- Video: Presbytery of Buchan – some congregational stories:
(Crimond and Lonmay represented by Mr Tim Barker)
Lonmay Newsletter 24
Welcome to this edition of the Lonmay Newsletter.
It is fantastic news to share that, God Willing, next Sunday 30 August, we are able to meet at 12 noon for a service. Your district Elder will be updating you with all the details, so I will not duplicate them here. There are three points to share with you:
- It is quite understandable and acceptable that some people feel unable to attend at this stage due to the continuing impact of the virus.
- It is also understandable and acceptable that some people feel that they would rather wait until ‘normal’ service can be resumed.
- To those who are contemplating coming to church please be assured that the working party have and will continue to do all in their power to follow the government and Church of Scotland regulations and guidelines to provide a safe environment in which to worship the Lord. There will be changes but these have been made to meet the requirements and should not detract from drawing near to the Lord in worship and prayer.
At a recent Kirk Session following the agreement to seek re-opening of the Church the following was raised:
- The ‘Thought for Sunday’ will continue on the same basis.
- The Lonmay News will cease to be weekly but will be used to update people on important news.
Tim will produce the texts and ‘Thought for Sunday’ and will pass to David who will place them on the Lonmay Church Web site.
It has been a very long five months of ‘lockdown’, and your support, prayers and encouragement during this period has been really appreciated. Please continue to pray as we move into the next stage and ask the Lord to continue to lead and guide decisions which have to be made.
Just to let you know that Sunday School will NOT be re-opening on 30 August due to new regulations from the government and Church of Scotland.
Blessings.
Crimond and Lonmay Thought for Sunday
26 March 2023
‘Lord, teach us to pray’.
A very warm welcome to the latest edition of Thought for Sunday.
This week we focus on a request from the disciples to Jesus, which leads into the template which we call ‘The Lord’s Prayer’. The children in Lonmay Sunday School have been exploring this prayer during the term, and will be presenting their findings at the service in Lonmay today. Come and join them if you can.
The disciples had seen how much importance Jesus put upon prayer, and He was often found by Himself, talking to His Father in prayer. That reminds us that prayer does not have to be spoken in some theological language, but is simply talking to Jesus.
Prayer is a two-way system of communication. We talk to God and then listen to His response. How do we listen to His response? By staying still and listening!! He can speak to us through the Bible, or through other people, or through a magazine. It means being open to listen, rather than trying to ‘second-guess’ what we think will be the response!! No wonder the Bible encourages us, frequently, to ‘be still and wait’. Easy to say and read, but so hard to put into practice.
The template reminds us that we are not talking with anybody, but with the One true God, who is never too busy to listen to us.
He wants to complete His plan for us, but we need to ensure that we are completing His will, and not seeking our ways!!
We ask Him to meet our daily needs NOT wants, and to forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who cause us pain, suffering and hurt.
In addition we ask Him to keep us safe from the attempts of the Devil to side-track us away from God and to disobey Him.
Finally we acknowledge that God has all the power and authority to succeed in HIS world.
Here are the reasons why prayer is so important, and we are encouraged to spend quality time daily talking and sharing with God.