Scottish Baptist Lay Preachers Association

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 [...]

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 [...]

John Bingham (Newton Mearns)  ‘Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her’ Eph 5:25.  The church for which Christ died and which he now ‘feeds and cares for’ cannot ever be a relic.  It is living: ‘his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way’.  It is the ‘dwelling in [...]

Jimmy Edmistion  (Kings Park) As a boy the church was the place we went to on a Sunday. We went because for most of us our parents either took us along, or sent us so that some sort of religious instruction would be received, hopefully. It was also the place we met many of our [...]

Location of Seven Churches Nimal Wijesinghe (Airdrie) A summary of the 7 letters to the 7 Churches – Revelation 1, 2 and 3. The seven churches form a horseshoe-shaped pattern on the map above and are located clockwise from Ephesus. Revelation 1:3-4 “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed [...]

Eric MacArthur (Dalbeattie) If Christ is not risen your faith is in vain…….so wrote Paul to a church where some people evidently didn’t believe that Jesus had really been raised from the dead.(1 Corinthians 15) But for Paul, as the other apostles, the resurrection of Jesus was the foundation of his faith. It was encountering [...]

Jimmy Edmiston (Kings Park) ‘And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.’(NKJV). Acts 11:26 Whenever a new group starts up whether it be a [...]

(Some notes from a sermon on Acts 23-26)   One theme through all Paul’s court trials: the Resurrection. “I believe in the hope of Israel, foretold in the OT, fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, who was raised from the dead so that we too might rise.” Paul, rescued from the mob by the Roman commander, [...]

 Visiting someone in prison is not a happy experience. The security procedures for visitors (emptying your pockets, giving over your mobile phone and any other hard object, signing an endless set of forms) are depressing enough, but there us in most prisons I’ve visited a sense of emptiness. The routines the prisoners have to go [...]

Florence MacKenzie (Aberdeen Christian Fellowship) Ever tried getting a job done without the proper tools? Or begun tackling a project that you didn’t have the necessary skills to complete well? It’s really frustrating when we find ourselves in situations like this, but immensely satisfying when we have all we need to carry out a task [...]