There have been two significant deaths in the past three months - Christopher Hitchens and Steve Jobs. I feel sorry for Christopher Hitchens, an intelligent atheist, who died yesterday. He had a powerful intellect, like Richard Dawkins, but this does not help if one is spiritually blind. The smallest child can see the sun, which …
Author: Donald
Salt on the streets
After the 'storm of the decade' on Thursday, which closed the Forth Road Bridge, the Tay and Erskine bridges, and left 150,000 homes without power, the calm on Friday brought down a layer of snow. It had a clear, full moon, suggesting a cold night for Street Pastors in Hilton. In fact, later today there …
Sing Psalms
A new website promoting four-part-harmony Psalm singing has been recently launched. A series of Psalmody CDs called Worthy to be Praised produced by the Psalmody Committee of the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) are available. These have one disc of Psalm singing and one disc to teach the soprano, alto, tenor and bass parts for …
Lying to the Holy Ghost
There is a difference between the sin against the Holy Ghost and lying to the Holy Ghost. The former has no forgiveness Mat 12:31, but the latter is also very serious. Peter mentions it in Acts 5:3,9 and solemn consequences followed. When ministers take ordination vows they are making promises to the Lord as well …
Being understood or hearer-friendly
It is a preacher’s task to make the Gospel understood by his hearers. "So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading" Neh 8:8. He must begin by making himself understood. If you cannot understand what a preacher is saying, it …
Grace – Law and Gospel
After attending the Belladrum festival with Street Pastors, it was back to my regular monthly Street Pastor round in Hilton. It was a dreich night (Scots for drizzly rain - like drookit), but the rain was quite light, off and on, and it did not inhibit us walking about. The evening began with a short …
Conception is not fertilisation
When does human life begin? by Dr John R. Ling, June 2011, The Christian Institute. 45 pp booklet. The blurb states: “When does human life begin? It is a fundamental and decisive question because your answer reveals your understanding of the nature and status of the human embryo. It also shapes your stance on the …
Faith and Assurance
Faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour is not the same as faith in Jesus Christ as my Saviour, nor are these the same as believing that I am saved. The latter is assurance of salvation. Saving faith says: "I believe in Jesus Christ for the salvation of my soul." Assurance of salvation says: "I believe …
Worshipping God in spirit
In Psalm 50 God complains about formality in worship vv8-13 and says that if worshippers were more spiritually-minded v14 then they would discover His deliverance even in the day of trouble v15. They would then learn to glorify Him v15 and offer Him proper praise v23. It is interesting that the Lord uses Asaph, a …
The cost of abandoning Christianity
For decades I have noted the cost to society of the loss of Christian principles. But only now have social scientists examined the enormous potential of voluntary groups to contribute to providing services. A study by the University of Pennsylvania has for the first time placed a cash value on the activities of voluntary societies. …
Donald's Thoughts 