No.42  -    6th February 2021

Hi, 

Hope you have had a good week?  Have you had your jab yet?  If you have you will be disappointed that the restrictions still prevent you from going round lauding your vaccination over people.
Another question? Have you made your bed today?  Best thing I read this week was about a lady who never made her bed - couldn't see the point in doing so. But she started to - for Lent, of all reasons. And the reason was she wanted to not look at her phone to start the day, but connect with God first thing. So she decided making her bed and sitting there on the neat sheets would be her focus for the first part of the day...and to bring the day to God.  Duvets apart, it was interesting to hear of someone who committed to 'cowork' with God each day - and choosing to avoid the entertainment and information from the world first thing (through social media etc) was a key part of that for her.  And she continued it on after Lent too.. (Liturgy of the Ordinary is the book by the way). I've been struck by how the everyday, our home lives, our bodies,  are all part of our Christian life - and need to be part of our worship. We haven't had normal church for ages, but we have had our 'Christian Lives' for each day since the pandemic took hold of our world...Jesus wants every part of every day.

Enjoy the mag,

MB
 

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From the Manse

Dear Congregation,

On Sundays in worship, we have been encouraging the use of the New City Catechism.
It is important to note that in worship we have not been preaching on the catechism itself but the Word of God as the instruction in the Catechism is drawn from the Scriptures. 

“Catechism” is a strange sounding word because it originates in Greek. Its basic meaning is to teach or instruct. The Christian church has used this method of instruction through its history and it has tended to take the form of question and then answer.  
Although the New City Catechism has recently been compiled it is not really new. It is a summary and re-writing of four European catechisms from the 16th and 17th centuries (Calvin’s Geneva Catechism, the Westminster Shorter and Larger catechisms, and especially the Heidelberg Catechism).

Tim Keller was encouraged to develop the NCC because, he shared the view that, “…superficial smatterings of truth, blurry notions about God and godliness, and thoughtlessness about the issues of living—career-wise, community-wise, family-wise, and church-wise—are all too often the marks of evangelical congregations today” (Gary Parrett and J. I. Packer). If there is any truth to this, I believe we at MMCC would be eager to step out from that trend.

Memorizing anything is hard for us in this generation. Some tips offered are;

• Read the question and answer out loud, and repeat, repeat, repeat. 
• Read the question and answer out loud, then try to repeat them without looking. Repeat. 
• Record yourself saying all part 1 questions and answers (then part 2, then part 3) and listen to them during everyday activities such as workouts, chores, and so on. 
• Write the questions and answers on cards and tape them in a conspicuous area. Read them aloud every time you see them. 
• Make flash cards with the question on one side and the answer on the other, and test yourself. 
• Write out the question and answer. Repeat. The process of writing helps a person’s ability to recall text. 
• Drill the questions and answers with another person as often as possible.

I believe that even if we struggle to memorize accurately every word and in the correct order the very process of trying to do so will dig deep into us the biblical truths which the catechism contains.

We completed Part 1 of the catechism before the summer (of 2020). My aim is to complete Part II (breaking for Easter) and then with a break for summer, Lord willing we shall recommence with Part III after the summer.
 
Warmest regards in Christ,

Scott

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Youth Work

We are currently running at full steam on Zoom. 

• Tuesdays are games night with around 16 YP on each week.
• Wednesday and Thursday we have a Bible study for both S1-S3 and S4- S6. 
• Fridays 

- our student/18-25 group kicks off tonight as we work through 'The reasons for God' On a bi weekly basis. 
- Monthly SU Equip apologetic nights on Zoom
- Sunday nights have also been a real blessing with up to 20 people on a MMCY Zoom call as we work through the NCC. 

Zoom is great and facilitates us running all these activities. But leaders and young people are already getting fatigued and the energy fluctuates. So prayer would be appreciated for all involved. 
Pray we would communicate the depth of gospel through the NCC effectively, but also bring it to life each week. 

As youth leaders, we are running a prayer session once a week to pray over and for the youth specifically. This is not a replacement for in anyway the congregational Pulse Prayer. We just want to spend at least 1 hour a week lifting our young people up in prayer during what is such a tumultuous time. We are meeting on a Thursday 5pm. We would love for others who might have a strong passion for youth work, and also the free time, to join us. We value full congregational engagement and given the situation, this could be a great way to engage and fight for our young people...in prayer. If anyone is interested please get in touch with me and I can send you a link. 

Daniel
mmcastleyouth@gmail.com

It's always a hassle getting permission for photos of the young people so below is Daniel's dream Zoom meeting  - can you name all these famous believers?

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Read Together

Scott writes: "Anita and I had an instructor (a catechizer) called Dr Sinclair Ferguson. Last year he wrote a book which I think we would benefit from as a congregation. The book is called “Devoted To God’s Church” (Core Values for Christian Fellowship). It is not a long read but I think an important one. We can obtain copies at £6.50 and we will send them out to you. Please email the office if you would like us to include you."

Orders are being placed this weekend for our Read Together book - 'Devoted to God's Church'.  
Please email maxwellmearns@hotmail.com to order your copy.

There will be a reading plan available (about 5/6 pages per day) to keep you on track for those who want it.The topic of this book perhaps couldn't be more important at a time like this when we haven't met properly for getting on for a year now. Is church important? It is vital to actually meet together - will Zoom not do?  What should I expect from Church?
Whether you have been at Maxwell for many years or only a handful this is a great way of finding out what God is saying about you and your family and being part of the church family.

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Eulogy for Stuart Bruce

Stuart was born on 17th March 1945 in Redlands Hospital, Glasgow to Mum Elizabeth and Dad Alex. 
He lived in Jane Street in Ibrox and attended Bellahouston Primary School and Bellahouston Academy.  Stuart left school at 18 and his first job was with the Caledonia Insurance Company.
After a few years, he left this employment and became a Civil Servant with Customs & Excise.  His first job here was giving out dog licences!!  However, his main work was with the whisky bonds.
He then was promoted to Social Security at Parkhead, or as Stuart called it – “Parkhead Meanie”.  This showed him a different side of life and he could have written a book of stories about men hiding and falling out of wardrobes, banging doors so hard that they fell off their hinges and on one particular occasion, Stuart had to address, at the counter a particular client who would only answer to the title “supreme being”.
In 1978 Stuart again was promoted and by this time he was married to Edna and they were sent to Coventry.  He returned to work with Customs & Excise again.  This time however, he had the unpopular job of being the dreaded VAT man.  Stuart enjoyed this job very much as he met a variety of clients and he liked working with figures and solving problems.  He spent 6 years in Coventry and returned to Glasgow in 1984 because of the ill health of his mother.  In 1987, he left the civil service and joined the accountancy firm now known as BDO where he remained until his retirement in 2010. 
 

Stuart had 3 main loves in his life – his family, Boys Brigade & Church and steam trains.

His Family
Stuart and Edna met at a friend’s wedding reception in East Kilbride in 1974.  As Edna was from Northern Ireland it was a long distance relationship.  However love flourished and after two years they got married in Glengormley Baptist Church on the outskirts of Belfast and set up home in Cardonald, Glasgow. 
In 1978 their son Alan was born followed three years later by their daughter Emma – both born in Coventry, so the family consisted of a Scottish Dad, Irish Mum and two English children (they never did get to Wales!).
Stuart and the family lived in Coventry for six years and he really loved spending time with his family and taking the children to parks e.g. Leamington and Stratford, having family picnics and meals out as long as garlic wasn’t on the menu and entertaining Glasgow friends and Edna’s family from Northern Ireland (the house sometimes was like a Bed & Breakfast!).  The family and he were able to do these things in lovely warm weather which Stuart really enjoyed – he was not a sun worshipper but he did not like the cold!
One of his main pleasures was planning the family holiday each year – they all spent many happy hours in Bournemouth (his favourite British holiday resort), Torquay, Cornwall and later abroad.  In one occasion in Menorca, he brought amusement to the family when he jumped into the pool with his bank cards unknowingly to him in his swimming trunk pocket and they were later found floating around in the water along with his comb and room key!!  He also was known when abroad to drive on the wrong side of the road sometimes!
As the children grew older and returned to Glasgow, Stuart lovingly would spend time on cold Saturday mornings standing on a football pitch watching Alan play for 79th Boys Brigade Company.  He also got up very early on Sunday mornings (never complaining) to take Emma out to do her paper round. 
He was even known to occasionally rescue them at 4am when they had been out clubbing and there were no taxis available to bring them home!!  Stuart was extremely proud of them both, especially when Emma gained her Baden Powell Award in Guides, Alan became a BB officer with 79th Junior Section and when they both graduated from university. 
Nothing was too much trouble if it was for his family which by 2006 included his new son-in-law Gordon.  In 2014 Alan’s daughter Scarlett was born and Stuart became a proud grandpa.  He loved playing games with her, reading her stories and going on holiday with her to Heads of Ayr gave him much pleasure.  She was the apple of his eye and as all little girls do, she could wind Grandpa round her little finger.

Boys Brigade and Church
Stuart’s other love in life was the Boys Brigade and his church.  He had a very strong Christian faith and the foundations of this faith began when at the age of 7 he became a life boy in 163 BB company at Steven Memorial Church.  Life in the Boys Brigade taught him Christian values and a sound knowledge of the bible, something which Stuart believed were very important parts of everyone’s life.
As a boy in the 163, he enjoyed making new friends, taking part in various competitions especially the marching and also going to summer camps.  He eventually gained his Queen’s Badge award, the highest award in the organisation.  Due to re-development in the area churches amalgamated and Stuart joined the 80th BB company in Ibrox Parish Church and this became a VERY big part of his life.
Stuart became the captain of the 80th company in his early twenties and was a dedicated leader under the guidance of his minister Reverend Bone.  Every July he and his officers would set off for camp – to the Maidens, Bridlington etc and even ventured abroad one year to Yugoslavia which took a lot of organising – something Stuart really enjoyed and he excelled at this.  However, this trip almost came to an abrupt end when on the last day Stuart hired a boat to take the boys to a sandy beach.  On the way back, the boat broke down and they were unable to restart the engine so loud shouts of HELP HELP eventually attracted attention and they were rescued by some German tourists.  This was just as well as the incident almost made them late for the return flight home.
While living in England he joined the 10th Coventry BB at Queens Road Baptist Church and on his return to Glasgow the 79th BB at Newton Mearns Parish.  He became officer in charge of the junior section in this company and spent many happy hours on a Friday night with the boys doing marching, games, badge work and teaching them bible knowledge.  Junior section camps away were mainly local to Abington and Arran where the boys had barbecues on the beach, played games, gorge walking, kayaking and attended Sunday morning service at the local church.
Stuart also was involved in committee work at both battalion and district level and became the District Competition Convenor for Eastwood.  One of his yearly highlights was the BB going on parade on Remembrance Sunday.
The Boys Brigade’s motto is Sure & Steadfast and this was Stuart’s aim for all the boys that they would have a Christian foundation to base their lives on.
As most of you know, Stuart was a member of Maxwell Mearns Parish Church worshipping regularly every Sunday.  (Stuart was a regular participant at the Wednesday night prayer meeting.) His faith was greatly developed by the teaching he received at Maxwell.  It was his belief if you had a talent you should use it and so Stuart used his financial expertise and became church treasurer for nine years.  This job demanded dedication and hard work but Stuart did it to the best of his ability. 
More recently, he became financial advisor to the play group helping the leaders as best that he could and he was also part of the Missionary Fund Committee.  He had a great love for this work as he wanted the work of Christ’s kingdom to be developed not just locally but worldwide. (Stuart was also an important member of the MMCC Finance Committee.)

Steam Trains
Stuart’s main hobby in life was steam trains.  He didn’t tell everyone about this as he did not want to be known as “an anorak”.  His interest for trains began at the age of 11 and 64 years later he was still passionate about his trains, going on his final trip on his favourite engine Union of South Africa from London to York with his friend George in March 2020, just before lockdown began.
Many hours in Stuart’s early train years were spent in St Enoch’s station, Central Station and Polmadie and it was good that he enjoyed cycling as he was able to get from station to station to follow the progress of the engines.
In 1963 his good friend Albert and he set out on a three week cycling trip from Glasgow to South of England visiting every engine shed that they could visit on their very detailed planned route.  As he and his friends got a little older, Stuart planned steam train coach tours at weekends and they formed what became known as The Glasgow Locomotive Club.
Stuart made lifelong friends through this hobby (some of the “Railway Children” – Edna’s nickname for you are here today).  His geography of Britain became very good because of this hobby and he associated pop songs with engine sheds! 
One of his favourite steam train railways was the North York Moors and he visited it many times.  A highlight for him was on his 70th birthday when Edna gave him a foot plate ride on an engine on this line.  He got dressed up in overalls and helped to stoke the fire – he was like a little boy again with excitement!
His trips were not always without a story to tell – In 2016, while on the Gloucester & Warwickshire railway, hanging out of the train window, Stuart’s favourite cap blew off.  However, he and his friends noted where it happened, Stuart spoke nicely to the engine driver and on the return trip the train was halted, a search was made and his cap was rescued!
A family man, he had a great sense of humour.  At family gatherings he brought joy and laughter to the occasion with his silly jokes and one line replies.  He liked singing and making up little rhymes which Scarlett enjoyed greatly. 
He was a big James Bond fan attending every James Bond film.  He also enjoyed watching murder mysteries on television to the extent that the family joked that if Edna disappeared she would be found under the floor boards!!
Stuart touched the lives of many people from young to old.  He was a very kind, caring person, and one who worked quietly in the background giving support and encouragement to many.  He will be fondly remembered and sadly missed by us all.  Stuart was a faithful servant to us all but chiefly to God and he is now at rest with his Lord.

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 Q25. Does Christ’s death mean all our sins can be forgiven?

Yes, because Christ’s death on the cross fully paid the penalty for our sin, God graciously imputes Christ’s righteousness to us as if it were our own and will remember our sins no more

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Home Groups

Home Groups are on again this week. 

We are continuing in the 5 Solas in the Reformation.   It's not too late to get involved. in a group. Ask Scott for more information about what being in a group is all about.

For those wanting to do some homework...It's By Grace Alone this week. Here is a Look at the Book video (16mins)   If you want a Bible Project view on Grace through the Bible watch this really excellent little video (4 mins)