News

On Saturday 15th August we will be having our congregational picnic. This is a great time for us all to get together and enjoy some food and fellowship before the summer ends.

We will be going to Farr Community Hall and Pitches, from 1pm-4pm. Anyone is welcome, from the youngest to the oldest, it’s a day for the whole church family, and friends of the church!

Hope to see you there. If you have any queries then get in touch with Ruth & Vince Tough:

toughrooster@tesco.net

Sunday morning 19 July

Sermon Title ‘Don’t worry, be happy’

‘Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear”‘.

Sunday evening 19 July

Sermon Title ‘History ain’t bunk’

David continues on the series in the book of Joshua

(David Meredith will be our preacher at both the morning and evening services)

People many reasons for wanting to come to church; some out of habit, many because they have been dragged along by family and friends, others out of curiosity and others of course out of a firm clear Christian belief. Whatever your reason, you are most welcome.

Every Sunday the church here in Smithton gather together for corporate worship to hear God’s word being preached which will equip and motivate us for our daily walk in our workplaces, homes and neighbourhoods. There is a relaxed formality to our services both at 11am and 6pm. We have a creche and holiday Sunday Club (Pre school – P1) during the summer break. We would also invite you to stay around after the service for a cup of coffee so that we can get to know you a bit better.

David Meredith will be preaching in the morning and our good friend from Kiltarlity Free Church, Joe Barnard, will be with us in the evening.

It’s the start of the summer holidays and a number of our congregation will probably be away. At the same time however we expect to have some holiday makers worshipping with us ….and if you are one, then we would be glad to see you here at Smithton. Isn’t it good that whoever we are and where-ever we come from or our background or colour of skin we can worship together in unity and a love for each other.

In the morning (11am) David Meredith will be preaching from Matthew 8:23-27. The title of his sermon is ‘Boats, storms, rebukes and someone bigger than Phil.’ In the evening (6pm) David will be continuing his sermon series from the book of Joshua…this week Chapter 23, the title being ‘I’m about to die so watch my lips’

This Sunday night is our final Youth Fellowship meeting before the summer begins, and God-willing we will be joined by youth groups from all over Inverness. Every Sunday evening throughout this term Youth at Smithton have been going through the teaching’s of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount, and so this week Joe Barnard is going to be concluding this series, answering the question “What is my ultimate need?” based on Matthew chapter 6.

Also joining us for the evening, leading our praise and sharing their music with us are Written in Kings, a welsh band made up of John, Sam, Josh, Ben & Nathan. They’ve been playing together for years, writing, composing and performing their music in lots of venues across the UK. Beyond a love of music and performing however, is a love each of them share for Jesus Christ and making his name known. As part of their work together as a band they are ambassadors for Compassion UK, a Christian charity working through the local church in poor communities around the world to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. As ambassadors WIK will share some of their experience working with Compassion and tell us how we can get involved, and support this good work.

On Sunday morning we will be having our Family Service and Sunday Club Prize-giving. David is now back from his trip to Independent Presbyterian Church, Memphis, Tennessee and will be leading the service. He will be preaching from Matthew 13:1-23….’Soil, seed and sun’.

The children are very much part of our congregation and at the end of term, just before the summer break, we like to recognise this by asking each child to come down to the front and receive a prize from the Sunday Club.

In the evening David will be preaching from Joshua 22, the title being ‘The day Ed was misunderstood’

This Sunday we have a guest speaker with us.  He is John Urquhart who was brought up on the Isle of Harris.  John was ordained as a Minister in 1996, he served in Chryston, in Glasgow; then Barra and Vatersay and most recently in Strath and Sleat, Skye.  After his post ended, in 2010, he continued preaching but also became a translator, writer and lecturer at the Gaelic College, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig.  In addition to these roles, John now broadcasts as a presenter on BBC Radio – teaching the Gaelic language to learners.

On Sunday morning, he will be taking the ‘Great Commission’ as his theme which is found in Matthew 28:16-20. The title of his sermon will be ‘Go therefore!’

In the evening John will be preaching from Matthew 28 again… this time the first 15 verses of the chapter, the title being ‘Raise us up’.

This Sunday morning at Smithton we will be introducing a new song to the congregation by Matt Redman called “You Alone Can Rescue”.

After writing this song Redman said in an interview, “one of my biggest aims in life is to write songs that are simple but not shallow.”

This song looks at the theme of salvation. The verses ask the question Who O Lord could save themselves? and the chorus answers simply with You alone can save. In these lyrics, Redman highlights man’s desperate need of a Saviour.

This song reminds me of Psalm 42, where the psalmist cries out “Why are you cast down, O my soul?”  He goes on to answer his own question, recognising who is his salvation, commanding himself to “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”

Here you can listen to a lovely cover of this song by Cathy Burton, and the lyrics are below for you to read.

Who, oh Lord, could save themselves,
Their own soul could heal?
Our shame was deeper than the sea
Your grace is deeper still

You alone can rescue, You alone can save
You alone can lift us from the grave
You came down to find us, led us out of death
To You alone belongs the highest praise

You, oh Lord, have made a way
The great divide You heal
For when our hearts were far away
Your love went further still
Yes, your love goes further still

You alone can rescue, You alone can save
You alone can lift us from the grave
You came down to find us, led us out of death
To You alone belongs the highest praise

 

WHAT’S LIFE ALL ABOUT? Come and hear great practical advice on how to live life to the full this Sunday at 11am and 6pm.

Our pastor, David, is away just now in the States but we are delighted to have the well known communicator and author John Blanchard with us at both the morning and evening services. He will also be introducing his latest book to us which is a commentary on the book of James.