Sunday 8 February 2026
5th Sunday after Epiphany
Welcome!
Welcome to excerpts from the worship held within the newly formed Westhills Church of Scotland Congregation. We know that not all members of the congregation are able to be in church on Sunday morning; offering these excerpts from the Sunday morning service might help you feel included. Where we can, we offer parts of the service in text and audio, whichever works best for you.
If this post helps you explore what happens within an act of worship then please read on…
Your Weekly Church Notices
Scripture
1 Corinthians 2: 1 – 12
Matthew 5: 13 – 20
Praise – Christ be our light
Prayers
Father in Heaven, we have come to offer our worship. May you take the turmoil of life from our frantic minds and allow our hearts to be still and our spirits quiet in the presence of the Lord our God. May the touch of your Spirit make this a special time.
Father in Heaven, we have come to offer our worship. We may be here with friends, we may have arrived alone, yet as we gather as part of Your whole family in heaven and on earth, people of every colour, from every nation, who worship with angels and archangels and all the host of heaven.
Father in Heaven, we have come to offer our worship; to declare your greatness and your goodness; to feel the wonder of your presence; to listen to what you have to say; to resolve afresh to live as your people, not in our own strength but within the strength of the Holy Spirit.
Father in Heaven, we have come to offer our worship, not because we are good, and not because our lives are glorious. We are here because we are human, just people who get it wrong who make a mess of things, human beings who let you down, who let others down and let ourselves down.
And so, we seek new beginnings. We are here also because we have heard there is good news; there is one who is on our side;
there is one who has lived our life as it ought to be lived,
there is one who came among us full of grace and truth, who gave his all out of love and who calls us to love each other as He loves us. This is the Christ, Jesus our Lord.
We place an offering before you from the gifts you have given us. For all we have comes from you and all we have we give to you. In kindness and compassion, in talents and in skills, in time and energy, in thought and will, we place ourselves into your hands that you might use us to bring in your Kingdom.
Hear us as we join in the words of the Lord’s Prayer saying…
Our Father who art in Heaven Hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory forever. Amen.
Address
My son Chris began his working life with a hammer in one hand and a spanner in the other. He was usually covered in oil and grime. The life of a car mechanic is not always a bunch of fun! But not now. Now Chris spends his day with a lap top reading error codes, checking sensors and wiring and letting other mechanics get their hands dirty. Cars these days are so complex with all the electronics in them. Chris has had to learn new skills in diagnostics and fixing electronics.
There is though, a good reason why. Electronics are often marked as “no user serviceable parts inside” in other words if they break you can’t fix them. The sheer quantity of failed electronics that go to the dump is quite staggering and with them all the rare metals and minerals used in their manufacture. So, nowadays, so far as possible, electronics have to be repairable, serviceable. We can’t just throw them away when they no longer work.
Disturbingly, Jesus talks about throwing stuff away when it’s no longer useful. If salt loses its saltiness there is no way to make it salty again. It has become worthless, so it is thrown out and people trample on it.
I suppose, we come to these parables of salt and light every year at around this time. Preachers love these parables because there are lovely images to play with but there must come a point where we have explored every possible angle and congregations have heard it all before. “Not again”, I hear you whisper under your breath; “I bet this one’s a reheat!”
If salt loses its saltiness. Well, I feel obliged to say this, no salt cannot lose its saltiness but if it did, if it lost its worth, or purpose or usefulness it would be thrown away because it is no longer salt, it no longer does what we need it to do.
Some would argue these days that the church has lost sight of its purpose. Church has become insular, hiding behind closed doors it no longer proclaims the Gospel to a needy world. If the church has lost its purpose or usefulness then there may be no way to get that back, which is a scary thought. It’s Game Over. Mind you, I’m not sure who would be doing the throwing away. Is it us who throws away a church that has lost its purpose or is it God who does that? Is it our church to throw away or is it God’s church?
Some, however, feel there is a way of rediscovering the church’s purpose. We just need to fix one of the components, the bit we call mission. I’m not going to dispute that we need to get out there a bit more, say what we’re about, what we believe in, what we do and not be shy about saying we follow Jesus Christ. We do need to actively lead people toward faith in Christ.
I think we have lost the art of being distinctive. Sometimes I think; wouldn’t it be great if we had such and such activity in our church, a choir for those who have dementia, a drop in for those needing advice on benefits, a group to help those struggling with bereavement, a cookery class for those who are struggling to feed their children. And yes, it would be good if were able to do such things yet, they are all being done by other groups and charities and being done very well. We can be and are supportive of their activities but do we really need to duplicate that kind of activity? Why don’t we do that which no one else can do? That which is distinctive, peculiar to us as a Christian Church; why don’t we offer to others that which is absolutely ours and no one else’s to offer? A faith in Jesus Christ.
As I was preparing for today, I came across the words of Father Elias Chacour, a Palestinian Israeli Greek Malchite priest, (no I don’t know what that is either), but the point is he is familiar with the Aramaic language that Jesus spoke. Reflecting on the Beatitudes Father Elias says, ‘When I understand Jesus’ words in Aramaic, I translate like this: Get up, go ahead, do something, move, you who are hungry and thirsty for justice, for you shall be satisfied.
Get up, go ahead, do something, move, you peacemakers, for you shall be called children of God” Father Elias feels this reflects Jesus’ words and teachings much more accurately. I can hear him saying he writes, “Get your hands dirty to build a human society for human beings; otherwise, others will torture and murder the poor, the voiceless, and the powerless.”
Christianity is not passive but active, energetic, alive, going beyond despair “Get up, go ahead, do something, move,”
Father Elias doesn’t mince his words; we need to get our hands dirty. And maybe we need to remember that Jesus himself got his hands dirty in the places where humanity struggles, where dignity is lost and justice is hard to find because these are the places where light and hope and faith really matter. Get up, go ahead, do something, move. Bring to others the gift only we can bring – the gift of faith in Christ.
Praise – Make me a channel of your peace
Prayers for Others
Epstein, Mandelson, and the light of Truth
Victims fighting for justice. Nothing new there. There are victims of Jeffrey Epstein who have been fighting for 20 years to get justice. And it does not surprise us, to find the names of the rich and powerful tangled up in the web of deceit and abuse. And somehow nothing can really be proved. Just why do they think that their actions will never be discovered, that they can create their own private, secret world, untouchable, above the law. Why do the powerful prey upon the vulnerable?
And this is why Lord God, we place our trust in you as a God of justice, a God of Righteous anger, that if justice will not be served in this life, then it will be in the next. Those who need to be held to account will be held to account. And yes, that may sit uncomfortably with our vision of you as a God of grace and love and forgiveness. But forgiveness cannot come without justice, and justice cannot come without truth. And truth cannot be heard unless we speak it and bring it to the light. This is our prayer, Lord; May your light shine into the darkest of places. Hear our prayer…
The fruits of the spirit
Father God, Lord Jesus Christ, who sent the Holy Spirit to rest upon us and dwell within us; the same Spirit that gives us voice to share the Good News of Christ, may our lives be hallmarked by the fruits of the Holy Spirit. May our lives display faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; patience, kindness and goodness; love, joy and peace. So may we be like salt for all humankind as others come to know the love of Christ by the fruits they see in us. Lord hear our prayers as we ask for the fruits of the spirit to be born in us…
Quietness for our own prayers
Lord Jesus, direct our thoughts now as from the quietness and stillness of your house we make our own prayers to you. We come with concerns for family and friend and even for ourselves, we pray for our world torn apart by conflict of war, we pray for those who have nothing of their own, their meagre lives lived out in abject poverty. Wherever you take us in prayer, may these prayers be genuine and sincere, a prayer which comes from the heart and goes to the heart of God. Hear us in our prayers…
Praise – Open my eyes
The Grace
And now… May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you and all whom you love, now and for evermore. AMEN.