Service Date: 13 December, 2009

Three dialogues from the Iona Community book Cloth for the Cradle were used: Mary and the angel; Mary and Lizzie; Village gossips.

Service Date: 6 December, 2009

Hebrew Bible reading: Malachi 3:1-4

Sarah: Our Hebrew Bible reading this morning is taken from the prophet Malachi, chapter 3, verses 1-4. [pause, no one moves]
Oops, I wonder if my answerphone message about who was going to do this reading got through all right? Let's see: I can check in the Messenger - no, that's no use, it came out a few weeks ago when I didn't know who I was going to ask yet. I can give it out in notices - no, too late, we've already had them for this service. Ah, I know - I can text! Excuse me just a moment... [texts]
Miriam [looks at her phone, starts moving] Excuse me... can I get through, please... [rushes up to lecturn]
Sarah: There you are! Thank goodness for that. I thought my email reminder might not have got through to you, and we might have had to miss out on God's message from Malachi this morning.

Service Date: 29 November, 2009

Jeremiah 33:14-16
Aren't we having lovely weather just now? No? You don't like the rain and wind and the short days of winter? Do you think it's going to be winter forever? No? How will we know when it's time to be spring again? Because flowers come out, the sun shines more, leaves sprout, trees and plants grow again. Do you have hope that the springtime's going to come? Why?
When Jeremiah was alive, people didn't like the way the world was. People from his country, Judah, hadn't cared about the poor people living with them, so they had been beaten by people from another country, Babylon. The people from Babylon had made the people from Judah leave their own country behind and go to Babylon instead. They had to eat new food and learn new words and the people in Babylon teased them because they were foreigners. They thought God had forgotten about them so far away from God's country.

Service Date: 22 November, 2009

John 18:33-37
It's a mystery. Pilate's trying to work it out. Jesus is a prisoner in front of him, and Pilate has the power to decide whether to kill him or save him. Why isn't Jesus worried? Has he got a rescue plan up his sleeve? What are his followers going to do? Has Pilate got a full-scale rebellion on his hands?
So Pilate asks him: What's going on here? Do you have power or not? Are you a king or not?
And Jesus, who never gives a straight answer, doesn't give a straight answer.
Is this your idea? he asks Pilate, or is this someone else's idea about me you're just parroting?
Pilate tries to get to the bottom of the mystery again. You explain, then! he tells Jesus. Your own leaders have put you in my power! What do you think you're doing?

Service Date: 15 November, 2009

We retold the story of Noah and the flood using a wonderful knitted ark with Mr and Mrs Noah plus two of far more animals than you would think anyone could knit... which the children then took out to go on playing with.

Service Date: 8 November, 2009

The annual act of remembrance for members of St Andrew's who served and died in two World Wars and for all soldiers and civilians who have died in war then and since was held at the beginning of our service.

Service Date: 1 November, 2009

Sheila: Well, Sarah, let's get down to planning this party. You've not given me much of an idea about it so far, and I really need to know more if it's going to be a success. So let's go down my check-list. Who's been invited?
Sarah [looks at Bible]: It says here... all nations.
Sheila: All nations? That's a bit vague. Haven't you got a better estimate than that?
Sarah: Sorry, no. We'll just have to see who turns up.
Sheila: Well, what about the menu, then?
Sarah: Um... rich food and well-matured wines.
Sheila: We can get Ian onto that, no problem. Any vegetarians, apart from you, that is?
Sarah: Well, it's certainly not just vegetarians - it says here, rich food filled with marrow, and I don't think it means mature courgettes. Not my favourite food, but one woman's meat...

Service Date: 9 August, 2009

John 6:35, 41-51

Service Date: 11 October, 2009

Mark 10:17-31
We've just heard about a man who had everything, but didn't want to let go of it and share with other people. That's not a good example for our harvest festival, where we're remembering that God has given seeds to grow all the food we need, and we're saying thank you. But here's a better example - here's a seed that can grow into a new home. Would anyone like to help me find out what's in this seed that's called a starter pack? And while we're exploring, Derek and Judith will tell us more...

Service Date: 4 October, 2009

Psalm 8
Yesterday, I was at the Northern College annual service for graduating students - St Andrew's supports them financially, so we get an invitation every year. Their principle, John Campbell, said that every time he went back to the Bible, after all his teaching years, he found something new. And looking at Psalm 8 for our service this morning, I found a new question coming to mind. When it says, ‘on the lips of children and of babes you have found praise to foil your enemy' - what does it mean? I went to the commentaries, which just shows you how desperate I was. But the answers I found didn't inspire me.
Some said that because children are so small and weak, it shows how powerful God is that only such fragile support is needed against God's enemies. But that sounds as if God thinks of children as weapons - no.