St Ninian's Stonehouse

Stewart Cutler explores Matthew 10:40-42 and wonders what it is like to be on either side of a welcome...

Jesus has what seem like pretty harsh words for us in Matthew's gospel this week, but perhaps they are not all they seem... Yvonne Hamilton helps us explore.

The service for 14th June 2020 from St Ninian's Church in Stonehouse, Scotland, led by Stewart Cutler. 

Go... yes you!  Go!  Go and make disciples.  Everywhere!

Just who is this Jesus?  This passage from John's gospel tells us all we need to know!

A gift... a gift of presence. Someone to be there with you though everything. That's what Jesus promises.

What does it mean to abide in God?  When Jesus says 'I am the way, the truth and the life' what is he talking about?  And what does that have to do with us?

Jesus said 'I am the gate', but what does that even mean? And should I go in?

It's late on Easter Day but so far only Mary has seen the risen Christ. The disciples are locked in the upper room, scared and wondering what happens now... apart from Thomas...

They had had enough. It was all too dangerous. So Cleopas and whoever was with him were heading home. As they walked along full of questions and grief and wondering what had happened and why they were joined by a stranger... who turned out to be Jesus.

It's Easter Sunday!  The darkness has gone.  Love wins!  Resurrection is real!

The king is coming on a donkey. The people are shouting Hosanna! But do they know what they are asking for?

A valley of dry bones and a dead man walking... stories of hope in dark times.

Jesus encounter with a blind man is more than a story about mud and spit and even sight.  It's about who we are and who Jesus is and why that matters to all of us.

A chance encounter at a well in the heat of the midday sun brings an unexpected revelation and a opportunity for mission for a most unlikely disciple, a Samaritan woman...

Nicodemus comes looking for illumination and gets more than he bargained for.  Being born from above... what does that mean?  And what does the story of Abram have to do with it?

The moment it all goes wrong.  It's an ancient story of a man, a woman, a snake and some forbidden fruit, but mostly it's about shame.

On the mountain with the transfigured Jesus, and Moses and Elijah, God speaks to three disciples, Peter, James and John. Then Jesus tells them to 'get up, and don't be afraid!'  Is that our response when we encounter God?

Where do you end up when you start pulling on the thread of an idea or an issue? Where does something really start? Today we consider some threads that Jesus unravels for us in the Sermon on the Mount.

After the beatitudes comes salt and light and the law... and a challenge to the people... it's up to you!

The beatitudes... that list of the blessed that we would never want to join; the poor in spirit, the meek and those who mourn.  So where is the blessing?  And why is this teaching so central to Jesus' message?

Repent means 'to see things in a new way, as they really are'.  So when Jesus asks some fishermen to follow him he is helping them to repent, to see the kingdom of God which is close by. Following Jesus is an invitation to live into that new way of being.

Jesus invites us into a relationship with him and asks us to invite others into that relationship... come and see...

In the season of Epiphany, what does Jesus' baptism tell us about who he is and what God's mission is?

Words matter, especially when we are talking about God. The prologue of John's Gospel paints an amazing picture of Christ, who was there at the beginning of all things but who chose to become like us.  Christmas... in just one sentence.