Called and commissioned
The prophet Isaiah had a very powerful day (Isaiah 6). He saw the glory of the Lord in the temple. He heard the song of the seraphim. He experienced an utter breakdown as he realised his own sin before experiencing his guilt being taken away. Finally, he was commissioned. He was given a task to […]
Seeds are supposed to grow
Why do we sit under the preaching of the word? Why do we read the Bible and seek to understand it? Is it because that’s just what we’re supposed to do? Is it merely knowledge acquisition? When God’s word is preached, it goes out. It is heard. It is seed being sown. When seed is […]
The Church Preaches Christ
Speech does things. It can be used to tear a people down or it can be used to build them up. It can incite violence or it can motivate peace. As we’ve worked our way through our liturgy, we come now to proclamation or the preaching of God’s word. It’s appropriate that we consider this […]
Arise Africa
This week, I wanted to focus our attention on our brothers and sisters who are currently experiencing persecution for following Jesus. Next week we’ll continue with our journey through our liturgy. During a recent worship gathering, we watched a brief video put together by the team at Open Doors to raise awareness of the persecution […]
We long for atonement
Days before we were due to leave the US back in 2018, I was backing out of a parking space and grazed the bumper of another car. The damage wasn’t significant in any way, but it was enough that it left me in an awkward situation. When you’ve been caught out, the one thing that […]
The downside of redecorating
A comedian I like recently complained about the fact that after he’d had a room in his house redecorated, he was faced with the real state of the stuff that was in it. The day before, all had seemed normal. The curtains and blinds were fine. The furniture was fine. And then a fresh coat […]
The song of the fiery serpents
Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”1 Isaiah 6:2-3 The first thing […]
I saw the Lord
When we come together to worship, we begin our time with a reading from the Psalms. This can be considered a call to worship, but it is particularly a call to worship the one true God. In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; […]
How we worship at Ardgowan
Every church has a liturgy, even ours. Liturgy isn’t merely a pre-written, recited prayer. It’s the very form or formula that shapes a church’s practice of worship. Some forms are just more… formal than others. At Ardgowan, during our regular gatherings (All Together Sundays are a bit different), our worship is shaped by God’s word. […]
As summer’s end approaches
Looking ahead to the rest of August, we’ll see our young people return to school and various ministries at the church start up again. Weekly reflections in our newsletter will return next week when we’ll be considering why we do what we do during our worship gatherings. Also, if you are interested in spending a […]