Welcome to the website for Ballantrae Parish Church linked with St Colmon Parish Church, a charge of the Church of Scotland.
Ballantrae Parish Church meets at 11:30am every Sunday.
Sunday Services have started again with social distancing and mandatory wearing of masks to minimize the spread of the Covid 19 virus.
Services are also held on the first Sunday of the month (April will be 2nd Sunday) at 3pm in Glenapp Church. This a liturgical and ecumenical service led by a dedicated group from the congregation of Ballantrae.
All the services are times of fellowship, prayer, worship and reflection on God’s word, as we get to know the living God more.
It will be great to see you at any of our services and if you want more information about either of the churches, please contact us
Daily Worship… Try this option http://www.sanctuaryfirst.org.uk
October and November 2020 Newsletter
25 October 2020
Matthew 22: 34-46
“Love & The Nature of Jesus”
The reading falls into two parts which we will look at separately. In the first part Jesus is faced with a test question aimed to trap him. He was asked which commandment is the greatest. Jesus replied by saying “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind”. This verse was well known by the Jewish people. It is the first verse they commit to memory and is used even today as services begin as a call to worship. Very few people would be able to criticize this reply. The command is to offer all of our faculties first of all to God. We are his people and to him we are ultimately responsible. God loves each one of us and he wants us to know that, and to love him in return. When we realise Gods love for us, we have a motivation to please him in return.
Jesus then gave a second commandment known as “The Golden Rule”. Again, this was a command the Jewish people would be familiar with. He said: “love your neighbour as yourself”. (By following these two commands one fulfils the law).
These are both difficult commands to follow and most of us fall very short. We must remember that all people are loved by God and that all human beings bare his image. We must aim to love other people although they be imperfect, remembering that though we fall short of the mark, God still loves us. Each of us has offended God more than anyone else has offended us. And yet he offers us forgiveness and unconditional love through faith in Jesus Christ. May we seek to give a good witness by being loving and forgiving people. May we seek the holy spirits empowering as we seek to be the people he calls us to be.
Jesus then asked the religious leaders a question as to who the Messiah is son of. The replied saying the son of David. This was a popular title for the messiah, but had political and military overtones of conquest. Jesus had to educate the people that the messiah was Gods son and had come to rule not by force but through love and forgiveness. Jesus was no less than Gods son and come to die in our place upon the cross. He showed us Gods love.
May we be inspired to love God and others as we reflect on the good news of the gospel.
Every blessing,
Rev`d Theo Corney
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