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[Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] hi everybody do you remember the old song jesus bits a shine with a pure clear light and then the last line said you in your small corner and i in mine it can feel a wee bit like that at times and not least during this lockdown when we are isolated one from another but at the same time we've come together perhaps more than ever before digitally pulling our resources and that's what these services are all about yes we are in our small corner but we're part of something much bigger so we rejoice in that but most of all we rejoice to worship god to sing to his praise and glory to give him all the honor god alone deserves so let us come together and yes let us worship god [Music] please the holy one is peace [Music] is [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] shall we pray loving god as we come before you we come knowing that you welcome us and that you embrace us with a love that will never let us go we are so precious to you so valuable and so unique every part of your creation is wonderful every part has its purpose and every part is special to you as we look at the beauty of the world around us we remember the beauty that you see in each one of us and we remember that you have designed us all with a purpose and mind when our days are full of uncertainty you place your reassuring hand on us when our days are full of confusion you walk with us and guide us when our days are full of worry your words bring stillness and peace loving father wonderful counselor our good shepherd be with us during this time as we rest in you go before us and behind us surround us and hold us lead us to green pastures and quiet waters so that we can enjoy the peace of your security walk with us strengthen us and bless us so that we grow in our relationship with you through the good times as well as those days of darkness as we appreciate all that you have done for us because of your grace and mercy we confess our sins to you we are sorry for all that we have thought said and done which has caused harm to you or to those around us we are sorry for the times when we have failed to act or failed to speak out we are sorry for the priorities that we have in life which come from our selfishness rather than from an attitude of generosity and as we tell you our failings may your river of love purify us once more as we are reassured by how amazing your grace is we are so thankful that we belong to you because of all that jesus has done for us his life his death and his resurrection have indeed given us a hope that is our anchor a life that is eternal and a joy that lifts our spirit father as your precious children we ask that during this time you would teach us through your word inspire us through your spirit and draws ever closer to you in jesus name we pray amen our gospel reading for today comes from the gospel of mark reading in chapter 1 verses 21 to 28. i'm reading today from the new international version jesus drives out an impure spirit they went to capernaum and when the sabbath came jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach the people were amazed at his teaching because he taught them as one who had authority not as the teachers of the law just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out what do you want with us jesus of nazareth have you come to destroy us i know who you are the holy one of god be quiet said jesus sternly come out of him the impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek the people were all so amazed that they asked each other what is this a new teaching and with authority he even gives orders to the impure spirits and they obey him news about jesus spread quickly over the whole region of galilee hi everyone i wonder who's the messiest person in your family who's the one that really struggles to clean up and put things away is it you are you the one that's constantly being told to clear up to tidy up does everybody else in your family agree who the messiest is i wonder where's the messiest room in your house is it the kitchen piled high with bowls and tins from all the baking that you've been doing is it your bedroom with clothes strewn all over the floor school work left in piles maybe you've even got some lego on the floor and you're having to tiptoe around it maybe maybe you've got one of those spaces in your house that's kind of where all the things that don't really have a home end up the kind of cupboard that you just shove things in and close the door and and don't look the sort of place that if you did open the doors it might all come tumbling out i wonder have you ever arrived at a church building to find it really messy for where you're gonna have worship no me neither when i go to church for worship when we're able to meet in a building it's generally always really clean i wonder if right now because we're all online you have to be a wee bit careful about where you put the camera just because you don't want to show everybody the mess that might be hidden maybe maybe you've got your pajama bottoms on and so you can't really stand up because everybody will see anyway just like we can have messy rooms in our houses we can actually have a whole lot of mess inside of us sometimes this mess means that we're always doing things wrong doing things that we know we shouldn't be doing maybe it's it's all about us kind of getting angry and and shouting at people maybe we're always fighting with our brothers and sisters sometimes we actually find that we're crying lots because we're really sad maybe we're just feeling like everything's just getting too much everything is going wrong nobody really cares right now in this pandemic situation we've got feelings all over the place sometimes we feel like we're all a bit messy sometimes we think that we need to clean up those inside messes on our own and maybe maybe we think that we need to hide these messes hide them when we go to church because church is always so clean maybe it's just like just like how we'd put a hat on to hide up our messy hair well in today's bible story we see someone in jesus's faith community spill their mess out right in the middle of a worship service but did you notice how jesus responded to that person and their mess he didn't get mad or upset with the person he didn't tell them to go away or that they weren't welcome instead jesus helped them clean up their mess right there and then so although our church sanctuaries where we go for worship are generally always clean that doesn't mean that we need to have everything cleaned up in our insides in order to be there we don't need to hide what's going on what we're struggling with we don't need to hide that from from jesus or from anybody else in the church do you know what people in our church communities they can actually help us help us with all these inside messes they can help help us clean them all up with god's help too of course just like jesus did in today's story so i wonder who it was that you identified with most in that story are you feeling a bit like the man who spilled his messes out perhaps you feel all messed up inside and you can't quite hide it any longer i wonder who in your church community you could share that with this week or maybe you feel like everyone else at the service sitting there watching waiting to see what was going to happen and if we're really honest maybe a bit annoyed at the interruptions at the mess i wonder if when we next hear some interruptions we next find some mess we could maybe maybe treat those people a wee bit more like how jesus did or maybe maybe you feel quite like jesus maybe you feel open to such messy interruptions and you're actually really keen to help people to help them clean up their mess i wonder if you know people that need help with their messes maybe you can help them by listening to them by showing them pointing them to jesus the one who's really able to help i'll leave you to ponder on that one anyway let's pray together maybe you could repeat some of these words after me let's pray dear god thank you for jesus who shows us how to receive and share your healing love even when things are messy amen thanks everyone in christ alone i hope is found [Music] firm through the fiercest [Music] what depths of peace when fears are stilled when striving cease my all in all here in the love of christ i stand [Music] this and a gift scorned by the ones he came to save till on that cross as jesus died the wrath of god was satisfied for every sin on him was laid here in the death of christ i [Music] light of the world by darkness then bursting forth in glorious day up from the grave he rose again and as he stands in victory since curse has lost his grip on me for i am his and he is mine bored with a precious fear in death this is a power of christ in me from a life's first cry to final breath jesus commands my destiny and no power of hell no scheme of a man can ever plug me from his [Music] no power of hell [Music] or calls me home [Music] good morning it's my absolute joy and delight and privilege to be able to bring god's word to you this morning i'm indebted to the very reverend dr martin fear for inviting me giving me this opportunity and on your behalf i'd like to thank martin for his tireless work in providing worship service during the challenges of the pandemic especially during this time of long time now my name is tommy mcneill i'm the minister of mars memorial church of scotland here in stoneway isle of lewis i've been here for nearly 15 years and we've seen god do a remarkable work over that time we've seen our church grow in lots of ways and uh certainly central to that has been the shed project our youth and community facility it helped us to go from being a one day a week service church to being a seven day a week serving church and we're very thankful for the shed and even the way that it's been able to support our community during these difficult days as we come to god's word this morning our reading was from mark chapter 1 verses 21 to 28 and in the bible i'm reading from it's entitled jesus drives out an evil spirit and what i want to share with you this morning really sits under the title just another sunday in church i think one of the challenges we face as those who are part of the church is that church has become almost far too predictable and we know exactly what should happen when it should happen even how it should happen we're looking at our watches for when the service should finish and uh any minister better not risk went over their time and i of course understand the importance of structure and order of service and i implement that and practice that i've done that for for this little message but there are times in the life of christ in the scriptures but also in the life of the church throughout history where god wasn't just in his promised presence with his people where two or three gathered in his name the areas in the midst of them and there to bless them but when he comes in a manifest way and that when god comes and shows up in the midst of our worship service that unique things can happen things that we're unprepared for things that we haven't seen or heard before and that's actually the context in which these verses are found so verse 21 they came to capernaum and when the sabbath came jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach i find this quite profound jesus going to church on sunday you see going to church isn't just a good idea going to church is a god idea i find it fascinating to consider what must it have been like for jesus to go to church he had enjoyed the perfected praise of heaven for all entirety rapturous praise and worship and wonderful music and song and the chorus of of uh just the greatness of his name and when he was a young lad and now in his island life he made it his practice to be in church every lord's day and you know it could have been easy for him to go there and think about how this could be improved or that could be improved because often that's the way we are in church we like things the way we like them but for jesus we never read in any of the gospels and making any negative comment about church and our worship service and there's a very simple reason for that he was there just to worship his father he loved his father and that was enough for jesus and what a blessing even in the midst of looking when we're not able to gather in our church buildings that you and i are afforded the opportunity of worshiping together gathering together in the name of christ assured of his presence with us and so in a very real sense we're following the example of jesus and so you be part of this service this morning isn't just a good idea it's a god idea and i'd like to encourage you and invite you take a moment pat yourself on the back well done for opening up your heart and opening up your home to hear from god and to receive his love in your heart as jesus is in church on sunday he's preaching and verse 22 tells us that the people were amazed at his teaching because he taught them as one who had authority not as a teacher from the law now the reason for this authority and really what mark is commenting on is that jesus taught and preached with a real confidence and there was a very simple reason for that he was preaching his own word jesus was the word he became flesh to make his dwelling among us all of scripture was breathed by him and the power of the holy spirit and here he is now and he embodies he incarnates the very message the very words that he's preaching and that meant that there was a real sense of strength and confidence in it and i think for years the church has struggled with the area of the confidence in the gospel and how we need that to be restored and how did jesus speak with authority with confidence when he didn't just gather in church to worship his father he knew that he lived with the father's presence with them and his blessing on him and for all of us who are believers then this is how god wants us to live not being apologetic about our faith not being shy and kind of withdrawn but actually now we have a sense of confidence because our confidence is not based on us or on anything we do but it is based solely on god and our relationship with him and jesus is teaching and his teaching is having an impact the people are amazed but then all of a sudden there will be a disruption verse 23 just then a man of the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out what do you want with us jesus of nazareth have you come to destroy us i know who you are the holy one of god what i find fascinating and somewhat challenging is that we are aware and mindful that in the life of jesus there was encounters he had in different places where he encountered darkness where he encountered evil and when he had to deal with that evil and he did so head on but see what mark said here just then a man in their synagogue this was someone who was part of the church a member of the church and this poor man had been assailed by darkness by evil forces and as they assailed him and attacked him then they had somehow taken up residence this man was possessed by this evil spirit and jesus as he came as the light of the world and as he's teaching the light of god's truth then this darkness was exposed within this man's heart this demonic force was exposed and that's why it cried out and this is the beauty of the gospel that whenever the light of jesus's truth comes to our hearts and lives then it's never to condem never to judge never to reject it is always to liberate and to fear us so we have the experience sometimes of sitting under god's word and we become aware because of his life that there's areas of my heart and life that aren't pleasing to me that i know shouldn't be there then the same god who shines his light on us at the same time makes grace available to forgive us to cleanse us and to take these things away i find it challenging that this man was part of the church but i also find it challenging that this demonic spirit that was attaching itself to this man that he knew who jesus was it says at the end of verse 24 that the demon speaking i know who you are the holy one of god now the people of the synagogue are amazed that is teaching but the reality is they don't know who jesus is and yet here is darkness evil forces and they know exactly who christ is and by what they say they know that he has authority over them and this is why whilst it's the most natural thing in the world for us to be somewhat fearful about issues of darkness and issues of sin actually when it comes to knowing christ being in christ and having christ with us we have nothing to fear he overcame all darkness he overcame all of the enemies forces and he did so not only to free us and liberate us but so that we might have a peace that passes all understanding look at what jesus says here verse 25 be quiet come out of him and the evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek just another sunday in church how glad this man would have been that he showed up and whilst maybe somewhat upsetting for him having had the experience he did at the end of the day he would be so thankful having met with christ not only receiving his word but encountering his presence and the power to set him free i remember listening to jack dear he was an american old testament professor a teacher a preacher just a wonderful gift to the body of christ and jack spoke about how he always had in his mind the view the picture of the church being like a hospital and he said that he would see people in the community who whose needs were maybe a bit more obvious and they would come in and he saw the leadership as as the kind of the surgeons the doctors and then he saw the congregations like the visitors and the chaplains and that you know they would work together to try to bring in health and healing and wholeness to individuals and the jack dear then stepped away from seminary teaching and he became the pastor of a church and his view of church totally changed it stayed the same in this respect he still viewed the church as a hospital but what he quickly discovered is that it's not that it's those outside of the walls of the church who are sick or unwell or who have emotional and spiritual needs but actually the church is a hospital and every single person in the church we all know what it is to be assailed by sin to be attacked by darkness and so we all have issues in our hearts and lives and we are all in the process of being healed and so as that just understanding of the church changed for jack dear he then had such more grace for the people in his congregation and he just encouraged them let's let's journey together encouraging one another to a greater degree of healing and health and wholeness so that we too can know the wonder of christ just setting us free just a couple of brief points to to leave with you on this sunday morning verse 27 the people were all so amazed now we already read in verse 22 that they were amazed and we learn with jesus that he will continually and regularly surprise us just when we think we know all about him and we've got him all figured out he'll turn up and do something that we haven't seen before they asked each other what is this a new teaching and this is what's important a new teaching and with authority and what does that mean for you and me he talked the talk and he walked the walk what he said he lived out friends i want to make an appeal to you as i near the end of my thoughts with you i think it's wonderful we gather in the atmosphere of worship i think it's wonderful we gather around god's word and the likelihood is many of you have chapter and verse and you know the bible and it's wonderful that you do but let's let's have this heart whereby we don't want to just be able to quote chapter and verse for ourselves we don't want to just talk the talk but when we look to emulate and follow the example of jesus loving people loving everyone who we come into contact with then you know what i think will happen people will be amazed and they will see and hear the words of our mouth but they will see the reality of and be lived out through our lives and i'm telling you in store away and in louis and in scotland and to the ends of the earth that's what people are longing for and living for and crying out for so that the love and the mercy and the grace of jesus the good news of his gospel will not be contained within the church but that it might be shared and shed abroad that the gospel is not a secret to be hoarded but it is a story to be heralded and what was the fruit of the people's amazement and the ministry of jesus his words and his actions verse 28 news about them spread quickly over the whole region of galilee as you and i look to talk the talk and walk the walk then god will make sure that the news of who jesus is will go far and wide and what was said here concerning galilee can be said about glasgow or edinburgh or dundee or perth or inverness or stormway or lewis wherever you're from let's be determined that as we have just another sunday in church as we encounter in class then let's listen to his teaching let's learn from his example and let's talk the talk and walk the walk and share the good news that might go far and wide for the glory of his name god bless you loving an amazing god the unclean spirits that rage and shout within us are hard to quieten at times the voices from the past that say we should or fill us with shame about what we're not voices from generations gone by familiar voices we grew up with experience of trauma that shouts the loudest when we do everyday tasks jesus you call for silence and for these voices to come out of us [Music] so that we're left with the wonder of us that you created us to be more than enough as we are without trying to please or achieve [Music] come to us in the silence awaken our souls within enlarge our hearts for the task of loving set before us [Music] we call into the silence our heart beat like a transmitter sending out our signal of care the pulse that connects life with life a current supplied by you and we think of our signal going out to those we love in our community our neighbors and friends our congregation and community members to familiar homes familiar places we think about arriving in homes where there is only one to receive it glad to have been thought of and that arriving in bustling households where silence seems a long lost friend and a moment to feel cherished transforms the day for each receiver we transmit our love to the unknown places reaching beyond closed doors and meeting with sadness and grief despair and lost hope and it lingers there making friends becoming a companion [Music] we send the signal out to the people with riches enough to share and for some the riches are creativity and wonder and for others comfort and joy and love becomes the way of enough for all our signal lands too in foreign lands where change is afoot and conflict is rife reaching every place that disease reigns and your authority casts out evil and comes into its own as we journey back inside ourselves to the heartbeat that is life the life that is from you we are reminded that the love we share is yours and it is for us to come in god sent his son they called him jesus he came to love he land for gifts he lived and died [Music] because he lives [Music] all fear is gone i know he holds the future and life is worth living just because he lives i and feel the right and joy he gives but greater still the cover sure this child can face in certain days because he lives because he [Music] lives i can face tomorrow because he lives all fear is gone because i know he holds the future and life is worth living just because he lives and then one day i'll cross the river i'll fight [Music] gives way to victory i'll see the lives of glory he has because he lives because he lives all fear is gone because i know he holds the future and life is worth living just because he lives because he lives i can face because he lives all fear is gone because i know he holds the future and life is worth the living just because [Music] i'd like to thank everyone who took a part in today's worship service and not least those who have done all the hard work behind the scenes thank you to everyone and now may the blessing of god almighty father son and holy spirit be with you and remain with you today and forevermore amen [Music] you