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40 Days Blog - Day 30 

Acts 19:1-41 Success And Strife In Ephesus

While Apollos had now headed for Achaia (mainland Greece), Paul now heads from Corinth to Ephesus - where Apollos had already been. Unsurprisingly, Paul meets disciples of John the Baptist. They believed in John’s message (Matthew 3:2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” as well as Luke 3:16 “I baptise you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
 
But they had not yet heard that the Messiah had come; that Jesus had brought about the Kingdom of God, had died, and had risen from the dead; and that the baptism of the Holy Spirit had come at Pentecost.
 
While many received Paul’s message and came to believe, he again found that many refused to believe. So, he began to have daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus for some two years.
 
Artemis was a Greek goddess (in Roman culture identified as Diana). The Temple of Artemis was in Ephesus, and the cult of Artemis brought lucrative work to the city. However, Paul’s message threatened that work, so the craftsmen began to riot against him.
 
We can often be like these craftsmen.  Many times, we have preconceived ideas and agendas which we want to hold on to at any cost. These preconceived notions often cause us to deny the actual truth, and instead try to hold onto what we already think we know. Does our heart really desire our version of a passing truth, or God’s version of the Truth?
 
Do we sometimes behave more like disciples of John the Baptist, repenting of our sins and still waiting for the good news? Or are we like post-Pentecost disciples of Jesus? Keenly aware that our salvation has been fully purchased by God the Father through God the Son, and that we each have full access to the wondrous person of God the Holy Spirit.
 
On this ‘leap day’ do we ‘leap for joy’ at the completeness of the work that God has done for each of us? To love us. To be merciful and gracious to us. To stir within us and open our eyes to the reality of our separation from Him. And to allow us to accept His salvation and enter into His Holy presence as His own redeemed children. 
 
Mark 1:15
After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
 
Prayer
Father God, we are so aware of our need for You. You have created us and  we cannot ever be fully human without being in relationship with You. Thank You for loving us so much that we may each enter into and grow in that wondrous loving relationship with You, our Lord and our redeemer. Fill us with the Holy Spirit that we may worship You in all that we say and do. Amen.

Glenys
Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello 

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect on a Sunday morning.

Where and When

The church meets every Sunday at 9.30am at Drumclog and 11am at Avendale.

Sunday worship continues to be live-streamed from Avendale each Sunday at 11am on the Avendale & Drumclog YouTube Channel

At Drumclog we meet at:
Drumclog Memorial Kirk
Drumclog
South Lanarkshire
ML10 6QG

At Avendale we meet at:
Avendale Old Parish Church
59A Kirk Street
Strathaven
South Lanarkshire
ML10 6LB


For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you get a parking space and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it at both Avendale & Drumclog. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up and show you where the disabled toilet is located if required.

Our Service - Drumclog Memorial Kirk

                                        Drumclog

At Drumclog, the service begins at 9.30am with a warm welcome from our Minister, or the person leading the service. During the service we usually sing 2 or 3 songs/hymns. The Minister or a member of the Worship Team will usually read aloud from the Bible and lead the congregation in prayer. This might seem strange the first time you hear it but it’s all part of our connecting with God. The Minister, or person leading the service, will then give a sermon that is Bible based and that we can apply to our everyday life. We then share news and notices, usually about what’s going on in the life of the church.

The service lasts approximately 45 minutes.  Sometimes there is an opportunity to receive prayer at the end of the service.  After the service we serve refreshments (tea, coffee and biscuits) in our church hall.  This is a great way to meet people and enjoy fellowship together.  We would love to chat to you there!

Our Service - Avendale Old Parish Church

                                       Avendale Wide

At Avendale, the service begins at 11am with a warm welcome from our Minister, or the person leading the service.  Before the service begins, we will show a loop of news and notices on the screens in the church.  This is a good way to find out what's going on in the life of the church.  During the service we usually sing 3 or 4 songs/hymns, often led by our church praise band 'The Elastic Band'.  The Minister or a member of the Worship Team will usually read aloud from the Bible and lead the congregation in prayer.  This might seem strange the first time you hear it but it's all part of our connecting with God.  The Minister, or person leading the service, will then give a sermon that is Bible based and that we can apply to our everyday life.  Throughout the service, we may also show videos on the screens in the church to help us reflect on what is being shared during worship or in the sermon.  We then share news and notices, usually about what's going on in the life of the church.

The service last approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.  After the service we serve refreshments (tea, coffee and biscuits) in our church hall.  This is a great way to meet people and enjoy fellowship together.  We would love to chat to you there!

images: Services

What about my kids?

At Avendale, we have a great programme lined up for kids of all ages:

  • Creche (0 months to 4 years). Children under 6 months are welcome but must be accompanied by their parent/carer at all times.
  • His Kids (5-10 years)
  • Yoof (11-18 years)

Children stay with their parent or carer at the start of the service for the welcome, songs and short Children's Talk. We really value worshipping God all together as a family. At the end of the Children's Talk, someone will announce that it’s time for the younger members to go to their various groups. You will need to go with your children to their groups and register them as part of our child safety policy the first time you come along to church.

The kids group activities vary depending on the age but usually there is a friendly welcome, Bible stories, testimonies, praying, music, craft, drama, fun games and free play. Please pick your children up as soon as the service finishes.

For more information about what happens in the children's and youth work please visit the Children's Ministry page and/or the Youth Ministry page.

N.B. - there is no children's programme or youth programme during the service at Drumclog.

Children

Getting Connected


Home Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our Home Groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some afternoons and some evenings. Check out our Home Groups page and see if there’s one that you could join, or we can put you in touch with a Home Group leader who will be more than happy to invite you along to their group.  If you would like us to put you in touch with a Home Group leader, please let us know via our Contact Us page.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team here

Other Ministries

We also run the following ministries:

Other Groups in the Avendale & Drumclog Community

The following groups are also part of the life of our church:
 
Get in touch with us to plan your visit
If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you.
 
Name:
Telephone:
Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.
 

Leadership 

Calum Stark (1)   David Moreland
Rev Calum Stark - Minister   David Moreland - Session Clerk
     
To find out more about our staff and leaders, please visit our Staff & Leadership page.
We hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at our church.

Best Wishes

Calum Stark - Minister