Kinlochleven Church - the next service is on Sunday 16 November at 10.00 am led by the Rev. Malcolm Kinnear.
Duror Church - the next service is on Sunday 23 November at 10.30 am led by the Rev. Marion Kinnear.
Nether Lochaber Church - the next service is on Sunday 16 November at 11.30 am led by the Rev. Malcolm Kinnear.
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 9 November 2025 South Lochaber Church - available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/pDt4Wb0rQMg
Opening Verse ’Our sure and all-sufficient help is in Jehovah’s name’ (Psalm 124:8)
Psalm 46
God is our refuge and our strength,
in straits a present aid,
therefore although the earth remove,
we will not be afraid.
Unto the ends of all the earth
wars into peace he turns,
The bow he breaks the spear he cuts,
in fire the chariot burns.
Prayer O God, our refuge and strength, bring near the day when wars shall cease and poverty and pain shall end, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Bible Reading Luke 19:41-44 As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, ‘If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognise the time of God’s coming to you.’
Message As we approach Remembrance Sunday many thoughts and memories come to mind. We recall the horror and devastation of two world wars, and we also think of conflicts ongoing.
A mile from where I used to live in Edinburgh is what was Craiglockhart War Hospital. From 1916 it was used to provide rehabilitation to the injured, many of whom were shell-shocked. It was ahead of its time, providing all sorts of activities and games as therapy, though officials from the War Office were somewhat suspicious and would have preferred to see the men put to work. Only yards away is Redford Barracks, then being used to house German prisoners. At the end of the 1914-18 war Redford Barracks was also the demobilisation office of the 3rd Cameronian Highlanders. Nearby in the woods nearby there are still visible the trenches that were dug out for military training during the first world war. There are others near Invergordon.
Jesus was in Jerusalem. He foresaw some of the horrors of conflict that would later come to pass when in AD 70 the Romans so devastated the city that a plough was drawn up in the middle of it. The Romans dug a trench around the city and surrounded it, and nobody could escape. There were a million casualties of that conflict, and hundreds of others sold as slaves. As he considered what lay ahead Jesus wept. We see in him the suffering love of God, whose reaction to human devastation on this scale is one of profound sorrow. We worship a God who feels our sorrow and pain deeply.
Jesus was troubled at the lack of spiritual awareness that led to such an outcome. Many of the Jewish people expected Jesus to establish a worldly kingdom. Jesus clearly cared about what would happen to the nation, but he came to be King of people’s hearts and to establish his rule over all the earth. Jerusalem still had a part to play in this. The gospel was to be preached to every nation starting from Jerusalem. And even though the Jewish leaders were turning against Jesus, he accomplished his saving work there. We should not imagine that the Lord has turned his back on the nation of Israel. Jesus wanted people to think first about the spiritual transformation of the soul, which must precede putting right the condition of the world, and the sufferings of the cross that made both possible. The suffering of the Jews down history is a shadow of Christ’s own sufferings.
Jesus came to make peace between humanity and God, and peace amongst people. That was the message announced by the angelic choir at Christ’s birth, peace on earth, and God’s favour. Jesus said, blessed are the peacemakers. The world has its troublemakers. Unless are hearts are pure and right with God, we risk being one of them. To be a peacemaker requires our minds to be open to the Lord so that his reconciling love and grace can flow in and through us. Jesus was pure in heart, and that made his reconciling work possible.
Prayer Lord Jesus, make me a channel of your peace, fill me with your love. Amen.