40 Days Blog - Day 39

Philemon 1-1:7 - Thanksgiving and Prayer for Philemon

Alas! We are increasingly losing the art of letter writing! One of my earliest memories of my mother has her sitting at the kitchen table, fountain pen in hand, little bottle of Quink beside her, Basildon Bond paper spread out, writing to her mother in Northern Ireland or brother in Malaysia. Now, we bash out an email without a great deal of thought, a few hastily-considered lines, a click of the Send button and the knowledge that the person at the receiving end will probably just skim a few words before hitting the Delete button! There’s no doubt that a well-written and nicely presented letter is still a wonderful thing to send and receive.

Paul’s letter to Philemon is a masterclass in letter-writing- not that his other letters to the churches aren’t OK as well! But here we see a very simple and classic structure. In his opening paragraphs, Paul gets Philemon on his side. In the main content of the letter, he has a big favour to ask. In conclusion, he will get a commitment that Philemon will carry out his wishes.

As we look at this introduction, we see how Paul uses a little gentle flattery and connection making. He emphasises his prayerful concern for Philemon and affirms the “good things” that they share in Jesus. Paul confirms that Philemon is his friend, fellow-worker, partner and brother. And he has a big ask! It appears that Philemon has lost one of his possessions- a slave by the name of Onesimus. And it seems likely that the slave-possession fled with some money-possession as well. A runaway thief doubly deserved death in those days.

Paul is going to ask Philemon to forgive the debt and pardon the debtor.

We’ll look at the main content and the conclusion over the next two days. In the meantime, I wonder if you can catch already the thought that has gone into this letter. Paul hasn’t just bashed off a few lines to intervene in a situation which (quite frankly) was none of his business. He is genuinely concerned for the welfare of Onesimus, a man who he come to know and respect. But he is also genuinely respectful of the position that Philemon has and the social situation of the time. He knows there is the chance these two Christian workers must come together to work for the Gospel and he wants to make sure that there will be no barriers. He’s willing to put aside the misery of his own imprisonment to spend precious time and resources to make things right between them. He will go further, offering to recompense Philemon from his own pocket.

I wonder if relationships- our own and those of our Christian brothers and sisters around us- concern us as much as they concerned Paul? Do we do our best to….. “as far as it depends on you, (to) live at peace with everyone”? (Romans 12:18). Do we seek to be peacemakers? (Matthew 5:9) We find these things difficult- we’re grateful to have a master-class in letter-writing from Paul to help us!

A Prayer

Dear Father, Your plan was for Your creation to live in harmony with each other and you. Sadly, we know that broken relationships are everywhere in this world- at work, between peoples, in marriages, in families and between Christians. Please draw me close to You through Your Holy Spirit. Please help me to bring others to You and to help heal the wounds of divisions where You lead and direct me. In Jesus name I pray.

Amen.

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

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.

Visitors click here.

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:

Family Corner - located within the Sanctuary, this is a great place for toddlers and younger children to play, supervised by their parents/carers, who are still able to be part of the congregation
Family Room - a quiet room within the building, for families to watch a live stream of the service, with toys and activities to do with their children
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.

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


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