Dear friends,

Last Sunday, Mima Dalziel and I shared something of the "Oberammergau Experience" which I know from comments afterwards, proved to be both moving and thought provoking.  The move from laughter at the thought of your minister hurtling down an Austrian hillside on an Alpine Coaster to the tears evoked by the sights and sounds of the passion play, gave just a taste of the roller coaster ride which was the "Oberammergau Experience."

The contrasting emotions experienced during the service, and on the trip itself, were the same ones experienced through the passion play.  There was great delight as the children ran onto the stage at the beginning and as they, along with others, welcomed Jesus entering into Jerusalem in the depiction of Palm Sunday.  But the joyous laughter soon gave way to the laughter of those who jeered and teased Jesus, who replaced "Hosanna" with "Crucify".  This reached its climax in the Crucifixion scene when the performers and the audience fell silent.  It was the kind of silence that is almost overpowering, for that's what the experience was to me from start to finish.  And the silence was broken quietly and gently with the news that Jesus was alive!

I really felt that I was there, on a journey with the Lord himself, as he helped me to deepen my understanding of what he endured for you and me.  The cost was immense and although he could have walked away, he didn't - he didn't pick and choose the good bits of which there must have been many for him - but rather, his was a radical step of faith as he put his life very much into the hands of his father.

The journey we call "discipleship" is a radical one when we are called to step out in faith, knowing that there will be times of great joy when it feels as though we are walking on air and getting a great buzz from our experience of God breaking through into our lives.  But there is also a costly side when it is hard.  We sometimes try to pick and choose, and go for the easy option, but if we do want to grow and become effective as disciples then commitment means just that - a commitment to our 24/7 God through Christ in our daily lives.

Over the next few weeks, as you will see from the forward plan of services, we will be looking at discipleship and some key aspects of what it means to be a disciple.

As Christians, we are disciples of Jesus, which means that, as we follow him, we want to seek to be more and more like him in our lives, so that others will know that we are Christians through our love, through the very love of our Saviour made known in and through us.
May God continue to bless us and strengthen our worship, fellowship, work and witness to the glory of his eternal name.
 
Your friend and minister
 
Robbie Hamilton