We started a new Alpha Course tonight in the Inchyra Grange Hotel in Polmont. It was a good evening. Apart from the food which everyone seemed to enjoy the interaction and standard of the questions was very engaging. Alpha is a great opportunity to listen to others share their views and also to hear the questions and concerns of people as they wrestle with issues of faith. We’ve joined up again with Polmont Old Parish. I find it really rewarding and relaxing to work with Jerome the minister of Polmont Old.

Tonight we were asking the question “Who is Jesus?” We ended up having a great discussion regarding the identity of Jesus pre- resurrection and post resurrection. So here is a question. How different was the post resurrected Jesus from the pre-resurrected Jesus? We know he had a different kind of body. So what was the significance of that body for his post resurrection life on earth? what does Matthew mean or hint at when he suggests in the last chapter of his gospel that this same Jesus will return again in like manner as he has gone into the Heavens? What is the significance of the resurrection for human beings as we live out our daily lives? Is there a link between the idea of self denial and death and rising again as a new creation in Christ? Could their be a spiritual death and spiritual resurrection for all of us to encounter in time as well as in eternity? If so what would it look like? Go on get writing.

Do you know how difficult it is to take photograph of a flag flying. I think I must have pressed my iphone thirty odd times before I captured a few pictures that I liked. This is taken from the top of the church tower looking down the Forth to the Bridges.

I’m looking forward to hearing and reading some of the childrens’ stories as they begin to get posted on the blog. So here are the questions: At what time and date was the flag raised up on the Flag Pole? (Guess a time if you need to) Tell me a little  bit about St Andrew and tell me why it is important to celebrate using St Andrew as our Patron Saint. The child that writes the best story and gets the time closest to the actual for the flying of the flag will win £5.00. We had the local paper taking some pictures today of our preparations of the big day on Sunday. So lookout for the picture when its published in the Journal

I climbed up the Church Tower this afternoon and Rae filmed my weekly podcast looking out over to the Forth Bridges. It’s quite a trek climbing up the narrow stairway that leads to the top of the tower. As you climb you are confronted with the dust and the cobwebs that are to be encountered on the stairs. Its a kind of parable often to get to the real view of life you have to fight through the cobwebs of past generations.

It was well worth the climb to look out over the Forth and see the whole of the land unfold before my eyes. I pray that God will help us see the opportunities that we have as a congregation to serve Bo’ness and Scotland.

We are also having a quiet day on Saturday in the church. its a chance to talk about the Holy Spirit to a group of people who have been part of the Alpha Course. I think we all need times of quiet reflection in order to grasp the wide panoramic view of life that God wants us to have. Pray is key to understanding the view.

We had our second ‘Alpha Night’ at the Inchyra last night. There was a good mix of people from different backgrounds and I’m sure its going to be once again an interesting life changing experience for a number of people.

Our theme last night asked the question” Why did Jesus die?” It is an opportunity to talk about the central theme of Christianity namely, “Forgiveness” it seems to me that this is one of the central issues that faces all of humanity. All over the world people are looking for ways and means where by they can forgive. Last night I tried to explain the classic Christian doctrine of Justification. I also tried to explain the fact that the cross of Christ is like a diamond it has many sides to it and each side has an explanation that seeks to illuminate our hearts and our minds to the nature and power of the love of God.

One thing is for certain the cross of Christ has much to say to people who feel they are carrying sacks of guilt about with them. The cross is where God in Christ took upon himself our sinful humanity and became sin for us so that we might feel free from the consequences of our actions.
Inmyplace.mov
A few years ago we filmed the above clip as part of our TGI Sunday Service in may ways it is another facet of the cross and it is a diamond worth reflecting upon. I think the idea that total forgiveness invites us to let go of the things or the feelings that have hurt and abused us and then asks that we might never speak about it again is all about forgiving and forgetting. Finally receiving the grace to remember to pray a blessing for those who have wronged you is the ultimate sign of forgiveness. These three steps hopefully will be purued our various Alpha Groups. So what do you think of the idea of forgiveness?

After journeying together for nearly ten weeks the Apha Course at the Inchyra Grange came to an end tonight. I must say that I have really enjoyed sharing the teaching with Jerome and Maggie. Jerome is the Presbytery Clerk and Minister at Polmont Old. We really worked well together. This was the first time our congregations had worked together this way.

I believe everyone has had an excellent experience and I pray that all of us have been drawn closer to God. It would be great to hear from some of you who have been on Alpha. How did it measure up to your expectations? has your faith been strengthened. Are there any questions to which you are looking for answers? maybe you’d like to share your story out lining your faith journey.

One interesting thing that has come out of this Alpha is that we hope to organise an Alpha Ceilidh hopefully towards the end of February. This will be an opportunity for anyone who is interested to come along and have an enjoyable evening and discover what Alpha is all about.

Alpha With Bogle
So many people say to me what is Alpha like? What do you do? Would I like it? The answer is you probably would. We meet in the Inchyra Hotel Polmont , which is a 4 star hotel, near Falkirk. The food is excellent and the company is really quite engaging. We all talk about a lot of things before we get down to thinking about faith issues. We had a really good night last Thursday. So I thought I’d try this out if you think its worth doing I could prepare some of these talks and put them up as a podcast. We had a discussion about sharing prayers and I suggested that we could put some of our own homemade prayers up on my blog. So if you’d like to write an Alpha Prayer go for it. We’ll publish it here on iTalker.

Here we are with track 4 from the bookshop gig. Its called “Light of the World” Light of the World. It was truly one of the worst gigs of our career, but you know what, the sound engineer wasn’t a christian, and he said he really enjoyed the banter and the music. Who knows what seeds were planted that night.
I was at Alpha tonight and I was talking about how we can be sure about our faith. One of the points in the talk is that we can trust Jesus because when he makes promises he keeps them. There was a great atmosphere tonight at Alpha, we were at the back of the restaurant and we were all round one table. The food was good and the fellowship was warm. And you know what, I felt the Holy Spirit was really speaking to all of us. It reminded me of the words of Jesus, ” Look I stand at the door and I’m knocking, if anyone hears me and opens the door, I’m ready to come in and share a meal with them” (Rev 3.20)

Holman Hunt the famous victorian painter used the title to paint a picture of the risen Christ standing knocking at the heart’s door of everyman. One thing I’m sure of we all have to make the choice to open the door.
If you look closely at the painting you’ll notice the handle is on the inside. Someone once said, Jesus Christ never forced his way into anyone’s life, he is the perfect gentleman, he waits to be invited.
If you were at Alpha tonight and you opened the door to invite Christ into your life, I’d love to hear from you.