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40 Days Blog - Day 27

Mark 11:1-11 - The Triumphal Entry

 

In the reading today, we move into the final third of Mark’s gospel and to an account of the final week of Jesus earthly life.

Jesus fulfilled over three hundred Old Testament prophecies, and we see a fulfilling of some of these here. For example, Zechariah 9:9Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey’.

Also, the coming of Jacob’s blessing on the line of Judah from Genesis 49:10-11The sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.

The triumphal entry marks a moment of fulfilment. A moment when Jesus’ true identity is crystal clear to all. A moment, not of self-proclamation, but of public-proclamation and the advent (the coming) of the Messiah. The crowd laid down their garments as in the proclamation of King Jehu (2 Kings 9:11-13), and waved palm leaves (a sign of victory). They shouted ‘Hosanna’ meaning ‘Lord, save us.’ Little did they realise how salvation was to come. And little could they predict that a week later the crowd would be shouting ‘crucify him!’ 

Unlike the passing energy of the exuberant crowd, discipleship is not just a one-time excited acceptance of Jesus. Justification is only a beginning of our path to sanctification. Discipleship means an ever-deepening relationship. Just as one spouse can say to another “I love you more today than when I first fell in love with you.

A Prayer

Lord, we thank You that You are our Saviour, but also that You are our King and our friend. We thank You that You planned to save us because You love us. Help us to fall more deeply in love with You each day.

In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Listen to today's reading and blog post below...

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