WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.439 It's Friday the 20th of March 2020 and this is the first of a pastoral video that we hope to 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:14.080 put out once a week from St Columba's just to update you on what's happening. So to let you 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:21.600 know what's happening on Sunday we are live streaming the services at 11am and 5 30pm. 00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:32.320 The link is syncsfc.org forward slash live stream and you'll find the service there. 00:00:33.120 --> 00:00:38.880 Harrington Community Church, one of our church plants will be joining us on Sunday morning and 00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:44.159 we look forward to that. If you're part of a city group that have already had met on online platforms 00:00:44.159 --> 00:00:53.439 why don't you meet up after the service to discuss it maybe, to pray, to drink coffee. So the 11 o'clock 00:00:53.439 --> 00:00:59.119 and then 5 30 we'll have a shorter live stream and John Watson one of our ministers in training 00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:07.519 will be leading that. At 7pm on Sunday we hope to join the rest of the nation, the Christian churches 00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:12.959 and different Christians in the nation to pray as part of a national day of prayer for God to 00:01:12.959 --> 00:01:23.759 intervene in this situation and turn what has become a real national challenge into something that 00:01:23.759 --> 00:01:29.759 will result into his glory. So moving forward just a couple of things I want to mention we're 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:37.439 moving forward on the basis that what we're doing just now will happen for at least 12 weeks probably 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:50.640 longer and if things get worse for example if there's a city-wide lockdown then probably the Sunday 00:01:50.640 --> 00:01:54.000 stream will look a little bit different from what it's looking for now we'll not be able to record 00:01:54.000 --> 00:02:01.920 from the church it will probably be from the manse and it might just be more informal and less like 00:02:01.920 --> 00:02:06.640 an ordinary church service. But we want to stress a couple of things from the leadership point of 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:12.960 view and the first is sustainability because it's going to be happening for quite a long time 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:18.960 we realise our resources are quite limited and self-isolation might make things harder 00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:23.599 so we want to put what we want to provide centrally we want to be able to keep providing 00:02:24.240 --> 00:02:32.000 and sustain what we're doing and because of that simplicity is very important you'll have one 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:41.759 email correspondence on a Wednesday and that email is what you currently get if you're in the habit 00:02:41.759 --> 00:02:46.639 of not reading it then please do read it if it check your promotions or your junk mail sometimes 00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:51.920 it will go into that and do read it because it will give you an update and you can also of course 00:02:51.920 --> 00:02:57.280 follow us on Twitter or on Facebook or you can subscribe to our YouTube channel which will give 00:02:57.280 --> 00:03:05.360 you information. We also have this one short pastoral video each week the services will always be 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:12.159 online 11 a.m and 5 30 p.m on a Sunday. On Wednesday evenings we want to keep the pattern the same 00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:16.800 engine room one week city groups the following week but of course city groups can be anytime 00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:23.120 with the added flexibility of meeting online but on the engine room we hope to have an online 00:03:23.120 --> 00:03:29.360 platform to meet together and pray and that will happen this week more information will go out about 00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:36.240 that but generally we really want to encourage the pastoral areas of city groups and people within 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:44.400 that to be in touch with one another every day as I mentioned on Wednesday in the email pray please 00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:48.879 pray that's the most vital thing to do more important than all the hearing all the information 00:03:48.879 --> 00:03:54.719 that's going on just now phone someone new every day from your pastoral area within the church or 00:03:55.439 --> 00:04:01.919 even out with the church of course and think of one way that you can help practically or be helped 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:09.359 and don't be slow to ask for help so that the pastoral teams in the city groups are very very 00:04:09.359 --> 00:04:16.399 important for us so sustainability simplicity and also stability we want to focus our attention 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:21.359 on the Lord Jesus Christ we're looking at the Sermon on the Mount on a Sunday morning and at the end 00:04:21.359 --> 00:04:26.159 of that Jesus says if you hear these words of mine and put them into practice you'll be like the 00:04:26.879 --> 00:04:31.839 wise man who built this house on the rock when the storms came that house stood and we know that 00:04:31.839 --> 00:04:37.599 that is a picture of putting our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ in the hardest and most difficult 00:04:37.599 --> 00:04:45.439 of times and so we want to keep that focus and that perspective and that stability and I want 00:04:45.439 --> 00:04:53.120 just to finish with a reading from my massive big preacher's Bible from Colossians 3 verse 3 which 00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:57.600 is since then you have been raised with Christ set your hearts on things above where Christ is 00:04:57.600 --> 00:05:03.040 seated at the right hand of God set your minds on things above non earthly things for you died and 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:08.079 your life is now hidden with Christ in God when Christ who is your life appears then you will also 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:17.120 appear with him in glory so in all our questions fears doubts and concerns help us maybe be people 00:05:17.120 --> 00:05:39.199 who keep our eyes on Jesus Christ through all of this thanks