Kinlochleven Church - the next service is on Sunday 2 November at 10.00 am led by the Rev. Malcolm Kinnear.
Duror Church - the next service is on Sunday 9 November at 10.30 am led by the Rev. Marion Kinnear.
Nether Lochaber Church - the next service is on Sunday 2 November at 11.30 am led by the Rev. Malcolm Kinnear. The service includes Communion.
South Lochaber Parish :
Bible Study - on 11 November at 10.45 in Jeremy's home - starting on "Joseph".
Bible Study - Kinlochleven at 11.00 am. on Friday 14 November at 11.00 am.
Sunday 2 November 2025 South Lochaber Church - available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/isLgse1NFIg
Opening Verse ‘Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story’ (Psalm 107:2)
Hymn
When I receive the peace of Christ
my loneliness shall end
And I must reach a hand
and take My brother as a friend,
My brother as a friend indeed
Who has an honoured place
Where he may stand
before the Lord in dignity and grace.
Prayer Gracious Father, you have searched and found us, so great is your love, it is almost too great to understand. Thank you Lord. Amen
Bible Reading Luke 19:1-10 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. He ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said, Zacchaus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’ He came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.’ Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’ Jesus said, ‘This day salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.’
Message The cycle path near Kentallen has many trees including the sycamore tree. Sycamore trees grow tall and provide a home for birds, bees, caterpillars and insects, and their wood is useful for many items. There is a grand sycamore tree about a mile where I used to stay in Edinburgh at the entrance to what was the Craiglockhart War Hospital. In 1917 war poets Wilfrid Owen and Siegfried Sassoon sat under it and reflected on their wartime experiences.
Zacchaeus climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus. Jesus got near, summoned him down, and made it clear he wanted to have a prolonged meaningful conversation with the man. The result of this encounter was life changing. Zacchaeus was determined to abandon his dishonest, self-seeking lifestyle, and to make amends. In some ways he was the most unlikely person to be welcomed by Jesus. But Jesus was determined to extend a friendship towards him. Through that personal encounter with Jesus, he experienced the saving power of God. His life was turned around.
I used to visit a parishioner whose life had been similarly turned around while in Barlinnie. Previous to that, he had no interest in Christianity and had done some dreadful things, but he found the forgiving saving love of Jesus and became a Spirit-filled man of faith, became caring and kind, and used every opportunity he had to encourage others to find Jesus. Others tell a similar story. John Wilson in his autobiography Impossible with men Possible with God tells of how in prison he asked for a Bible, received one, and started reading it, but stopped short of a personal commitment. Upon his release he was trapped in a world of drugs, drink and pornography. He was close to taking his own life, but suddenly the thought of Jesus gripped him. He fell to his knees. He took Jesus to be his Saviour and cast his burden upon the Saviour. Like my parishioner his inner life was changed instantly. He now tells others of what the Lord can do.
When we take Jesus to be our Saviour, God’s power begins to change us. We find friendship with Jesus, and with others too. We find our isolation and alienation is dealt with. We are given grace to change inwardly, and where we can, grace to make amends.
The encounter Zacchaeus had with Jesus was not of his own planning. God in his sovereign grace and mercy lays his hand upon us, and when we open our lives to him, he enters gloriously. Jesus had told him ‘Zacchaeus come down immediately’. There is an urgency about the situation. It does not do to put off responding.
Prayer Lord Jesus, you came for me; and as I receive you, will you receive me. Amen.