‘When was it that we first forgot that questions help us grow?’

That’s a line from one of the hymns we sang this morning as we remembered the only story we have of Jesus’ life as a young man. Aged 12, having been to the Passover feast for possibly the first time, he stayed behind in Jerusalem - unbeknown to his parents – so he could hang around the Temple and have discussions with the scholars and priests there.

Our question to the 12 year old Jesus this morning is ‘Why? What made you want to stay so badly that you forgot (or overlooked!) how worried your parents would be when they realised you were missing on the journey home?’

(Clue. It’s something about being in a community where genuine questioners and genuine questions are made welcome).

New year, new beginnings.

What stars are you following as we move into 2023?

Some thoughts on why the Wise Men were wise in our Epiphany Sunday morning service.

From the cradle to the grave, change is an unavoidable facet of life. How do we deal with it? How do we harness it for growth? Where is God in the middle of it? These are some of the themes we’ll be looking at this morning in our three cheeseboard stories.

Happy Christmas!

A wee reflection on why we do Christmas Trees at Christmas, and a story about three particular trees long ago and how their dreams were fulfilled, but not in the way they might have expected.

We had a great time this morning reworking the ’12 Days of Christmas’ song to tell the Nativity Story and remind us why Jesus came to be with us all those years ago.

You can join in with the fun by following the link below.

Christmas? It’s really for the children.

Or is it?

When you actually look at the Christmas story there are far more adults involved than children and if we focus on the baby who was born without remembering the man he became, we rob the incarnation of most of its meaning.

This child who was born is the very same one they sent to the cross for challenging the powers of his day by bringing the message of God’s inclusive, radically forgiving love. That’s why we always celebrate communion during Advent. To help us remember that we can’t separate Christmas from Easter or the child in the manger from the man on the cross.

Our annual service of lessons and carols with the Bon Accord Silver Band leading our worship.

If the gospel is going to make any sense, it has to make sense in our real lives in all their complexity and contingency. That’s why I’m arguing this morning that Matthew’s account of the nativity is especially helpful. Luke gives us the Christmas bling (!) – the shine and the glory; Matthew reminds us that the light comes in the darkness of confusion, trouble and sadness – in other words, in the real world. Today’s sermon is a word for everyone for whom the ‘ideal’ of Christmas feels pretty far from their lived experience. Don’t lose hope. The light has come.

Today, the last day of the church year, is known as ‘Christ the King Sunday’. Today we used the story of The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe to remind us what kind of King was born all those years ago in Bethlehem as we prepare for his coming.