One of my favourite Christian writers is John Charles Ryle (1816-1900). He was converted in 1838 in church while listening to Ephesians chapter two being read. Four years later he was ordained. He wrote many books and perhaps his most well known are the series of Expository Thought on the Gospels. I have a few copies and would more that happy to lend folk these books to help study the writings of Matthew, Mark, luke and John. This month, as we remember and celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, I’d like to bring to you J C Ryle’s comments on Mark 16:9.

Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven devils.

What abundant proof we have that our Lord Jesus Christ really rose again from the dead. In this one passage Mark records no les than three distinct occasions on which He was seen after His resurrection. First, he tells us, our Lord appeared to one witness – Mary Magdalene; then to two witnesses – two disciples walking into the country; and, lastly, to eleven witnesses – the eleven apostles all assembled together. Let us remember in addition to this, that other appearances of our Lord are described by other writers in the New Testament, beside those mentioned by Mark. And then let us not hesitate to believe, that of all the facts of our Lord’s history, there is none more thoroughly established than the fact that He rose from the dead.

There is great mercy in this. The resurrection of Christ is one of the foundation-stones of Christianity. It was the seal of the great work that He came on earth to do. It was the crowning proof that the ransom He paid for sinners was accepted, the atonement for sin accomplished, the head of him who had the power of death bruised, and victory won. It is well to remark how often the resurrection of Christ referred to by the apostles. He “was delivered for our offences,” says Paul, “and was raised again for our justification” Roman 4:25. He “hath begotten us again unto a lively hope,” says Peter, “by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” I Peter 1:3.

We ought to thank God that the fact of the resurrection is so clearly established. The Jew, the Gentile, the priests, the Roman guard, the woman who went to the tomb, the disciples who went to the tomb, the disciples who were so backward to believe, are all witnesses whose testimony cannot be gainsaid. Christ has not only died for us, but has also risen again. To deny it shows far greater credulity than to believe it. To deny it a man must put credit in monstrous and ridiculous improbabilities. To believe it a man has only to appeal to simple undeniable facts.

Jesus’ demand that we love our enemies, be merciful, make peace, and forgive assumes that there are people who are hard to love. The demand is expressed in different ways because people are hard to love in different ways. Jesus calls some people our “enemies,” which means they are against us. They want to see us fail. Love them, Jesus says (Mtt 5:44; Lk 6:27, 35). Others may not be our personal enemies in this way, but simply people whose character or personality or condition makes them unattractive or even repulsive. Be merciful to them, Jesus says (Mtt 5:7; 18:33; Lk 10:37). Don’t base your treatment of them on what they attract or deserve, but on mercy. Others may be our relatives or friends who have taken offense at something we have done- rightly or wrongly – and the relationship is cold or non-existent. Strive to be reconciled to them, Jesus says (Mtt 5:23-26). Others may or may not have anything against you, but you do against them. Forgive them, Jesus says Mtt 6:14-15). Don’t let laziness or pride or anger keep you from the humble work of forgiving , peacemaking and reconciliation.

Having enemies may mean you are in step with Jesus: Jesus’ demand also assumes that we will have enemies and that not all will be reconciled to us, no matter what we do. He shows us that having enemies is not necessarily a bad thing but may mean we are keeping in step with Him. For example, He pronounced a blessing on those who are persecuted on account of their allegiance to Him. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account” Mtt 5:11. In other words, having enemies is to be expected: “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” Jn 15:20.

In fact, Jesus warned that if there were no persecution, it may be a sign of being more like a false prophet than like Jesus: “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets” Lk6:26. enmity between the world and the followers of Jesus is rooted in the truth that the world rejects Him (Jn 18:37) and in the deep difference Jesus makes when He changes a person: “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” Jn 15:19. Therefore, we should not assume that if we have enemies we must have done something wrong. That may be true, and we should search our hearts for unnecessary offences and repent, but Jesus said very plainly that faithful disciples will have enemies. Expect it.

Love those who kill and those who snub: It is remarkable that Jesus draws attention to both severe persecution and mere snubbing as the kinds of enmity we must deal with. We might think that He would deal only with the worst kind of enmity and assume the other would take care of itself. But evidently He thinks we need to be told not only to love when our life is threatened, but also to love when our ego is threatened by a mere slight.

Truth is the root of love: In this day and age, love is often contrasted with the defence of truth. That is not what Jesus teaches and demonstrates. If someone had said to Jesus the words, “Love unites; doctrine divides,” I think Jesus would have looked deeply into that person’s soul and said, “True doctrine is the root of love. Therefore, whoever opposes it, destroys the root of unity.”

Unlike so many who compromise the truth to win a following, Jesus did the opposite. Unbelief in His hearers confirmed that a deep change was needed in them, not in the truth. When the truth does not produce the desired response we don’t abandon the truth.

It is not unloving to call someone an enemy: We live in an emotionally fragile age. People are easily offended and describe their response to being criticized as being hurt. We live in a time when emotional offence, or woundedness, often becomes a criterion for deciding if love has been shown. If a person can claim to have been hurt by what you say, it is assumed by many that you did not act in love. In other words, love is not defined by the quality of the act and its motives, but by the subjective response of others. In this way of relating, the wounded one has absolute authority. If he says you hurt him, then you cannot have acted lovingly. You are guilty.

Offended by Jesus: Jesus loved in a way that was often not felt as love. No one I have ever known in person or in history was as blunt as Jesus in the way He dealt with people. It is owing to my living with the Jesus of the Gospels for fifty years that makes me so aware of how emotionally fragile and brittle we are today. If Jesus were to speak to us the way He typically spoke in His own day, we would be continually offended and hurt. Most people did not recognize Jesus truthful love in His day – and still do not today.

Of his own ministry, in relation to that of the Lord Jesus, John the Baptist declared, “He must increase, but I must decrease” John 3:30. Of our lives as believers, something similar has to be said. Pride blows us up like balloons, but grace punctures our conceit and lets the hot, proud air out. The result is that we shrink, and end up seeing ourselves less – less nice, less able, less wise, less good, less strong, less steady, less committed, less of a piece – than ever we thought we were. We stop kidding ourselves that we are persons of great importance. We settle for being insignificant and dispensable.

Off-loading our fantasies of omnicompetence, we start trying to be trustful, obedient, dependent, patient, and willing in our relationship to God. We give up our dreams of being greatly admired for doing wonderfully well. We begin teaching ourselves unemotionally and matter-of-factly to recognize that we are not likely to ever be much of a success by the world’s standards. We bow to events that rub our noses in the reality of our own weaknesses, and we quietly look to God for strength to cope. This is part, at least, of what it means to answer our Lord’s call to childlikeness.

The Scottish scholar James Denney once said that it is impossible at the same to leave the impression both that I am a great preacher and that Jesus Christ is a great Saviour. In the same way it is impossible at the same time to give the impression both that I am a great Christian and that Jesus Christ is a great Master. So the Christian will practice curling up small, as it were, so that in and through him or her the Saviour may show Himself great.

The New Testament teaches that Jesus was entirely free from sin (Jn 8:46; II Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15, 7:26; I Pet 2:22; I JN 3:5). This assertion means not only that He never disobeyed His Father, but that He loved God's law and found whole-hearted joy in keeping it. In fallen human beings there is always some reluctance to obey God, and sometimes resentment amounting to hatred at the claims He makes on us (Rom 8:7). But Jesus' moral nature was unfallen, as was Adam's prior to his sin, and in Jesus there was no prior inclination away from God for Satan to exploit, as there is in us. Jesus loved His Father and His Father's will with all His heart, mind, soul and strength.

Heb 4:15 says that Jesus was "in every respect tempted as we are," though without sinning. The temptations we face - temptations to wrongfully indulge natural desires, to evade moral and spiritual issues, to cut moral corners and take easy ways out, to be less loving and sympathetic to others, to be self-centred and lost in self-pity - all these came upon Jesus, but He yielded to none of them. In Gethsemane and on the Cross He fought temptation and resisted sin to the point of death. Christians must learn from Him to do likewise (Lk 14:25-33; Heb 12:3-13).

For our salvation it was necessary that Jesus be free from sin. He was a "lamb without blemish or spot," able to offer His "precious" blood for us (I Pet 1:19). If He had been sinful He would have needed a saviour Himself, and His death would not have helped us. Christ obeyed on our behalf the moral commandments applying to all humanity. He also fulfilled all the will of God applying to Him in particular, as the One called to be Messiah. His perfect obedience qualifies Him to be our all-sufficient Saviour.

Our Hospitality Evening was held on 17th February when we welcomed ladies from neighbouring Guilds. Our speaker gave an excellent talk about the work of Marie Curie nurses and described the new ‘Big Build’ – a wonderful place which we are pleased to have been able to support financially.

The following week we had a Quiz organised by Catherine Shearer. There were several categories of questions and all the teams did well – some just did better than others! Congratulations to the winning team.

On 3rd March Mrs MacDonald spoke about a “Place of Restoration” in South Africa. This shelter provides a home, health care, some education and above all, love, for children who are homeless. Many are orphans and others have been abandoned. The power point presentation was excellent and we were all moved by the pictures of these children.

A City Bus Tour was planned for 10th March – we just had not planned for sleet and snow that evening! However, despite the weather we had a thoroughly enjoyable evening as our tour guide was splendid and we all learned things about our city that we didn’t know before. We are grateful to the friends who came along to help us fill the bus.

Thanks also to the bus driver who had some tricky turnings to manoeuvre!
Sheila Tuton
Guild Secretary

The focus of all our energies on a Friday evening now is the preparation for our Annual Display on 13th May. All our classwork is now completed for this session with our final examination being held on 25th March when the Christian Faith exam was taken by nine boys.

This month a group of our older Boys will take part in a Hostelling Expedition to New Lanark from 16th – 17th April. This will count towards their President’s Badge requirements with L/Cpl Drew Howie scheduled to gain his award this session.

Finally, the Company hopes to take part in a 7-a-side football challenge match against our friends from the 94th Glasgow (Shettleston Old Parish Church) at the beginning of next month.
Jim Kerr
Captain

Due to the bad weather in December, we had our post Christmas celebration of Friday 25th February. Unfortunately, due to a very heavy workload, one very special guest was unable to attend. He did however leave some gifts for the team to hand out to the group. Everyone enjoyed participating in the singing, the drama, the sharing of each other’s news etc. and of course the delicious spread of sausage rolls, sandwiches and home baking at the end of the evening.

Our next meeting will be on Friday 25th March at 7.30pm. All are welcome.

We are also having a Coffee Evening with bric-a-brac stall on Thursday 7th April at 7.30pm in St. Andrews Church new hall. Once again all will be very welcome.
Susan Barclay
Team Member

This month the missionary society we are learning about and seeking to support is the Africa Inland Mission. The AIM website is

Introduction. Founded in 1895, and with over 100 years experience, AIM International is an evangelical, interdenominational organisation with the goal of seeing ‘Christ-centred churches among all African peoples.’ Serving across Africa, and ministering to Africans living in Europe, we work in partnership with the African church to reach Africa’s unreached peoples with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Africa Inland Mission has over 930 people working in over 20 countries in Africa, all sharing the same goal of reaching out to those who have never heard the gospel. To date, over four million people worship in churches founded through the work of AIM and that work continues. However, we have a heart for African people, and that’s why our work isn’t restricted to the African continent but includes reaching Africans in the UK and Europe as well.

AIM's History. AIM International's first missionaries set sail on August 17, 1895. The group was led by AIM International's founder Peter Cameron Scott (1867-1896), a Scottish-American missionary of the International Missionary Alliance who served two years in the Congo before he was sent to Scotland in 1892 because of a near-fatal illness. While recuperating, he developed his idea of establishing a network of mission stations which would stretch from the southeast coast of the continent to the interior's Lake Chad. He was unable to interest any denomination in this idea (including his own Presbyterian Church), but he was able to interest several of his friends in Philadelphia in the work and in subscribing some funds. This group formed itself in 1895 into the Philadelphia Missionary Council.

Scott quickly recruited several men and women who were willing to return with him to Africa to start work. The emphasis on accepting these and other early recruits was on their Christian commitment and personal uprightness rather than on any special training. The mission was to be composed of the workers in the field and would be entirely self-governing and independent of the Philadelphia Missionary Council. The Council, headed by Rev. Charles Hurlburt, agreed ". . . to spread the knowledge of the work and forward means and workers as God may supply them. They are under no pledge to the mission to supply these, but merely forward them as supplied." Hurlburt was also president of the Pennsylvania Bible Institute, which provided most of the mission's workers in its very early years.

On August 17, 1895, Aim's first mission party set off. The group consisted of Scott, his sister Margaret, Frederick W. Krieger, Willis Hotchkiss, Minnie Lindberg, Miss Reckling and Lester Severn. Walter M. Wilson joined the party in Scotland. They arrived off the east African coast in October and Peter Scott started making arrangements in the Kenyan seaport of Mombassa. In little over a year, the mission had four stations--at Nzawi, Sakai, Kilungu, and Kangundo, all in Kenya. More workers came from America, including Scott's parents, and the small group expanded to fifteen.

In December 1896, Peter Scott died, partly because of the extremely hard pace at which he had been driving himself. The mission almost dissolved in the next year when most of the workers either died or resigned. The Council began to take more responsibility for the work and appointed Hurlburt director of the mission. After a survey trip to Africa, he returned to that continent to work and he eventually brought his entire family over. For the next two decades, he provided strong, if not undisputed, leadership for the headquarters, established in 1903 at Kijabe, Kenya. In 2009 the Africa Inland Church celebrated 100 years in Tanzania.

From Kenya, the mission expanded its work to neighboring areas. In 1909, a station was set up in what was then German East Africa and later became Tanganyika, and still later, Tanzania. In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt intervened for his friend Hurlburt to persuade the Belgian government to permit the mission to establish a station in the Belgian Congo, which later became Zaire, and still later the Democratic Republic of Congo. Work was begun in Uganda in 1918; in French Equatorial Africa (Central African Republic) in 1924; Sudan, briefly, in 1949; and the Islands of the Indian Ocean in 1975. Besides evangelization, workers of the mission ran clinics, hospitals, leprosariums, schools, publishing operations, and radio programs. Rift Valley Academy was built at Kijabe for missionary children. Scott Theological College in Kenya helped train African Church leaders. The churches founded by the mission in each of its fields were eventually formed into branches of the Africa Inland Church which, however, continued to work closely with the Mission.

We thank God for the good influence of goldly Mothers. Perhaps the greatest thing a Mother can do is to tell her children of the Lord Jesus Christ, and take them to Him at a throne of grace.