maxwell magazine logo 2
No.40  -    24th Jan 2021

Hi, 

The magazine has hit the big 4-0 this week - a reminder both of how au fait I am with our numeral system and more pertinently the fact that the pandemic has affected us for so long now. But how we react to Covid, or indeed any other upsets and difficulties in our lives is the question we need to consider.  I read the following recently, commenting on the passage in James where he calls Christians to count struggles as 'pure joy' because it was going to make them the people they should be: "A man sits and watches a butterfly trying to force its way out of a cocoon. After a few hours of struggle, it doesn't seem to be making much progress. He decides to give it a helping hand. Taking a penknife, he cuts the end of the cocoon. The butterfly pops out, but its wings are far from fully developed: it will never fly. It needed the struggle to develop into a mature butterfly, ready for flight.  Often Christ is made known, and we develop our relationship with Him, amid difficulty. But when we know the end result, contentment and gratitude can be our experience, even when we are still in the middle of the storm. It takes time to learn to live by these countercultural principles in a day when comfort and material success are the goals of so many."

No apology then, that while we are not meeting together, that the magazine is full of ways to be encouraging or to find encouragement. 'One another' is a phrase which the New Testament is full of. (How many times? That's your homework for this week) The message is that we have responsibility for each other in a whole host of different ways.

Lastly, after 40 magazines we finally get to see the word 'behooves'. I wholly expect you to drop that word into conversation at some point in the next few days.

Enjoy the mag.

MB

Stuart Bruce


bruce
Dear Congregation,
It is with great sadness I report the death of our dear brother Stuart Bruce from COVID.
With Edna, Alan and Emma at his side, Stuart peacefully passed into the Lord's presence at 4.15 am this morning, 22nd January.
Let us give thanks for Stuart's life, his service for the Lord and the fellowship we enjoyed with him, as we pray for Edna, the family and those who will miss Stuart greatly.
Scott

Read Together


Devoted

We hope that you will want to join with others at Maxwell reading Sinclair Ferguson's new book, Devoted to God's Church.

The topic of this book perhaps couldn't be more important at a time like this when we haven't met properly for getting on for a year now. Is church important? It is vital to actually meet together - will Zoom not do?  What should I expect from Church?
Whether you have been at Maxwell for many years or only a handful this is a great way of finding out what God is saying about you and your family and being part of the church family.
The book is only £6.50.   Please email maxwellmearns@hotmail.com to order your copy.
There is also a reading plan (about 5/6 pages per day) to keep you on track. Please order soon so we can begin early February.
(If you want to see an interview with Sinclair Ferguson talking about this book and his previous book 'Devoted to God' click HERE.


The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave


biden

No doubt you will all have followed to some degree the inauguration of President Joe Biden.
I read recently the Thanksgiving message in 1863 of Abraham Lincoln.  Here is an extract:

We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!

It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

It's a good prayer and one which we could pray for the Americans and certainly for the United Kingdom.  Peter Maiden quoted this prayer in his book Radical Gratitude and added these words:
'In times of success and prosperity we have a choice: we can thank God, recognising our utter dependence on Him, or we can forget Him - forget that it is all down to his grace - and see ourselves as self-made successes."
 

Question 23:  Why must the Redeemer be truly God? 

New City Cat
 
That because of his divine nature His obedience and suffering would be perfect and effective; and also that He would be able to bear the righteous anger of God against sin and yet overcome death.
 
Pulse logo

At Pulse on Wednesday Elizabeth Smith played a song at the beginning of the meeting. (we sometimes play a song alongside a Bible reading as we set the scene for the hour ahead....don't worry, everyone mutes and you can sing along if you want.)
 

Elizabeth writes...
"I heard this song , 'Christ our Hope in Life and Death' recently and found the lyrics uplifting and encouraging especially in the current circumstances of COVID-19, made all the more poignant when we hear of those we know who have succumbed to this illness. The song focuses our attention on Christ, and reminds us that whatever our circumstances in life and in death we have a Saviour who will never let us down. "
There is number of version to listen to online - HERE is one with the lyrics. 
If you want to find out a bit of the background to the song there is a brief interview on you tube with the writers. HERE

Elizabeth Smith
 
If you don't normally come along why not make it your new thing for 75mins on a Wednesday night to join with others to pray for Maxwell and beyond.
Look out for the email with the Zoom link each week.  Particularly with an extended restriction in place it is a great way of keeping in touch with each other.

 

Home Groups 2021

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Since we are looking at the SOLAS from the Reformation I thought you might want to take the opportunity to do some background work.
John Piper has an excellent series of short  LAB videos (Look at the Book) which take you through a passage of Scripture on screen  explaining the bible text. There are videos for the 5 Solas of the Reformation. 
For Christ Alone click here.  

 

WhatsApp logo logotype text

Do you use WhatsApp. It is probably one of the most popular Apps around and used by so many people for keeping in touch with groups. Maybe you have 'Family chat' or for example an 'Everyone apart from Mum' group for planning a birthday.  
It's the sort of resource that can be used so well for encouragement and keeping in touch - especially in these days of restrictions and distancing. One of the things we use WhatsApp for is the PRAY NOW group, where we can easily and quickly send prayer points to a large number of folk - so much simpler than a prayer chain. There are some in Maxwell who use it to read a Christian book 'together' - just prompting each other to keep reading and also highlighting the bits they liked in particular.
What could  you use a WhatsApp group for that might be like salt and light in people's lives?
We have one for our Home Group which we use for keeping in touch, reminding about the next meeting, and sending the occasional thing we have found to be helpful or encouraging (or just funny!) Last week Margaret Halliday sent us this amazing video. I won't tell you what it is - go and take a look. (Thanks Margaret.)
MB

 

Alpha online in 2021

alpha online

You are warmly invited to an 8-week course that creates a space online, where people can have an exciting conversation about faith, life and God.

Alpha is a place to ask the big questions of life. Connect with others online to watch a series of episodes and explore the Christian faith together. The course runs for 8 weeks and registering is easy.

The course starts next week but it's not too late to think about which of your friends or family you could ask to be involved. It starts on 31st January 7-8.15pm each evening.
If you go to the 'Maxwell Mearns Castle Church' YouTube page you can watch a short video Daniel has made about Alpha at Maxwell.

  

Word-One-to-One-Banner
The Kirk Session has been encouraging us to build into our lives a desire to share the Gospel in a simple way with friends and family. To this end, we are being encouraged to use “The Word One To One” material.
Let’s all try and find one person to open John’s Gospel with. Remember to share online by zoom or by some other platform, you can download the exact same booklet. Simply go to our website; www.maxwellmearns.org and press the “Church Life” tab >  then press the “Reaching Out” tab and scroll to the bottom of the page. You see all 11 booklets listed and available for download.
Speak to Margo McN if you would like to see a copy of a booklet.