752 drobertson@freechurch.org News Editor • Dayspring MacLeod dayspring.macleod@icloud.com 07974 261567 Missions News • Mrs Sarah Johnson Free Church Offices, 15 North Bank Street, Edinburgh, EH1 2LS sarah@freechurch.org WFM Editor • Sarah Cumming 31 Doune Park, Dalgety Bay, KY11 9LX sarah.cumming@hotmail.co.uk Gaelic Editor • Janet MacPhail 24 North Bragar, Isle of Lewis, HS2 9DA 01851 710354 Seminary News • Rev. Thomas Davis St. Columba's Free Church, Johnston Terrace Edinburgh, EH1 2PW thomas@stcolumbas.freechurch.org Prayer Diary • Mrs Mairi Macdonald ian.macdonald57@btinternet.com Design & Layout • Fin Macrae @DUFI Art www.dufi-art.com The Record • ISSN 2042-2970

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CONTENTS

WELCOME TO THE JANUARY RECORD

any older readers will remember a time when christmas was hardly celebrated in

ALL THINGS NEW

FREE CHURCH NEWS

LIFE AFTER ETS: ISRAEL GUERRERO

HAS SCIENCE MADE GOD IRRELEVANT? Christina Nercessian

DEUS VULT, MEDICE CURA: PART II Anonymous

REASONS TO BELIEVE IN A CREATOR: THE EVIDENCE FROM BIOLOGY Dr. Antony Latham

STRANMILLIS EPC BELFAST: NEW CHAPTER BEGINS Gareth Burke

ECCLESIASTES: THE FOLLY OF AMBITION AND ACHIEVEMENT

GET TO KNOW CITYALIGHT (AND THEIR NEW ALBUM) Tim Challies

THOMAS CHALMERS: A LIFE IN NUMBERS Esmond Birnie

IPC EALING : NEW BUILDING Paul Levy

POVERTY SAFARI: PART III Mez McConnell

BOOK REVIEWS

THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS Dayspring MacLeod

A TRIP TO KENYA Roddy MacRae

MISSION MATTERS David Meredith

GAELIC Janet MacPhail

POETRY PAGE Samuel Rutherford

PRAYER DIARY

POST TENEBRAS LUX Catriona Murray

scotland .

New Year was the main festival in Scotland. We had January the 1st and 2nd off — and Hogmanay was a bigger night than Christmas Eve. I remember going to the watchnight service at midnight in the Brethren in Dingwall, then having a wee open-air at the Dingwall town hall, before making our way home, ‘first footing’ all the way to Tain — where we usually ended up at a home for breakfast, then climbed a hill, then went to the Free Church for their noon service. Now it seems that watchnight services are for many a thing of the past. I hope that the New Year’s Day service continues. Here in St Peter’s, Dundee, we have both a watchnight and a New Year’s Day service — we are very traditional! One of the reasons for so doing is that it is great to begin the year with worship. The hearing of God’s Word, the singing of his praise, the fellowship of his people and the cry of our prayers are vital. We begin the year as we mean to go on. We need to. No one knows what the new year will bring. Our country is in a state of mass confusion and delusion, the church is weak and the greatest danger is largely unnoticed and cared about. I speak of course of the danger of climate change — spiritual climate change. We’ve gone almost imperceptibly from summer (warmth) to indifference (autumn) to hostility (winter). We need to pray that there would a thaw and that we would be entering a new springtime for the Gospel in Scotland and beyond. This month’s Record is full of material to help thaw the spiritual frost, warm your heart and stimulate your mind. Whether it’s a creative writer from Armenia, a doctor from Harris or a blogger from Canada — we are more than happy to enlist our brothers and sisters throughout the world to aid and guide us. As usual, please let us have your feedback…. • See you next month! Yours in Christ The Editor

2019

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BY THE EDITOR

ALL THINGS NEW N

ew year is as good a time as any to think about new

Photo by Daniell MacInnes on Unsplash

beginnings. As we reflect on the past year and look forward to 2019, whether at an individual, community or government level, many of us would love to start anew again. Renewal is a great idea. And so is re-formation. I would love to see the following in this New Year.

A RE-FORMATION OF OUR POLITICS To say that 2018 has been a turbulent year in politics is to make somewhat of an understatement. The Brexit bourach is an indication not so much of the divide between political parties, but rather the divide between politicians and a significant number of the population. The majority of people in the UK voted to leave the EU; 75% of MPs want to remain in the EU. Whatever one thinks of Brexit, this is just an illustration of how our representative democracy has become both less representative and less democratic. In the 2017 election Labour became the party of the middle-class Remainers, the Tories the party of the bluecollar Leavers. In Scotland we have the problem of an SNP government that is becoming increasingly ‘socially progressive’. In this regard both

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the UK and Scottish governments are deeply out of touch with their electorates (but not their elites) on the question of the Gender Recognition Acts proposed in both parliaments. When governments adopt Queer theory and seek to enforce a doctrine through the legal and educational systems that is against both rationality and biology, we know we are in trouble. The idea that children can choose their own gender or adults can just selfdeclare they are a different gender is a recipe for disaster. When I met with a Scottish government minister to discuss this they admitted that the majority of parents would agree with me, but implied that that was because they were ignorant! This is the gulf that exists between our politicians and the people they are governing. But it’s not just politics that needs reformation. The economy is in a perilous state. Household debt on average makes up 175% of our personal income and it is expected to continue to rise in 2019. Total household debt has now soared to £1.6 trillion. And that is not evenly distributed. In cash terms the top 10% now own £5.5 trillion of UK total household wealth. They have 43.8% of the wealth. The bottom 50% have 8.7%. In our current economic system it is guaranteed that the rich will

get richer and the poor will get poorer — to paraphrase Churchill, never has so much been owed by so many to so few. Without a reformation of our economy, the Humpty Dumpty of free market, globalised, corporate capitalism will be heading for another great fall. And all the Queen’s horses and all the Queen’s men won’t be able to put it together again. A RE-FORMATION OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM Scotland’s education system, once the envy of the world, is still in many places good. I pay tribute to the teachers, lecturers and administrators who in general do a great job. But there is no doubt that the system is in decline. A monolithic, one-sizefits-all, state education system is failing. Especially the poor. The rich are able to send their children to private schools, whilst often publicly endorsing a public system that they don’t use. The State schools are far too often being used for social engineering rather than education. As a more militant secularism seeks to remove all traces of Christianity from Scotland’s Christian State education system, it is clear that there needs to be a rethink and radical reevaluation of the whole school system in

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We need to wake up and repent as much as, if not more than, any other denomination. We need a renewed vision, new churches, new ministers and most importantly of all, new Christians. Scotland. I agree entirely with the Catholic Church’s Peter Kearney, who called for a more diverse system and an increase in the number of faith schools. I don’t have a problem with the secularists having an atheistic secular education system for their children. It’s when they insist on that being for everyone else’s children as well that it becomes a problem. It’s time for diversity and equality in the education system. It’s time for more Christian schools. A RE-FORMATION OF THE FAMILY For a couple of centuries it has been the dream of ‘liberal’ atheists to seek to reshape humanity in their own image — and particularly the family. But they have found this remarkably difficult. However, with the development of Queer theory, easy divorce, sex without consequences and an increase in materialism, the family is now under attack more than ever. Indeed, humanity is under attack. We have moved from sexuality being perceived as ‘fixed’ (God made me this way) to sexuality being seen as fluid. In the past year we have seen a rapid move to the notion that gender is also fluid. We can be whoever we want to be. In a free market society, human autonomy is the absolute on which all other values must be based. The impact of this on Scotland’s families and communities is devastating. Broken families ultimately mean a broken society. It’s time for healing for Scotland’s families and children. A RE-FORMATION OF ISLAM One of the most significant differences between Christianity and Islam is that Islam has never

2019

had a reformation. Maybe now is the time? There are many serious questions that Muslims need to ask about the nature of their ‘scriptures’, their view of God, and most significantly for Western society, their view of the relationship between religion and the state. Islam is a monolithic system that does not clearly differentiate between politics and religion. To those brought up in a Western political tradition where the state and the church are not synonymous, that is a difficult position to understand. But it is why, wherever there is a Muslim country, you will find that religious (and political) liberties are curtailed. Until Islam reforms so that it permits people to freely change their religion, and those within areas it controls to freely live different lives, then we will find that the recent tensions and divisions within European society will only be exacerbated. A RE- FORMATION OF THE CHURCH And finally, in Scotland, we do need another re-formation of the Church. The old has gone — or is going — and it’s time for the new to come. This is especially true in the Reformed churches, of which the Church of Scotland is by far the largest. The Church of Scotland has been, and in many areas continues to be, a blessing to the people of Scotland, but it is not shipshape enough to cope with the current stormy waters that the Christian church finds itself sailing in. It is an outdated institution, seeking to hold onto an establishment Christendom, by going along with what the current secular establishments want. Although they are doing this in order to stay afloat, the

fact is that taking in the world (in terms of its views, values and methods) is only causing the ship to sink faster. Without a thoroughgoing reformation and a return to the faith of their forefathers, the Church of Scotland will not survive as a vibrant biblical church. What about other churches? I don’t have time to comment on them all, and it is probably not my place to do so, but suffice it to say that there are some signs of green shoots and new alliances being formed. Some Gospel churches of whatever denomination are beginning to grasp the importance of not competing, but instead working together for the renewal of the Church in Scotland. During the first decade of the 21st century the Free Church stepped back from the precipice and even began to grow and develop. However, for a number of reasons, I suspect that there has been a stalling and stumbling over the past few years. We need to wake up and repent as much as, if not more than, any other denomination. We need a renewed vision, new churches, new ministers and most importantly of all, new Christians — as the Good News is proclaimed and people respond, like thirsty people being given the purest water. And ultimately that is what Scotland needs more than ever. In a land where there has been a famine of hearing the Word of the Lord, we need more faithful preachers, more gospel churches and more reborn Christians, of whatever denomination. May the Lord grant reformation, renewal and revival in this coming year. I wish you all a happy, blessed and prosperous New Year. •

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FREE CHURCH NEWS NEW MINISTER FOR FERINTOSH AND RESOLIS

fter an extended period of vacancy, ferintosh and

After graduating from ETS in 2003, Mr Macleod began his ministry in Barvas before moving to Back in 2010. Mr Macleod and his wife Dina have three grown daughters who currently study and work away from home. Details of the induction will be released soon. Please pray for Mr Macleod as he prepares to take up his new position. •

resolis free church of scotland will welcome rev. calum iain macleod as their new minister

after he accepted the call to serve the congregation.

Having spent the past fifteen years on the Isle of Lewis serving Barvas and Back Free Church, Mr Macleod said he is looking forward to his new charge in Ferintosh and grateful for the people in Back, "Dina and I are very much looking forward to moving across The Minch to Ferintosh in early January 2019 and beginning ministry in Urquhart and Resolis. " "We are sorry to be leaving Back after eight years of pastoral ministry in Broadbay. We will be forever grateful for the warmth, kindness and generosity of Back’s fellowship." Rev. Ewen Matheson (Cross-Ness Free Church) has been appointed as the Interim Moderator for Back. Mr Macleod, originally from the Isle of Scalpay in Harris had a Project Management career in Cultural Tourism before applying for the ministry eventually attending Edinburgh Theological Seminary (ETS) in 2000.

Dina and Calum Iain Macleod

25TH ANNIVERSARY OF ORDINATION

and powerful ministry in Coatbridge. He remembered as a boy his mother giving him a coin which he had clutched so hard it had left an impression of the king on his palm, and that was the key characteristic of Ivor’s preaching – the impression it left of the King of Glory. Beatrice Burrows then presented a bouquet of flowers to Rosemary MacDonald. In responding with gratitude, Ivor gave thanks to God for his care and provision over the years, reminisced about his previous charges in the Hebrides and said how much he had come to love the people of Lanarkshire. He went on to say there was no greater thrill and privilege than to see people coming to understand the Gospel and to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

n 25th november 2018 the congregation of hope church coatbridge celebrated the 25th anniversary of the ordination to the christian

ministry of their minister, rev. ivor macdonald.

After a career as an agricultural adviser, Mr MacDonald was ordained and inducted to the Church of Scotland in Barvas, Lewis on 12 November 1993. He was later called to Staffin and Kilmuir in Skye, and after joining the Free Church of Scotland was inducted to Coatbridge on 6 July 2012. At the morning service Ivor preached powerfully and clearly on the four women mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. After the service was over a presentation was made to him on behalf of the congregation by elder Rowan Robertson, who expressed gratitude for Ivor’s effective

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Ivor concluded by paying tribute to his wife Rosemary, who has been such a wonderful encouragement and support throughout his ministry. The congregation then enjoyed lunch together, enlivened by projected illustrations from Ivor’s life and a magnificent cake which alluded to Ivor’s continuing enthusiasm for the agricultural life. •

Congregation of Hope church with Rosemary and Rev. Ivor MacDonald (centre)

NEW YOUTH CAMP

he free church of scotland moderator

designate,

rev.

donnie g. macdonald, is to

lead a newly formed youth camp in summer 2019 for secondary school

- s3 pupils. The newly launched 'Renfrew Juniors' camp is a result of The Free Church Youth Camp's own successes in providing popular Christian summer youth activities year on year. Places are always in high demand with spaces often filled as soon as booking opens. Mr MacDonald, Minister of Portree and Bracadale, will be leading the new team along with Portree's Assistant Minister Duncan Murchison and his wife Lydia. Free Church Youth Camps Administrator, Laura MacAulay, said, "We're very excited about offering an alternative to Oswestry for this age group. Donnie, Duncan and Lydia will make an excellent team. They'll be based at the Bible Centre just west of Glasgow, and pray they have some amazing adventures ahead of them." How do I book a place at camp? Once you have read through the brochure, go online and register for your preferred camp: www. freechurchyouthcamps.org You will receive an automatic confirmation once your form has been submitted. Please note that registering for camp does not mean you have booked a camp place, as there is very high demand for some of the camps. Allocation of camp places s1

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will begin at 1 p.m. on Monday, 14th January. When camps are oversubscribed, i.e. more people have registered than there are places for, there is a draw of the registration forms. Places are then allocated, and remaining registration forms are transferred to the waiting list for that camp or allocated a place

on the camper’s second choice of camp, where possible. Once you have submitted your registration form, please be patient and wait for FCYC Admin to contact you. January is a very busy time and it may take a week or two to inform you of the outcome of your application. •

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LIFE AFTER ETS.... ISRAEL GUERRERO This month we are interviewing Israel Guerrero. Israel comes from Chile and has recently graduated from ETS with an MTh. We wanted to find out more about how he got on when he moved from Chile to the Mound. Tell us a little about yourself and your family. We are a Chilean family. My wife’s name is Camila and our wee ‘Chilean-Scottish’ four-month-old daughter is Emma. Camila is a science teacher with a passion for education and church discipleship. I studied biology and I was working on cancer research before starting to work full-time in the church as a candidate for the ministry. We like to spend time walking around Edinburgh. We love nature and photography and we also love to be at our cosy cottage watching a film and having fun times together.

research, my attention turned to the preparation of candidates for the ministry, but also to the lives and sermons of ministers. I think that we need to recover our covenantal and Christological theology in order to transform – by the power of the Holy Spirit – hearts, families, congregations and society. Tell us about your involvement with the Free Church while you have been studying. We are so grateful to be with the Free Church! Our involvement in St Columba’s and Cornerstone has been so good for us. When we arrived in Scotland it was really good to find a church (and to know that there are many) where the gospel was preached with a deep sense of fellowship in the congregation. At the same time, we have been working with a Spanish-speaking community at Cornerstone Free Church, having Bible studies every Sunday evening and spending lovely time with them and sharing the culture and food from their different countries. We think that this is a very important mission field here in Edinburgh because of the good number of Spanish-speaking people living in this beautiful country.

What made you choose to come to study in Scotland? Latin America is in great need of good Reformed and evangelical churches and seminaries. There is an awakening of Reformed Theology among evangelicals; however, there are few places for theological training. To help with this, we chose to come to study in one of the best places for theological education: Edinburgh Theological Seminary. With an evangelical and Reformed tradition since 1843, ETS is an excellent place to get this academic and godly training. How have your studies helped you to grow as a Christian? Let me quote John Brown of Haddington: ‘If you do not ardently love Christ, how can you faithfully and diligently feed his lambs, his sheep? Alas! How many precious sermons, exhortations, and instructions are quite marred and poisoned by coming through the cold, carnal, and careless heart of the preacher, and being attended with his imprudent, untender, and lukewarm life?’

What area of theology have you been studying in your MTh? My thesis focuses on three main things: the connection between Christology, covenant theology and sanctification in the Christian life. This was developed through the theology of the Rev. John Brown of Haddington (1722-1787). Therefore, at the end of my

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How can we pray for you? Please pray for a revival in Chile and Latin America. For settling well back in Chile (we are returning in December), but mainly to find a place to live and a church in which to serve and work. We have been considering seriously the option of PhD studies here in Edinburgh. This is mainly for two reasons: to have a better theological training for helping develop a good Reformed seminary in Chile, and also to learn many things about the ministerial life of the Free Church of Scotland in order to return to Chile and help with church planting. •

My research here has been a mainly research of my heart. To have a deep knowledge of sin and the grace of God at the same time. To love the doctrine of justification and sanctification. To seriously consider the glory of God as the foundation and end of my whole life. How can it be possible to learn and preach about the holiness and love of God just from my lips and not from my heart? Therefore, these studies have been helping me to live according to the answer of an old catechism: That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ. Tell us about the work of the gospel in Chile. In Chile we have a good number of evangelicals. However, many of them are from a Charismatic background. But the good news is that there is a growing interest in Reformed theology. So the challenge for us is to pray and work for a healthy Reformed Church that is, on the one hand, faithful to the Bible and Confession of Faith and, on the other hand, committed to love the church and society as expressed in evangelism, discipleship and social and cultural care. In summary, to live what we believe. What has been the best part of studying at ETS? To find people with passion for the Bible and Reformed theology reflected in the ordinary life and their commitment to the Church. It was really good for me to see young students with a godly desire to be ministers in order to glorify God and serve the Church. The perfect mix between scholarship, devotion, friendship and godliness for God’s glory.

ISLANDS STUDY CONFERENCE HARRIS HOTEL, TARBERT, ISLE OF HARRIS 8th-10th February 2019 SPEAKERS

Rev. David Andrew Robertson St. Peters Free Church, Dundee “The Good News for Today's Scotland”

Rev. Roger Simpson Archbishop of York's Evangelist for the Northern Province “Lost for Words”

Residential cost-£165 Student Discount Available (Application in writing with £10.00 non-refundable Booking Fee per person) Booking Secretary (Hotel Residents only) Chrissie Macleod Mobile: 07584 497567 Tel: 01851 820 632 Email: chrissie.macleod@googlemail.com Booking Secretary (Day Visitors for Meals/Buffets only) Kathryn Graham Mobile: 07833 552101 Tel: 01851 820 696 Email: bookharrisconference@mail.com Conference website: www.isc.scot

2019

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HAS SCIENCE MADE GOD IRRELEVANT?

CHRISTINA NERCESSIAN presents compelling scientific and philosophical arguments to show that we need not choose between God and science.

‘O

ne can’t prove that god doesn’t exist, but science makes god unnecessary’.01

These words by Stephen Hawking, who was one of the leading faces of modern physics, perfectly sum up the perception that many scientists hold on the issue of the relationship between God and science. In fact, that perception is so common among scientists and academics that sometime during my university years, the doubts creeped into my head and made me wonder whether all my years of relationship with God and all the experiences I had had with him had been my imagination. Thankfully that period did not last long, but thanks to the questions I asked and the answers I received during that time, my faith in God became all the stronger. I remember asking him one day to show me through science that he was real (and probably forgot about that prayer the next day). Coincidentally or not, I ended up taking an ‘Introduction to Relativity’ course as an elective (even though I am an English major and, sadly, have nothing to do with physics) and spent the whole semester trying to wrap my head around the most basic concepts of Einstein’s theory. I’m not sure how much of it I was actually able to grasp, but it turned out that it was enough for me to understand a random YouTube video I ended up watching, which explained what the nature of a being outside of the three-dimensional world would be like, which sounded so much like God! If I hadn’t taken that course, I would not have understood — and maybe not even watched — that video. Somehow, at the time, that video was the sign I needed from God, because it showed that science could at least be open to the possibility of the existence and relevance of a god. It seems silly to me now that I could ever doubt those things, but at that point, I was only at the beginning of the long and exciting journey of reading, asking questions, and being fascinated by the answers I found, and I just want to share some of my discoveries with you in hopes that they will somehow contribute to your quest of finding the truth.

process’, and asks whether any arguments made by such minds can be trusted. 02 The minds of scientists are no exception to this. Therefore, a question rises about the credibility of such minds when they make observations, arguments and discoveries, and come up with theories. Scientists assume that the universe is rationally intelligible; otherwise, they would not dedicate so much time to observing and trying to explain it. The very fact that atheist scientists make arguments against the existence and relevance of God shows that they are intelligent and rational beings. But where did that intelligence come from? Just as it is unlikely for a whole universe to have emerged from nothing, it is not reasonable to assume that intelligence and rational minds could emerge from a mindless matter. There have also been many attempts to refute the existence of a creator and diminish God’s relevance to the birth of the universe. In his famous book The Grand Design, Stephen Hawking writes, ‘Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing...it is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going’ 03. However, in a response article, Lennox points out that laws do not have a creative nature but merely a descriptive one 04. The universe could not have been created by the law of gravity, because laws simply describe what already exists. From that perspective, if gravity did already exist, then there must have been someone who created it. If can be inferred from these points that it is not science that is against God, but some scientists, and the claims of scientists about science aren’t always necessarily true. However, history also shows that there have been many scientists that saw no conflict between faith and science; in fact, their belief in God made their scientific discoveries all the more meaningful. What better example of this than the fact that carved on the wooden door of the Cavendish Laboratory, the place where DNA was first discovered, is the Bible verse, ‘The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein’ 05. When Isaac Newton discovered the law of gravity, he did not say, ‘Great, now that we can explain gravity, we no longer need God.’ He marveled at how amazing God was to have created it! What these and many more examples show is that

When Isaac Newton discovered the law of gravity, he did not say, ‘Great, now that we can explain gravity, we no longer need God.’ He marveled at how amazing God was to have created it!

©Frank Fichtmüller - stock.adobe.com

I found that one of the main reasons for the belief that science has made God irrelevant is a wrong comprehension of God. When the people of less developed eras could not explain a certain occurrence in nature, they attributed it to God, because their limited understanding of nature did not leave room for a better explanation. For instance, if they saw lightning, they would explain it by saying that God was angry. They used the concept of God to fill the holes in their knowledge and explain what they could not understand. This perception of God is known as ‘God of the holes’. Quite naturally, many scientists argue that since science can now explain why lightning happens, we no longer need any ‘magical being’ to explain it. From this perspective, it is understandable why scientists might reject God. However, Christianity suggests that God is not a God of the ‘holes’ but of the ‘whole’; he does not fill gaps, but has created the whole universe in the first place. As an illustration of this point, imagine a man who sees a light bulb for the first time in his life. He does not know how it works, but is awestruck every time the bulb emits light. But because he cannot provide a scientific explanation for that process, he concludes to himself that there must be a small magical creature inside of it that emits the light. However, as his knowledge of electricity expands, he gradually begins to understand and explain the scientific process behind the emitted light. He then looks back at his previous assumption of the small magical creature and laughs at how ridiculous it was. If we give God the role of the little magical creature to explain the universe, it would be rational to dismiss him once the mysteries of the universe are solved. But if we see God’s relation to the universe as Thomas Edison’s relation was to the light bulb, then the argument changes. Understanding how the universe works does not exclude the need for it to have been created. Even if it were possible for science and technology to develop to the point of understanding the whole universe and how it works, it would not yet mean that God was no longer needed. According to John Lennox, an Oxford professor of mathematics, it is not science that makes God irrelevant, but rather, it is atheism that makes science irrelevant. He explains that according to the theory of evolution, our minds are an end-product of a ‘mindless unguided

Understanding how the universe works does not exclude the need for it to have been created.

03 04

05 06 07 08

But why is any of this relevant? Why is it relevant whether God is relevant or not? Can’t we just be content with not knowing? C.S. Lewis once said, ‘Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important’ 08. If God is real, then everything he says about our identity, origin, and purpose of creation applies to everyone. On the other hand, if it is not true, then it applies to no one. He cannot be partially true or true only for those who choose to believe him. If he is real, then he is real despite people’s choices to believe or disbelieve in him or to render him relevant or irrelevant. Our ideas about our identity and the value and purpose of our life change drastically based on the stance we take on this issue. That is why I believe that this question is central to everyone’s life and it is important for you to know what you believe. The wonderful thing about the God of Christianity is that he wants to be known and to reveal himself; therefore, contrary to popular belief, it is possible to know for sure whether or not there is a God and it is possible to get to know this God, learn about his character, hear his voice, and even have a relationship with him. It’s normal to have doubts and questions and it is also okay to ask God those questions and ask him to show you — through science, if necessary — that he exists. He is not afraid of questions; in fact, he loves them, because they create the possibility of dialogue, friendship, and revelation. He has promised that those who seek him will find him and, from my experience, I can testify that he never breaks his promises. • Christina Nercessian is a student and writer from Armenia

Watt, N. (2010, September 7). Stephen Hawking: ‘Science Makes God Unnecessary’. Retrieved from https://abcn.ws/2qZnl73 [The Veritas Forum]. (2015, June 19). Has Science Made God Irrelevant? John Lennox and Christopher DiCarlo Discuss at Toronto [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=L5YDmkAyiO4 Hawking, S., Mlodinow, L. (2010). The Grand Design. New York, New York: Bantam Books. Lennox, J. (2010, September 3). As a Scientist I’m Certain Stephen Hawking is Wrong. You Can’t Explain the Universe without God. Retrieved from https://dailym.ai/1cVkRyi Cavendish Laboratory. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavendish_Laboratory Lewis, C. S. (1947). Miracles. London, UK: Collins. Larson, F. (Producer), McEveety, S. (2007). The Star of Bethlehem [Motion Picture]. Lewis, C.S. (1942, March 24). God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing Company.

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belief in God did not hinder these intellectual people from pursuing answers about our universe by merely stating that ‘God did it’, but it actually made it more exciting for them to explore and discover the amazing works of God’s hands. C.S. Lewis, a Christian apologist who was once an atheist himself, put it perfectly when he said, ‘Men became scientific because they expected law in nature and they expected law in nature because they believed in a lawgiver’ 06. This lawgiver is not a distant or indifferent God, but one that has revealed himself and continues to do so time and time again to his beloved creation. There are so many mysteries and amazing things in the universe that he is excited to reveal to his people to amaze them, but when scientists shut him out and try to make those discoveries on their own, they are actually doing a disfavour to themselves. They are refusing the help and guidance of the one who made the universe and knows its every secret and, therefore, they are limiting themselves. But when people are open to hearing God speak to them, they can make discoveries that even they did not expect. The documentary film The Star of Bethlehem, produced by Frederic Larson and Stephen McEveety, is a wonderful example of that. The documentary describes the story of how Dr Larson, a lawyer with no particular connection to science, got interested in the mystery of the biblical star and slowly unravelled its mystery 07. He discovered the scientific evidence that both explains and proves that unusual occurrence of the star that marked the birth of Christ. He wasn’t even a scientist, but merely because he was open to cooperating with God, instead of trying to figure things out on his own, through him God revealed one of the greatest mysteries of the Bible and of all human history.

DEUS VULT, MEDICE CURA A Christian medical approach to transgender ideology and patients. An ANONYMOUS contribution PART II

christian must love god and their neighbour:

basis in physical health, then should it not then be classified as a mental condition? Transgenderism frequently co-exists with other mental conditions such as depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, personality disorder — some clinics report that up to one third of their transgender patients also display traits of Autistic Spectrum Disorder. We must not confuse correlation with causation, however, as the standard trans activist answer seems to be that these patients only suffer some of these conditions due to societal pressures, adverse life events etc. This seems unlikely, but attempts to study these correlations are shouted down by activists on grounds of discrimination or ‘transphobia’. One recently retracted study examined the possibility

the ten commandments can be reduced down

to that. By extension, in addition to providing medical care, a Christian doctor must love their patients. Sometimes this can mean not giving them what they want. Not all coughs require antibiotics, no matter how much a patient can demand them. Chronic back pain responds better to weight loss and exercise than powerful and addictive opiate drugs. Doctors have a responsibility to do the best for the patients they love. So what does this mean for the patient who wishes to be addressed as the sex different to that which they were born into? Professor Jordan Peterson became famous when he protested the Canadian law that would compel citizens to address other people by their chosen

Could transgenderism not be more common in people with mental illnesses because they are more likely to feel uncomfortable in their own skin, and in transgenderism find some sort of answer to their feelings of alienation? pronouns, no matter how bizarre. We might bristle at the thought of such an imposition upon our freedom of speech; trans advocates however view this as the only fair and equal, correct course of action. The evidence suggests that when trans/non-binary people are referred to by the pronouns of their chosen gender, there is a significant reduction in morbidity from mental illness in those people. Simply acknowledging how someone wishes to be known helps protect their mental health. As Christians we should be wise and choose our battles accordingly. I have no qualms addressing my trans patients in the way they desire, even when I remain unconvinced. There is a difference between acting in love and respect with individuals and objecting to the application of the ideology as a whole across society. The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that we must not consider transgenderism as a mental disorder. Until recently it was classified as such, and no scientific studies have been quoted by the WHO in issuing this edict. To me, this seems to be an ideologically driven move, likely in response to the growing power of the trans activist lobby. It is also contradicts other aspects of medicine. Schizophrenia for example has a strong physical and genetic aspect, yet remains classified as a mental illness. Activists may argue that transgenderism has no physical basis, yet that contradicts studies mentioned in the previous article that seem to show sex-differences in human brains. If transgenderism is all in the mind with no

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of ‘social contagion’ in regards to the recent dramatic increase in children and adolescents presenting as trans. There are reports of entire friendship groups expressing transgender identities — an entirely new phenomenon. Trans activists deny its existence. This study was flawed in its methodology; however, the background to the retraction is sinister. The university retracted it not because of concerns about scientific rigour but because of a loud outpouring of criticism from trans activists. This was a fear response and has no place in modern science and medicine. If a study is flawed, one should repeat it but with better methodology, not shelf it due to fear of reprisal. We should be studying this relatively new sociological change, as it appears that many vulnerable children, adolescents and adults with mental disorders are attracted to it. Could transgenderism not be more common in people with mental illnesses because they are more likely to feel uncomfortable in their own skin, and in transgenderism find some sort of answer to their feelings of alienation? Trans people often say that after transition they feel like they are finally ‘themselves’. Perhaps Christians might empathise with the feeling, if not the concept — after all, none of us could truly ‘be ourselves’ until we found salvation in Christ and the Holy Spirit dwelt within us. • In the next article I will discuss transgenderism and physical health.

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So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27

BY DR ANTONY LATHAM

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e live in an age when darwin’s theory of

despite great efforts, no idea of what the process entailed. A few facts are helpful: • DNA, the molecule that holds the genetic code of all life, does not simply arise if you put energy into a soup of organic chemicals. To make DNA the cell uses enzymes, which are proteins. The proteins themselves are coded for in the DNA, so if there are no proteins, there is no DNA. Proteins require very sophisticated molecules to produce them. But to have proteins you must have DNA to code for them. You can see the problem. • To have a functioning cell that holds the DNA, and all the stunning molecular machinery that even the humble bacterium contains, requires a cell membrane. The membrane is itself an immensely complex arrangement of molecules that allows the right chemicals to enter and leave the cell. The membrane is coded for in the DNA, so you cannot have a membrane unless the DNA already exists with its information for making the membrane. This is another ‘chicken and egg’ problem for the Darwinist. • It is imagined by the theorists that the first DNA had to be very short and simple. However, for a functioning DNA to have even the most basic reproducing cell, it must have a minimum number of genes which require ‘proofreading’ enzymes to ensure mistakes are corrected. All DNA is constantly monitored by such enzymes to correct mistakes in the coding. Without this system life could not have got going. Again, we have the issue of which came first; the DNA or the enzymes which cannot be manufactured without the DNA. • Even if DNA exists within a cell, it is the information it contains which makes it completely unique in nature. Purposeful, specific information does not occur anywhere in the universe without intelligent input. This is true for your computer software just as it is with DNA. You cannot get purposeful information by just applying energy to chemicals. Purposeful information is variously called ‘semantic’ or ‘specified’ and is contrasted with purposeless information, such as that in a snowflake.

evolution is the predominant narrative of how we came to be on the earth.

Most scientists seem to have made up their minds about this and the prevailing view, filtered down to us, is that life arose by accident and that every form of life since then has appeared due to random mutations (errors) in DNA, acted on by natural selection. In this scenario there seems no place for divine input or design. There appears to be no purpose. If we accept this theory lock stock and barrel, then, as Richard Dawkins loves to point out, we are mere vehicles of DNA which blindly competes to survive. If we look honestly at this bleak picture, we could very reasonably despair. We certainly would have reasons to rule out an active Creator who has made us in his image. The question is: is it true? Darwinism has formed a worldview that has caused many people to simply give up on God. I was one of them. God seems to have been pushed out of his creation and for many, Darwinism gives licence to be, as Dawkins puts it, ‘an intellectually satisfied atheist’. This is why we need to engage in the debate about our origins if we want to give hope to a lost world. The problem is that even amongst Christians there is a multiplicity of views on the subject: those that accept current evolutionary theory, those that reject it outright and believe in an earth about 6,000 years old, those that believe in a much older earth, and others who concentrate on the scientific evidence for design in nature (intelligent design theorists). There is of course some overlap amongst all these. Such views are held sincerely. In such a divisive, and sometimes bitter, debate, we have a duty to respect and listen to one another. The danger too often is to interpret and even twist science according to our own particular scriptural preference, such as the age of the earth. To do so risks alienating Christians from scientists, the majority of whom have no axe to grind. Science, the study of God’s creation, is neutral. It is how we interpret scientific facts, along with the light of scripture, that is the key. The study of this area of science has been close to my heart for many years. It has become clear to many of us that Darwinism is not at all a done deal. Let us look, far too briefly, at just a few of the flaws in current evolutionary theory.

FOSSILS Darwin very honestly wrote in his book On the Origin of Species that there were huge gaps in the fossil record that needed to be filled. His theory depends completely on very gradual changes over long periods of time. One of the gaps he knew of was the long period preceding the appearance of multi-cellular organisms. In the fossil record the first organisms with bodies, eyes, guts and nervous systems appear dramatically and suddenly in the what is known as the Cambrian period, about 530 million years ago. Scientists call this the ‘Cambrian Explosion’, for good reason. It is an explosion of life from singlecell organisms to fully complex sea-dwelling creatures occurring without precursors in the fossil record. They are seen in rocks around the world, and though strenuous efforts are made to link them all in some evolutionary story, such efforts have failed. We see the first vision – that of the wonderful Trilobite with amazing

THE START OF LIFE Life, in the form of bacteria, is believed to have begun at the earliest opportunity on the earth. The current view of the age of the earth is 4.5 billion years old. Darwin imagined some warm pond in which the right chemicals were present and somehow amalgamated to form life. Bacteria, however, are not simple – anyone studying molecular biology knows that they are far more complex than any man-made machine. The earliest fossil bacteria are seen in rocks about 3.4 billion years old and are identical in form to current bacteria. No one knows how these first reproducing cells arose. It has never been achieved in a laboratory and there is,

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Many of our attributes are completely unnecessary for ‘survival of the fittest’ but more reasonably explained by a creator who made us in his own image. Then there is the nature of the human mind. Many of our attributes are completely unnecessary for ‘survival of the fittest’ but more reasonably explained by a creator who made us in his own image: consciousness, appreciation of beauty, morality, altruism, spirituality and, above all, love. The person of Jesus, of course, stands out as completely alien to a process that is based on ruthless competitive fitness to survive. EVOLUTION AS TAUGHT IN OUR SCHOOLS We have to be careful not to throw everything out with the bath water. ‘Evolution’ (a term that means many things) does occur in a limited way. No creature within a species is the same. There is variety within the genetic pool that makes up a species. We only need to look at ourselves to see this variety. It is obvious that there will be some selection of those which can survive better. We see this easily when we artificially select breeds of animals to be better at producing meat, milk or wool, for example. All that is happening here is the selection of those who have existing genes which are advantageous. The same happens in nature, and the famous Darwin’s finches on the Galapagos Islands are a perfect example. Different finches survive in different environments (different food sources in this case), but not because there is any new genetic information. One group has a different beak because the genes for this were already present in the population. Our textbooks use such cases to make it seem that such micro evolution is enough and just needs time to produce the human brain from bacteria. This is demonstrably false, because for new complex structures you need new genetic information; micro evolution only uses existing information. Darwin in his zeal extrapolated micro-evolution to explain the whole panoply of life. I was taught the same in school and this continues uncontested in our classrooms. There is a battle on here that is not just about ideas but is spiritual. Darwinism, perhaps amongst all other theories, has become a sacred cow, not to be questioned. Spiritually the stakes are very high, because if the theory crumbles, then our entire view of where we come from is again open to belief in our creator. •

HUMANS While one would be forgiven for thinking that scientists have, more or less, sorted out a lineage from ape to human in the fossil record, we need to look carefully at the evidence. We are told that we most likely evolved from a creature known as Australopithecus afarensis, which lived three million years ago in Africa. The famous fossil known as ‘Lucy’ is a prime example. There are a variety of intermediate hominid types that subsequently appear in various places. Links are assumed but not proven. The doctrine is that random errors in DNA were selected in those three million years to produce ourselves. Here are some problems with that idea: Our brains are three times the size of Australopithecus afarensis. This is an enormous change in a very short time with completely new brain structures, particularly for language. These new structures, supposedly appearing from errors in DNA, are more complex by far than any computer ever made or any object we could conceivably make ourselves. Three million years may seem a long time but it is certainly not in evolutionary terms. Very small numbers of hominids with long generation times (and so with few opportunities for mutations) are required to have achieved mind-blowing new complexity by entirely random mistakes in DNA. That is not feasible and is completely unproven. Mutations are nearly always detrimental or neutral and we now have good evidence from studying micro-organisms that mutations have a very severe limit in what they can achieve in producing new and useful complexity.

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I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14) Dr. Antony Latham is a GP based on the Isle of Harris. He is the writer of a number of books including The Naked Emporer: Darwinism Exposed and The Enigma of Consciousness — Reclaiming the Soul

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compound eyes. What is more, we see numerous body plans, all seemingly unrelated. These body plans, known as phyla, still exist today. In fact our own, known as the chordates, was there also. There were, in other words, all the existing body plans or templates of life, all appearing in one brief time space. Multicellular life therefore did not arise from one trunk of the tree of life but from many diverse creatures appearing at one time. The fossils tell us a story and what we see is an extraordinary creative input of information in the Cambrian explosion, in a way which defies a purely ‘natural’ cause. This completely overturns any Darwinian gradualism. Gradual small changes are an essential part of Darwinian evolutionary theory. But that is not all; the major new ‘macro’ changes in form that occur subsequently in the fossils appear dramatically in the rock strata. I emphasise ‘macro’ because micro evolutionary changes do occur, as I will explain below.

DNA, the molecule that holds the genetic code of all life, does not simply arise if you put energy into a soup of organic chemicals.

Stranmillis EPC Belfast: ‘A NEW CHAPTER BEGINS’ BY GARETH BURKE

‘T

he church is not the building .’

This comment has been made many times over the past few months during sermons and announcements at Stranmillis Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Belfast. We are fully committed to the clear teaching of scripture that the ‘people of God, indwelt by the Spirit of God, living to the glory of God’ constitute the true church of Jesus Christ, but we also recognise that, practically, the people of God need somewhere to meet. We are currently rejoicing in the kindness and goodness of God because on Saturday, 29 th September 2018, we were able to open a new church building which provides us with much better facilities for worship and outreach. But before we go there, into all the details of a new church building, perhaps we should consider a few basic questions that might help you to understand better who we are and what we are seeking to do.

is surrounded by student houses, and in postTroubles Belfast an ever-increasing number of these students are internationals who are coming to study at Queen’s University. WHO IS INVOLVED IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH? We are not a local congregation, in the sense that our members live in many different parts of Belfast and beyond — perhaps similar to St Columba’s Edinburgh, or Glasgow City Free Church. During the Troubles, city centre churches in Belfast to a large degree died off due to stringent security arrangements and other factors. As such the downtown churches had a tendency to move out a little into the suburbs of South Belfast, and our congregation would fall into that category. We have been blessed with a good number of younger families and many children.

WHEN DID WE BEGIN? The Evangelical Presbyterian Church began in 1927, and our congregation in South Belfast was one of the first churches to be established within the new denomination which grew out of a heresy trial within Irish Presbyterianism. Our congregation has been served by just three ministers over its ninetyyear history — W.J. Grier, Derek Thomas and Gareth Burke.

Inside the sanctuary

WHAT SORT OF THINGS DO WE DO? All the normal things that you do in your congregation – worship services, Sunday School, ladies’ meetings, children’s and youth meetings, Parents and Toddlers, etc. Also a number of activities that reflect the particular locality in which we are found, including student lunches and international student Bible studies.

The old church building

WHERE DO WE MINISTER? Specifically, we minister in the Stranmillis district of South Belfast, being located on the Stranmillis Road. This is an interesting and exciting part of the city to be working in. Our church building

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WHY DID WE ERECT A NEW BUILDING? The previous church building was simply inadequate for what we were trying to do. The student lunch met in cramped and difficult

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conditions, the Parent and Toddler Group met in another building, as did one of the youth groups, and Sunday School classes were found meeting in all sorts of corners, even porches! As for the last congregational lunch we tried, let’s just say that the health and safety directorate wouldn’t have liked what was happening!

enjoying fellowship together over a cup of coffee or tea. WHAT ARE OUR PARTICULAR NEEDS AS A CHURCH? We rejoice in God’s goodness to us over these past months. We had to relocate for over a year while the old building was demolished, but we knew much of the Lord’s blessing during that time. The Lord has also wonderfully provided for us financially, for, although we still have a shortfall of £250,000, we received two very significant gifts and numerous generous donations enabling us to raise one million pounds. We would greatly value your prayers that: We would not make too much of the building — that we would see it as the place in which we gather to worship God and to serve the local community; Having experienced the gracious provision of God, we would be good stewards of what he has given to us; We would effectively reach out with the gospel into the Stranmillis district of South Belfast and would see many coming to a living faith in Christ. •

Inside the sanctuaryThe foyer at Stranmillis EP church

HOW IS THE NEW BUILDING AN IMPROVEMENT ON THE FORMER ONE? Our old single-storey building has been replaced by a three-storey building on the same site. We have a large multi-purpose space that is suitable for our worship services and also for other activities. There are numerous smaller rooms that are suitable for Sunday School classes and other meetings, and excellent facilities on each floor for mingling and

Gareth Burke studied at the Free Church College, Edinburgh, from 1981-1984.He has served in three congregations of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church becoming minster of Stranmillis in 2000. His wife Ruth grew up in the Free Church and they have been blessed with four children and six grandchildren.

The new building — on the same site as the old one!

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our ambitions are achieved, it’s still ultimately meaningless. Oliver Cromwell, who took the British throne away from Charles I and established the Commonwealth, said to a friend, ‘Do not trust to the cheering, for those persons would shout as much if you and I were going to be hanged.’ Cromwell understood crowd psychology! The crowd that shouted for Jesus to be made king as he entered Jerusalem was the same one that a few days later shouted for him to be crucified! What is the point of all this? Mark Twain summed up his view of what it means to be human: ‘We are on a plodding sad pilgrimage, this pathetic drift between the eternities.’ Solomon seems to be on the same wavelength. If we find oppression and injustice in the law courts, if we find envy in the workplace, if we find loneliness in our lives, and insecurity even when we reach the highest position — what is the point? Solomon’s point is that ‘under the sun’ (meaning ‘without God’) there is no point. But with God…

eep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground .’

President Roosevelt’s wise saying still resonates today and would certainly have resonated with Solomon. After considering the question of loneliness, Solomon now turns to politics — the two are not unrelated. Sometimes our politicians look as though they are very alone. Occasionally I feel sorrow for our Prime Minister, Mrs May, who looks as though she is wondering which of her colleagues is going to be the next one to stick the knife in — ‘et tu, Boris?’! I love the way that the Bible speaks directly to our contemporary situation in the politics of Westminster and the White House, as much as it did in the palace of Solomon. I guess that it is because human nature (and therefore politics) doesn’t really change, and because the Bible is God’s Word for all humans everywhere in every time. Ecclesiastes 4:13-16 is a difficult passage to translate and understand. It speaks of a king rising to power. He becomes complacent and foolish because he is alone — or at least acts on his own and does not listen to his friends. Solomon again draws attention to the folly of the lack of companionship. His place is taken by a young man who has climbed up the ladder of success — from rags to riches. But he too finds that popularity is fleeting. In effect Solomon is warning us that even if we make our way to the top, the only way is down. Even if all

YOU CAN FIND JUSTICE. ‘I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants

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GOSPEL FOR TODAY’S SOCIETY ECCLESIASTES 4:13-16 THE RECORD

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all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.’ (1 Timothy 2:1-6, NIV)

Chapter 4 has dealt with the oppressed having no comforter, a man without the companionship of family and friends, and a lonely king. Christ is the solution to all. Strength is gained from human relationships, but the greatest relationship and friendship of all is found in Christ. He is the one who provides meaning. He is our friend — and he is our reason for working. Everything we do we do for the Lord. The reason I pray for our political leaders to become Christians is not that they will then, Constantine-like, enact legislation that is favourable to Christians. It’s just that I want them to know peace and to find fulfilment in recognising that they are fulfilling their tasks as servants of God. I suspect that the Queen, with her lifelong service to her country, is far less lonely because of her committed Christian faith, than those politicians whose ambitions, like their ‘friends’, are here today and gone tomorrow. The world would be a better place if our political leaders knew, loved, served and obeyed the King of Kings. They wouldn’t need to fear their allies, despise their foes or bribe their rivals in order to achieve their ambitions. Nor would they need to purchase people to cure their loneliness and demonstrate their power. They would be able to keep their eyes on the stars and their feet on the ground.•

YOU CAN FIND CONTENTMENT. ‘I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.’ (Philippians 4:12, NIV) YOU CAN GET OUT OF THE RAT RACE — WITHOUT BEING LAZY AND USELESS. You can get away from ‘envy and selfish ambition’ (James 3:16) and find real peace. Peace does not come from hard work, nor does it come from laziness. ‘What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?’ (Mark 8:36-37, NIV) YOU CAN HAVE THE FRIEND WHO STICKS CLOSER THAN A BROTHER. Perhaps the biggest question here is the question of companionship.

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OF AMBITION AND

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GET TO KNOW CITYALIGHT (AND THEIR NEW ALBUM) BY TIM CHALLIES

or the past few years i’ve been enjoying the

Most churches around the world aren’t large. Some figures tell us that the average number in Australia is about 70. That means these are churches without large music teams or complicated sound equipment. These are churches with one guitar, or no guitar, one organ, one trombone, two singers – something like that. And we want to partner with those faithful congregations. Our vision is to resource them with simple songs. There is nothing on earth like the sound of a church singing, big or small, ancient or modern, skilled or not. The sound of a church singing has preceded almost every great revival in church history. The Church is God’s witness and representative on earth. And is there any wonder that a tremendous power comes about when the representative voice of God in the earth is singing? We have been writing songs together for about five years. The band isn’t fixed. It’s made up of whoever is available when the request comes in! We really see ourselves as a local church, first of all writing for our people, and also praying that God might take these songs out to any of his churches that might be helped by them.

music of cityalight both on a personal and congregational level

(as

we’ve added several

of their songs to our worship services).

They have just released a new album and, to mark the occasion, I asked band members Richard Thompson and Jonny Robinson a few questions. The album is available now wherever good music is sold or streamed. Who or what is CityAlight? What can you tell me about the band and the church behind it? CityAlight is a music ministry from a church in Castle Hill, Sydney, called St. Paul’s Castle Hill. The vision of CityAlight is to write songs with biblically rich lyrics and simple melodies for the Christian church to sing. We’re very pleased to admit there’s nothing particularly groundbreaking in what we do. There’s nothing especially new or unique or fashionable. We’re not on the forefront of anything and don’t pretend to be. (It’s probably better to be three hundred years out of date than three…)

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I don’t think most people associate Anglicanism with modern worship. How does your Anglicanism factor into your songwriting? This will inevitably be an over-simplification, but the Diocese of Sydney, of which we are a part, is an evangelical form of global Anglicanism with a commitment to the authority of Scripture, a personal relationship with Jesus, and a focus on mission, sharing the gospel both at home and abroad. To the question, yes, it’s fair to say, quite broadly, that the Anglican Church has a very different relationship to modern worship than the Pentecostal church, for example. In large part this stems from the Anglican Church’s long history of supporting choral and traditional music, an engagement that’s run over hundreds of years, and it can’t (and probably shouldn’t) be shaken off immediately. There’s a great beauty in those styles of music and we lose something when they get left behind. But on the whole Anglican churches in

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Sydney no longer reflect that sort of worship, even if our reputation hasn’t yet caught up. On the average Sunday you’ll see the minister in a suit or a shirt and tie (occasionally shorts and a T-shirt in the Australian summers), the words of modern congregational songs projected onto a screen, a band with drums and guitars up front, and you’ll rarely see a prayer book. In saying this, though, it does not mean we suddenly have a deep or familiar relationship with modern worship, if by that you have in mind songs with a vaguely pop/soft rock sound and a verse/chorus/bridge structure. The Sydney Diocese is immensely careful to protect the truth of the gospel in its preaching and teaching. It values clarity of expression and faithfulness to Scripture. And that very often admirable caution has extended to music in the Diocese, too. We haven’t seen the easy acceptance of every hit congregational song going around or every development in musical style or the implementation of each technological advance >>

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<< because, roughly speaking, the church has aimed to ensure at every point that it won’t be compromising on something, a first principle. Attention to detail in these matters has kept the priorities as priorities, but it also results in a denomination making much slower progress in its implementation of and proficiency with modern music. This is intended to be a statement of fact, and individuals can decide where the balance ought to be. At St. Paul’s, with CityAlight, we’re immensely grateful for the legacy of the Anglican Church, their fidelity to Scripture, their commitment to clarity in preaching and teaching, their desire to reach unbelievers with the gospel, and their insistence on a personal relationship with Jesus. The mission of CityAlight is to write simple melodies with biblically rich lyrics and it doesn’t take much maneuvering to see how closely those values align with those of the Diocese. In being part of the Anglican Church, and particularly in a denomination informed by the principles of the Reformation, we’re honoured to join in with a very long history of people trying to serve God with the best of their music and teaching and writing and witnessing. We just see ourselves as getting in line and continuing on.

joy is where they began. Joy is the foundation and, like many foundations, is hidden but essential. We chose six instead of ten because it’s very hard to process ten, especially in smaller churches. So here are six simple songs for the church centred upon those remarkable realities of the Christian faith that are occasions for deep and lasting joy. You seem to put quite a bit of emphasis on writing songs that are singable by the congregation. Why is this an important factor? Yes, this is something we are very focused on. When writing for the church – particularly the small church – we are very keen to make sure our songs are accessible. We don’t want to create any hurdles with our melodies. A lot of people are self-conscious of how they sound and whether or not they are a ‘good singer’. However, when it comes to church music, people are built up when they focus not on themselves, but on worshipping their God, and on absorbing truth that will stay with them through the week. Complicated melodies, with large ranges, can distract from this pursuit. The more we can allow the melody to ‘get out of the way’ the better. You hear it in the room. Those songs that everyone loves — the ones that are sung the loudest — are often the ones with very simple, predictable melodies. Simple melodies are often the hardest to write. We spend a lot of time on creating melodies that carry emotion and lead the church through the journey of the song.

What can you tell me about the new album? What motivated or inspired it and what do you hope it accomplishes? We began this project with an idea, and over the course of the year we became more and more convinced that our songs should be headed in this direction. The idea was joy. More specifically we had in mind Christian joy, which we believed to be something quite distinct, and we wanted that notion to inspire, underwrite, and unify the songs written for this project. We came across a sermon from the Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon where he had said, ‘Are there not periods of life when we feel so glad that we would dance for joy? Let not such exhilaration be spent upon common themes, but let the name of God stir us to ecstasy … There is enough in our holy faith to create and to justify the utmost degree of rapturous delight. If men are dull in the worship of the Lord our God they are not acting consistently with the character of their religion.’ In other words, the realities of Christianity provide us with so many opportunities for deep and lasting joy that if our worship does not reflect this, we ought to ask ourselves whether we are really singing about the Jesus of the Bible. So we wrote to our team the following: ‘We are asking you to write songs that give our people the language and the opportunity to sing of this joy. It does not mean that your song must be titled ‘Joy’. You might not even use the word at all. What we want you to do is consider the deep and lasting realities of Christianity that provide occasion for true joy. And we want you to write about that.’ The songs resulting from this meditation are the six songs we finally settled on. As you will hear, they are not directly songs about joy. But the idea of Christian

THE RECORD

CityAlight team from St Paul's Castle Hill, Sydney

Broadening our discussion a little, what are some of the trends in contemporary worship music that encourage you and concern you? We’re very encouraged by a few of the new hymnlike songs that are being written. We can hear it when people have spent time on their song. In the past couple of years we, at St Paul’s, have been very blessed by a number of these songs. But on the flip side there is also a trend in the church music ‘industry’ to write songs quite quickly. A new song or two a day is a pretty common benchmark for many writers. The reasoning behind this (we’re guessing) is that you continue to improve your craft

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and don’t get too stuck in any one song. Good songs can certainly be written that way. But, this method of writing is going to limit the kind of songs that come out. Certain songs just take time and work and reworking and meditation and reworking and discussion. Theology is rich and deep and our songs need to grapple with that. It is unlikely (though not impossible, it must be said) that a writer could dash off a song about God’s sovereignty or the mystery of suffering in an hour or two. In fact, there is the danger of arrogance where a person thinks they would be able to do that without serious thought, with whatever ideas come easily to mind. Deep truths about the gospel take time to get a grip on and the songwriter must take the time to do it in order to bless the church. We are feeding the church. We need to feel the weight of that. What we put in the mouths of the body of Christ has the power to either strengthen a believer or distort their theology. We would argue that, because of the way songs stay in people’s minds, we have a responsibility just like the preacher delivering a sermon. In fact, it could be argued that songs need even more care than sermons. Our most recent hymn, ‘Yet Not I but Through Christ in Me’, took us 12 weeks to write. We dove deep into the idea of what it meant to have Christ dwell in us. What an incredibly profound, mysterious truth. It needed time. We wrote and rewrote the song many, many times. We struggled for every word. If there are any songwriters reading this, we would encourage you to slow down. Your songs will be richer for it.

In the face of persecution, they were reminded that God is set apart — above all. We need not fear anything. We reckon that’s something we all could all do to be reminded of. From album 3: ‘Yet Not I but Through Christ in Me’ This is an exploration of one of the greatest mysteries of the Christian faith. Having Christ in us calls together two apparently paradoxical ideas: we contend for the faith and we do it with Christ’s energy (Colossians 1:29, ‘To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me’). Having Christ in us does not mean we do no more work, and neither does it mean we do it all. Rather, we contend and we contend with his energy. Even our final resurrection is made possible by the gift of Christ in us. He will bring us to glory. In our weakness he is strong, and he will complete the work he has begun. He himself is within us, leading us home, step by step. Every believer has been given this gift. It’s worth singing about. • Tim Challies is a blogger, book reviewer, author and co-founder of Cruciform Press. He worships and serves as an elder at Grace Fellowship Church in Toronto, Ontario. He is the author of five books: The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment (Crossway, 2007), Sexual Detox: A Guide For Guys Who Are Sick of Porn (Cruciform Press, 2010), The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion (Zondervan, 2011), Do More Better: A Practical Guide to Productivity (Cruciform Press, 2015), Visual Theology: Seeing and Understanding the Truth About God (Zondervan, 2016). This article appearred on website www.challies.com

If a pastor or worship leader approached you to ask which CityAlight songs they should add to their congregational worship, which three would you recommend and why? That’s a tricky question because we are so close to these songs. But based on the feedback we have received from various churches, we would suggest these: From album 1: ‘Jerusalem’ There are very few narrative songs in the typical Sunday playlist. We think a song like this adds a richness to worship in that it helps paint a vivid picture of the Christ moving toward and beyond the cross. When we grasp the magnitude of what he did — and what it cost — we can’t do anything but worship him! From album 2: ‘Only A Holy God’ We heard recently of an underground church singing this song. They were encouraged by being able to sing one another: Who else commands all the hosts of heaven Who else can make every king bow down Who else can whisper and darkness trembles Only a Holy God

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YET NOT I AND OTHER SONGS FOR THE CHURCH CITY ALIGHT CITYALIGHT MUSIC (2018) WWW.AMAZON.CO.UK MP3 £5.94

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THOMAS CHALMERS:

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ESMOND BIRNIE highlights some of the Free Church founding father’s accomplishments and talents through a unique study of the numbers in his life.

the 1810s, Glasgow’s population had multiplied six- or seven-fold, reaching about 110,000, but only three new kirks had been added. Chalmers was a keen advocate of church extension in all of Britain’s expanding industrial towns and cities. One of the reasons why his preaching had such a strong impact was that he really knew the people who lived in his parish. As he once said, ‘Show me a people-going minister and I will show you a church-going people.’

ne of the things i find most appealing about chalmers is that his life had so many facets.

He really was a man of many parts. My book tries to describe some of the main ones. I was struck by his statement on 21 August 1810 that he intended to sacrifice ‘severe mathematics’. Over the millennia God’s people have prayed to be delivered from many forms of temptation, but rarely to be saved from too much love for mathematics! That got me thinking of what might have been some of the most important ‘numbers’ in Chalmers’s life.

£50 Chalmers’s first book, published in 1808, was about economics rather than theology. It considered how Britain should adapt to a situation where trading links to continental Europe had been cut off. That situation might sound strangely familiar, but in this case the problem arose from Napoleon’s blockade of Great Britain! In passing, Chalmers made the point that the first part of a worker’s income, he reckoned £50 annually for a labourer, should be exempt from income tax as this sum was needed to pay for the necessities of life. Chalmers should therefore be credited with inventing what we today call the Income Tax Personal Allowance (now about £12,000 per annum rather than £50).

Stipple engraving by H. T. Ryall, 1848, images@wellcome.ac.uk

1780-1847 I am cheating a bit here: these are the dates of his life. His life straddled the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It included the British industrial revolution and evangelical revival in Scotland, and took him into the first decade of Queen Victoria’s reign. Major events in the middle part of his career, such as coming to a parish in Glasgow (first St Mary’s/the Tron in 1815, and then St John’s four years later) or becoming the Chair of Moral Philosophy in St Andrews University, occurred more or less 200 years ago. Thomas Carlyle dismissed most of the Presbyterian clerics of his own day as ‘hoary old men’. My book argues that Chalmers was never a hoary old man. He was an aggressive (his word) Christian who applied his faith to so many areas of life and thought.

34 That is the number of volumes making up Chalmers’s Collected Works published by Thomas and Constable. Chalmers the writer was very industrious. Iain Murray has even argued it would have been better for his reputation if he had published less, especially if he had written fewer books about social policy and economics. I do not share that assessment. As an economist I am, of course, biased. Some of his books — notably the Scripture Readings — remain inspirational in a pastoral sense. Some of his thinking was genuinely innovative. In the field of science and apologetics he was a very early user of the term ‘intelligent designer’.

£60 This was Chalmers’s stipend when he arrived in his first parish, Kilmany in Fife, in 1803. Given his exceptional abilities, he had been given dispensation to be licenced at a very young age in 1799. Chalmers would live to regret what he said in his early years as a minister about the position offering five days a week of ‘uninterrupted leisure’. The sad truth was that from 1803 until some point during 1810-11, Chalmers was an unconverted pastor. Apart from the work of Holy Spirit, a combination for factors pushed him to saving faith: family bereavements, a very serious illness, disappointments (both romantic and academic) and his reading (including works by Pascal and Wilberforce).

6MPH That was the average speed of a horse and carriage on the improved roads of northern Europe in the 1820s. Chalmers was a regular traveller within Scotland and England — he visited almost every county at least once. The extent to which Chalmers travelled outside of Great Britain was limited: two visits to Ulster and one to Paris (1838). One of the great ‘might have beens’ is what Chalmers would have made of the USA. He did, to his disadvantage, get embroiled in the growing controversy around slavery. His attempted middle position, neither abolitionism nor an endorsement of slavery as God’s will, left most of his contemporaries unsatisfied. >>

3,500 OUT OF 11,000 Chalmers’s approach to pastoral visitation was precise and vigorous: he tried to visit every household in his parish. On the basis of these visits he reckoned that out of a population of 11,000 within the Tron, only 3,500 attended any type of church in 1817. There was a wider and depressing background. In the century up to

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£1,400 TO £550 According to the modern historian John Roxborough, this was the extent to which Chalmers was able to reduce spending on poor relief in the St John’s parish through very carefully administering the distribution of assistance through his elders. Since the Reformation, church law had defined the responsibilities of a Church of Scotland minister to include preaching, supervision of a school, parish visitation and poor relief. By the 1810s the voluntary system of poor relief in Glasgow, one relying largely on money collected through church congregation members, was breaking down. Chalmers’s championing of the church-based system, especially in terms of the so-called ‘St John’s experiment’, was a last gasp of the voluntary approach before Scotland followed England down the road which led to the workhouse. Chalmers’s experiment in inner-city Glasgow worked to an extent, but that success may have been based on unusual factors unlikely to replicated elsewhere: Chalmers’s personal administrative genius and generous subsidies from some philanthropists (at least one of which was in America). Chalmers, prophetically, pointed out some of the problems of bureaucracy and dependency which would later afflict many modern welfare systems. It is worth pointing out that Chalmers himself was extremely generous in giving away his own income. In the mid 1840s he is said to have donated £500 — about £35,000 in today’s money — for the relief from the Famines in the Highlands and Ireland.

A.C. Cheyne wrote in 1985, ‘…the story of Chalmers’s life is in the last analysis a story of failure: failure in the matters which concerned him most.’ I profoundly disagree. Chalmers’s life and thought is still very relevant to us in the 21st century. If you are looking for lessons about urban ministry, go to Chalmers. If you want to discover how the church in Scotland moved into global mission, you have to allow for his inspirational effect on a generation of divinity students. Chalmers proves that evangelism and social activism need not be in conflict. Chalmers sounded a warning about the relentless growth of the all-powerful modern and secular British state. Above all, alongside his great intellect and Renaissanceman interests, Chalmers worked so hard to ensure that individual souls came to Christ. Esmond Birnie is a Senior Economist at Ulster University and a member of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Belfast. He was previously chief economist with PwC in Northern Ireland and Scotland and a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly. *Available from the Evangelical Bookshop, Belfast, RRP £9.99 but discounted to £7.50, through this link: https:// www.evangelicalbookshop.co.uk/products/thomaschalmers-and-the-struggle-for-a-christian-nation

38% The percentage of the Church of Scotland ministers who ‘came out’ in May 1843 and joined the Church of Scotland, Free. Of course, for some individuals and families immense personal sacrifices lay behind such statistics. The Free Church did survive. That it did so was due in no small part, humanly speaking, to Chalmers’s organisational abilities — especially in terms of how to organise the financial structures. 66 The number of books in the Bible. One of his books which continues to speak warmly today is his Daily Scriptural Readings. Chalmers did not intend that these writings be published but, thanks to the editorial work of his son-in-law William Hanna, they do give us an insight into his personal devotions. According to Hanna, his first and greatest biographer, Chalmers ‘did almost everything by numbers’. We can tell his story through numbers, but what did his life amount to?

Over the millennia God’s people have prayed to be delivered from many forms of temptation, but rarely to be saved from too much love for mathematics!

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IPC Ealing: NEW BUILDING REV. PAUL LEVY reports on a significant day for our sister church in Ealing.

hen the international presbyterian church (ipc)

amount of goodwill from the community. Lots of local residents came in and saw the building, heard from our architect on the design, and I spoke on why we’ve built it. On the Saturday morning there was a full house for the thanksgiving service, where Sinclair Ferguson preached powerfully from Matthew 16 on Jesus the Church Builder. This was followed by lunch and an open afternoon with activities for families in the area.

in ealing began thinking about redeveloping their building in 2004 the world was a different

place.

Tony Blair was Prime Minister, Lance Armstrong was still winning the Tour de France and I had a full head of hair! If you’ve not been to Ealing, it’s a West London borough which was once known as Queen of the Suburbs. There are a around 115,000 people living in Ealing itself, but the whole borough has over 350,000. Ealing is best known for its film studios and the Ealing Comedies; both the Rolling Stones and the Who trace their roots back to Ealing. There are a few bright spots in church history too; it’s the place where the great Puritan John Owen died and Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones lived here throughout his ministry in London and died here in 1981. Our congregation has its roots in the work of Francis and Edith Schaeffer of L’Abri, Switzerland. In the late 1960s Ranald and Susan Macauley (Schaeffer’s son-in-law and daughter) came to England to start the work of L’Abri, and from those beginnings the church in Ealing was formed. In 1979 the church was able to buy the St Helena retreat house and adapted the building to suit the church’s needs. It’s been home for nearly 40 years and served us well, but by the mid-2000s we couldn’t fit the morning congregation in. Nine years ago we took the step of moving the morning service to first a local university and then a high school. The congregation is now around 160 on a Sunday morning and about 90 in evening worship. We are made up of nearly 40 nationalities. The congregation is involved in various activities seeking to take the gospel to Ealing: children’s and young people’s work, English language classes for women, a lunchtime service in the Town Hall, parents and toddlers, book tables etc. The story of the building project goes back 14 years and is one of various plans drawn up. There have been setbacks such as English Heritage listing the original Chapel and an ever increasing cost to the build. We’ve been hugely helped by the perseverance of our architects, Piercy and Company, and also David Watson of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Ireland, who has functioned as adviser and fixer for us! The congregation has changed a great deal in the last 14 years. There’s been slow, steady growth with its shares of the usual ups and downs of church life, nothing remarkable. The building project hasn’t really been a distraction, for which we are very thankful, and wonderfully we were able to plant a daughter congregation, Immanuel Church, in nearby Brentford in 2017. It was with great joy that the church held an opening weekend from 17-19 November 2018. The Friday night was a civic reception, and one of the surprises has been that the whole project has garnered an enormous

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Ealing IPC at night

There is a lot to thank God for. The project has taught us much about what it means to be patient; we’ve seen our prayers answered above and beyond what we could ask or imagine. We’ve seen real gospel-hearted generosity from Christians inside our church family as well as outside. There is still a considerable debt to be serviced over the next few years, and so any help Record readers might be able to give us would be greatly appreciated. Pray that, as we seek to worship God in this place and hold out the words of life in West London, the Lord would fill this building with worshippers. As we look to the future, there will be lots of challenges. West London is an incredibly expensive place to live and Crossrail, if it if ever arrives, should have a considerable effect on the area. You will be able to get from Ealing to Central London in under 20 minutes, and so the nature of the area will change both for good and for bad. Over the last 50 years the church has been in the main a local church. Pray that that would continue and we will see people in the area coming to faith. There are great opportunities, particularly with the new building, to reach out. The danger for us is that, with West London having such movement of people, it is possible to grow a church without actually seeing any conversions. Our hope in the next couple of years is to plant again, further west from us in the Uxbridge area. We are just beginning Bible studies there with some folk who live in that area and come to us. Pray the Lord will prosper that venture. The fields are white for harvest! •

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POVERTY SAFARI: UNDERSTANDING THE ANGER OF BRITAIN’S UNDERCLASS by Darren McGarvey A series of articles by MEZ McCONNELL of 20schemes on this Orwell Prize winning book looking at the causes of poverty in Scotland

asked this question a lot when I am overseas. Obviously, it is a difficult one to answer when I am stood in a slum in Brazil and showing them photos of the nice houses and gardens of Niddrie. In fact, when I told them this was an area designated ‘deprived’ in our community, the whole congregation burst out laughing. And so, I had to educate them a little. McGarvey puts it succinctly. ‘Yes, it’s certainly true that a Western child has less chance of dying of hunger, dysentery or malaria than a child in Rwanda, but that is little consolation when you are being verbally abused, beaten of sexually assaulted in an alcoholic home’ (p94).

people get now. I was on my own. Angry, violent and fed up with a world that had no sympathy for me or my background. McGarvey captures the emotion well in a series of quotes. The children of those from poor and dysfunctional homes usually garner our sympathy until they reach adulthood and then, it seems, all bets are off. The truth, whether we want to accept it or not, is that the neglected and abused kids, the unruly young people, the homeless, the alkies, the junkies, and the lousy, irresponsible, violent parents are often the same person at different stages of their lives. (p95) Beneath everything, all I was looking for was connection; to feel understood, heard and supported. To feel respected, safe and loved. (p96) It was as if the only thing that qualified my opinion was the fact that I had been poor. (p104) I was learning that there were limits to what you could say when you wanted to talk about poverty. I was learning that even the harshest childhood experience wouldn’t get you a free pass to cast a critical eye on the structures around you. (p105) What I learned was that, no matter your background, you were cast out the second you offended the people who are in charge of your empowerment…the minute you start telling your story in service of your own agenda and not theirs, you're discarded. Your criticism is dismissed as not being constructive…. Look out for the people. The people who pay wonderful lip service to giving the working class a voice, but who start to look very nervous whenever we open our mouths to speak. (p105) I didn’t write about myself because I think I’m important, it’s because that’s what I've been conditioned to in order to be heard. (p106) On pages 121-122, McGarvey tells us, ‘The conversation about poverty is usually dominated by people with very little experience of being poor…. It’s this deficit between those who tend to lead the conversation and this who experience the issue that not only impedes progress, but also leads to people in poverty feeling misrepresented or excluded by “culture”.’

get

When I bring Brazilian friends to Niddrie and they comment on the regeneration, I always remind them of the Bible verse that talks of whitewashed tombs, yet full of dead man’s bones. Try telling a child from the scheme whose da beats his ma unconscious every night that he has it better than a child that lives in a shack in Brazil with two loving parents trying their best to provide for him. Try telling the scheme child that he’s not poor when he’s not really had a hot meal this week and he’s been living off mouldy Rice Krispies and gone-off milk. When I bring Brazilian friends to Niddrie and they comment on the regeneration, I always remind them of the Bible verse that talks of whitewashed tombs, yet full of dead man’s bones (yes, I know the Lord meant something different, but the principle applies). Putting a shiny gloss on the place to does not for one second solve the myriad social issues being faced by many of our residents. I remember hitting the streets at sixteen. I was no longer under the care of the state. I was no longer under the care of anybody. That was me done. This was in the years before the plethora of support workers

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Part III: Are Scotland’s Schemes really Poor When We Compare Them To Two-Thirds of the World’s Countries?

This would be true in the evangelical world too, at least to some degree. It is frustrating when those of us who grew up in poverty on council estates are secondary to the conversation on reaching these communities. Instead middle-class guys lead the conversation because they now happen to run a church in a run-down community. Middle-class people think that by stating “I was born on a council estate,” this gives them special insight into our concerns and therefore they can legitimately be leaders on discussing the issues. McGarvey drills deeper into the heat of the issue. In Scotland the poverty industry is dominated by a leftleaning, liberal middle class. Because this specialist class is so genuinely well-intentioned when it comes to the interests of people in deprived communities, they get a bit confused, upset and offended when those very people begin expressing anger towards them. It never occurs to them, because they see themselves as the good guys, that the people they purport to serve may, in fact, perceive them as chancers, careerists, or charlatans. They regard themselves as champions of the underclass and therefore, should any poor folk begin to get this town ideas or, God forbid, rebel against the poverty experts, the blame is laid at the door of the complainants for misunderstanding what is going on. (p125)

The neglected and abused kids, the unruly young people, the homeless, the alkies, the junkies, and the lousy, irresponsible, violent parents are often the same person at different stages of their lives. You could change this entire quote to talk about food banks and you will get the same result. When I have dared to question the prevailing powers about whether food banks are helping people in deprived communities in the long term, I am met with almost universal outrage. One woman wrote to me once and accused me of hating the poor and having no real experience of hunger. ‘Sometimes people are drawn to right-wing figures like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage because they feel they are finally being listened to; they feel they are striking back at the people they feel excluded and abandoned by’ (p151). And here’s what the liberal lefties don’t get. The harder they scream at us for being dumb or scum, the more we vote this way just to annoy them. We will vote against our own self-interests every time if we feel we can stick it to those in charge. Modern political parties, and most middle-class Christians, just do not understand the anger of many of our communities. It has festered for a long, long time and churches and church leaders are seen as little more than liberal do-gooders. Take what they’re offering but never buy what they’re selling. All my life I was told that the system was to blame for the problems in my family’s life and that my family were

to blame for the problems in mine. This belief that it was always someone else’s fault was reinforced by the poverty industry and politicians who stood to gain from my willingness to defer to them. (175) I remember leaving jail and going to see my parole officer. He told me that I would be in the prison system for the rest of my life. He said I was a typically hopeless case and the best advice he could offer me was to try not to kill anybody. He gave me no hope that I could change my life. And then I met Christians for the first time who confronted me about my sin and told me to throw myself on the mercy of Jesus. They told me that there was no way I could change my life, but if I entrusted it to the Lord, he would change it for me. They weren’t wrong. When I took responsibility for my sin against God and my sinful lifestyle choices, I found a real freedom in that. McGarvey had a similar, albeit non-spiritual, awakening. ‘I can’t speak for everyone else who has experienced poverty, all I can say is that my own life began to improve when I stopped blaming other people for the things that were wrong in it’ (p176). And this is where the book almost gets there from a spiritual perspective. It’s like he reaches the edge of the pool but falls just short of diving into the clean, clear waters of the gospel. Because I wasn’t ready to honestly examine my problems, which were, in the end, as much about my own attitudes and choices as they were about poverty or child abuse, I stubbornly continued a pathos delusional selfobliteration.… I could only see where I had been harmed, never where I had harmed others. I could only see where I had been wronged, never where I had done wrong. (pp179-180) His conclusion to the book is almost evangelical. ‘Today, I realise that the most practical way of transforming my community is to first transform myself and, having done so, find a way to express how I did it to as many people as possible’ (p202). Almost, but not quite. What was noteworthy in the whole book was the lack of any spiritual insight or reference to the church altogether. And that’s what made me sad. He recognised the answers weren’t political. He recognised the answers weren’t even within himself. But at no point does he even consider that the answer might be spiritual. And why would he? He’s probably never met a real Christian in his life. He’s almost certainly never been to a gospel-centred church. I felt sad at the end of the book. Sad, but also quietly determined to continue what we have started with 20schemes. Scotland needs the gospel. Scotland’s schemes need the gospel. It is only in Jesus that the leopard can change its spots. It’s only in Jesus that people, divided by the invisible barriers of class, can come together united under the headship of Jesus Christ. Get this book. It won’t answer all of your questions, but it will open your mind to a whole new world out there in our country. A world of bitter, angry sinners, hurtling toward hell, feeling powerless, looking for connection and needing to hear the gospel of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ alone. •

BOOK REVIEWS The New Year is a great time to try something different, or to challenge yourself with something bold. Our reviews this month are of four new, encouraging and thoughtprovoking titles Christianity: Is It True? David J. Randall (2018) This paperback, in the Christian Focus imprint CF4K, appears to be aimed principally at younger teenagers. The questions about the Christian faith which it seeks to answer are Is it true? Does it work? and Is it worth it? The issues are approached through a series of potted biographies (with a strong Scottish flavour) of twelve Christians, ranging from St Columba through Knox, John Bunyan and Mary Slessor to the contemporary Joni Eareckson Tada. Randall makes a persuasive case for the inclusion of each of the above. They are chosen for their astonishing range of achievement and Christian character, notably perseverance in the face of extraordinary difficulties. While the biographies are very condensed, they cover the life stories fairly and do not skirt round the rough edges. It is good to see that CFP are also publishing fuller biographies of several of Randall's twelve under the CF4K imprint. This is a worthwhile book, calculated to appeal to and inspire youngsters — and perhaps older folk as well. It will make a useful addition to any church library. • Donald Mackay, Knox Church Perth

Five Half-Truths Flip Michaels (2018) When I picked up this book and read the title, I had my own expectations about what I was going to read. I wondered, will I enjoy it? Will I benefit from it? I read the first line of the introduction and I was gripped. As I made my way through the next 150 pages or so I was taken by the detail Michaels gives the reader. He sets out the error and then presents the truth (the whole truth) in such a way that any reader could understand. As much as I appreciated the detail in this book, what stirred my heart the most was that every chapter led us to Christ. Led the reader to make a decision for themselves, if they have not already. Led the Christian to assess where they are on their own spiritual journey. Michaels explains in conclusion how this has not just been a random few topics he has chosen; rather, he has taken us through a summary of systematic theology. This is a book I would highly recommend fellow pastors to read, as well as church members and especially seekers or unbelievers. Flip Michaels challenges common misconceptions in this book by leading us to God’s Word, which is only concerned with the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. • Andrew Macleod, Tain & Fearn Free Church

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Raising Kids in the Way of Grace Bob Kellemen (2018) Confession time. I have mostly avoided reading any parenting guides for the last twenty years. Why? Is it the fear of being exposed as a substandard parent? Or do I resist the challenge of having to think about tackling difficult family issues in a new way? Or would I prefer to draw on the advice of family and friends rather than reaching for the advice of a stranger? But now I find that I’m wholeheartedly recommending this excellent wee book, Raising Kids in the Way of Grace. This book encourages grace-focused, God-dependent parenting. It is a small book, only 79 small pages long. Even if you’re a new parent and you don’t have much time to read, it’s divided up into short paragraphs so that you can dip in and out easily. The main take-away message is that instead of desiring a parenting how-to manual, we should parent our kids (of any age) by being teachable disciples of Christ ourselves. I’ll just share a couple of helpful insights from the book. When tension arises at home, our temptation is to see the other family member (unruly child, angry husband) as the enemy. The author paraphrases Eph. 6 to remind Christian parents that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of evil. So our role as parents is to unite the family against a common spiritual enemy, rather than fighting against each other. Also, grace-directed parenting will never mean that we act as if our kids are perfect. Grace is based on Christ’s relationship to us, not on our goodness — ‘while we were yet sinners Christ died for us’. So we deal realistically with our children, admitting our own sins, faults and imperfections. We remain strongly

involved with them and filled with hope. As God is to us (holy and full of shepherding love), so we seek to be to our children. And always remember that even God’s perfect discipline can be responded to either wisely or foolishly. This book is full of good advice, thought-provoking questions and biblical wisdom. Every congregation should have at least ten of these... • Ann Macrae, Dingwall & Strathpeffer Free Church

City Lives Marcus Nodder (2018) Have you ever wondered if you are the only Christian in your office? Have you ever heard that Christianity is only for those who are weak and need a crutch through life? Or are you wondering how to respond to some difficult questions that people might have about Christianity? If so, here is a good book for you to read. Marcus Nodder has drawn together the testimonies of people from all areas of city life and put together City Lives. This book is a great way of dealing with difficult apologetics questions, whilst listening to someone’s story along the way. Unlike other apologetics books, it is not full of facts and statistics, but is instead packed with the impact that the message of Christianity has had on fourteen different people's lives. You’ll read of sports players, medical professionals, legal workers and a contestant from the Bake-Off. If you’re looking to be encouraged in your faith or searching for answers to difficult questions, or even if you want to have an easy giveaway book, City Lives would be a good start on all fronts. • Alistair Chalmers, Bruntsfield Evangelical Church

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to organise meals for the week, and after initially turning her down, I quickly realised that a few meals was exactly what I needed to feel less hassled in the evening. After that, it became easier. I texted the other girls in the area to ask for prayer, or babysitting, or for someone to just come over for an evening to help with bedtime. And it wasn’t the help itself that impacted me most, it was the knowing that people were really, really there for us. They saw, they cared, they provided, and all for the love of Christ in the members of his body. Several of my relationships deepened, and I had conversations that never would have happened otherwise, because I asked women I didn’t know very well to come into my home and help with the kids. One important piece of advice my mother gave me in a time of distress was ‘Pray that the Lord will use his people to help’ — solid advice, not least because the first time

ome friends of mine held a brunch in november for my birthday,

and as I was sitting around finishing my second helping of sweet potato hash, one of them asked me, ‘What’s the most important thing you’ve learned this year?’ I thought about it for a minute and then replied, ‘I’ve learned to ask for help.’ Friends, the infamous term annus horribilis might be overstating it, but if it’s possible to have a ‘couple of months horribilis,’ this was pretty much it. Husband down with pneumonia for two months; elder child having trouble settling in at nursery; little one up repeatedly every night with terrible eczema; unexpected bills; two separate bouts of vomiting bug; a failed MOT; a dip in work; a dying computer — and now that I’m about to go on maternity leave, it’s safe to tell you this was all while pregnant!

THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS DAYSPRING MACLEOD looks back at the end of 2018 and girds her loins for the year ahead

I suspect we are all pretty good at asking God for help. That’s the main reason we pray much of the time, right? He’s infinitely resourced, we are not, so it seems only fair to bring him our needs. But asking other people for help, that’s something else. That’s vulnerability. It’s fear of rejection. It’s appearing needy. It’s not wanting to be a bother. It’s I can do it on my own. I feel like I’m pretty good at doing it on my own. I pride myself on it. This is what mothers do, I tell myself. Now, it’s true that there’s a lack of community in our communities these days. People don’t often know their neighbours, at least not well. Families live miles or countries apart. It’s easy to be isolated, with no help to be found. But that kind of life belongs to the world, not the church. In the church, when it’s clear to the people around us that we’re struggling, and they ask How can I pray or Let me bring you a meal — this is where it’s safe to say yes. Yes, I could use a babysitter to give me a couple hours of sleep. Yes, I’d love a stew for the freezer this week. Yes, please pray that the clinic gets us in quickly. Yes, I’d love you to organise a brunch for my birthday so I get to feel pampered for a morning. In my case, I actually had to swallow my pride and ask for help — one of the girls in my home group had offered

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she gave it to me, I met my husband about a week later! Indeed my parents, offering what support they could from afar, were amazed at the level of care offered by our church family here in Scotland. Of course, even with so much help lavished on us, I’ve still had bad days. Tired days. Sick days. Discouraged days. I don’t feel I’ve come out the other side yet. But I’ve seen tremendous blessings in these hard days, ebenezers of where we’ve already passed through. And for the future, with its challenges, the Lord gave me a passage from the life of King Jehoshaphat, riding out to face an impossible challenge armed with nothing but the promise of victory. Read 2 Chronicles 20 — verse 15 records the famous assurance, ‘the battle is not yours, but God’s.’ In response, the king leads the people in worshipping and thanking God before they even see the victory — when the situation before them is still, to all appearances, hopeless. It says in verse 22, ‘and when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set an ambush…’ He loves to hear us praise him not for a great deliverance, but for his great promises! Now that’s faith. And surely, part of the way in which we can help and lift one another up is in reminding each other that our battle is always, always the Lord’s, and he has already won it. •

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A VISIT TO KENYA BY REV. RODDY MACRAE

n october, we were back in kenya once again with a

disabilities are treated terribly. We met up with a group from different churches who are working together to try and bring support to these vulnerable people. The group, led by a teacher who is also a pastor, seeks to support and educate those who have disabilities. We met a young boy who could not speak, and once his family discovered this, they intended to kill him. The pastor heard about what was planned and took the young boy into his home. With deep affection and care, they have taught the boy how to communicate and he is now doing well. We were given the opportunity to speak at the church fellowship, where there were over 80 people, a mix of disabled and homeless grandparents. This was a rural area but there are so many more between Ahero and Kisumu. We could see that they were doing everything they could, against all the odds, to carry out this work and they are completely genuine in where they see it going in the future. They hope to build basic accommodation for the homeless old people. We gave a small donation to the group to try and help. Once the MI team get together, we really want to get behind this project. We met some amazing people who were a joy to serve – too many to talk about here! Part of our work there was to try and train gospel centred leaders, mainly through ‘People for Jesus Ministry’, so that they can do that themselves. They have so few resources it is amazing that they manage at all. We have known from the beginning that we cannot solve all the grim situations we come across – but we can help with some. There are new church plants and pastors that can be supported. One pastor we met makes sure they feed their children first, but that often means the adults go without. These people serve with all their heart and there are plenty of specific projects that we can support too. Small amounts really go a long way for these people. •

mission international team, led by hugh henderson.

Having an overnight in Nairobi allowed us to visit the church and the disabled school project in Kayole, Nairobi. Amazing people, and always a humbling experience visiting there. They do so much with so little. We were invited to schools and to two orphanages, including one near Bomet, started by Katie Ann Mackinnon, who now lives in Portree. What a great foundation she put down there. The latest baby was pulled out of a latrine and is now being lovingly looked after in this beautiful place. The team then travelled west to visit Kandaria Secondary School and see the new classrooms funded by WfM and the new kitchen and store funded by Helmsdale and Brora Free Churches. They have used the money that was left over to install a water supply. We also brought various supplies with us, including a few old laptops which will be put to use in the school. The job there is far from done, though, as they have a vision for it grow more, which is really great. They are deeply appreciative of the help they have received, and they thank you from the bottom of their hearts.

Kitchen in Kandaria funded by Helmsdale and Brora Free Church

The Kandaria area is definitely improving but it is still poor. The Government started to build a small medical centre as the nearest is several miles away. Typically, the funding to finish the project ran dry as it was nearly completion, and the government will not supply any more funding to finish the windows, doors and tiling on the floor. The MI team think that this facility is vital for this community, where AIDS is still part of society and malaria and other health issues are the norm. We can see that a better education and access to a medical facility, along with the gospel, would be such a blessing there. Once we know what the projected costs would be to finish the facility, we hope that we can seek funding for its completion. Just north of Ahero and towards Kisumu, we were introduced to a group of people who are ministering to disabled children and to older people. It was a shock for us to see that in a country like Kenya, there is no support for those who lose their families, so there is an increasing number of older people who are homeless. Those with

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Hugh Henderson with a baby rescued from a latrine

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MISSION MATTERS A monthly take on some of the mission work the Free Church is involved in by our Mission Director, DAVID MEREDITH.

the plan is of any value, then it will involve as much congregational participation as possible. Planning and talking about the health of the church must never be reduced to a managerial process. When we have a healthy obsession with the glory of God and the reputation of Christ, our times together will flow into periods of rich fellowship. Like any family, we are often harder on ourselves than outsiders would be. There is a culture in the Free Church of robust internal critique. Self-analysis is healthy only to a certain point; if we go beyond we end in unprofitable cynicism. Be part of the solution to the problem which you have identified. A major shift in the Mission Board is that power and responsibility are being given to congregations. There is much less central control of mission initiatives. We are in the business of bringing people together and offering advice and facilitation services. At Aviemore we brought eleven of your leaders together. These first eleven went away motivated, informed and encouraged and looking forward to the next six months spent together in revitalisation. If you are in one of the congregations on the track, please support your leadership in this journey. We look forward to hearing good music from renewed churches. •

ur two major mission strategies are church planting and revitalisation.

Last month the Generation Church Development team met up in Aviemore with eleven ministers who have signed on to a training track, looking at revitalising existing congregations. There was palpable energy in the room as we spent unhurried time looking at issues raised in situations where a congregation has either declined or is crying out for redevelopment. The time began with a discussion on the signs of a declining church before offering solutions. Derek Lamont looked at the area of organisation, showing that while spiritual life does not come through organisation alone, neither does chaos lend itself to a healthy church culture. Ivor MacDonald led us in a fascinating discussion about the differences between rural and urban situations. Ivor gained valuable experiences in two typical rural charges before coming to his present position in Coatbridge. It was a perceptive talk highlighting the fact that although there were differences in the two contexts, culture change was required in both. Our current Moderator, Angus MacRae, looked at dealing with opposition. Change is challenging and we must all be prayerful and see the gospel and its prosperity as bigger than ourselves. Identification of the problem is the first sign of revitalisation. Leaders come into their own not just when they come up with answers, but when they identify smart questions. Jesus was as interested in questions as he was in answers. In the context of church development, we must ask why our congregations are the way they are. There is an initial temptation to blame external circumstances, and there may be many of these, but there are also unresolved issues within congregational cultures which have to be addressed, changed and even repented of. You can help us in the revitalisation process. Prayer may be stating the obvious, but it’s the obvious that is usually neglected. If you are a church leader, then engage the people in a discussion about how the whole congregation can work together to promote a healthy church. A number of congregations are working together on writing a development plan. If

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In dwellings of the righteous Is heard the melody Of joy and health Psalm 118:15 (Scottish Metrical Psalms)

CONGREGATIONS INVOLVED IN THE REVITALISATION TRACK North Uist Urray Gairloch and Kinlochewe Plockton and Kyle Rosskeen Bishopbriggs Campbeltown Dumfries Dumbarton Leith (Elder Memorial) Kirkcaldy

JANUARY

Ag àireamh ar là (Numbering our days) LE JANET NICPHÀIL

eughaidh sinn ann an leabhar nan salm mar a tha an salmadair a ’ beachdachadh air giorrad ar là

air thalamh , agus nach eil comas againne gabhail a-steach dè a th’ann ‘sìorraidheachd’. B’e an ùrnaigh a bh’aige, ‘Teagaisg dhuinn mar àirmhear leinn ar làith’. Bha an ùrnaigh-sa a bh’aig Maois, ag iarraidh gum biodh e a’ coimhead ri beatha ann an solas na sìorraidheachd. Cha robh e ag iarraidh a bhith a’ cur seachad a làithean a’ smaoineachadh fad na h-ùine air na nithean a bha aimsireil. Chì sinn gu bheil gach nì mur timcheall ag atharrachadh, ach is e an Cruthaidhear a-mhàin an t-Aon air nach tig atharrachadh. Tha Maois air a bhith a’ cur an cuimhne an t-sluaigh cho dìleas sa bha an Cruthaidhear dhaibh, fad na slighe a’ dol tron fhàsach; bha Esan math dhaibh, a dh’aindeoin an eas-ùmhlachd aig amannan. A’ coimhead air-ais air a’ bheatha, bha Maois a’ tuigsinn gur e an Cruthaidhear an t-Aon a bha seasmhach. Anns gach suidheachadh na bheatha, na leanabachd agus na cheannard air sluagh, bha an Cruthaidhear dìleas dha, agus b’urrainn dha a bhith ag earbs’ às. Tha an t-Salm a’ tòiseachadh le bhith ag innse gu robh an Cruthaidhear na ionad-còmhnaidh dhaibh anns gach linn, agus gum b’ Esan Dia bho bhithbhuantachd gu bithbhuantachd. Nuair a bha beatha ùr air thoiseach air an t-sluagh ann an Tìr a’ Gheallaidh, cha b’urrainn do Mhaois facail na b’iomchaidh a labhairt riutha na bhith a’ cur nan cuimhne gur e an Dia bithbhuan an tèarmann, a-measg gach atharrachadh a bha iad air fhaicinn thar nam bliadhnachan.

Ged a bha tìr ùr air thoiseach air an t-sluagh, bhiodh an Dia a bha dìleas dhaibh fad na slighe tron fhàsach, fhathast dìleas dhaibh, oir b’e seo A ghealladh. Nach e smuain mhisneachail a tha an sin dhuinn, aig toiseach bliadhn’ eile? Tha fios againne gum bi Esan còmhla rinn anns gach nì a dh’ fhaodadh a bhith air thoiseach oirnn’ ’s a’ bheatha-sa. Bidh A ghràdh, A thròcair agus A ghràs mur timcheall, oir is e sin A ghealladh. Bidh A chùmhnant agus A gheallaidhean a’ seasamh, agus nach e naidheachd mhath a tha an sin? Is urrainn dhuinn na geallaidhean a ghabhail thugainn fhìn, airson gu bheil an Tì a tha a’ gealltainn neo-chaochlaideach. Feumaidh sinn an Tighearna a shireadh anns a’ bheatha-sa, agus is e seo an talamh far am faigh sinn tròcair. Tha a’ bheatha shìorraidh an-asgaidh, ged a chaidh prìs glè mhòr a phàigheadh le Mac Dhè gus am biodh seo air a thairgse dhuinne. Tha sìorraidheachd an crochadh air dè a nì sinn anns a’ bheatha-sa. Is ann anns a’ bheathasa a dh’fheumas sinn a bhith ag iarraidh tròcair agus maitheanas, oir cha cha sheas ar fèinfhìreantachd air an Là Mhòr. Aig toiseach bliadhn’ eile der beatha, bhiodh e math dhuinn a bhith a’ taiceachadh air Aon nach leigeadh sìos sinn gu bràth; neach a bhiodh dìleas d’A gheallaidhean, mar a dh’ fhòghlaim Clann Israeil air slighe fàsaich. • (B’e an t-Urramach Murchadh Caimbeul a bha a’ searmonachadh agus tha sinn a’ toirt taing dha.)

Is e a th’annainn sluagh a’ gluasad a-mach à tìm aig astar glè luath. Bheir sinn cunntas son ar làithean don Bhritheamh mhòr a dhealbh dhuinn Slàinte. Thàinig Iosa Criosd gu saoghal Is dh’fhuiling bàs a fhuair dhuinn Saorsa. Ma ghabhas sinn ri A chuireadh cinnteach bidh dachaigh air thoiseach, ’s i ullaicht’ don

2019

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O dè cho goirid ’s tha ar làithean? Mar dheatach iad no mar an spàl iad. Chan eil againn ach an-dràsta Chan eil iad ann nach fheum seo fhàgail.

POETRY PAGE GOD'S STRANGE WAYS BY SAMUEL RUTHERFORD Though strange may seem God’s ways Your hasty lips refrain, For here we see but broken links Of glory’s perfect chain.

And if the Lord’s fair hand Should pluck a little rose, Or harvest green mid-summer fruit Ere sweet and ripe it grows, Then meekly own His right, And Christ will grace afford, Till faith has taught your weeping heart To kiss a striking Lord.

The Husbandman of heaven His tree may freely prune, So challenge not His ways or say He cut this branch too soon. By wounding and by loss He seeks pure fruit at last; Though shaken now by storm and wind Yet still the root is fast.

Should time’s best comforts die The heritage remains; Hold fast in faith till Christ transplants His tree to sunnier plains.

From Samuel Rutherford to Lady Kenmure On the death of her daughter, April 1634 (versified by Faith Cook – Grace in Winter – Banner of Truth). •

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JANUARY

PRAYER DIARY JAN/FE B 2019

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Tues 15th Pray for the ministers meeting in Edinburgh for the annual In-Service Training, that there will be a spirit of fellowship and learning.

Sat 26th Pray for those gathering for a prayer breakfast in Skye this morning in preparation for the visit of Rico Tice to the island in March.

Wed 16th Many of our young folk will have sent in applications for camp this summer. Pray for all the organising and administration involved in the allocation of places for our camps programme.

Sun 27th The island of Raasay has a small congregation. Pray for them and Rev. John MacLean, their interim moderator, as they go to worship today. . Mon 28th Give thanks that Leprosy Mission are committed to healing the whole person as they find and cure many people suffering from leprosy.

Thurs 17th A group of ministers meets today for training in revitalisation. Give thanks that the initial meeting was a source of blessing. Fri 18th Pray for Dunblane Free Church’s ‘rejuvenate lunch’ for over-60s tomorrow. This monthly initiative has been warmly received by the local community and brings older people together for food and fellowship in the church. Numbers have been increasing and we thank God for this. Sat 19th Please pray for the many soldiers deploying to difficult parts of the world this New Year. Ask for protection, help and patience. Sun 20th Trotternish congregation give thanks for the ministry of Rev. Joel Dykstra and his family over the past six months. Pray for the congregation and Rev. David Miller as they look to the Lord for guidance for their next pastor. Mon 21st Praise the Lord with the Ferintosh and Resolis congregation as they welcome Rev. Calum Iain Macleod as their new minister after an extended period of vacancy. Tues 22nd Pray for the Board of Ministry as they are scheduled to meet today.

Thurs 7th Pray that all those gathering for the Islands Study Conference this weekend to hear Rev. D. Robertson speaking on ‘The Good News for Today’s Scotland’ and Rev. R. Simpson on ‘Lost for Words’ will have a blessed time.

Tues 29th Pray for all the students and staff as they begin the 2nd semester at ETS today.

Fri 8th Pray that all those who gather for the Falkirk lecture tonight will be blessed as they hear Rev. I. Martin continue his series on the ‘Extraordinary Life of Moses’.

Wed 30th Give thanks for all the organisations that help people to overcome addictions. Remember the staff as they undertake this challenging work and pray for healing for many of their clients.

Sat 9th Thank God that we have free access to the Bible and for those who preach faithfully from our pulpits. Pray that his Word will work in our lives to make us more Christlike.

Thurs 31st Pray about abortion lobbyists’ steady campaign to make abortion easier. Remember women who are now suffering as a result of having had an abortion. Pray for our parliamentarians who stand up for the unborn.

Sun 10th This morning pray for the vacant Carloway congregation as they join together for worship. Remember them and their interim moderator Rev. M. Campbell.

Fri 1st Pray for our government and all parliamentarians and assembly members, that they would be able to work together honourably for the good of our nation at this time of transition. Sat 2nd Pray that there will be a good turnout and a happy time of fellowship at the Soup and Pudding fundraiser in Portree today. The proceeds go to the WfM project.

Wed 23rd The Seminary board meets today. Pray that as they discuss the ongoing ministry of the Seminary, they will know God’s guidance.

Sun 3rd Pray for Rev. Ewen Matheson as interim moderator and the Back congregation as they begin the process of looking for a new minister to serve in their community.

Thurs 24th Church business continues with the Board of Trustees meeting today. Pray that they will be guided in their time together considering all the issues on their agenda.

Mon 4th Remember all those who have lost their homes and loved ones through devastation of extreme events in recent months. Pray that God will grant strength, healing and hope.

Fri 25th Buccleuch will be holding a one-day Mission Conference covering both Sunday services this weekend. Pray for blessing on their future witness as a congregation.

Wed 6th As many of our congregations gather for their midweek meeting today, pray for those around the world who do not have that freedom and are persecuted for their faith.

Mon 11th Pray for the various Christian messages that go out on local and national radio and give thanks for the worldwide use of radio to spread the Word of God. Tues 12th Pray for the group of teenagers meeting tonight and every Tuesday throughout the winter in Portree. Give thanks for the interest shown by non-church children. Wed 13th Rev. D. Robertson asks for prayer for the St Peter’s congregation, that God would lead them to the most suitable pastor following his announcement to leave them in the summer. Thurs 14th Pray for David and Annabel as they move on in their ministry. Give thanks for their faithful service at St Peter’s and for David’s ongoing work as Editor of The Record.

Tues 5th Tues 5th Many soldiers have heard or read the Gospel message through the work of SASRA. Pray that the Lord will give the increase.

Prayer requests to: ian.macdonald57@btinternet.com. Please take time to send requests for your congregation or ministry to be included in forthcoming Records. These prayer notes are prepared 5 weeks in advance of publication.

BY CATRIONA MURRAY

POST TENEBRAS LUX E

ight years ago , my husband and

for

Photo by Steve Knutson on Unsplash

weekend .

went the

london

thanksgiving

It fell at the beginning of December, and the Saturday happened to be the first ‘official’ day of Christmas shopping. Regent Street was closed to traffic; mulled wine and roasted chestnuts were being thrust at you on every corner. We stayed in a nice hotel and took in two shows, preceded by good dinners. The first evening, it was The Woman in Black — an eerily good adaptation of one of my favourite books. Afterwards, we walked back to our West End accommodation. Despite my warm coat, scarf and gloves, the frosty air cut through and I thought longingly of the cosy luxury awaiting us at the end of our walk. And then, I saw something out of the corner of my eye that I have never forgotten. There, in a shop doorway, protected from that biting cold only by a cellular blanket, was a person. I don’t think I broke my stride, but that brief glimpse of the other side of life pierced my heart. Here was I, expensively dressed, cosseted in cashmere and wool, looking forward to brandy and a good book to round off a fabulous day; and here was…he…she…I didn’t even know which. In one sense, I suppose it makes no difference. Just as, in one sense, it makes no difference what brings any person to this. When I was about eleven years old and off school with a chest

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cold, I ‘disappeared’ one day. My mother found me wandering the streets of London. Metaphorically speaking, that is. I was totally entranced in front of the television, watching My Fair Lady. Alfred Doolittle made several impassioned speeches against what he termed ‘middle-class morality’, aimed at helping the ‘deserving poor’. However, he skilfully pointed out that those who might be considered undeserving had every bit as much need of sustenance as the people who were suffering through no fault of their own. In fact, it should really be nothing to us what leaves anyone in that situation. What perfection have we to boast of that allows us to judge anyone else’s circumstances? Home is a word redolent with meaning for most of us. I have always had the blessing of a home which was safe and loving. There are, I know, many who cannot make the same claim — people, indeed, who have a roof over their heads and yet are homeless. This world is a road we travel upon. Some of us are fortunate enough to do it in comfort and security, while others find themselves by the wayside. But we are all heading in the same direction. Dickens, in his seasonal classic ‘A Christmas Carol’, thought that charity towards our fellow human beings would only emanate from us viewing the poor as ‘fellow passengers to the grave’. His intention was clear, and

it was laudable. Of course we should be doing more for our fellow human beings. Some cities have taken steps. They have attached spikes to pavements in order to prevent folk from making a bed there. And they have erected ‘do not feed’ signs, as though the hungry and homeless people were vermin, instead of fellow likenesses of God. When my husband was dying, he spoke a famous verse of Scripture to me: ‘I go to prepare a place for you.’ It is, of course, preceded by ‘In my Father’s house there are many rooms. If it were not so I would have told you.’ And it was an immense comfort to me to hear those words from him. They were meaningful to a man who, like me, had always the privilege of belonging to a loving home. Now that the one we shared is so much quieter without his voice, I draw comfort from the certainty that he is more at home now than he ever was here in this world. But I wonder where that leaves those who are out in the cold now? Can we truthfully speak to them of something which they do not know — a place of safety and love, a home to call their own? It is hard to imagine offering a person begging on the streets the comfort of a many-roomed house in heaven. God’s love towards me has always been practical — not a nebulous thing, or a comforting idea. I am no great witness for that love if all I can promise to those hurting now is something better in Heaven. •

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