MAC KIRK

John 13:31-35    5 th Sunday of Easter       Richard Baxter said this about patience, “   Another necessary (part) of our (lives) is patience.    We must bear with many abuses and injustices from those we are doing good for.   When we have studied for them, and prayed for them, and beseeched and exhorted them with all condescension , and spent ourselves for them, and given them what we are able, and cared for them as if they had been our children, we must look that many should requite us with scorn, and hatred, and contempt, and cast our kindness in our faces with disdain, and take us for their enemies because we tell them the truth ; and that the more we love, the less we shall be beloved.       All this must be patiently undergone, and still we must unweariedly hold on in doing good….If they unthankfully scorn and reject our teaching, and bid us look to ourselves and care not for them, yet we must h...

Chiseled on the doorway to the parish Church of Staunton Harold in Leicestershire, England are these remarkable words: "  In the year 1653    When all things sacred were throughout the Nation     either demolished or profaned,     Sir Robert Shirley Barronet     founded this Church,     Whose singular praise it is      to have done the best things in the worst times and      to have hoped them in the most calamitous." To hope " in the most calamitous"---that is our calling. Hope in what, where or who?  Some hope in their standing in life...financial success means hope to them.  Some hope in their families.  If your family is successful, then you have hope.  Or we hope in the church---if it is growing and "successful" and " full", then we can say we have hope.  Can hope be disappointed?  Obviously , if we hope only in these thin...

“ Alleluia. Christ is risen.   The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.” Luke 24:1-12   “ And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.   Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulcher; and stooping down , he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.” 24:11-12       Idle tales.   This word comes from medical terminology of someone who is delirious.   How much attention do you pay to that kind of person in that kind of state?   I usually laugh when I listen to such people visiting them or seeing them.   Now I am not trying to be mean to them, but some of their talk is obviously coming from the medication after surgery.          It was “ Mary Magdalene, and Joanna , and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.” 24:10 ...

Good Friday Meditation       “ M y God, my God, why have you forsaken me? * and are so far from my cry and from the words of my distress? 2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer; * by night as well, but I find no rest. 3 Yet you are the Holy One, * enthroned upon the praises of Israel . 4 Our forefathers put their trust in you; * they trusted, and you delivered them. “   Jesus spoke on the cross these words from Psalm 22. Matthew 27:46   . When he was arrested he said to Peter, “ the cup which my Father has given me, shall I not drink it?” John 18:11     He obviously also heard Peter’s denial of him. “ Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman ...

“ The Voices of Palm Sunday”   Luke 19:28 -40 & Luke 22:14-23:56       “ And when he was come nigh , even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen” Luke 19:37           What did the disciples hear?   They heard all the praise and rejoicing of the people and the other disciples.   Jesus was coming as a King on a lowly colt in fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy of Zechariah 9, “ Rejoice, greatly, O daughter of Zion ; shout, O daughter of Jersusalem: behold thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”   Salvation was here.             What do we hear?   I hear a lot about listening in this quote from Henri Nouwen, ...

The Power of the Blood of Jesus Christ ” Hebrews 9:14      I was looking for a sermon illustration to begin this sermon and then the dog bit me.   Well, it was my fault.   I thought a bagle with cream cheese could go from my hand to her without any problem.   I forgot that it did not work the last time either.   I was fortunate.   She bit but did not get too much of a hold as I quickly withdrew my hand up remembering the last time !   It woke me up for sure.      Perhaps we need the encouragement of a timely reminder, “ Nothing but the blood of Jesus can take away our sin.”   That is what the hymn says.   That is what the scriptures tell us in Hebrews.   “ And every priest stands daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins” 10:11   No matter how much we try we cannot push our way into heaven by our good thoughts, deeds, or sacrifices.   B...

“ Luke 15---- Looking at Repentance from a Well-Known Lesson “        Today we re-look at a familiar lesson from Luke’s Gospel.   It may be seen as a continuation of last week’s discussion of repentance from the Epistle of I Corinthians where the Apostle Paul encouraged us to remember that all of the lessons from the Old Testament were written for our example.   There were reasons to repent.   God has provided a way of escape that we may be able to bear the testings and temptations we have in this life.   We were also told we should not “tempt Christ” .      This week another reason is given to repent.   The parable of the prodigal son paints a picture of a forgiving and receiving Father .   This is a picture of God as well for the person who “ came to himself” 15:7 The younger son realizes his need has not been satisfied with the world’s goods “ riotous living where he wasted his substance” ...