Kinlochleven Church - the next service is on Sunday 1 March at 10.00 am led by the Rev. Malcolm Kinnear.
Duror Church - the next service is on Sunday 8 March at 10.30 am led by the Rev. Malcolm Kinnear.
Nether Lochaber Church - the next service is on Sunday 1 March at 11.30 am led by the Rev. Malcolm Kinnear and held in the church hall with tea and coffee to follow.
South Lochaber Parish :
Bible Study - on 3 March at 10.45 in Jeremy's home - continues on "Joseph".
Bible Study - Kinlochleven on Friday 6 March at 11.00 am.
Sunday 22 February 2026 South Lochaber Church - available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/AsaScNqTNbA
Opening Verse ‘I will make the nations of the earth admire you’. (Zephaniah 3:20)
Hymn
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
in the light of His glory and grace.
Prayer Lord of all kindliness, I praise you! God of all peace, be near me in the times when I am discouraged or afraid; in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Bible Reading 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4, 10-12 We, Paul, Silas, and Timothy are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other. We speak well of you among the churches of your patience and faith. When Christ comes, in that day, he will be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe. We also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of his calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of God.
Message In the passage we are told that when he returns Christ will be admired. That made me think of the word ‘admiral’ as in the navy. That word is said to be from the Anglo-Norman ‘admiror’, the idea of commanding respect, or admire, and the Arabic ‘amir’ to ‘command’.
John MacDougall, 24th chief of the MacDougall clan, had a base in Dunollie, Oban and land on Lismore. He was a rear-admiral and vice-admiral in the British navy. A man well thought of, in 1819 he was officially thanked by the Danish king for saving the crew of a Danish ship that had been wrecked in a hurricane in the Caribbean Sea.
In the Bible passage it is suggested that believers can be seen to display the Christian graces of goodness, love and patience. This is the result of God’s grace, God at work in us. It is that we might display the goodness, the humanity of Jesus, as he comes to be ‘admired’.
Paul and his companions made a point of commenting on the virtues the believers in Thessalonica showed. Too often we are slow to acknowledge the good others do. There are ways of doing so that humbles the person, rather than making them think too highly of themselves. We can thank God for our fellow Christians. A prayer that acknowledges that God has blessed them and enabled them to serve him in humility will rather encourage them to continue in humble service. Paul speaks of it as his duty to thank God for his fellow believers. Let’s not underestimate genuine achievements. That John MacDougall who achieved the rank of admiral was praised for acting with ‘a judgement and zeal that did him infinite credit’.
We can advance in the Christian life even despite challenges and setbacks. There will always be them. We cannot suppose that there is ever an ideal setting for a Christian life free of difficulties. In them, though, we learn perseverance and find joy through serving others.
Our true destiny is in reflecting the goodness and kindness of Jesus. That is an act of God. Goodness and grace go together. Part of God’s work in us is the eradication of selfishness. We can learn patient endurance, accepting and allowing the circumstances of life to help us progress in holiness. Love, faith, and goodness can all increase.
God sometimes allows his people to go through suffering. The purpose is that we are being prepared for glory. However, God’s judgement will come to those who persist in evil, cruelty, or malice. It is taught in scripture that patient endurance is necessary in the Christian for growing in Christian virtue and receiving final salvation. We take the example of Jesus as our model of constancy and perseverance. He endured the cross and great opposition and kept going.
Paul previously had prayed for the Thessalonians that their faith would increase in brotherly love. His prayer had been answered. It is good that we pray for our fellow Christians and notice when our prayers are answered.
Prayer God of love, you abide in hearts that are just and true. Grant that we may be fashioned by your grace that we become a dwelling place pleasing to you; in Jesus’ name, Amen.