St Ninian's Stonehouse

What should we think when a blind man can see more than anyone else? What should we recognise when someone on the very edge of society names the solutions to all our problems but nobody is paying attention? And when Jesus asks, “What do you want me to do for you?”, what would our answer be?

You want to be great?  Then you must learn how to serve.

"What can I do to inherit eternal life?" asks the rich man. It's a good question, met with an answer from Jesus that challenges everything we think about success and even blessings.

Today we’re tackling a really hard and often painful passage in Mark’s Gospel. It’s about divorce, something that has touched all our lives in some way. It’s a passage that has been used to do untold damage over the years and so today we’re going to see what’s really going on and why it’s really a wake up call for all of us, especially us men.

We all carry things. Each of us has stuff that weighs us down. But what about the things we pile on to ourselves? The things that choose and indulge and turn to, even when we know we shouldn’t. And what about the times we tempt others to do the same?

What if the way we have all been told the way that the world works is wrong?  What if the things we value most are the things that are actually worth the least?

They say you should think before you speak. That’s not always easy because we haven’t always though it all through. We don’t know what we don’t know. Or we know a little but not enough to see the whole picture. That’s where we find Peter in our story today, and where we find ourselves more often than we might like to admit.

How would you feel if someone you looked up to, someone you thought was, well, perfect, turned out to be less than you had hoped for?

How do you love God? That’s the big question at the heart of our passage this morning and it’s a pretty big and important question so we should probably try to pay attention and not be distracted by other things. And that’s kind of how this conversation comes about.

In the flesh. There. Present. Right in front of them. Just like them.  In John’s Gospel it matters that Jesus is human. But it also matters that he is God’s Son. But that’s a hard idea to get our heads around so today we’re going to think about why it’s important and why it leads to a crucial choice for all of us.

More bread.  Again.  Isn’t that dull?  What more can there be to say?  But what if this is an opportunity to savour something so amazing that it needs time.  Not to be rushed so that we can full appreciate it in all its complexity and wonder?

Who am I? Where do I fit in? Where do I belong? Identity is important and so it’s no surprise that the people Jesus meets want to know about his.  But when he starts talking about eternity they really don't understand!

What is it that you are looking for?  Do you really know?  Is it the thing that’s most immediate?  The thing that will make you feel better for now?  Or is it something deeper, more filling, more lasting?

When Jesus takes a few loaves and a couple of fish given to him by a child nobody expects what will happen next.  After all, there are thousands of hungry people there.  How could he possibly feed them all?

There are moments when we get just what we need, rather than what someone else tells us we should get.

They say that power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely. That’s certainly what we see with Herod in our passage today.  Speaking truth to power doesn’t always end well. Just ask any of the Old Testament prophets. Calling out those with power, those in charge, those with much to loose can put you in a position where all of their power can be focused on you.

What do you need to change? Throughout the pandemic behavioural scientists have played a key role in helping explain how people can be helped to change behaviour. Fear and reward are two of the most powerful motivators. Usually fear stops us doing something and the promise of reward encourages us to take action. But it’s not always that straightforward. Sometimes both are in play at the same time....

How do you make real change? Especially to something like the way a society thinks or acts? Perhaps it takes someone to show how the new way can work? Someone to live out the new priorities. Or just to be what they hope to bring for others? Today we explore a passage from Mark’s gospel where the stories of a woman in great need of healing and a little girl on the threshold of death come together.

As a storm is calmed the disciples are left with a question... Who is he? That’s the question at the heart of the Gospel. Who is Jesus? Like, who is he really? Is he just some miracle man? A guy with nice stories with a healing touch? Or is there more? Much, much more…

23 years… just over half of my life.  That’s a long wait but it’s almost time for Scotland to take their place in a major tournament again.  But what on earth does that have to do with two Bible stories about some seeds and a measure of hope?

He isn’t like us. He does things we can’t and we’re the good guys so he must me bad… We’ve heard it a million times. Power used to protect those in authority and keep things the way they want. It’s no surprise that when Jesus challenges the status quo he’s met with opposition from places expected and even close to home.

An old man goes to see Jesus at night to ask more, to find out who he is and what he is all about, and perhaps more importantly, what does all this mean for me? And what has any of that got to do with nets?

Dreams and visions... what are yours?  And what can you with God do to make them a reality?

Does it matter how you pray?  Or even what you pray for?  Yvonne Hamilton helps us explore prayer and what Jesus showed us.

Love is…  Well… what?  What does it mean to love and be loved?  And when Jesus talks about love to his friends and to us, what does he mean by that?