Weekly sermons and thoughts from St Ninian's Church in Stonehouse, Scotland. You can find us on facebook @stninianschurchstonehouse, twitter @stniniansstonehouse and instagram @stniniansstonehouse.
When Jesus calls God his Father we completely miss how important that is and how it completely changes how we think about God and how close we are to God... Our Father...
It had been 3 years since Jesus walked into their lives... and just a few days after Easter they have gone back to what they know. Change is hard... transformation... even harder. So how can we change?
The darkness was dark... really dark. But the light shines in the darkness and the darkness couldn't ever put it out. We should have known all along!!! Jesus is alive. He is Risen!
Palm Sunday seems really... nice. Isn't it? It's really jolly.Everything is as it should be. Even the weird procurement of a donkey goes exactly as Jesus said it would. And we see that as 'normal'. Just part of the story. Nothing to see here. Move along. And I think that's a problem with this whole Palm Parade. We don't see how tense it is, how controversial it is, how dangerous it all is.
We look after our physical health. We watch what we eat and we exercise... but what about our spiritual health? How do we keep our souls in shape?
We all want to be the best version of ourselves. We all want to grow and flourish. Stewart Cutler lays out some of the issues we need to address to help us all to flourish.
Our wellbeing matters and faith has something important to say about that!
YOU are made in God's image... and I think that probably scares the living daylights out of us... but it's true. And if it is true then that should change the way we think of ourselves and each other... a reflection from Stewart Cutler on Psalm 139 for the 2025 World Day of Prayer
Do you ever wonder what Jesus would do? Why? Isn't it clear? Isn't the problem that we don't want to do it?
What if I was to tell you that it's all a lie? All of it. All the things we are told are important, the thing we are told we should work hard for, the way that the worlds works, the way we're supposed to treat each other. What if I told you there was a different way? I wonder… would you believe me?
Sometimes it's not just what you say… it's the way that you say it that matters. We can tell when someone means it, or not. I think that when Jesus reads from Isaiah that the Spirit of the Lord is upon him the people know he means it. And they're afraid.
What are you afraid of? And how do others use our fears to manipulate and control us? And what can we do about it? Stewart Cutler explores how Simon (Peter) faces his fears and how we might face ours
We've all been at weddings. Anyone who has arranged a wedding knows all the potential social pitfalls. Leaving someone off the guest list can lead to family rifts that never heal. Trying to decide where people sit at the meal can be the hardest part of the planning! What should be a pretty straightforward day celebrating two people's love for each other can become a fraught social disaster in an instant! So it must matter that Jesus' first miracle takes place at a wedding… right?
Prayer is the foundation of everything Jesus does so it should be our foundation too. But having a good foundation of prayer isn't always easy. Stewart Cutler shares some thoughts on why we should develop good habits of regular prayer.
New year… new you. It's time to make a change. How many times have you told yourself that? And how many times has it stuck? So, how do we make real and lasting change in our lives?
Too good to be true? Sort of. Most of us know what the solutions to our problems are. We just don't like the solution because it's too hard or involves too much change. What if Jesus is a model for how we solve our problems?
It's almost here... that new world that we hope for... the one where the poor are raised up and the mighty brought down. Revolution is in the air... and it begins with two children...
The people are hungry and Jesus knows how to satisfy them... but the bread they get isn't what they expect!
We make loads of choices everyday... but Herod makes a disastrous one.
When Jesus sends out his disciples in pairs it's partly so they understand what they can do, but also so the community sees that this kingdom of God stuff is about way more than Jesus...
a woman and a man, both desperate for healing, come to Jesus... who gives them more than they could ever expect!
You wait all your life for someone to save you... and when they do it turns out to be someone way more than you could ever imagine!
Seeds need to be sowed... and they need good soil...
Some difficult words from Jesus... and more than a nod to Taylor Swift
Sabbath... rest... recover... recreate... it's a commandment that's almost impossible to keep. But it matters!!!
Fruitfulness… what does it mean to be fruitful in God? What does fruitfulness even look like because none of us are grapes? None of us is actually attached to a vine… So what does it mean to be grafted into God? What does it mean to grow and to be pruned and to be fruitful? What does it mean to abide in God's love? To be in Christ, always?
Jesus tells his followers that he's the good shepherd... and that's a powerful image of someone who will protect and care for his followers, even to the cost of his own life.
Jesus is alive. Yeah. Right. I'm not sure I believe that. And if that's what you think you are in good company. That's what Jesus own followers, his closest friends, his disciples thought too. Jesus is alive. Sure. OK. Where is he then?
Have you ever missed out on something important? Something your friends or colleagues got to share in but you were busy doing something else…. That's what happens to Thomas. He's out. Busy. And Jesus visits the other disciples. And Thomas misses out not just on seeing Jesus but on some pretty important other stuff.
What's the big deal about this Holy Week for Christians? Why is a strange parade with hosannas and palm branches a big deal and why does it all go so wrong so quickly?
Have you ever had a moment when you reach a crossroads and you're not sure which way to turn? Or when the satnav says go left and you have this strange feeling that it's just not the right direction? Stewart Cutler explores why the choices we make matter. And not only to us.
What if we're getting this faith thing all wrong? What if we're meant to be doing something different?
Who are you? Not what are you? Or, what do you do? But who are you? What's your identity? And how do you know?
It's so easy to get lost in the crowd. To think that we don't really matter. That nobody notices us. That's not the case with Jesus. Each of is seen and known and loved. All of us matter to God.
What happens when an unhelpful idea takes hold? When a lie is told often enough that people believe it's the truth? Or perhaps worse, don't care? And what does Jesus have to say about that? Or what does Jesus do about it?
Listen…. Really listen. I wonder what God has to say to you today? Or is God is done speaking? because I don't think God is quiet at all. Perhaps we just need to be better at listening?
Everyone's has a point of view these days. We all have our own perspective on the world and sometimes we're not all that open to hearing something new or thinking about something we think we know about in a different way. And then Jesus comes along and tells some people just like that, just like us, that he can turn their worlds upside down. Want to know how? Come and see…
Who is this Jesus? All of a sudden he's is all grown up and ready to start… but first he goes to be baptised. But why? And what can we learn about Jesus from this?
you wait… and you wait… and you wait. You wait for years… and all of a sudden the thing you wait for happens. It's there, right in front of you. But what do you do now?
Incarnate. It matters that God becomes human. That God slips into skin and moves into the neighbourhood...
John was a witness to someone even greater... are we? Stewart has been unwell this week so we delve into the archive...
The writer of Mark's Gospel seems not to have been interested in Christmas. He jumps straight in to the story with a strange man out in the wilderness, at one of those threshold places where the story of their people took a new turn generations before. Today the same story calls us to another threshold… But will we step through it?
It's Advent... and so we wait. But we don't wait for Christmas... so, what do we wait for?
When we call Jesus 'king of kings' what do we mean? And what does that mean for us? Join Stewart as we explore Matthew 25:31-46.
I wonder what you think God is like? It's one of those big questions and our answer to it shapes our response to all kinds of things, probably more than we imagine. Do you think God is an angry absentee landlord? Or kind and loving?
What does God require of you as we stand in silence to remember?
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