Pastoral Update #5

Hi and welcome to Pastoral Update number 5 on Friday the 17th of April. It's good that

you can join us for this. Some of you may know that I'm a Hib supporter and I have been

on my own all my life, well as far as I can remember. It's strange because in these days

of lockdown you do things that you don't normally do and things are provided that are not normally

provided and one of the things this week or last week was there was a Scottish football

quiz online, thousands of people took part and as we did a family gathered around the computer

and it took part. Now one of the questions, and it was very embarrassing for a Hib supporter,

it was how many cup finals had Hibs lost over the period of their existence? Eight, ten or fourteen

Scottish Cup finals and the answer was ten, ten Scottish Cup finals. Now of course that particular

record came to an end in 2016 with a glorious Scottish Cup win and it was against a minor team

from a higher league than Hibs at the time but it was a great event for at least half the population

of Edinburgh. But from that event the Hibs supporters developed a logo or a kind of anthem

as it were called Persevere or Perseveread and as a Hibs supporter you have to persevere,

you have to persevere through a lot of failure, a lot of defeat and wait a very long time

for silverware. But it's a great word Persevere, it's about sticking with it when things are

difficult and tough and interestingly I think it's a great word to think about for today

and it's an attribute as Christians that we want to develop through this particular crisis

and I feel that going into week four of the lockdown there's a bit more of a sense of need

to persevere. It's interesting, it's one of the great characteristics that's mentioned by Paul

to the Corinthians when he describes, take my big pulpit Bible up, my preacher's Bible about love,

it always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres. So I want to encourage you

this week to persevere, to persevere in your Bible reading and your prayer, persevere in contacting

people, building relationships, doing the basics and remember this will pass, it will pass, just

keep going. Now also my daughter Amy sent me something on my phone today from one of the

Bible apps, she created a lovely image from a verse and it's a verse from John 16 and verse 33

and it spoke very powerfully to me as well where Jesus after talking to disciples about battles

and struggles said I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace, in this world

you will have trouble but take heart, I have overcome the world. So take heart today and remember

these things. So join with us will you on Sunday and invite your friends again, it was great to

know that lots of friends were with us on Sunday, livestreams at 11 a.m. and then following that

there's the service at 5.30 p.m. and Thomas will be leading that this week in the evening. Also in

Sunday morning I'll be launching our seven days of prayer just by really advertising it at the

service and then from Monday morning at 8 a.m. there will be a time of prayer together online

for seven days. There's a great need for prayer so let's keep on praying and you'll get an email

before the weekend's out with details about seven days of prayer so let's pray and let's

pray together and let's persevere and let's be at peace and remember that Jesus has overcome these

things. Thank you.