Worship
Prayer Is Eternal
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
Jeremiah. 33:3.
Lord God our heavenly Father, we thank you that in these times of uncertainty and disruption you are a God who never changes. Lord, we have been living with the threat of the virus now for a year, we pray for everyone who has had their lives affected by the virus. We remember those who have contracted the virus and we pray that their recovery from it will be complete. We also remember the many families who have lost loved one because pf the virus and we pray that you will minister to them and surround them with your ever-loving arms. Father God, we also remember folk who have lost their livelihoods because of the virus, or had their income severely reduced. Lord we also pray for so many people who have contracted other diseases and have had their diagnosis or treatment delayed because of the virus, be with them in a special way.Lord, we also want to praise you and thank you for the thousands of people who have given sacrificial service through the pandemic, for health care staff and ancillary workers, for police, fire service and so many other public servants. We also pray for folk who have kept essential services going at great cost to themselves. We praise and thank you for them all.Father, thank you for the various vaccines that are now available and for the tremendous work which has made their availability possible. Thank you for all the scientific and medical staff who have made them possible. Help us to be patient and allow the vaccination programme to be completed so that some kind of normality can be achieved as soon as possible.Father we also thank you for the assurance that you are with each and every one of us, you demonstrated your amazing love for us and our world by sending Jesus into the world to be our Lord and Saviour, Father we know that your love is as strong and sure today as it was all those years ago. Thank you in Jesus Precious Name. Amen
1 Timothy 2:1-4 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
Prayer is beyond any question the highest activity of the human soul. Man is at his greatest and highest when upon his knees he comes face to face with God; Keep on going on to reach the goal for which we have been saved. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
As we face the continuing uncertainty surrounding the present coronavirus pandemic and the fact that we cannot see, feel or touch the problem it can lead us to become either sceptical about its seriousness or terrified of what it could do to us or our loved ones. There is no doubt we face the greatest test that our nation has faced since the end of the Second World War. It proves once again that we really do not have all the answers to life’s problems.
However even in the uncertainly and the need to listen carefully to the scientific and medical experts who are seeking to help our nation get through these difficult times. I believe there is One who does have all the answers and we can pray to Him.
I have no doubt that many of us have been earnestly praying in these days, but I have been led to believe that although we cannot come together as Freeland Church we can still pray together. I would like to suggest that we as a congregation endeavour to set aside time each day at the same time if possible, to pray about the present situation; and I would suggest 11.00a.m.
It may be that for some that is not possible, but let us pray every day at whatever time and whatever place we are in that is suitable for each one of us.
Let us pray for doctors, nurses, scientists, emergency service workers and indeed all who would seek to respond in these difficult days. Pray for the vulnerable folk in society; let us pray for those who have had to self-isolate, and for folk who contract the virus that they will make a full recovery. Remember in prayer families who have lost loved ones due to the pandemic as well as families who have been bereaved for whatever reason. Let us pray for parents with children who are at home balancing home schooling and work commitments.
Pray for young people at school, college or university that their ongoing education will not be too seriously affected by the present restrictions on attending their place of education. Pray for teachers and lecturers that they will be inspired to discover and adapt new ways of teaching their students using the various on-line platforms that are available.
Pray giving thanks for the amazing work that has produced the various vaccines now available, and the impact they appear to be having in suppressing some of the more extreme affects of the virus. Pray that the roll-out of vaccinations will not be delayed due to problems with supply or distribution. Pray that doors will be opened and barriers removed so that the vaccination programme can be completed as soon as possible.
Let us pray for our congregation and the folk in our village and nation. Pray for the folk whose employment and income has been adversely affected by not being able to work.
Pray for our politicians in Westminster and Holyrood that the Holy Spirit will sustain them and inspire them in their planning that their decisions will be in accordance with His will and purposes.
Let us all remember that God is Sovereign and that he has shown the depth his love for us by sending his Son Jesus into our world to be our Saviour and our Lord. He will not abandon us now in our time of need.
Finally give thanks to God for the power and privilege of prayer, and the truth that God welcomes our prayers, hears our prayers and answers our prayers with the perfect answer in every situation.
Jack McHugh
Prayer Secretary
Why God Answers Prayer
Some folk ask the question does prayer make God change his mind. Does prayer change God’s plans? Is God’s will a decree or a desire? Is it both? Or is it neither? Whatever our answers are to these questions, or to any other questions, they must: Acknowledge God’s Sovereignty.
Acknowledge that we still have to trust Him. God always speaks to us in language we can understand, and God’s Word to us is that, He responds to our prayers. That is the way he said it, and that is the way he intended us to take it.
Vance Havner used to say: I don’t understand all about electricity, but I am not going to sit around in the dark until I do. We do not have to understand prayer in order to pray. The important thing is to pray!
Revelation 3:20
If anyone hears my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.
In many ways this passage in the whole bible speaks about prayer in the most powerful way. It seems to be the key which opens the door into the holy and blessed realms of prayer. To pray is to let Jesus come into our very hearts and stir us with a holy desire to speak to our Heavenly Father in heaven.
In so many ways it teaches us that it is not our prayer which moves God, but the Lord Jesus who moves us to prayer. Our prayers are always the result of God moving in our hearts and minds and brings to the forefront the passage from Isaiah 65:24 Before they call, I will answer. While they are still speaking, I will hear.
Almost from time immemorial, prayer has been spoken of as the breath of the soul. The following is a prayer sung many times to God by ransomed souls:
Thy name, O Jesus, beckons me,
That trusting I shall come to Thee
In faith and love on Thee lay hold
And deep within my heart unfold.
I call upon Thy name each day,
Where’re on earth I wander may,
It is for me a house of peace,
Where from all grief I find release?
Prayer means that we never have to say, there’s nothing we can do. We can always do something and that is pray. Something as great as Jesus did. Even greater, we don’t have to stand there – we can pray. Prayer is the secret weapon of God. It is like a missile that can be fired at any subject or situation anywhere in the world. Prayer is not a religious exercise it is a human necessity.
Prayer
Our Gracious heavenly Father we thank you for the many blessings you shower upon us as individuals and as a Church. We thank you for the House Groups and for the many people in our Fellowship who are Prayer Warriors. We commit ourselves to you once more praying that you will keep us and our loved ones safe and well.
Father we also remember all who have lost loved ones due to this virus and every family who has had their lives changed in such a short period of time. We pray for them that you will encircle them in your ever-loving arms and surround them with your peace and your love. We pray for everyone working in our Health Services in whatever capacity; bless them Father for their dedication and keep them and their families safe.
Bless our political leaders in Westminster and Holyrood; endow them with your wisdom that the decisions they make will be in accordance with your will and your purposes.
Finally Father we pray for Her Majesty the Queen and her family keep them safe and well, we thank you for her dedication to duty and her faith in you; may that be an example to our nation. Help us to continue to have faith that you are Lord God Almighty and that you are sovereign over every facet of our lives and being. Hear our prayers for we ask them in the wonderful name of Jesus. Amen
Jack McHugh
Praising and Worshipping God The Father
Matthew 26:6-13 When we come to pray, we can thank God for the most wonderful gift he could give us; his Son Jesus. In the story contained in the above verses Jesus is anointed at Bethany. The woman who anoints Him obviously appreciates that Jesus is someone special and probably gives him all she has. Jesus tells them that wherever the gospel is preached what this woman did will be spoken about.
When we come to worship God do we bring and give all we have? Worship him and thank Him for Jesus, Salvation, the Holy Spirit, His Word.
Interceding for our World and Community
Luke 19:41-44: Here we find Jesus weeping over Jerusalem; he knows what is going to happen to the city and its inhabitants. Do we have the same level of compassion about our world or indeed our community? Pray for Iraq, pray for the world situation, pray for peace in troubled areas, pray for the countries where the spread of aids is spiralling out of control, pray for our church’s witness in our community and our land, pray for our missionary partners and others who seek to make Jesus known.
The Church
John 2:13-17: John tells us that Jesus is indignant about what is happening in the Temple. Pray for our national church; pray that instead of planning for decline we might receive a renewed vision of God’s plan for Scotland. Pray that God will raise up men, women and young people who will burn with a zeal for God’s gospel to be made known in our land.
Psalm 69:9: David in this psalm extols his reverence for the Temple: My devotion to your Temple burns in me like a fire. The Temple was where God was to be found in David’s day. Does God’s Word, his will, his plan and his purpose burn within us like a fire? Pray for the Church in all its areas of work, here and abroad.
Pray for the witness of all the churches in Bridge of Weir.
Our Congregation
John 13:2-5; 12-17 When Jesus washed the disciples feet, He gave us the most poignant lesson we could get about our responsibility to each other and to our congregation. Let each one of us resolve to serve our brothers and sisters in the church. Jesus also said: by the love you have for each other, people will know you are my disciples!
Pray that Freeland will be just such a place, where our Christ like love for each other is what we are known for.
Washing feet is dirty work, but if Jesus can do it can we refuse to do it?
Pray about outreach, pray about fellowship, pray for individual members of our congregation, pray for the sick, pray for the lonely, the worried, the bereaved.
Pray for those seeking after peace in their lives. Pray for those who are infirm and housebound.
Pray for our Sunday school, for the children, for the teachers and leaders. Pray that new teachers and leaders will volunteer. Pray that folks will respond to God’s call, when he speaks to them.
Pray for all the young people in our midst. Pray that we as a congregation will nurture them and value them as they grow and mature.
Thanksgiving
Thank God for all the people who pray and intercede for those around them, doing it quietly and without fuss. Thank God for the folks who visit and care for members, largely unsung and anonymous.
Give thanks with a grateful heart, because he has given us Jesus Christ His Son.
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart Hebrews 4 : 12
Our bible study class takes place on the first and third Wednesdays of the month in the Pirie Centre at the front of the church building at 8.10pm. We are continuing our study on Acts. Come and learn more of God’s word all
There is also a prayer session starting at 7.30pm to 8.10pm leading up to the start of the Bible Study.
Come at any time you will be made most welcome.
We also have various house groups who study the bible also. See House groups for details of contacts.
Sunday Worship
At Freeland we have two weekly services. The morning service at 10.30am and the evening service at 7.00pm. These services are generally informal and relaxed. We use a wide range of worship songs and our worship is led by our organist and our praise band
There are a number of young families in the congregation and we encourage the children to participate in our worship as well as being free to express themselves.
We are a Bible focused church and all of our services are centred on trying to apply the Bible in our daily lives.
Our minister, Rev. Kenneth Gray, usually preaches short series of sermons on Bible books or themes. He tries to use humour and real life illustrations to deepen our understanding of the passages.
The morning service lasts for about an hour and 10 minutes whilst the evening service runs for around an hour
“For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” Matthew 18:20
All welcome
The house-groups usually meet on the second and fourth weeks of the month and details and contact numbers for the leaders are given below.
These comprise informal times of study and fellowship and are a great way to meet people and make friends especially if you are new or relatively new to the church. All the leaders would be happy to hear from you if you want to enquire further.
Night Groups
Monday Group Jack & Jennifer McHugh 7.30pm
Wednesday Group David & Margaret Adam 7.30pm
Thursday Group Graeme & Margaret Harris 8.00pm
Day Groups
Thursday Ladies Group Marion Whiteford 1.00pm
Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so
Little ones to Him belong; They are weak, but He is strong.
Yes Jesus loves me, Yes Jesus loves me, Yes Jesus loves me
The Bible tells me so
Sunday School all sections start in the church at 10.30am
Creche - babies up to 2 1/2
Beginners and Juniors - Children approximately 2 1/2 to Primary 3
Seniors - Children from Primary 4, 5 and 6
Sunday School Co-ordinator : Lorna YeeDownload our full program HERE
Youth Church
The youth on a Sunday morning start in the church at 10.30am for a time of worship and then go to the Burntshields room.
Our youth church groups - The Lynx Group – P7 and S1 and The Cornerstone Group S2 – S6.
Although through the year some Sundays they are joined.
During the year The Youth Sections take part in different services with bible readings, sketches and prayers. They are a great asset to our church.
Leaders : Lynx - Ronnie Miller
Cornerstone - John Semple