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Time-Out Tuesday and World Day of Prayer

Considering the time and the opportunities we have at the moment to spend with God in prayer….and in this week leading up to World Day of Prayer on Friday 5th March….

As a Church we usually set aside a Tuesday each week and provide a place with space – the UPPER ROOM – a place for time-out in these busier days. In these weeks and months of lockdown 2021 it is not possible once again to open and run this space….for the moment .

You are invited however to make time to pause and take time out…at this time of the year in this season of Lent…perhaps for the first time….. and it doesn’t have to be a Tuesday!

However, this Tuesday instead of visiting the Upper Room you are encouraged to…..tarry a while with God, maybe a bit longer than usual……to wait…ask…seek…receive….

* Find a space to be still in a busy world
** For a regular time-out during this month
* Private prayer for yourself and for others
** Listening to God – Father Son and Holy Spirit

You are encouraged to speak with Him….to listen to Him.…to receive from Him…especially at this time as we seek to hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church in our times.

You are invited to share in the Midday Prayers and Evening Prayers that will be posted online at 12noon and 9pm on various days on the Kirk website and on our social media pages. We are also encouraged to pray with others in our city and across our land at 6pm….focussing on all those affected by the coronavirus…..and during these particular weeks you are invited to join with others and pray for all those affected afresh by the new coronavirus restrictions.

We are all invited to pray with others in our Church family as we journey through these early days of 2021 together…..and to listen for what God is saying to us in these changing and uncertain days. You are encouraged to take some exercise by the Government..and we would invite you to take a walk around the Kirkyard and consider the Word for Today words and images from PSALM 121 at this time.

Daily Devotions for FEBRUARY 2021

Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea;
Listen to my cry. Give ear to my prayer.
Psalm 17 verse 1

During 2020 we were looking at standing on the promises of God in the Bible.
In 2021 we are looking daily at the theme of PRAYER – and pause at our times of Midday Devotion to pray for others
in our church family, our city and our world at this time.

* In February we consider therefore some of the PEOPLE IN PRAYER FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT. *
We are all encouraged to listen for God’s voice and make our response as we journey together in our ‘rhythm of devotion’ during this year of 2021.

These Devotions are but one way to feed on God’s Word in the morning, at midday, in the evening… to pray with Him continually through the day and even to share with others the treasures or hurdles you discover.
The Church website and Facebook page (even on a handy mobile) provide a fuller daily devotional page. However it all follows the pattern below which the information provided fits into, based on the Kirk’s origins of the Celtic and Northumbrian traditions which we started as a church family in 2015.

Morning
Reading and Meditation on the content and Prayer of response
Midday
Prayer – mostly for others
Evening
Verse(s) from the morning reading
Reflection and Prayer at the end of the day

A Prayer for the Month of February

God of the journey,
You call us to follow you
Without fear of stumbling,
Your hand held out
To steady the weakest soul.

Grant us faith strong enough
To take you at your word
And, should we struggle,
To know you’re with us along the way.

Through Christ our Saviour
Amen.


The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your kingdom come
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our sins
As we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil.
For Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory.
Now and for ever
Amen

Christmas Jumper BYOC for Bethany

On Wednesday morning you are invited to pause and Bring Your Own Cuppa and chat a while with others via Zoom.

This week you are invited to wear a Christmas jumper or hat and consider making a donation to Bethany Christian Trust at this time of year…the link is below.

Come and go as you wish…and keep the hosts in the far north company…whatever the weather outside!
If you haven’t received the Zoom ID email please do contact Gary or Alastair!

A Place To Belong

Drive-in cancelled

Dear all

Sadly we have had to cancel Sunday evening due to the Tier 3 restrictions still in place for Edinburgh this week.

There is a Celtic Carols with Celtic Worship online on Saturday evening that I’m sure will be well worth logging in to.

The link for that is now on the Big Idea Facebook page.

Please pray on for other churches in Big Idea at this time….and look forward to the January online event on Sunday 3rd at 7pm!

Thanks for now
Alastair Cameron

Sharing God’s Word – a short course

‘Sharing God’s Word – what can we learn from the early church in Acts?’ Led by Jared Hay

This short course is intended to complement the Sunday studies in the Gospels on ‘Sharing God’s Word,’ and the aim is to try to understand how the Early Church shared the Good News in their cultural context. That means investigating the context in which they lived, what they said and did, who said it and did it, and what intentional strategies they adopted to make sure the message was disseminated as widely as possible.

The course will run on Zoom over four Thursday evenings (7.30 – 9pm) spaced out to allow Link groups to meet between sessions to discuss what they’ve learned and how it might be applied in our cultural context. Some discussion questions are provided to help facilitate exploring and applying what has been learned. Members of the congregation are encouraged to join both the course and also a Link group for the follow-up discussion. Please do contact Caroline Barlee, John or Jared if you need help finding a group to join.

15 October – The world they lived in – honour and shame, money, sex and power in the First Century.
What are the major things that shape our cultures today?
How have they influenced the Church’s relationship with others?

29 October – The Word they shared – what was the message the Early Church took to the world?
What actions accompanied the message?
Does the word and action we share reflect the breadth of the activity of the early church?
Are there special emphases that might be useful to highlight when sharing with different groups and cultures?

12 November – The people who shared the Word – who were they and what were they like?
What qualities are needed to share the good news?

26 November – The strategies they used to share the Word – big pictures and jig-saw pieces.
Thinking of our context, what strategies might we adopt for sharing the good news, and how would we need to change to fulfil them?