Broadford

March 8, 2009 (click on pics for larger view)

This was another lovely day that God laid on for us, in the weather, the worship and the fellowship that we enjoyed.

One of the great encouragements that we have found elsewhere as well as here, is the number of children and young people in some of our Presbyterian churches. If your minister has 6 it's a great start, of course, but in Broadford there are many others besides the manse family. There was another family with 4 young children, a couple who brought 3 grandsons, several other children and at least one more on the way. And I believe there is a family with 6 teenagers who were missing that day!

This is a small but very deep congregation. Prayer is obviously a vital part of their life and ministry, with a substantial number meeting for an hour of prayer before worship on Sunday evening, and a very large portion of the service itself also being turned over to intercessory prayer.

Fellowship appears to be the other great pillar that is building a strong group of believers who love and serve the Lord as well as one another. The manse is 'open house' after both the morning and evening services, with James and Katie Playfoot being incredibly generous in their hospitality and patience - with so many children running around.

Duncan had great fun (as he usually does) getting to know some new friends and enjoying a bit more freedom to wander around the church grounds than we can allow him at Scots' Church in the heart of the city.

I preached at both the morning and evening services and found them to be a wonderfully receptive congregation who were willing to engage in meaningful dialogue about the sermons afterwards, taking very seriously the need to 'wrestle with Scripture' to find not just its meaning in the abstract, but its meaning applied to them.