Category: Sermons

Sermon: Sunday, 11th October, 2026
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: John 6

What is the greatest need that we have as human beings? Some people might think it’s to live a life where we are happy, at least most of the time. For others, it’s about being part of a loving family. Perhaps you’re driven and want a successful life or a life of financial security. All of these things have their own place, but they are not our greatest need. Nor is good health, or freedom to do what we want or experiencing as many different things as possible. Our greatest need is eternal life.

‘God has also set eternity in the human heart.’ (Ecclesiastes 3:11) This means that human beings have an innate sense that death is not natural and that we have been made for something more. The Christian writer C. S. Lewis expressed this in a memorable sentence: ‘If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.’ The Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas, wrote about how we instinctively resist death, as though life is too precious to be extinguished, saying: ‘Rage, rage against the dying of the light.’

I go to the gym at the leisure centre on the esplanade to try and keep my body fit. However, next to the leisure centre is the Co-op funeral home. This reminds me that each one of us is heading in the direction of death, and so our greatest need is to find the gift of God, eternal life, before it is too late. This is what the feeing of the 5000 is all about. The miracle is a sign and it points us to Jesus and it says to us: ‘Eternal life is found through a relationship with Jesus and there is no other way to get it.’ Jesus asks: ‘What does it profit a person to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?’ (Mark 8:36) In other words, your greatest need is eternal life. How do we get that life? Keep reading!

1. The miracle itself

In verse 2, John relates that a great crowd has gathered on the mountainside, probably the area we now call the Golan Heights. Verse 10 tells us 5000 men were there, so including women and children, we should envision a crowd of around 20,000. This crowd is not following Jesus for his teaching about the Kingdom of God, but because he has been healing the sick. They are attracted by what physical benefits they might be able to receive from Jesus. It is Passover time, the time when Jews recalled being set free from slavery in Egypt in the days of Moses.

Jesus and his disciples had come to this area for a retreat. However, when Jesus sees the physical and spiritual needs of the crowd, he has compassion on them. He cares about them. This miracle appears in all four gospels. Looking at them all, we see that Jesus healed the sick and taught the people. He also wants to provide for their physical needs. And so Jesus cares for the whole person – body and soul. Jesus is the same today. He is never inconvenienced by your needs but will seek to meet them if you come to him in prayer. His love and compassion and sympathy extends to you too! In another gospel, we are told the disciples want to send the crowd away to fend for themselves. What a contrast – the disciples do not want to try and help whilst Jesus is motivated by compassion.

I love the question Jesus asks Philip in order to test how much he understands about Jesus’ ability. Verse 5: ‘Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?’ Philip can only think in financial terms, and concludes they just don’t have the money to feed 20,000 people. They cannot cope with this kind of catering problem. Even after Jesus had turned water into wine, Philip is not yet instinctively factoring in Jesus’ power to the situation. Nevertheless, Jesus’ question drives home the point that there is no human solution to this problem. It requires a supernatural one. Andrew (verse 8) considers their current material resources (one packed lunch!), and also concludes that they just cannot help the crowd.

Jesus looks out at the 20,000 or so and is completely undaunted. He knows he has the resources within himself to provide for each and every person in the crowd. He is not limited as we are but is able to meet all of our needs, physical and spiritual. He cares about your empty stomach. But he cares infinitely more about your empty soul.

Imagine you were part of that vast crowd. You would have had plenty of bread and fish. Jesus supernaturally extends a boy’s packed lunch of five small loaves and 2 fish. The fact that 12 basketfuls of food are left over just underlines the astonishing ability of Jesus to provide us with all that we need and more.

The response of the crowd in verse 14 might sound promising at first: ‘Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.’ But when we take a closer look, their estimation of Jesus is totally wrong. They want Jesus to be their king (verse 15) but in a political sense and not a spiritual one. The crowd are more interested in Israel’s political freedom from the Romans and in Jesus’ ability to provide food and to heal the sick than they are to find in Jesus forgiveness from sin and eternal life. The crowd just see the sign, but they do not see what the sign is pointing to. Let’s not be like the crowd! May each of us consider this sign and understand what it teaches us about who Jesus really is and why he left Heaven, coming to earth. May we see Jesus, who can provide us with living bread for eternal life.

What lessons can we learn from this wonderful passage?

2. Jesus’ ability to help in every situation

When Philip looked out at the huge crowd, he sees the need but forgets all about Jesus’ power. He sees the situation from a human perspective only, forgetting God. So often, I am like Philip. Perhaps you are too. We might look at our small and fragile church, in a town of massive spiritual need. How can Kirkcaldy Free Church help? We don’t have the resources, do we? Should we even try to engage with people? What can we do? People don’t seem interested in the gospel. Who wants to hear about sin and the urgent need all people have for forgiveness?

Our resources seem so small. Like the 5 loaves and 2 fish, we have only 1 elder and 1 deacon and we are not financially viable at the moment. It’s easy to look at our own landscape in 2026 and conclude, there’s nothing we can do. However, what have we forgotten? We have forgotten that Jesus can take our little resources and do wonderful things with it. He wants us to see the poverty of our own resources – we cannot change a single heart. But he also wants us to trust that he is able to work in the lives of our families and communities and work places. The question is, will we continue sharing the gospel with others, believing God has the power to do what we cannot do?

This also applies to the problems of our own lives. We have problems in our families and in our own hearts too. The situation might seem bleak and hopeless. But is any situation hopeless as far as Jesus is concerned? In New Zealand, I met some Christian friends whose son ended up in a cult and marrying some from that cult. These parents carried the pain of that for 12 years. But in faith, they never stopped believing that Jesus could turn the situation around, and eventually he did.

We never know what the end of our story is going to be. But all the time, whilst we worry ourselves sick and doubt and fear, Jesus (just like in verse 6) already has in mind what he is going to do in these situations. None of our situations phase him. Nothing is beyond his help. No one is beyond his help. Keep on trusting and committing our lives to him in prayer, believing that that in him there is an astonishing abundance of resources. What a wonderful thing that is. Bring your troubles to Jesus in prayer.

3. The bread Jesus offers us

This miracle is about far more than physical bread. Actual bread, nourishes our body and gives energy and life but only for a time- then we become hungry again. What is the spiritual bread which gives eternal life? Not ‘what’ but ‘who’! Jesus himself is the bread: ‘Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’ (John 6:35)

‘I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live for ever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.’ Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’(John 6:48-52)

What does Jesus mean when he says we must ‘eat his flesh’? It means to trust in Jesus for ourselves in a personal way. It is more than believing facts about Jesus. You might have heard the fact that Jesus died on the cross for sinners. But to ‘eat Jesus’ flesh’ as the bread of life means to be able to say: ‘I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins so that I can be forgiven and have eternal life.’

The manna God sent to the Israelites in the desert was a blessing but gave only temporary physical life. Jesus is the true manna from Heaven and he gives us eternal life. ‘Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live for ever.’ (John 6:57-58)

John Calvin puts it beautifully: Christ is ‘eaten’ by believing because faith makes Christ ours and communicates the benefits of Christ to us. In other words, we must actively trust Jesus and as we do so, we are ‘eating his flesh’. This happens when we become Christians but as Christians we are meant to ‘feed upon’ Christ each and every day.

For example, you might be anxious about something: ‘What if everything goes wrong?’ The solution-feed on Christ. We say to ourselves, ‘Christ is my Shepherd. Christ has promised never to leave me. Christ is Lord over what I cannot control. Therefore, I can entrust myself to him’.

Here’s another example. You fall into the same old sin. It’s easy to instinctively respond: ‘I have failed again. I need to do better.’ But that’s not the answer! The solution is feeding on Christ, by saying: ‘Yes, my sin is real. But Christ’s righteousness is greater. Christ died for sinners. My acceptance before God is not resting on today’s performance but on Christ’s finished work.’

Here’s a challenging question – what are you feeding on? People typically feed on: approval, money, achievement, romance, entertainment, pornography, food, alcohol, social media, political causes, ministry success, people’s praise, control, and comfort. None of these things satisfy in a lasting way. None of them brings life.

What you really need to understand is that Jesus himself is the only bread that satisfies and that gives eternal life. We need a relationship with Jesus Christ, talking to him in prayer, listening to him as we read the Bible, and trusting him day by day.

The tragedy of the crowd was not that they wanted bread. The tragedy was that they had the Bread of Life standing in front of them and wanted something else. Feeding upon Christ is living upon him – his person, his promises, his righteousness, his cross, his resurrection and his grace.

If you feel hungry again today, then don’t be surprised. Go back to the Bread. If you’ve sinned again, then go back to the Bread. If you’re anxious again, then go back to the Bread. If you’re discouraged again, then go back to the Bread. And if you’re weary again, then go back to the Bread. You don’t need a new Saviour. You need to feed again on the Saviour you already have.

Sermon: Sunday, 24th May, 2026
Speaker: Charlie Ross
Scripture: Mark 2:23-28 and Mark 3:1-12

Do you know the Son of Man? Jesus is the most known name in history, the most recognised name in history. I assume if you are sat here today, you have heard the name Jesus. For many of us, we have sat listening to Jesus’ name for decades. But do you know the Son of Man,  the second person of the Trinity, the eternal Godhead? 

We today meet two groups in Mark chapter 3 and they both know Jesus. Some are incredibly excited about him. Some see the commotion Jesus can cause,  and are worried about it. But they do not know the Son of Man. The others know the Son of Man, who calls his people; he is known to his people and he changes his people.

1. The chaos of the crowd

In chapter 3 of Mark, we pick up with the Pharisees looking for a way to catch Jesus out. They have been following him with a plot to watch him heal on the Sabbath, which he does. ‘Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.’   (Mark 3:6)

The Pharisees have been trying to trap him for a while now and they have seen him heal on the Sabbath. This is out of order for them. After they see this they begin to plot out with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. The NIV says they begin to plot. The ESV says immediately they held counsel. They instantly go to the Herodians.

Now, why is that a shock? The Pharisees and the Herodians tend to hate each other. The Pharisees are, as most of us will know, these religious fundamentalists, they are ultra-strict, very legalistic, they add on to God’s law, they have traditions on top of the law. The Herodians are a political movement. They are opportunists. They are secular nationalists and are, in many ways, the oppressor to the Pharisees. So the fact that these two groups have come together in council to kill Jesus is a spectacular thing. 

Jesus is, this moment, the sovereign master of time, knows it is for him a time to withdraw from this tense situation. He does not run from these people, but he knows the time and the place is to get away from the synagogue and down to the wild open shore of the Sea of Galilee.

With that, we move from the oppressors against Christ and his life to this chaotic crowd who love Jesus. This is a diverse crowd that come from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem,  Idumea,  Jordan, and Tyre and Sidon. This is an enormous mass migration from all around the region. People are traveling over 100 miles on foot to come and hear and see this man. They’ve come from Jewish strongholds,  from different Roman political centres, and from Gentile territories as well. And the gospel call is spilling past these boundaries. This is not just a Jewish crowd, it’s a foreshadowing of the inclusion of the Gentiles.

This crowd are causing somewhat of a stampede. Jesus has to have a boat ready from the mob to avoid him being pushed likely into the sea as the people comes closer and closer and to keep him ready from being physically trampled. These people are obviously excited about Jesus. These people are desperate to see Jesus.

We read in verse 10 that they’re coming with diseases. They know of his healing power. They want to touch him. They want to get close. They are seeing Jesus, this utility, this miracle man. They are so close to Jesus, even touching him. But this crowd appears not to have any curiosity to what he says. Instead, the curiosity seems to be entirely with what he may be able to perform or do. They look at the Son of Man,  but see a 30-year-old man.

Today could be like this crowd. We’re sitting here to get a touch of Jesus. We want to be physically close to the things of God – to being in church, to hearing sermons, to singing hymns, liking our Christian culture, the routine. But being spiritually dead, treating Jesus as a commodity, as a tick box in our week – yep I was in church on Sunday morning – being spiritually blind. Are we following Jesus the nice stories, the useful life coach while missing a sovereign saviour? 

There’s a crowd, there’s the Pharisees and the Herodians all seeing Jesus. And there’s a terrifying irony with these three groups all laying their eyes on Jesus. In verse 11, it’s the impure spirits that see him and know who he is. ‘Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God.’   (Mark 6:11) They know who he is.

The religious leaders see a threat, the crowds see a product, but the demons look at a 30-year-old Nazarine and instantly recognise the eternal second person of the triune God. They fall in terror. The demons have a flawless confessional theology. They know exactly who he is. Yet they have no transformation in their heart. Their intelligence is useless. They believe, but they shudder. They know God is in front of them, but they do not want him.

The demons, calling out Jesus’ name, are trying to perform ancient exorcism on him. This is the mechanics of what they are trying to do. Naming something is an act of dominance. God creates the world and names day, night and sky and he gives Adam the authority to name the animals, giving the control of the animals to Adam. Your parents named you as they had power and control over you.

And it’s the belief in the first century that if you have a demon in front of you naming it by its secret name, you might gain control over it. This naming is a defensive strike against the Son of God, hence why Jesus snaps back with authority and says not to tell others about him. What they’re doing is trying to start a war and name Jesus before he is to be known. Their attempt and their attack is shut down and we see Christ’s calm and powerful sovereignty. One command, no trial, no debate, it is over.

So we have been in this chaos. A place where the Son of Man is exploited by consumers or attacked by rebels. And the human agenda of the time has turned this scene into absolute chaos. Christ withdraws from the chaos. He heads up to the mountainside.

2. The call

We are led up to the mountain, a sharp shift. And to a Jewish reader, this sharp shift is a parallel to Moses on Sinai, going up to receive the law and constitute the 12 tribes of Israel. Jesus isn’t going to receive the law, he is ascending to issue a sovereign decree by his own authority. He is the God of Sinai in human flesh, creating a new Israel.

We read in Luke’s account (chapter 6), that on the mountain before anything is decreed from Christ, he spent the night in prayer. He does not pray because Hh lacks wisdom, nor because he is dependent on human counsel. This is an insight into the inner life of the Trinity – the eternal Son acting in perfect, voluntary harmony with the Father through the Holy Spirit.

This is not an impulse act by a human teacher. It is the Father and Son in perfect communication and alignment through the Spirit. It could be easy when we’re looking at the story from Mark here to pass over that, but Luke makes a point that he spent the night up praying, and we in that see the Trinity in action.

And from that, we can see that Christ is clearly not just a man. This is the counsel of the Godhead working out salvation before the foundation of the world. Christ has pulled his followers up the hill out of the chaos of the crowd in the same way that Christ pulls a modern believer out of the chaos of the world and into his kingdom. We don’t slide into our faith, into union with God; we are sovereignly pulled out by the caller. 

Let’s look at the sovereign invitation here to those whom he desired. Christ’s calling of these twelve men is on his own authority. There’s no ask for a resume or applications. There’s no call for volunteers. He calls by his own will and pleasure. He calls us out of the mass of mankind, not for any foreseen good in them, but out of his mere free grace. The apostles weren’t chosen because they were anything special. You did not put yourself forward to Christ. You cannot put yourself forward to Christ because you think you are a useful man or woman to God. God desires you and calls you to himself, not for any foreseen good, but out of his own mere free grace. 

The Westminster Confession : And because of this, our call is not rooted in our own character, not rooted in our own performance or our own security, but instead on the anchor that is God’s unchangeable character, on his perfect love.

The apostles have an instantaneous, irresistible response. The reality is plain. He called and they came to him. No debate, no negotiation. When a king speaks, a dead human heart wakes up and obeys. And the coming to him meant they have left the crowd behind, their jobs, their nets, the institutional religious authorities down discussing at the water to join a new perfect family on that mountain.

And the twelve. He chooses twelve, not as a coincidence, but as a mirroring of the twelve tribes of Israel. This is a new era and a new order and it’s a group of mismatches.

Matthew is a tax collector, he’s been working for the Roman occupiers.
Simon the Zealot is an anti-Roman nationalist, someone who in any other context would be considered a terrorist, who probably would have wanted to put a knife in Matthew.

In the presence of the Son of God, human politics are completely extinguished. There is no longer hatreds or political spectrums. As the church should be today, the apostles were then. Our human politics are real, and we will disagree. But with Christ at the centre, there is no room for our political divisions. 

There’s an array of temperaments in the disciples. There’s the hotheads and the unstable : James and John, sons of thunder, rash men who would have had explosive tempers. I don’t know anyone who has a temper so intense that they have a nickname for it, but these men do.

And then Simon Peter, a weak, impulsive, constantly failing man in human eyes, but the man whom Christ will name his rock.

And then the bookending of a warning there, Judas Iscariot; the list ends with a betrayer. You can be physically right beside Christ, called into his own circle, and still betray him. We must guard ourselves on our own salvation. If we think Judas to be an anomaly, or some distant fool, remember that Judas stood beside Christ. Judas was one of his close friends for the years of his ministry and betrayed him for money. There is a stark reality that if one of the twelve who were physically with Jesus betrayed him. In a room of 50 of us here, surely the maths suggests four or five of us who claim to be in Christ can betray him here today. So we must guard ourselves and pray that we would never be a Judas.

If you were starting a business or maybe a political organisation, if you wanted a new team put together, you would never choose these twelve characters. It’s a mismatch of hotheads, traitors, and political enemies. It’s too risky and guaranteed to fail by worldly standards.

But Jesus built his eternal church on these men. The Son of Man worked in his divine sovereign command and chose these people. And it worked, not because of their talent, but because of his power. Their preaching and the words they wrote under divine inspiration are responsible for the 
salvation of billions today. God deliberately chose the foolish, the weak, and the low.

‘Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.’   (1 Corinthians 1:26-27)

The triune God calls the weak to serve and love him. That demands an irresistible response to anyone who hears it with open ears and an open heart.

3. The Commission (Marks of an Apostle)

These twelve then have been called and appointed as apostles. In verse 13 we were told why  they were called and appointed so they might be with him and then he might send them out to preach and have authority to drive out demons. The order is absolutely non-negotiable. God first calls, then sends. Before they are ever sent, they first must be disciples, learners. Activity for God must never replace intimacy with God. As we saw, Christ spend a night in prayer before this. So the apostles must also live intimately.

I’m sure most of us know the story of Martha and Mary, both overwhelmed and excited at Jesus arriving in their town, in their house. Martha runs around crazy trying to feed and to show hospitality to Christ. Mary at his feet listening to his teaching. And then Jesus rebukes Martha and tells her to be like her sister. And that’s the same for us and for the disciples. First, we must be like Mary and listen, have an intimate relationship with Jesus, with the Son of Man, before we serve. 

Our service will, of course, be different to the service of the Apostles. The Apostles were set out, they were ambassadors, set out with the authority of Christ. When they spoke they weren’t offering advice or opinions; they were delivering royal decree from their own king. They were to preach and to cast out demons. The authority of the apostles, they were able to heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out the demons. They were given infallible divine inspiration. They were able to write scripture. They saw the resurrected Christ. They were sent out by God and they had authority over all churches. They did not have a local charge.

And we must draw a line between that service and the service we are called to. The office of apostle has ceased. There is no longer divine inspiration. There is no longer that power to be had. It’s finished with the apostles.

Conclusion

It is a blessing to us to live where the apostolic age is over. We have the completed, infallible Word of God left behind by the very apostles. We can maybe be like the crowd craving the touch, craving the spectacular. We wish to see an apostle heal someone or look for a modern miracle.

So many Christians and churches can get pulled looking for the spectacular. There are so many people are stuck saying, if only I could find a sign I would follow. And that would be the irony of this story. You’d be stuck on the crowd looking at the physical man, Jesus. They saw all his power but were blind to it. They wanted to touch a temporary fix. They wanted a sign, totally missing God standing on the beach in front of them on the shores. Seeing the signs didn’t save them.

We don’t have the physical man or physical men in front of us today. We do not have apostles giving letters to our churches. We have something far greater than that. Stop chasing the spectacular. Stop treating Jesus like a commodity to be managed. God has spoken finally, fully and sufficiently in all the pages of scripture. True discipleship is not running after a sign or an experience.
It is sitting at the feet of the Son of Man.

Don’t follow the man; know the God who calls His people.

Sermon: Sunday, 8th February, 2026
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Acts 18:1-17

The Christian life is often described in the Bible as a race. It’s not a short sprint but is more akin to a marathon. Like a runner in a marathon, there are times when we ‘hit the wall’. What does it mean for a runner to ‘hit the wall’? It means that all the exhaustion and pain and doubt all converge together and we hear that voice in our heads: ‘It would make sense to give up now.’ You want to quit. Why do most carry on? It’s because of the encouragements along the way, like the voice of your coach or the clapping of the crowd or refreshment at a water station. Perhaps we don’t talk about it as honestly as we should, but many are tempted to stop being involved in God’s work. Listen to the words of the great leader Joshua in : ‘Alas, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!’   (Joshua 7:7)

This morning, I would like us to consider the apostle Paul, and a time he seems to ‘hit a wall’, at the start of his ministry in Corinth. We are not told explicitly that he wants to give up, but it is clear that running the race has become extremely difficult. The discouragements seem to be piling up. How will God deal with his servant? As we look together at Paul’s discouragement and then the encouragements he receives, I hope it will do 2 things – we will become more realistic in our view of the Christian life as one which is really tough, but we will also be reminded of encouragements which we can also focus on in order to help is to keep on running and serving the Lord.

1. Paul’s discouragements

We read that Paul receives a vision from Jesus who said to him: ‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.’   (Acts 18:9) This suggests to us that Paul was indeed afraid about his new work in Corinth and that he was tempted to stop the work of proclaiming Jesus as Saviour and King and was tempted to stop urging people to place their trust in him. We also remember in Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth when he writes, ‘I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling.’   (1 Corinthians 2:3) Sometimes I think we wrongly picture Paul as some kind of superhero who sure, experienced beatings and shipwrecks but just kept bouncing back up. Do not believe it. He was an ordinary man who carried many scars of ministry. Let’s consider some of the tough things he was contending with.

First of all, there’s just the fact of how tough ministry is.

Gordon Keddie: ‘Their regular hardships were the ordinary things: the long dusty miles trudging the highways of the Roman world, the sore legs, the tiredness, the sickness, the discomforts, the indifference of happy pagans, the suspicion of proud Jews, the sheer effort of going on and being faithful followers of Jesus Christ.’

There is also the place itself – Corinth. Corinth was situated on the Isthmus of Corinth, a narrow neck of land with 2 harbours, one on the east and one on the west. Between the harbours was a 3½ mile long road, where ships could be dragged on wooden logs. This made Corinth a hub of world trade and it grew wealthy as a result. It had a huge population; some estimate it at around 200,000 people. It is fair to say that it was a spiritual disaster zone. It was a centre for the goddess Aphrodite, the goddess of love and so there were around 1000 shrine prostitutes who would ply their trade at night. Corinth was so well-known for its sexual immorality that there was even a verb ‘to Corinthianise’ somewhere, which meant a person had lost any sense of sexual morality. Do you think it was easy ministering there? Would he not have been daunted at the thought of evangelising such people? I am sure many of us can relate to that today in our own culture which is also full of idolatry and sexual immorality. Most in Scotland do what is right in their own eyes, and not in the Lord’s eyes.

Paul must have felt spiritually jaded following his time in Athens, the place he had just left. He experienced only a little spiritual fruit there. And now he has to start afresh in Corinth on his own.

As he normally did in a new town or city, Paul began witnessing to the Jewish people. How did that go? We read: ‘And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, ‘Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.’   (Acts 18:4-6)

Paul is a man who has met the risen Jesus and whose life has been transformed by him. In love, Paul wants to reach his own people the Jews and tell them about Jesus. That’s why we want to tell our friends about Jesus! However, he faces great opposition and resistance and this is not an easy thing to deal with. Paul makes the dramatic gesture (verse 6) of shaking the dust off his clothes, a sign that he was not responsible for their hardness to the message of Jesus and that their blasphemous response would have serious consequences. It is so discouraging when preachers preach and see very little change in people’s lives, whether in terms of conversions or direct opposition to the gospel.

Remember too that Paul is working as a tent-maker through the week and so he must have been physically exhausted combining a 9-5 job with the weighty task of evangelism. This also suggests Paul might have run out of money and so was forced to work on two fronts at once.

All of these discouragements remind us that the Christian life is far from easy. It is a battle. We need to expect discouragement and when we talk to people about Jesus, whether at home, work or in the community, we need to expect opposition. This is normal and should not catch us by surprise.

It would be easy for us to look out at Fife and see the 99% of people who do not know Jesus and just feel like giving up. Here’s a question to help us as we think about that. How did God view Corinth and how does God view Fife? Does he just see a place of moral darkness that we should just forget about? Verse 10 is a window into the heart of God: ‘I have many in this city who are my people.’ There were many in Corinth and in Fife too who have an inner yearning to know who God is and how we can get to know him. They long for meaning and purpose in their lives. And ultimately, this meaning and purpose come from the gospel. And God is determined to seek them out and find them. And God is going to use Paul to reach them. He will use us to reach Fife. This is how God works.

2. The encouragements which keep Paul going

We all need encouragement in our work. Even Jesus did. At the start of his ministry, God the Father encourages him at his baptism, telling him: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’   (Mark 1:11) Paul needed encouragement and we too need it in order to keep on going. How does the Lord encourage Paul here?

Encouragement through friendship. Although arriving in Corinth alone, the Lord provides Paul with work, a place to live and also deep and meaningful friendship with Aquila and Priscilla, with whom Paul becomes partners in ministry. We cannot underestimate this. Even more than that, Silas and Timothy arrive from Macedonia, probably with a financial gift enabling Paul to give up his tent-making and focus on preaching and teaching. Perhaps there is a principle here that Christian workers are not meant to be on their own. After all, when Jesus sent out the 72 we read in Luke’s gospel; ‘After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.’   (Luke 10:1) I am so pleased there’s a core team in Leven Free Church, and that it is not just Geoff on his own. We should not be isolated in ministry.

The Lord also encourages us with gospel fruit. When Paul moves away from his ministry in the synagogue he does not stagnate; he moves next door to the home of Titius Justus. He now has a new ministry base. God wonderfully works in the life of Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his family.

And there is more! ‘… many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptised.’   (Acts 18:8) These are same people who were so tangled up in sexual immorality and idolatry. But God is merciful. God is clearly at work. We can also see these things today in our own churches. God has saved people in this church and in Leven – someone in Leven even in the last few days. God is at work. This really does put a spring in our step and reminds us that God is changing people.

But the greatest encouragement in this passage has to be the timely vision which God gives to encourage Paul to keep going in the work: ‘One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.’   (Acts 18:9-10)

God promises Paul his presence. I will be with you. This is the greatest promise any of us can have. But is this promise just for Paul? No! It is for all Christians. Hebrews speaks to all Christians, whatever their situation might be: ‘Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?’   (Hebrews 13:5-6) And we know that Jesus promises at the end of Matthew, that as ordinary people like us make disciples, we go and share the gospel with this promise: ‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations… And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’   (Matthew 28:19) Does that encourage you?

Many people want to shut Christians up about Jesus. They say again and again ‘There’s no such thing as truth, just your truth.’ But that absolute statement is wrong in itself. Some will talk about any taboo subject, but will not discuss the gospel. But many others are willing to speak about these things. God says to us today: ‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent’. He wants us to tell others just how much Jesus has done for us. And when we face hassle and opposition (and we will) he promises to be with us. That ought to give us confidence and resilience as a church family. He wants us to open our Bibles up with people who do not know the Bible and chat with them. We cannot do this on our own strength, but we can with God with us. Keep praying for people and keep talking with people about the Lord.

Let’s end with the thrilling promise Paul receives: ‘..because I have many people in this city.’   (Acts 18:10) God is encouraging Paul by revealing to him many people are going to become Christians, even in this decadent city. God will do it and he will use his people. Paul now knows he will not be killed or prevented from preaching in Corinth, because it is God’s plan to save many people there. And that’s exactly what happened. This promise energises the discouraged and tired apostle, giving him renewed zeal in his gospel labour. It reminds me of Jesus’ words in John chapter 10: ‘My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.’   (John 10:27-29)

Does God say to us today: ‘I have many people in Fife’? I don’t think that is a stretch. I believe that there are many people in Fife who belong to the Lord, but do not know it yet. God might well use us, through our prayers, through our example and through our words (all 3 things) to bring them to faith. Jesus promises that some of the seed will fall on good soil and grow. The LORD promises Abraham that his spiritual descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. What does this mean for us? It means that there are people waiting to hear the gospel, and when they hear it, God will awaken them. Ask Martin in Leven as it just happened to him. Ask Daniel who was here in KFC. God uses our prayers and uses our witness. Let’s keep going in sharing Jesus with an expectation, an expectation that God will save his people. What an encouragement!

Sermon: Sunday, 1st February, 2026
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: John 6:22-29

Imagine you come to the church and the car park is full. People are queuing up to get in. It’s a Meal with a Message event. The lasagne (both beef and vegetarian) is enjoyed by all. Some people even have seconds. The church is packed and there’s a real buzz about the place. Before the sticky toffee pudding, a speaker has been asked to give her testimony. How has Jesus transformed her life and how might he transform our lives today? Just as she is about to speak, four people head out for a cigarette. Several others are scrolling on their phones, and a few people are quietly chatting away as she speaks. Most people seem to be listening, but if you could read their thoughts, you would know that many are not listening at all. They are looking forward to their dessert and wondering what they are going to do tomorrow. A few people are really engaged in what is being said, and wonder if Jesus could change their lives too. Why are most people there? Is it to discover more about God or for the food? You can come to a Meal with a Message and receive a lovely meal. But you will get hungry the very next day. However, if you come and place your trust in Jesus, you will be satisfied with him forever.

That’s the kind of thing going on in John chapter 6. Jesus has just fed 5000 men and, if you factor in the women and children present, the crowd might even have been nearer 20,000. It truly was an astonishing miracle, as Jesus multiplies 5 loaves and 2 fish to feed thousands.   We read, ‘Once the crowd realised that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.’   (John 5:24)   At first, this seems to be so encouraging. There is a large crowd of people searching for Jesus. There is now a surge of interest in Jesus. He is hugely popular. We even read (verse 5) that the crowd want to make Jesus their king. These are people who are willing to follow Jesus and even fight for him. But is this an encouraging scene?

1. Motives matter

To determine whether or not this is an encouraging scene, we need to ask the question, why are the crowd following Jesus. This is crucial. And we are not left to guess the answer. In verse 25, the crowd find Jesus again and ask him how he got to the other side of the lake. They do not know that he supernaturally walked on the water. Notice that Jesus does not answer their question. Instead, he exposes their wrong motives for following him:   ‘Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.’   (John 6:26)   The words, ‘Truly, truly’ indicate that Jesus is about to say something very important. It matters a great deal why we follow Jesus.

The crowd are following Jesus because they enjoyed a free meal. And they have hopes that Jesus might be able to lead a rebellion against the Romans and give the people their land back. Perhaps he will give them more food, or other material benefits. In other words, they are more interested in what Jesus can give them than they are in getting to know Jesus himself. It’s all about what’s in it for them. They are pursuing Jesus for their own agenda, and not for Jesus’ agenda, even though he is the Son of God! The crowd only saw the bread in the miraculous sign, but not the sign in the bread.

Why did Jesus feed the 5000? What did the sign really mean? What did it signify? It meant that Jesus was none other than God come to earth. He is the Lord of all creation and able to supernaturally create more and more bread and fish. It was also a sign of why God in Jesus had come to earth. He had come in order to satisfy our deepest spiritual needs, giving us what we need not just for this life but for the whole of eternity. In fact, Jesus himself is the bread of life, as he will go on to say. It is only as we receive him, and have a relationship with him, that we can have eternal life. Tragically, the crowd are not considering the deeper significance of what is going on but only see the surface level. They are not real disciples. They do not really understand who Jesus is or why he came. In fact, they are materialists, living only for the ‘here and now’ just as so many people do today.

Imagine treating our spouse as many treat God. We get married, not because we want to spend time with and get to know and love our spouse, but only for the things we get out of it: meals made and shirts ironed and the chance of children. We know that would be an ugly and selfish marriage. We would be using someone. The same goes for God. We do not follow Christ just because we want material things for ourselves. We ought to follow him as he is the wonderful King who loves us more than anyone else. He alone can forgive us, restore us and make us what he always intended us to be- loving people, who love God and love our neighbours.

2. Don’t waste time on things which don’t last

Live in the light of eternity: Some people like to give us advice and some people are more qualified that others to give it. You might receive advice about how to save money or improve your health or how to be successful at school or work. But here Jesus is giving you solemn advice: ‘Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.’   (John 5:27)  

Jesus is solemnly advising you today not to be preoccupied and not to live for things that do not ultimately matter. Material things like cars and shares and clothes and holidays. These things have very limited value. Instead, the main thing you should concentrate on is getting right with God. Concentrate on your relationship with God. Who is giving this advice? Jesus. No one is more qualified to give you this strong advice. After all, Jesus created us and he did so with body and soul. We are more than just physical bodies like animals. We also have eternal souls. There is an eternity beyond the ‘here and now’ and we need to be ready for it.

When my uncle was dying, I asked him if he was ready to die. He thought I was asking him if he had put his affairs in order and sorted out his will and his wishes for the funeral and so on. I told him that I really mean are you ready to meet God? Did he know Jesus as his Saviour and King? Only then could he be ready to die. It didn’t matter all that much who got what from his worldly possessions. He would never see them again. But he would leave this world and enter into eternity. And that is a solemn and serious thought.

Think of the compassion and love of Jesus here. He knows the hearts of the crowd and that many are following him for material gain only. And yet he pleads with them not to waste their lives chasing after things which will not ultimately satisfy and will not last. It reminds me of Jesus famous saying in Mark’s gospel: ‘What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?’   (Mark 8:36)   What does this mean? It means that as soon as we die and enter eternity and have to face God, our possessions and savings and property will have no value whatsoever. What will matter at the point is whether or not we have placed our trust in Jesus the only Saviour.

Let me put it another way. The most important thing we can do in this life is to get ready for the next life.

John Calvin: ‘The present life is but a passage to the kingdom of heaven.’

That’s not to say that money and possessions are bad or unimportant. God gives us many good gifts to enjoy in this life and to share with others. But it means that if these things receive our primary focus, and we neglect God, then we will be full of regret in the life to come.

Imagine spending your life stockpiling bananas. They look fine for a while… and then suddenly they don’t. Jesus is asking us a simple question: Why spend your life collecting what will rot?

The missionary Jim Eliot risked his life and ultimately gave his life in order to share the good news of Jesus with others. He became a martyr. Was he crazy to do that? He said: ‘He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.’ Think of Jim Eliot now. Would he have been wiser spending his life becoming one of America’s top businessmen but then dying not trusting in Jesus. Do you think he will be richer or poorer in eternity having invested in things of spiritual value?

‘Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.’   (1 John 2:15-17)  

3. Invest your time in things which shall last

Jesus says (that we are to work: ‘…for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.’   (John 6:27)   This seems to be common sense. Don’t treasure the things which end up broken and useless. Rather, live for that which has eternal value. Focus on the most precious things. Focus on what God wants from you.

This begs the question, what does God want from us? Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.’   (John 6:28-29)  

The most valuable thing we can ever have is eternal life. The thing is, we cannot earn it. Please notice the middle of verse 27 – eternal life is a free gift which only Jesus can give us. This is ironic. We can spend our whole lives working and working for things which do not last, and all the while Jesus is offering us himself, his perfect life of obedience and his death on the cross, and it is a free gift. All we need is the empty hand of faith to come to him and receive him as Saviour and King.

Sir Alan Sugar prides himself as being a self-made man. He worked his way from the bottom up in business and is now a multi-millionaire. There are no self-made men or women in Heaven. Those in Heaven are not better than anyone else. Why are they there? Because they have believed in Jesus.

Verse 29 is a verse you must memorise. It tells you what God wants from you: ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.’   (John 6:29)   God wants you to believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins. God wants you to believe that he alone is the Saviour. There is something so simple about it. Remember Paul and Silas’ exchange with the Philippian jailor; ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved — you and your household.’   (Acts 16:30-31)

What must a beggar do to receive bread? He must hold out and empty hand. How can we receive the spiritual bread of God, which is Christ himself? Just hold out your hand and receive him even now.

John Calvin: ‘Faith brings nothing of ours to God but receives from Him what we lack.’

The gospel is simple. We contribute nothing but our need.

Imagine that a ship is sinking. A lifeboat pulls alongside it. The cry to those in the water is not, ‘Swim harder!’ It’s not, ‘First prove you can float.’ It’s not, ‘Grab an oar and help us row.’ The call is simply, ‘Get in.’ Some passengers refuse. One says, ‘I’ll try to stay afloat on my own.’ Another says, ‘Surely there must be something I have to do.’ But the tragedy is this: the only work that saves is getting into the boat – and even that is not a work of merit, but an act of trust.

‘This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he has sent.’   (John 6:29)

Sermon: Sunday, 25th January, 2026
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Luke 7:36-50

Imagine you are a dinner guest at this meal. You feel privileged to have made it to the house of Simon the Pharisee, such a well-respected member of the community. The food is delicious. You’ve been looking forward to meeting Jesus of Nazareth, having heard all kinds of things about him. The conversation is really interesting. But this meal will stay long in your memory for another reason. The dinner is gate-crashed by a local prostitute. Everyone knew the kind of things that she had done in the town. Most ‘morally upright’ people would cross the street if they saw her coming. How will Simon react? And what about Jesus? Things became more shocking. This woman seems emotionally out of control. She weeps so much that she Jesus’ feet become wet. The woman seems to forget where she is, letting down her hair and using it as a towel, before anointing his feet with perfume. You hardly notice the sweet smell because you are so shocked that Jesus allowed this woman to get so close to him.

What a contrast there is between Simon and the woman. Simon seems like a morally upright man, wealthy, stable and respectable individual. He is the kind of person you might aspire to being like. This woman, however, was shunned by the community. Home-makers had experienced her as a home-wrecker, as she had caused so much damage in her own family and that of many others through her wicked lifestyle, selling herself for money. There was no hope for someone like her, or so many thought. How could someone like that ever change? But all is not what it seems. We need to look beyond the externals of these characters and consider their hearts, as Jesus does.

1. Simon gets it wrong about the woman

There is no question that this woman had lived a ‘sinful life’; we are told so in verse 37. We are given access in to Simon’s thinking about her, being told in verse 39 that she is ‘a sinner’. I’m guessing Simon wants her out of his home as soon as possible. It’s like she’s a leper, to be avoided at all costs. Pharisees took great pride in separating themselves from those they saw as morally inferior to themselves. They were the ‘sinners’ who never attended synagogue or paid their tithes and hadn’t memorised any of the Bible. What does Simon see when he observes the actions of this woman? He sees nothing of the reality of her love and respect for Jesus. He cannot even understand it, just as our non-Christian friends can’t understand our devotion to Jesus. He judges her harshly, and looks down on her. He is wrong about her. The truth is, this woman is a model of how we ought to relate to God, whilst Simon is a warning of how not to.

Jesus says to Simon (verse 44): ‘Do you see this woman?’   Of course, he sees her physically. She’s stands out (just a little) amongst the other guests. He sees her, but he doesn’t see her, her loving heart.

2. Simon gets it wrong about himself

I don’t think that Simon sees himself as a perfect man, but as a good man. He is self-righteous. When he compares himself to the non-religious in the town, and especially to ‘great sinners’ like this woman, it makes him feel even better about himself, and his own accomplishments. When I was young, every year we’d have a family gathering on Christmas day with cousins and grandparents. I always had to stand back-to-back with my cousin as we were the same age and aunts and uncles wanted to see who was the tallest. It was annoying, especially as I was always smaller. My cousin always felt good about himself because he was standing next to someone shorter. Simon does this spiritually and so he ends up more aware of the women’s sin that of his own.

It’s so dangerous for us to make comparisons with other people when we think about our own morality. Why? Because we always try and look at people we think as worse than we are, and that makes us feel taller. The Bible says we need to compare ourselves to God’s righteous law, and when we do that, none of us has a leg to stand on. Romans chapter 3 says again and again: ‘… all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.’   That goes for the religious and for the pagans. That goes for everyone. We all have a huge moral debt before God which we cannot ever pay. We are all in the same boat – debtors to God.

Simon is deceiving himself. His religious activities are not what God wants from him. Outwardly he might look the part, and he thinks God is pleased with his religious acts, but inwardly he has no heart-love for Jesus. He desperately needs forgiveness. Blind-spots are dangerous when driving. But to have a blind-spot about our own sin is far more dangerous. Simon is wrong in his self-evaluation. Most people are like Simon: thinking they are good. Do you have this blind-spot?

We all need to understand, being religious and doing religious things cannot get rid of your guilt and sin. Only receiving Jesus as your Saviour and king can do that.

3. Simon gets it wrong about Jesus

‘If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is — that she is a sinner.’   (Luke 7:39)   Just what is Simon’s wrong assumption? He assumes that Jesus cannot be a prophet sent by God, because God wants us to stay clear of sinners like this. He couldn’t be more wrong about God’s attitude towards those who have messed up.   Jesus answered them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’   (Luke 5:31-32)   In Luke 15 we see God’s attitude to sinners as God is pictured as the father with his arms open wide to receive sinners who come back to him in repentance. In Luke 18 we see from the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector that God justifies those who humble themselves before him and ask for mercy, and that the self-righteous ones will be brought low.

What a wonderful truth for us all to hear this morning. No one is too bad to be forgiven by God. There is nothing that is in our past which God cannot forgive. I hope none of you feel, ‘I’m too bad to be forgiven’ because of something you have done, whether a sexual sin, or one of greed, or ways you have hurts others in the past. Jesus came to rescue messed up people like us. He came for the broken and dysfunctional and the hopeless and the needy. As we shall shortly sing, ‘Jesus! What a friend of sinners’.

4. Jesus’ assessment of the woman

It’s what Jesus thinks of the woman that really counts, and not what Simon thinks. Simon made comparisons of external things and came to the wrong conclusion. Jesus, however, knows the heart and what actions flow out of it. He simply compares the actions of Simon with the actions of the woman. Any good host ought to have greeted their guests with a kiss, made provisions for having their feet washed and poured oil on the heads. Simon does none of these things. It’s as if Jesus is saying, ‘Do you really want to compare things Simon?’ Jesus receives and appreciates the love and devotion of this woman. She cleans his feet with her tears and wipes them with her hair. She pours expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet.

Jesus knows why this woman does these things. These actions flow out of a heart of love for Jesus. Why does she love him? Because she is so grateful to Jesus for forgiving her for all her sins. These are tears of thankfulness.   ‘… her many sins have been forgiven – as her great love has shown.’   (Luke 7:47)

What a simple yet powerful parable Jesus tells to highlight this great principle of the Christian life – that those who have been forgiven much, love much. Jesus is the moneylender, the woman is the one with the great debt cancelled and Simon the other debtor, with a smaller debt.

This is not the first time she has met with Jesus. She used to be a prostitute, but then she came to faith in Jesus, perhaps meeting him in a crowd (we do not know) and now her heart is bursting with thankfulness because of the forgiveness she has received. She is no longer a slave to her past. She has been set free by Jesus. Simon sees her as she used to be – a prostitute – and this blinds him to who she really is now, a shining example of faith and love.

This passage is utterly beautiful. A woman who had made such a mess of her life and the lives of others, is changed and transformed by the love and forgiveness of Jesus. This is what brings about true change in people: the love and forgiveness of Jesus. Which character are you like in this passage? Are you so thankful to Jesus for rescuing you from the kingdom of darkness and bringing you into the Kingdom of Jesus that you will do anything for him? Do you understand just how much you have been forgiven and express love to Jesus in loving action?

JC Ryle: ‘Grateful love is the secret of doing much for Christ.’

I’m sure all of us want to do more for God, witness more for him, be more involved in and serve in his church, and live holy lives for him in our work and families. The change will only come from within, not by the minister trying to make you feel guilty or by trying to keep up with others. It is as we appreciate just how much Jesus has done on the cross and how much we have been forgiven that our hearts will overflow with love for Jesus, which will lead to serving Jesus with all he has given us.

Like this woman, I cannot change the things I have done in the past. Sometimes I thought I’d never escape them. But the truth is that Jesus is able to deal with those sins. And the words he says to this woman, he says to us too, when we come to him in faith: Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’   (Luke 7:50) Can you imagine how wonderful it was for this woman to be set free from the chains of her past sin.

K Hughes: ‘Her life had been one of constant rejection, but now she had been accepted by God.’

Perhaps her parents had written her off and said ‘you’ll never change’. But people do change, through the forgiveness and love of God. And if God believes people can change then we ought to believe that too.

5. Jesus’ view of Simon

Just briefly, let’s notice that Jesus focuses on what Simon does not do for him. Three times we read ‘You did not’. What matters most to God is how we treat his Son, the Lord Jesus. Will we trust in him? Will we show him our love and give him our best, which are signs that we do trust in him. Through a short parable, Jesus explains the uncomfortable truth to Simon that he lacks these loving actions because he has no idea just how much moral debt he is in before God. Simon has a moral debt he cannot pay. Respectable people in Fife are just as much in debt before God as drug users, prostitutes and prisoners. If only Simon were to see this, he would cast himself on Jesus for mercy. Let’s be clear – Simon’s lack of love towards Jesus tells us that he has no real faith in him. Faith without deeds is dead.

G Campbell Morgan: ‘Jesus notices neglect and he values adoration.’

Again, are we those who show our love for Jesus?

6. Challenges for us today

Evangelism: we must remember that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. As we think about our neighbours and colleagues, we must not be put off by their past sin, or by their present sin, and just write them off. Of course, we have to be careful and not join the sins of others. But we must not have the attitude of Simon, who kept away from people like this woman. Remember that we won’t speak to people about Jesus if we don’t speak to people. And we’re not called to speak just to the ‘morally upright’ but to all people. Are you praying for and witnessing to all kinds of people, people the Lord has placed you beside? Perhaps God will use you. Jesus spends time with the outcast, with the self-righteous religious people (who also needed a Saviour) and everyone in between. We are lights in this world, called to shine into the darkness.

Our motivation: remember that all real Christian love must be based on our understanding of the enormity of our sins, and the forgiveness which has been granted to us through faith in Jesus. Do you love Jesus more or less than this time last year? If less, go back to basics, and remember what you have been saved from and saved to, and the cost that this necessitated.

If you are not a Christian yet, what a huge encouragement this passage should be to you to come to Jesus and confess your sins to him in prayer. You don’t have to clean up your act before coming to Jesus; come as you are and confess your sins. Ask Jesus to change your heart. If you do, then these wonderful words spoken to the woman will be yours also: v50 Your faith has saved you; go in peace.

Come to Jesus as you are. Notice that in verse Simon is just thinking that Jesus is not a prophet. Jesus knows what he is thinking. And in response Jesus tells a short and devastating parable. Friends, Jesus is the same today. He knows what we are thinking – all the lust and pride and anger and jealousy and more. Because Jesus is God. That’s a marvellous thing – because Jesus is God, and because he died on the cross, he is qualified to forgive our sin.   Then Jesus said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ The other guests began to say among themselves, ‘Who is this who even forgives sins?’   (Luke 7:48-49)

It’s amazing that the woman never speaks in this story, and yet her tears speak volumes – she is sorry for her past life and so thankful for forgiveness. Her actions speak volumes – her heart is now full of love for Jesus.   ‘Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.’   (Luke 7:47)

Which character are you like? Simon, or the woman?

Please note : As a result of a technical hitch, the sound on the video does not kick in until around 13 minutes. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Sermon: Sunday, 18th January, 2026
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Psalm 16

A few years ago, most of us didn’t lock our phones. Now we use fingerprints, face scans, and backup passwords, just to feel safe. We insure our homes, our health, and our cars. All of this tells us something about the world we’re living in: people are increasingly unsure of what can really be relied on. We’re all looking for security, because deep down, we know how fragile life is. Many people who feel they lack security become very anxious. We just want to know things will be ok.

1. Secure in God

Where or who do you run to when things go wrong? Who is your refuge, your safe place? Where does your security lie? Psalm 7, and 11, and 46 all begin as this Psalm does: ‘Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.’   (Pslam 16:1) In some Psalms we know the exact reason David needs refuge. He might be being pursued by King Saul or by the Philistines. However, here, we are not told. Perhaps, it’s severe illness he struggles with as death is a theme which dominates the end of the Psalm. In any case, what we see here, and all over the Psalms, is that God’s people instinctively take shelter in God himself. When we are in trouble we look to God. Whatever the problem might be, the best thing we can do is get on our knees and pray and ask for help.

Remember that David is the king. He is a wealthy king who has been successful in battle again and again. It would be easy for David to begin to trust in himself and in his own strength and gifts. He could trust in his army or in his money. But David is a man close to God. He knows that all he has comes from God and that without God he is nothing. Who else can David turn to in order to protect him from death? Death comes to us all. Death is no respecter of money and power. Who can forgive our sins but God? Who can take us through the valley of death but God. I love it when Jesus asks his disciples if they are going to leave him and Peter says: ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.’   (John 6:68-69)

‘The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.’   (Proverbs 18:10) Do you want to have safety in this life and the life to come? Would you like to live under the protection of God? Following Jesus is the only way! Many people are self-reliant in their problems. They think they can handle anything. The truth is that I cannot handle anything without God. Sometimes, even as a Christians we can revert back to self-reliance. What do you do in times of trouble? We can look first to ourselves or to friends, or even alcohol. We can distract ourselves with entertainment or hobbies or travel. Real and lasting security is in God alone.

2. Delighting in God

Again, David is the king, but he knows who the boss is. He knows who is truly in charge of the universe. It is the LORD: ‘I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord.’   (Psalm 16:2a) We might think we are in charge of our own lives, but the truth is that we did not ask to be created. It was nothing to do with us. God made us and he is in charge. We live in his world and we breathe his air. David says: ‘… apart from you I have no good thing.’   (Psalm 16:2b) Of course, this does not mean David doesn’t regard his health and family and friends as good things. He does. But he knows that all these good things come from the hand of God. And it is his relationship with God and trust in him which is of far greater importance than anything money can buy. He is saying, in effect, you LORD are all I really need. You are my supreme treasure. You could be the wealthiest most successful man who ever lived, but without God you lack what really matters and what we have been made for – a relationship with God. ‘What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?’   (Matthew 16:26)

3. Delighting in the people of God

‘I say of the holy people who are in the land, ‘They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.’   (Psalm 16:3) We cannot say ‘I love Jesus, but I’ve no time for Christians.’ What do all Christians have in common? We are sinners for whom Christ has died. We are those who have been rescued by Jesus. And this gives us such a strong bond with Christians all over the world. ‘…we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people…’   Colossians 1 v4) Love for other believers is one of the hallmarks of being a true follower of Jesus. It is not an optional extra. When people come into this church this love must be evident and obvious.

We should genuinely look forward to meeting one another week by week. And if someone is missing for a week or two, we should take an interest and check in with them and make sure they are ok. If someone is struggling then we reach out to them. ‘… in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.’   (Philippians 2:3-4) Let me ask you: do you have a special love for the people of God? David does.

4. Delighting in God exclusively

Britain is a pluralistic society. Most people encourage us to validate all religions and none as equally valid. But for David, truth is more important than offering false validation. In v4 we are told that David will not take the names of false gods upon his lips. In fact, David warns that worshipping anything and anyone other than the LORD is a road to misery.

Who or what is your god? You might say, ‘I don’t have one.’. But we all live for something or someone, and that is your god. And the scary thing is that ‘good things’ can easily become ‘God things’. It’s good to be sensible with our money, but it is a short journey from there to money becoming what we live for. The same goes for our possessions. If we love things too much, then our possessions begin to possess us, and we forget all about God and the needs of other people. We become selfish consumers, interested mainly in our own wants, needs and feelings. Let us be clear: living for anything other than Jesus will not bring lasting satisfaction. Those things will not be any use as you lie in your hospital bed, close to meeting your Maker. Again, let me ask you, who or what are you living for? Where will this lead you in the end?

5. A rich inheritance from God

Have you ever received a financial inheritance? Perhaps you have and it made a significant difference to your life. Perhaps you received money and that helped you buy a house. An earthly inheritance can make a difference for a short time. The beautiful language of this Psalm teaches us that for David, God himself is his ‘delightful inheritance’ (Psalm 16:6) and that is something which can never be taken from him or lost. He says (verse 5) that God alone is his portion and cup. We know what it means if someone says ‘My cup is running over’. We have all we need and more. Here, David is saying that in knowing God he has everything he could ever wish or hope for. Listen to Paul’s similar words: ‘But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith…’   (Philippians 3:7-9)

When Joshua conquered the land of Canaan, the LORD divided up the land, and boundary lines were drawn so that each family had their own inheritance. Some land would have been more fertile than others. When it comes to having friendship with God as our inheritance, David says (verse 6) that the boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places for him. He does not mean that as king he has a huge amount of real estate. He is speaking of spiritual blessings here. In fact, when the land was divided in Joshua’s day, the Levites were the only group not to receive land. We read in the book of Numbers; ‘And the Lord said to Aaron, ‘You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.’   (Numbers 18:20) The same is true for all Christians today. God is our portion and inheritance. What more do we need?

This includes forgiveness of sin, being adopted into the family of God as his precious sons and daughters and being guaranteed a place in Heaven forever, all paid for by Jesus’ blood. We are rich beyond our wildest dreams. Our cups are full. Nothing can separate us from the love of God.

At my in-service training this week, I was reminded of the story of the Scotsman who boarded a ship bound for a faraway country. Being a thrifty Scot, he wanted to save money on food and so took lots of cheese and biscuits onto the ship. However, after many days, the cheese got hard and the biscuits soft and he felt really hungry. He asked the captain if it were possible to eat on the ship after all. The captain said, ‘Of course you can. Your food is included in your ticket.’ We are so like that man. We have everything we need in Jesus Christ – his love and acceptance and forgiveness and even his power. And yet so often we live in spiritual poverty because we look to our own resources. Let us not be like that. Let us understand that all we need is found in Jesus.

6. True guidance from God

‘I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.’   (Psalm 16:7) David is a man who knows that in the Bible, God’s Word, we have totally reliable instruction. We don’t have to live in this world not knowing what will happen to us when we die, or who God is and what he is like, or what he wants from us. The Bible tells us all of that and it tells us plainly. Do you know your true meaning and purpose in this life? If not, seek the LORD from his Word, the Bible. David learns God’s Word and, in the night, he meditates on it. What a wonderful privilege to have such a supernatural book.

7. True hope at life’s end

Verse 8 is brimming full of confidence. But not self-confidence: ‘With him at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.’ (Psalm 16:8) If we lose our health, our job, our friends or whatever it might be, we will not be shaken. Why? Because we still have the LORD. And he works all things together for our good. He has a plan. He uses our suffering to purify and strengthen us. David goes on to make a magnificent statement of faith here: ‘Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead…’ (Psalm 16:9-10)

Each human life is precious as we are both body and soul – David has confidence that both will be preserved after death. Is this just wishful thinking? That would be pointless. It is rooted in reality. Because Jesus has risen from the dead and conquered death, those who trust in him in this life can share David’s confidence. Do you have this hope for life after death? If not, please pray to Jesus now and confess your sin to him. Simply ask him for forgiveness and ask him to take charge of your life. Then, and only then, can you share in David’s confidence.

Let’s end this morning looking at a puzzling part of the Psalm. Verse 10 says that God will not let his ‘holy one see decay.’   The key question is this – who is David speaking about? He cannot be speaking about himself. David did die as we all do, and his body did decay. No, this is not about David himself but is rather a prophecy about another who would come from David’s line, the Lord Jesus. When he died on the cross, his body did not see decay and he rose from the dead on the third day. ‘Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.’   (Acts 2:29-32)

Do you fear death? As Christians, we don’t need to. Why? Because Jesus rose from the dead, and he promises that all those who trust in him and follow him and know him will also rise from the dead one day. For us, death is but the entry point to Heaven. How wonderful the prospect of Heaven sounds: ‘You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.’   (Psalm 16:11) If you want things to be ok, you must place your trust in Jesus.

Sermon: Sunday, 4th January, 2026
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Haggai 1

If you are between 40 and 74 you are entitled to a free NHS health test every 5 years. I did not know that. The check-up is focused on cardiovascular health and lets you know if you are at high risk for a stroke, diabetes or heart or kidney disease. Let’s imagine you go to be tested and discover you are at high risk. The tests have exposed certain danger signs. The nurse is honest with you and tells you that you need to think much more carefully about how much alcohol you are drinking and how much exercise you are doing. If you do not, it is likely you are going to have serious problems. Let’s fast-forward 2 years. You now exercise more, drink less and eat a more balanced diet. You did think carefully about the direction you were going and managed to change for the better. It wasn’t easy after years of doing your own thing, but you got there.

This is what’s happening spiritually in Haggai chapter 1, God comes to his people through the prophet Haggai and gives them a spiritual health test. There are many spiritual danger signs. But through the working of God’s Word and God’s Spirit, there is a wonderful change in the hearts of the people. There is a spiritual revival. There is a healthy gospel church in Jerusalem once more. This is a fantastic passage outlining positive spiritual change. Spiritual change is the most important kind of change there is and feeds into lasting change in all other areas of our lives – family, work, relationships and health.

We need to understand why God’s people needed to change. Was it so obvious that they were spiritually asleep? Let’s set the scene. In 586 BC, Judah was invaded by the Babylonian army who destroyed the temple and took thousands away to exile in Babylon. However, as the LORD had prophesied, Cyrus, the king of Persia, conquered the Babylonians and allowed 50,000 Israelites to return home to Judah to rebuild the temple. They return in 538 BC. In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfil the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them.’   (2 Chronicles 36:22-23)

Two years after their return, in 536 BC, the Israelites begin to rebuild the temple, starting off with the foundations. It was a time of great joy and blessing. With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord: ‘He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.’ And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.   (Ezra 3:11) The rebuilding project was overseen by Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the High Priest. However, after a good start, the work stopped and the people became distracted. It didn’t just stop for a year or two, but for sixteen years. The priorities of the people were now all over the place and God was no longer at the top of the list. So the LORD speaks to the people through his prophet Haggai. This is what the Lord Almighty says: These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.’ Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: ‘Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your panelled houses, while this house remains a ruin?’   (Haggai 1:2-4)

1. Wrong priorities

Year after the year, the people are making lame excuses for neglecting the temple of the LORD. They say, ‘It’s not the right time.’ That might sound reasonable. They were small in number and did face opposition from others living in the land. The economy was not great. But the LORD knows their hearts and sweeps aside their excuses revealing the real reason for their neglect. In verse 3, we see they were focused on building luxury homes for themselves. Of course, they needed to build homes, but the phrase ‘panelled houses’ indicates luxury. Ironically, it was the former temple which had such panelling. They are enriching their own homes and doing nothing to the Lord’s.

Imagine a Jew walking past the temple. He has grown so used to seeing the unfinished area that he no longer feels guilty as he walks past it and enters his own beautifully decorated home. The contrast between the temple and their homes was stark but they no longer cared. When they had first returned from Babylon they began the rebuilding with enthusiasm. Now, however, partly through the hostile surroundings they lived in and the opposition they faced, their priorities are totally focused on themselves. God is not on their horizon at all. It’s tragic how quickly the people have begun to love material things more than they love the LORD. Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.’   (Haggai 1:5-6)

What is the LORD saying here? He wants them to carefully consider their wrong priorities. In effect, God challenges them by asking, you’ve been living selfish lives focused on your own wellbeing and houses and families- how has that been going for you? You have neglected the most important person in the universe, the LORD, and ironically your selfish living has resulted in a lack of blessing from him. You are never satisfied. You eat but never have enough. God is showing them that life without him will never truly satisfy. God is reminding us all this morning on the futility of living for ourselves. Sure, you are free to choose to live life ignoring God, but you are just robbing yourself of a relationship with the LORD and robbing yourself of deeper and more lasting blessings. You are looking to cars and holidays and money and gadgets and hobbies and sport to satisfy you but ignoring God. The truth is being selfish never satisfies as we have been made for relationship with God. God had revealed various covenant blessings and curses to his people. If they ignored him, they would experience poor harvests. That is exactly what is happening to the people.

Let’s get more personal. As we begin the New Year, God is also asking us (verse 5) to consider our ways. We need to give careful thought to our own priorities. Let’s do that now in our own hearts. Are we just focused on our own happiness and wealth and health and truth be told, we are neglecting to serve the LORD wholeheartedly? We might do a little when it is convenient. But our main priority is ourselves and not God. If this is so, we need to give careful thought to our ways today. ‘Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord!’   (Lamentations 3:40) Will you do that today? Will you give yourself and spiritual health check?

Please let us consider our priorities for the year ahead. What we do with our time and money is a good way to see what is truly important to us. Is the public praise and worship of God important to us on Sundays and Wednesday evenings? Or would we rather be doing other things? Give careful thought to your ways. Do you care about helping the poor and needy as God does? Give careful thought to your ways. Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.   (Matthew 6:31-33)

2. A call to action

In verse 7, the LORD speaks to the people once more, again calling them to consider their priorities: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honoured.’   (Haggai 1:7-8) The LORD does not want them to feel guilty and then slip back into their old rut and routines. True spiritual change comes when we are convicted of neglecting God, but then our hearts are changed resulting in action. Action is really the evidence that we have changed.

‘When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies; I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments.’   (Psalm 119:59-60) The people must amend their ways by getting on with the work of rebuilding the temple! Repentance is a call to action. ‘Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.’   (Matthew 3:8) Today, God calls us to daily repentance resulting in concrete action.

Yes, God calls his people (and us) to action, but he also gives us a wonderful motivation for change: ‘Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honoured,’ says the Lord.   (Haggai 1:8) Do you realise that when you live more wholeheartedly for the LORD he takes pleasure in what you do for him? Do you realise you honour the LORD by serving him? God delights in you when you live to please him and not yourself. We are not the centre of the universe, God is. When we place ourselves on the throne and usurp God’s place, it displeases him.

Thomas Watson: ‘In prosperity, the heart is apt to be divided; the heart cleaves partly to God and partly to the world. Then, God takes away the world that the heart may cleave to him in sincerity. When God sets our worldly comforts on fire then we run to him and make our peace with him.’

That is what is going on here with the Jews. God disciplines his people by sending poor harvests, but he does it in order to awaken them from spiritual slumber. We read; ‘You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.’   (Haggai 1:9)

Perhaps there are some of us here, and God has been disciplining us by removing our idols of family or money or health. Not always, but sometimes, this can be the LORD speaking to us, calling us back to himself. Sometimes he gets our attention through the troubles of this life. Are we listening to him? ‘Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.’ (Revelation 3:19)

3. Right priorities

‘Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord.’   (Haggai 1:12) What a wonderful scene. This is a spiritual revival. After 16 years of living selfish lives and spiritual laziness, God’s people are finally putting him first once again. What is it that makes the difference? ‘So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God.’   (Haggai 1:14) The LORD has made them courageous and bold. Through affliction and through his Word from Haggai, the LORD has stirred them up like someone taking a poker to a fire and the flames are burning brightly once again.

This passage is mainly about what the LORD has done. He has stirred the hearts of his people. ‘I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!’   (Psalm 119 v32: ) Friends, at the start of this New Year, let’s pray that the LORD would stir our hearts here in Kirkcaldy Free Church. May he wake us up. May he divert our focus from self to him.

How did God stir the people up. Yes, through their circumstances. But also, through the power of his Word, delivered through Haggai the prophet. Twice they heard God’s word to ‘Give careful thought to their ways’. That is one reason we come to church – to hear God’s Word preached and to pay attention to what has been said and to repent and change when that is necessary. We are not here for an interesting lecture but to experience the power of God to be transformed by his Spirit. We must fear God, in the sense of giving him and his Word our deepest respect. The Lord knows best.

Let’s begin the New Year together considering our priorities. This will require some effort from you. We must sit down for an hour or so without distractions and consider what place God has in our priorities. It is right for us to focus on family and work, but that is not the place to begin. Begin with the LORD. Perhaps our main prayer can come from verse 14. The Lord stirs up Zerubbabel, Joshua and the people. Will you pray: Lord stir me up and stir us all up? The Jews had been asleep for 16 years doing very little for the LORD. If that is you today, why not pray, ‘LORD forgive me and stir me up’?

Sermon: Sunday, 28th December, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

Can the body survive without food? We all know the answer. I suspect most of us have eaten enough food over the Christmas season to survive. We know we need food, and we make sure we get enough. Can a car run without petrol? Again, we know the answer. If we have been visiting relatives over the holidays, perhaps we’ve filled up the tank a few times in recent days. Can a Christian live without prayer? We know the expected answer is no! However, if we are honest, most of us struggle or have struggled with this basic Christian task. Perhaps it’s because we think of it as another ‘task’, rather than a privilege of being able to talk to the Creator of the universe. We urgently need to change the way we think about prayer. Think of it as spending time with our loving heavenly Father. Think of it as coming before his throne of grace to receive grace and mercy in our time of need. Think of it as an action which really changes things and makes a difference. Even though it is a mystery to us as to how God uses our prayers. He does. Prayer, talking to God, honours God, as it demonstrates that thanking him and confessing our sin to him is important to us.

We need to depend on God in order to grow strong in the Christian life. The apostle Paul was one of the greatest Christians who ever lived. He was powerfully used by God to plant church after church and through God’s Spirit wrote so much of the New Testament. What was the secret of his spiritual success? Was it just raw talent? Paul’s greatness stemmed from his dependence upon God. Again and again, we find him asking for others to pray for him.

Leon Morris: ‘He valued their intercessions and sought their prayers.’

Paul was a man of prayer and a man who knew he needed the prayers of others. As we are about to enter a new year, may 2026 be marked by our dependence on God, demonstrated by growth in our prayer lives.

Instead of just feeling guilty that we don’t pray enough, a better way forward is to learn from the prayers in the Bible. How does Paul pray? What does he pray for? What are his priorities in prayer? Does he focus on his health and wealth, or something else? What we pray for is a window into our hearts, showing what we value. But we all need to regularly keep on aligning our prayer requests with the contours of Scripture. We model our prayers on the great examples of prayer in the Bible. Let’s do that now as we focus on 2 Thessalonians 3 verses 1-5.

1. Paul’s prayer request: that the gospel would spread rapidly

‘… pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honoured, just as it was with you.’   (2 Thessalonians 3:1) Pray for us! Paul was not proud. He did not think he could manage without the prayers of other Christians. Have you realised that? We all need the prayers of one another. Even the great apostle Paul needed them. When Paul says, ‘Pray for us’ it is actually a command and it’s in the continuous tense. He is saying, keep on praying for me. This is not a once-in-a-blue-moon prayer Paul wants. He is asking for them to be regularly praying for him. ‘And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.’   (Ephesians 6:18)

What does he ask for? He asks that the gospel would spread rapidly. He wants the message of Jesus to speed ahead, like an Olympic athlete. Think of Usain Bolt gliding down his lane to the finishing line and winning gold. That’s what Paul wants for the gospel message. Notice that he doesn’t just want the gospel to be heard by many people; he wants it to be ‘honoured’. In other words, he wants people to believe the gospel, just as the Thessalonians did when he visited them in that short 3-week visit. In Thessalonica, the message did spread rapidly.

In Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians we read; ‘You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia – your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore, we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead – Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.’   (1 Thessalonians 1:6-10)

There was a wonderful response to the gospel in Thessalonica. Many heard the truth of Jesus and loved and believed the message. Their lives were transformed, leaving their idols and getting to know the one living and true God. Paul is asking them (and us) to pray – ‘Do it again Lord.’

We pray for the church plant in Leven, not that the gospel preaching would have some kind of impact, but rather that it would spread rapidly! Is that how you pray? Learn from Paul. I need to learn to pray more like that. This is our prayer for Kirkcaldy Free Church too. We believe that God has the power to do this. In fact, another place in the Bible we read of God’s message ‘spreading rapidly’ is in Psalm 147: ‘He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes.’   (Psalm 147:15-16) This Psalm reminds us that God’s Word runs swiftly as he controls the weather. God speaks and it happens swiftly: the ground is covered in frost. May it be the same with many believing in and being changed by the gospel. If we believe God’s powerful Word brings the weather, then we should also believe his Word can bring conversions.

Paul did not see the same level of gospel success in Athens or Corinth that he had enjoyed in Thessalonica. But he kept asking for prayer. Will you join Paul in praying this prayer in the coming year? Will you keep on praying it in faith? Will you pray for the sceptics you know and those whose hearts are hardened to the gospel? Will you ask God to soften their hearts? In any city, town or village in Scotland, this is the most important thing to pray about. It is more important than the economy or education or health care, albeit these things are important! So, pray! Pray for the preaching in our pulpits and the camps and the café- that the Lord’s Word would run swiftly and be honoured. Pray this for GBC and Newcraigs and Connect Church. This is not asking for 1 or 2 conversions. This is a bigger prayer!

2. Paul prayer requests: protection for the messengers

Paul prayed that they would be ‘… delivered from wicked and evil people…’   (2 Thessalonians 3:2)

Whenever the gospel is preached, proclaimed and discussed there is always opposition. Paul is praying for protection from these evil people, not to save his own skin, but that the gospel will not be silenced. Satan wants the gospel to be silenced and so he intimidates ordinary Christians and opposes them often through family and friends. You try to say a few words about Jesus and all of a sudden you are mocked or looked down on at work- it would be so easy just to retreat into silence and keep your Christian faith private. And in most countries in the world, there is a high price to pay for sharing Jesus with others. This sharing never goes unnoticed by the forces of evil. We will experience opposition. We need to pray for the protection of those preaching and sharing the gospel.

Paul probably has a specific situation in mind here. He is sharing the gospel in Corinth but wicked men are making life very difficult for him. Paul hands all of this over to the Lord in prayer.

Steadfast Global: ‘Following the coordinated raids across the Zion Church network that started on 9 October and led to the arrest of around 30 leaders and members, 18 of whom remain in detention, sources Radio Taiwan International and China Aid have reported that a number of other Christians and some family members of those in detention, have fled China to avoid arrest.’

Let’s pray that these Christians would be delivered from evil men and that the gospel would not be stopped. God will use our prayers. ‘But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.’   (2 Thessalonians 3:3)

3. Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians: obedience rooted in love

When Paul prays for the church in Thessalonica, he prays that they would be obedient to the Word of God. We should pray this prayer for one another. We do not value obeying the Lord as much as we ought to. In the great commission, Jesus instructed us to make disciples of all nations and teaching these disciples ‘… to obey everything I have commanded you…’   (Matthew 28:20)

Here’s a simple question – do you think you have become a more obedient Christian during 2025.

♫ Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. ♫

Let’s imagine that we have not grown much in 2025. Let’s imagine that we have stagnated and made little progress. What is the secret of developing a heart more inclined to obey God than to go in our own direction? There are two secrets given: ‘May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.’   (2 Thessalonians 5:5) We must appreciate more just how much God already loves us and we must be inspired by the example of Christ’s obedience in the face of suffering.

If we want to grow in obedience it will not happen out of guilt. It must come from the heart and from a place of love. ‘What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me?’   (Psalm 116:12)

Bob Dylan sang: ‘You have laid down Your life for me. What can I do for You?
You have explained every mystery. What can I do for You?
You have given all there is to give. What can I do for You?
You have given me life to live. How can I live for You?’

Discipleship is not just about our obedience but our motivation for obedience. Why do we obey God? It is out of fear that if we don’t then he won’t love us? Or is it out of pleasure because we know how much he has done for us. Think of two children asked to tidy their bedroom. One does so because he is afraid of being punished or shouted at. The other knows she is loved and secure in that loved and tidies her room because she delights in pleasing her parents. Outwardly, the rooms may look the same — but the motivation is completely different.

Obedience also comes to us, not as we focus on our own failures, but as we focus on Christ’s example of perseverance. Actively spend time thinking about how Jesus obeyed his Father even when it was costly. Sometimes we wrongly think it must have been easy for Jesus to obey because he was perfect. We need to ask, was it easier for Jesus to trust in his Father as he was spat upon and nailed to a cross. Obedience is never easy. But it is the life of love and God’s commands teach us how to love him and love one another. Make Jesus your main role model in life.

‘And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.’   (Hebrews 12:1-2)

‘When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.’   (Luke 9:51)

These verses remind us of Jesus’ determination to obey, even when it would mean times of great suffering.

Friends, Satan is real and active and wants us to think God’s rules are restrictive. Paul does not pray that the Thessalonians would try harder. Instead, he prays that the Lord would direct their hearts, again and again, to the love of God and to the steadfast obedience of Christ. This is a simple prayer we can pray for one another in our church. May the Lord direct your heart into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. Will you pray that prayer for others?

Sermon: Sunday, 21st December, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Isaiah 8:19-22 and Isaiah 9:1-7

We all love to see positive transformation. It could be a TV programme like ‘Property Ladder’ where a property developer buys a rundown house, renovates it on a tight budget before selling it on for a huge profit. Wouldn’t we all like to do that? The ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures are quite the contrast. Other programmes focus on our outward appearance. In ‘10 years younger in 10 days’, a stylist uses all her tricks to make people look far younger than they really are. Again, the ‘before’ and ‘after’ transformation is amazing. I think that the most power transformations are spiritual ones, where people who are lost and hopeless are then changed by God’s power and whose once dark lives, by God’s grace, are now full of light. John Newton is a classic example. Had you met this man before God changed him, you would meet someone who was profane, violent, exploitative and actively participated in slave trade. Even among unbelievers, Newton was known as morally reckless. But then he was converted through the slow but decisive work of God and became a pastor and theologian. It was Jesus who changed John Newton. More recently, we thought of men in villages in Mongolia who were addicted to alcohol and bringing all kinds of misery into the family home. They were changed, not by a vague higher power, but by Jesus himself, and now have restored relationships in their homes and are living to serve God and others rather than self. What a reversal of circumstances.

1. Days of darkness

Isaiah chapter 9 is all about God predicting an enormous transformation in the lives of his people in Israel. In a nutshell, those in Israel in Isaiah’s day were ‘… walking in darkness.’   (Isaiah 9:2) God provides them with wonderful and certain hope by promising that one day a great light would come to dispel the darkness. Why are things so dark for Israel? They faced a severe threat from the superpower of the day, Assyria. Rather than seeking out God’s help, the king made an alliance with Syria and wanted Judah to join them, seeing strength in numbers. But eventually, Assyria swoops down on Israel, on the areas of Zebulun, Naphtali and Galilee, devastating it, and making them provinces of Assyria. This was meant to be the ‘promised land’ but the people were so far from God and living such evil lives that the LORD allowed them to be conquered.

The last verse of chapter 8 tells us how bad things were: ‘Then they will look towards the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.’   (Isaiah 8:22) 1000s were killed and 1000s more taken away as slaves. Life in Israel appeared to be utterly hopeless. The future looked grim. It was a time of darkness, distress and war.

As we consider the reversal of Israel’s fortunes, I would like us to keep this at the front of our minds – this reversal is brought about through the work of God. ‘The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.’   (Isaiah 9:7) Only God can bring such lasting change. Why is this passage relevant to us nearly 3000 years on? Because ordinary people today can only know true spiritual transformation by the power of God. Why would we not want that? Pay attention to who brought about the change in Israel, so we can experience such change today. God’s ways do not change.

The transformation of Israel’s circumstances are described in this passage as being from darkness to light, disgrace to honour, gloom to joy, and from oppression and war to peace. The people in Isaiah’s day were in great spiritual darkness. What were they doing? They were engaging in the occult, idolatry, prostitution and materialism. They were living in God’s world, and although God had made them and provided for them, they ignored God, living instead for themselves as if God did not exist. The people were in desperate need of God’s forgiveness, God’s guidance, and God’s love. The same is true today in Fife. So many people walk in darkness. Yes, many are just trying to get on with their lives and raise their families just as we are, but because they do not know God, they do not know the true meaning of life, they do not have God’s guidance on how to live and have no hope for the future.

Imagine living in Zebulun and Naphtali in such dark times. God’s covenant promises must have seemed like hollow words. Could it get any worse? But God’s prophet Isaiah comes predicting transformation. ‘The people walking in darkness have seen a great light…’   (Isaiah 9:2) What will this light be? Although it is written in the past tense, it is a promise about the future. It is just written in the past tense to express that the promise of hope is so certain, it is as if it has already happened.

2. The lights breaks in

Now, fast-forward 800 years to Capernaum in Israel. Jesus can be found preaching about the Kingdom of God and calling people to repent, to stop living their own way and turn to God instead. This is when the light broke into the land. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and he has left Heaven and come to earth to show us how to live, to die on the cross as our Saviour and to perform miracles, to prove that he really is God who had become a real human being. Jesus grew up in Nazareth, but when his ministry begins, he moves to a new area! ‘When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali – to fulfil what was said through the prophet Isaiah: ‘… and of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles — the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.’ From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’   (Matthew 4:12-17)

How wonderful! This area which had been the first to experience God’s wrath through Assyrian occupation was now the first to experience the blessings of God through Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem but now teaching and preaching and pouring the light of his truth onto the people, dispelling the darkness. The former days of humiliation, being conquered and subjugated, had been replaced with honour – of all the places on the earth where Jesus might have based himself, he had chosen Galilee. Where did Jesus turn water into wine? At Cana in Galilee. This nation which had been greatly reduced through death and deportation, is now going to be ‘enlarged’.   (Isaiah 9:3) Because millions and millions will come and put their trust in Jesus, people from all over the world. The former gloom has been replaced with joy. The people rejoice that God would love them so much as to come and die for them. They rejoice that their Messiah is the true king and everything Israel’s old kings ought to have been but weren’t. They rejoice because Jesus brings life in all its fulness and no one else can do that. The day of Midian   (Isaiah 9:4) is the day of Gideon, when the Midianites used to oppress Israel year after year. But God sent Gideon to save them. And now God has sent a greater and permanent Saviour so that they shall no longer be oppressed. The items of war can be placed on the fire   (Isaiah 9:35 for now we can enjoy lasting peace. What a transformation.

3. The source of the change

What is the root of this reversal? Why has spiritual oppression ended? It is all because of the birth of a child ‘For to us a child is born, to us a son is given and the government will be on his shoulders.’   (Isaiah 9:6) Of course, this is the birth of no ordinary baby. He is the true King. This is the arrival of a royal heir – King Jesus the Messiah. True kings are supposed to provide for the needs of their people. They are supposed to protect them and give them security. The previous kings of Israel failed miserably in this regard. But where they fail, Jesus succeeds. He does not govern like politicians, often with broken promises and poor examples. He rules with integrity and love and righteousness. And best of all, he will rule forever and ever. And nothing will be able to thwart his purposes. The angel Gabriel quotes Isaiah 9 to Mary: ‘You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.’ ‘How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’ The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you…’   (Luke 1:31-35)

Just how good a king is Jesus?

L Mackay: ‘So vast is the potential of the child to be born that four double descriptions have to be employed to do justice to all that he is.’

Jesus is the Wonderful Counsellor. I believe all of us would benefit from a good counsellor, because sin affects all of us and all our relationships. Our thinking can be faulty at times, and sometimes we think we can see properly when we can’t. But counselling will only work well if the counsellor gives good advice and we have the humility to follow it. We don’t want a poor counsellor who just tells us what we want to hear. Sometimes we need encouragement to keep going and sometimes we need to be redirected or challenged. Friends, there is no better guide, no one wiser than the Lord Jesus. If we come to him and trust him, he is the Good Shepherd who will lead us to green grass and still waters.

There is so much advice out there, from self-help blogs and podcasts to psychics to friends and family and even celebrities. Some of this advice will be good and some will be terrible. Not so with Jesus. He sees all things and knows all things. He sees beyond the short-term fix. There is so much confusion over basic questions concerning the meaning of life, how we should live and how we can enter Heaven. The Wonderful Counsellor will always tell us the truth through his Word. When he speaks, you can be sure it is the truth. ‘Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.’   (Colossians 2:3) Because of my foolishness, I need wisdom. Jesus is that wisdom.

Jesus is Mighty God. Part of the astonishing truth of Christmas is that the baby in the manger and the one who would die in shame and agony is not only 100% human but is also 100% God. This perfectly qualifies him to be our Saviour and King. Where we are weak, we can find strength in him. There is no situation beyond Jesus. There is nothing which phases him. Jairus’ servant found that out when Jairus’ daughter died and he thought there was no hope. But Jesus is Mighty God and raised her from the dead. Think of the children’s chorus: ‘My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing that he cannot do!’

If you really want to change, praying to Jesus and asking for help is the most important step you can take: ‘Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so… we are weak but he is strong’. Let’s be honest. We all have areas of our lives that are a mess. We all have things which become more important to us than God, our idols. We can be proud and rude and self-seeking and weak in faith and love. Bring these to Jesus. He will strengthen us.

Jesus is Everlasting Father. A king was meant to be fatherly, in that he ought to exercise care and concern for his people. Jesus does that for us. He loves us with a perfect Father’s love. Do you feel unconditionally loved this morning? Place your trust in Jesus and you can have just that. What a King we have in Jesus. One who relates to us with the love a father has for his children. He is for us. He wants the best for us. There is no one more trustworthy.

Jesus is the Prince of Peace. The thing which spoils our peace with God is our wrongdoing- wrongdoing which offends God and left unresolved means we cannot have peace with God. But the Prince of Peace dies on the cross so that for those who trust him, that barrier of sin is removed. Our sins are washed away by his blood. Jesus was forsaken in order to win our peace. It is precious. But our peace is even wider than that aspect of it. Peace, or ‘shalom’ means total wellbeing. One day Jesus will remake this world with everything exactly as it ought to be. Then we will know peace in all its fullness. Everything will be in its right place and sin will be no more.

The child with four names: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. Surely, we can say that he is the complete King and the complete Saviour and that all we could ever need is found in him. Knowing Jesus, we can be totally satisfied. He is our wisdom and strength and love and peace. Bow your knee to him today. Know transformation.