Tomorrow is the second Sunday in Advent. I’ve chosen four great phrases from the Lord’s Prayer as our themes for Advent. I guess I’d like all in St Andrew’s Bo’ness to see the importance of prayer being at the centre of the vision we have as being a community that is seeking to live an alternative way from the world around us. Last week we looked at “Your Kingdom Come!” For those who are extra keen you can get the whole sermon by  clicking here. This week we look at “Forgive Us Our Debts”. We put together three meditations around the topic. I hope to use the three clips in the service, to help us reflect upon our personal debt, then to think about our corporate responsibility to the poor and the need for third world debt to be eradicated and finally to realise the need for all of us to receive God’s forgiveness for our own personal wrong doings. Here is another of these videos focussing on the challenge to think differently and see what love can do.Regular members of the congregation will know that I’ve set myself a challenge to play a U2 song to fit into every sermon until the end of the year. I don’t know about anyone else but I’ve been having great fun 

  I must confess that I was somewhat astonished to read about the Pope offering Indulgences to the faithful. I thought this aspect of the Roman Catholic Faith had somewhat disappeared. However it would appear not to be so. The following article outlines the Pope’s offer of reduced punishment in Purgatory if pilgrimages are made to Lourdes during a specific period in the year 2008. It sounds quite bizarre to me. Hear is the article . This got me thinking about Indulgences and how it was this very topic that brought about the Reformation. Tom Ascol writes an interesting article on the topic, its worth reading. The point I think the Pope has missed is that we are saved not by our own actions but by the Grace of God revealed to us in Christ. ( But I’m sure he must know this? ) Further, our acts of gratitude to God should they be pursued and promoted like some commercial deal? You know do this and you’ll get one free! How naive does the Pope think people are? What power does any human being have over the eternal destiny of a soul. For me this is the very topic that the much maligned film The Golden Compass is exploring . (The danger of power when it is concentrated within individuals and also Institutions, whether they be religious or atheistic.)I don’t wish to be seen as bashing the Roman Catholics, but the view I have expressed, I suppose is the reason that I am one who stands on this side of the Reformation. I’ll stick to Jesus alone and I’ll trust his death on the cross for my eternal salvation.