MAC KIRK

Psalm 101 Misericordiam et judicium My song shall be of mercy and judgement; unto thee, O Lord, will I sing. O let me have understanding in the way of godliness! When wilt thou come unto me? I will walk in my house with a perfect heart. I will take no wicked thing in hand. I hate the sins of unfaithfulness; there shall no such cleave unto me. A froward heart shall depart from me; I will not know a wicked person. Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I destroy. Whoso hath also a proud look and high stomach, I will not suffer him. Mine eyes look upon such as are faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me. Whoso leadeth a godly life, he shall be my servant. There shall no deceitful person dwell in my house; he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight. I shall soon destroy all the ungodly that are in the land, that I may root out all wicked doers from the city of the Lord. Godliness is a difficult thing sometimes. We may have the desire to be godly and do what God ...

“Trinity ---of love and Power” William Whiting wrote a hymn which was adopted by the Royal Navy as their own and eventually by ours too. In this hymn he wrote of the dangers of being a sailor and the power of the “ Eternal Father, strong to save…” William Whiting grew up around the sea and this hymn reflects that. The last verse of this hymn sums it up: “ O Trinity of love and power, our brethren shield in danger’s hour, from rock and tempest, fire and foe, protect them where ever they go, and ever let there rise to thee glad hymns of praise from land and sea.” The Scriptures today paint us a picture of the eternal Trinity, one God in three persons, all divine . Here is a question if you do not believe in the Trinity, which Person of the Godhead would you say is not necessary for the Christian life? Not even the Unitarians who deny the deity of Jesus would eliminate the Father’s divine nature. Or would you say the Holy Spirit is just a force and not divine? There have been...

Hope despite our frailties , fears & failures (thru the Holy Spirit” Romans 8:14-16;22-27 We often quote the Scripture after these passages with much enthusiasm, Romans 8:28,” But we know that to those who love God all things work together for good..” . Today we will on this Day of Pentecost focus on the scriptures that come before that. They talk about the comfort and blessing/work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who claim to be the “children of God” 8:16 . Israel had many feasts that it observed annually--- Passover, Firstfruits, the Day of Atonement and Pentecost or the Feast of Harvest. The Feast of Pentecost or weeks is mentioned in the Old Testament . Today we celebrate the ingathering of the church in the New Testament under the authority of the gift of the Holy Spirit as seen in our Acts reading. “ And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind…and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…” 2: 4 In many places of Europe, it is ...

It is the Lord who sends rain. Job 5:10 “he gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the fields” Amos 4:7---7"I also withheld the rain from you when there were yet three months to the harvest; I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would have rain, and the field on which it did not rain would wither” Ps 68:9English Standard Version (ESV) 9” Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad; you restored your inheritance as it languished” I Kings 17:1----,14,18:1 1Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe[a] in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word." 14For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'" Elijah Confronts Ahab 1 After many days the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, sayi...

Because I live, you also will live.” John 14:19; Acts 17:22-31; I Peter 3:13-22 A few weeks ago we celebrated the Resurrection of the God-Man Jesus Christ. “ I believe in the Resurrection of the body” we say. Today in light of Memorial Day coming tomorrow and the fact that this is the 6th Sunday of Easter we have an opportunity to be re-encouraged about this wonderful truth. This gives us hope in the most difficult situations we face in this life. The hymn, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow “written by the Gaithers was written in such a time for them: “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, All fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living just because He lives.” We can have this hope in our own lives as well despite what is going on around us or in us as well. I like what Rev. Lloyd Ogilvie said in his book, A Future and a Hope: “ But then when I was hurt, why had the Lord waited so long to send help? Even in the fog of m...

“ Trouble-free Mansions” John 14 How do we limit God? I imagine we could say in many ways. Can God be limited? Well, no. The Scriptures paint a picture of God that shows Him to be with Sovereign power in all areas of the world. He created it. He sustains it. He orders it . “ Have you not known ? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not grow faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable…” Isaiah 40:28 (ESV) Yet we limit Him. But that does not mean He is limited. In John 14 , our Gospel for this 5th Sunday of Easter, Jesus tells of a Mansion that has many rooms. “In my Father’s house are many rooms..” John 14:2 Peter---- Jesus predicted He would deny him. We hear these words right before John 14 in John 13, “ truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.” (13:38) In response to this Jesus says, “ Let not your hearts be troubled.” Imagine saying ...

“The Continuing Acts of Jesus in the Church"Acts 2:42-47 In the last few Sundays our first lessons have all been from Acts. Acts 1:1 ,” In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.” (ESV) In one sense the Acts of the Apostles is better titled the continuing acts of Jesus in the in the Church. It may be also, “ a true prescription for church growth.” ( not a flash in the pan kind of growth) We heard one lesson from Acts 2 , a sermon from Peter, “ This Jesus God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses….those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about 3,000 souls.” (2:32,41) Another lesson was from Acts 10 , “ and we are w...