Scottish Baptist Lay Preachers Association

“I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to [...]

Andrew Young (Fraserburgh) (Philippians 2:1-4) The church at Philippi was in general a happy one.  When Paul was imprisoned in far-off Rome, one thing that encouraged him was the thought of his dear friends at Philippi.  However, he did have some concerns.  There was some bickering and in-fighting going on.  There was a real danger [...]

Graham Kinloch (Bearsden) Just what is the church?  Many would claim it is a relic of a bygone era, something which can only hark back to days of former glory, now sadly gone.  An institution which has nothing to offer the world which cannot be attained elsewhere, without the associated boredom.   Indeed, how can a [...]

Here is a review on a Fictional book entitled “Who Stole my Church?” which explores the real life issue of a church looking to go into the 21st Century. It ties in nicely with our current theme “Relic or Relevance” which seeks to explore this whole issue. You can view the book review here.

Some years ago we had the privilege of attending an Induction Service in Ness Parish Church in the Island of Lewis.   The service commenced at 7.30 pm and finished at around 10 pm.   During that time we had Psalms sung in Gaelic and in ‘English with no music.   The singing was heavenly – these people [...]

Trevor May (Denny) Some Thoughts on John 3 The gospel narrative about Nicodemus in chapter 3 of John’s Gospel is in sharp contrast to all that has gone before in the 2nd chapter of John’s Gospel.   Nicodemus’s encounter with Jesus illustrates the type of faith that is generated by and built upon something other than [...]

Martyn Link (Central Dundee) reflects on Calvin and his reflections on the church. Martyn proves that Calvin has something to say as we consider the theme of the church being relevant or relic. To see the original article that Martyn did  please see his blog Book 4 Chapter 1 Section 1-29 If there is one issue [...]

Nimal Wijesinghe (Airdrie) Many Christians would appear to have gradually come to the point, unwittingly, of creating God in their image relegating Almighty God to be limited to the capabilities of their intellect, imagination and wisdom! Some appear to downgrade the Bible to a book of fables and the power of human reason and human [...]

Bob Ferguson (Broxburn) ‘Church – but not as you know it.’ The gospel is ‘new every morning’ and as such is ‘relevant’ to every person in every generation and culture. The challenge is to make our interpretation of ‘being church’ just as relevant rather than the relic it might be. Previously, in this church, we [...]

Are you ready to get on board?  In some ways the Christian life is a bit like a journey.  The Bible often talks about people going on journeys and one example of this is Abraham. In Genesis 12, we  get a real sense of Abraham going on a journey. Going from one place to another  [...]