Kelso Country Churches: Recent Episodes
Stephen Manners
‘Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart.’ Philippians 4.6
‘I keep striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won me to himself.’ Philippians 3.12
‘They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them.’
“Those who come to me cannot be my disciples unless they love me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and themselves as well.” Luke 14.26
‘you send abundant rain on the ploughed fields and soak them with water; you soften the soil with showers and cause the young plants to grow.’
Psalm 65.10
‘Perhaps my life's blood is to be poured out like an offering on the sacrifice that your faith offers to God’ Philippians 2.17
"And so I tell you: make friends for yourselves with worldly wealth, so that when it gives out, you will be welcomed in the eternal home.” Luke 16.9
‘So then, dear friends, as you always obeyed me when I was with you, it is even more important that you obey me now while I am away from you.’ Philippians 2.12
‘The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had: He always had the nature of God, but he did not think that by force he should try to remain equal with God. Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had, and took the nature of a servant.’ Philippians 2.5-7
‘For what is life? To me, it is Christ. Death, then, will bring more.’ Philippians 1.21
‘Do you suppose that I came to bring peace to the world? No, not peace, but division.’ Luke 12.51
‘I want you to know, my friends, that the things that have happened to me have really helped the progress of the gospel.’ Philippians 1.12
‘Sell all your belongings and give the money to the poor. Provide for yourselves purses that don't wear out, and save your riches in heaven' Luke 12.33
'And so I say to you: Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For those who ask will receive, and those who seek will find, and the door will be opened to anyone who knocks.' Luke 11.9-10
And Jesus concluded, "In your opinion, which one of these three acted like a neighbour toward the man attacked by the robbers?"The teacher of the Law answered,"The one who was kind to him." Jesus replied, "You go, then, and do the same." Luke 10.35-36
‘From Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus - To all God's people in Philippi who are in union with Christ Jesus, including the church leaders and helpers: 2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.’ Philippians 1.1-2
'We were God's enemies, but he made us his friends through the death of his Son.' Romans 5.10
‘Put on all the armour that God gives you, so that you will be able to stand up against the Devil's evil tricks.’ Ephesians 6.11
'Submit yourselves to one another because of your reverence for Christ.' Ephesians 5.21
‘Jesus said to them, "Come and eat." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it was the Lord. 13 So Jesus went over, took the bread, and gave it to them; he did the same with the fish.’ John 21.12-13
"Why are you looking among the dead for one who is alive? He is not here; he has been raised.” Luke 24.5
Then Mary took a whole pint of a very expensive perfume made of pure nard, poured it on Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The sweet smell of the perfume filled the whole house. John 12.3
some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, "You must get out of here and go somewhere else, because Herod wants to kill you." Luke 13.31
'Since you are God's dear children, you must try to be like him. 2 Your life must be controlled by love, just as Christ loved us and gave his life for us as a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice that pleases God.' Ephesians 5.1-2
‘Each of you must tell the truth to the other believer, because we are all members together in the body of Christ.’ Ephesians 4.25
'Then I heard the Lord say, "Whom shall I send? Who will be our messenger?" I answered, "I will go! Send me!"' Isaiah 6.8
‘live a life that measures up to the standard God set when he called you.’ Ephesians 4.1b
When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were filled with anger. They rose up, dragged Jesus out of town, and took him to the top of the hill on which their town was built. They meant to throw him over the cliff, but he walked through the middle of the crowd and went his way. Luke 4.28-30
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed’ Luke 4.18
Jesus also was baptized. While he was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit came down upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my own dear Son. I am pleased with you." Luke 3.22
‘Everything that happens in the world happens at the time God chooses.’ ? Ecclesiastes 3.1
‘So get up. Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt and stay there until I tell you to leave.’ Matthew 2.13
‘Now, Lord, you have kept your promise, and you may let your servant go in peace. With my own eyes I have seen your salvation,’ Luke 2.29-30
‘The Lord Almighty answers,"I will send my messenger to prepare the way for me.’ Malachi 3.1
"The time is coming when I will fulfill the promise that I made to the people of Israel and Judah.” Jeremiah 33.14
‘For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles, pray to God.’ Ephesians 3.1
At that time you were apart from Christ. You were foreigners and did not belong to God's chosen people.’ Ephesians 2.12
Psalm 24.1 - The world and all that is in it belong to the Lord; the earth and all who live on it are his.
“Go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me.” Mark 10.21
‘you must love God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your strength; and you must love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ Mark 12.33
"John said to him, "Teacher, we saw a man who was driving out demons in your name, and we told him to stop, because he doesn't belong to our group." 39 "Do not try to stop him," Jesus told them, "because no one who performs a miracle in my name will be able soon afterward to say evil things about me. 40 For whoever is not against us is for us." Mark 9.38-40
‘In the past you were spiritually dead because of your disobedience and sins.’ Ephesians 2.1
‘For this reason ever since I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God's people, I have not stopped giving thanks to God for you.’ Ephesians 1.15&16
"I am the bread of life," Jesus told them. "Those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never be thirsty.” John 6.35
This week will be an introduction to Ephesians and you should read Ephesians 1.1-4 to prepare for it
‘Appoint a king to rule over us so that we will have a King as other countries have.’ 1 Samuel 8.56
Then Samuel took a stone, set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and said, "The Lord has helped us all the way" - and he named it "Stone of Help."
Then Samuel took a stone, set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and said, "The Lord has helped us all the way" - and he named it "Stone of Help."
Then Samuel took a stone, set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and said, "The Lord has helped us all the way" - and he named it "Stone of Help."
‘So they sent messengers to Shiloh and got the Covenant Box of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned above the winged creatures. And Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, came along with the Covenant Box.’ 1 Samuel 4.4
‘So they sent messengers to Shiloh and got the Covenant Box of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned above the winged creatures. And Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, came along with the Covenant Box.’ 1 Samuel 4.4
‘So they sent messengers to Shiloh and got the Covenant Box of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned above the winged creatures. And Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, came along with the Covenant Box.’ 1 Samuel 4.4
Hannah made a solemn promise: "Lord Almighty, look at me, your servant! See my trouble and remember me! Don't forget me! If you give me a son, I promise that I will dedicate him to you for his whole life and that he will never have his hair cut." I Samuel 1.11
'Remain united to me, and I will remain united to you. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it can do so only if it remains in the vine. In the same way you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me.' John 15.4
" This is how we know what love is: Christ gave his life for us. We too, then, ought to give our lives for others! 1 John 3.16
Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been taken away from the entrance. John 20.1
Today we see Jesus, our risen Lord.
Hallelujah!
As God’s Easter people, let us go
and celebrate a new beginning,
filled with the presence of our risen Lord.
And let us take that presence to those whom we meet,
And declare loudly and boldly,
Jesus is alive. Amen.
Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been taken away from the entrance. John 20.1
"We are going up to Jerusalem where the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. They will condemn him to death” Mark 10.33
‘Then Jesus called the crowd and his disciples to him. "If any of you want to come with me," he told them, "you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me.’ Mark 8.34
'At once the Spirit made him go into the desert, where he stayed forty days, being tempted by Satan.' Mark 1.12 and 13
‘The people who heard him were amazed at the way he taught, for he wasn't like the teachers of the Law; instead, he taught with authority.’ Mark 1.22
Today in our podcast we are hearing from Elizabeth, mother of John and cousin of Mary and how they both celebrated being pregnant with special babies
There is such a temptation at this time of year to dress up the message in the glitz and the glamour, the tinsel and the trappings that it gets dumbed-down, lost even. We are all called to go out and share the Good News as the angels did to the Shepherds – ‘This very day in David's town your Saviour was born - Christ the Lord!’ Luke 2.11 - to tell the world that Jesus is born. Who are you going to tell?
35 Watch, then, because you do not know when the master of the house is coming - it might be in the evening or at midnight or before dawn or at sunrise. 36 If he comes suddenly, he must not find you asleep. 37 What I say to you, then, I say to all: Watch!” Mark 13.35-37
Jesus tells a story of how the Son of Man will separate his people into two groups: one group is welcomed into his kingdom, the other turned away. And the deciding factor – what puts us in one group rather than the other – is how we treat other people. Those welcomed into the kingdom of heaven are those who cared for the hungry, the poor, the sick and the stranger. Those who didn’t do these things are not welcomed in.
All of us I'm sure wish we were never sad but we are at times. But in our sadness we can hold onto the fact that we can put our hope in the Lord. His love for us is sure and strong.
Are we ready for Jesus return? Do we really believe that he is going to return? Are we living our lives doing what Jesus wants. Could we, say if I knew Jesus was coming back tomorrow I could carry on doing what I had all ready planned.
Jesus’ listeners may well still be feeling battered by the parable of the wicked tenants but he continues to reinforce the point, telling this parable to explain what the Kingdom of heaven is like.
‘You show your care for the land by sending rain; you make it rich and fertile. You fill the streams with water; you provide the earth with crops.’ Psalm 65.9
Today’s parable of the two sons helps us to understand why Jesus’ teachings would not make him popular and would eventually lead to arrest and execution.
Jesus has come to the Temple to confront a religious hierarchy that favours ‘rules’ over people. The choice in the parable is not between good and bad but rather about following through with our intentions. We are to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.
Jesus tells this parable of the workers in the vineyard to teach us something about God and his new kingdom
‘Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times do I have to forgive him?’ Matthew 18.21.
This week, the Guild launches the new session with the theme, “The Extra Mile.” The phrase is an adaptation of a commandment of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount when in Matthew 5, he says, “if someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two.”
We are all called as disciples to listen to Jesus. To hear what he has to say and follow him - "This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased – listen to him!" Matthew 17.5
We continue in our study of the letter of James, how we should focus on welcoming and caring for the poor.
The first podcast in our series on the letter of James, introducing who James is and what he is trying to teach us
"Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your Son, so that the Son may give glory to you.” John 17.1
This podcast is based on John 14.1-14 where Jesus tells his disciples he is leaving them but that he will return to take them to his Father's house
We are like sheep, following Jesus the Good Shepherd whose voice we recognise and trust.
The journey to Emmaus where two of Jesus followers walk with Jesus but at first don't recognise him.