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[0:00] A warm welcome to the service today. Good to see all of you. Good to see all the boys and girls sitting down here today. Are you going to speak to me this morning? Pardon?

[0:13] Are you going to speak to me this morning? Yeah. I'm good to see visitors with us as well and you're especially welcome. If you're able to stay behind for tea and coffee, please do so. There are some notices I think that have been on the screen before the service began and I'll just take a second to run through these. Tea, coffee after the service if you're able. This evening we'll have the service at six o'clock. I'll share a short word and Angus M will be sharing testimony this evening and speaking about how he came to know the Lord and how the Lord has walked with him through the years. So be encouraged to come to that.

[0:53] Ladies Fellowship as usual and Little Fishers and Road to Recovery and the prayer meeting on as usual Tuesday and Wednesday. On this coming Wednesday prayer meeting just to note that Don McLeod who's the camp supervisor for the Free Church he's going to come and speak a little about the camps over the summer just so that we can have them in our minds and be praying for the young ones during that ministry over the summer period. Services next Sunday 11 and 6 as usual. I'll take these services God willing and we hope if Dan's back is well enough that Dan will share a word of testimony in the evening. Sign up sheet for those able to help with the summer holiday Sunday school. Please speak to Gordon. There's a sheet at the vestibule and the church cleaning rota there and I think these are probably all the notices. So let's now sing to God's praise. Let's worship God and sing to his praise and we sing from Psalm 63. Psalm 63 verses 1 to verse 8. We've got a lovely wee choir here. I don't know if you can all hear it but we've got a sweet little choir here in the front row. So Psalm 63 verses 1 to verse 8 and it's a psalm where we're encouraged to come to the Lord early and for all the boys and girls who are here it's good to see you be encouraged to come to

[2:28] Jesus early in life. Don't tell anybody who tells you you've got to wait till you're older. Seek him early. We're going to sing about that now. Lord thee my God I'll early seek my soul the thirst for thee my flesh longs in a dry parched land wherein no waters be. And what that means is that when we come to Jesus he gives us satisfaction. He makes us happy in our hearts and so this is a psalm where we're encouraged to come to him. So we'll stand to sing to God's praise.

[3:04] Lord thee my God I'll early seek my soul the thirst for thee my flesh longs in a time harsh land wherein no waters be. Thou God thy thy power may be. Thou may be. Thou may be. And rightness of thy face as I am singly here to come.

[3:51] brightness of thy face, as I am still being here to for within thy holy place.

[4:15] Since better is thy love and life, my lips thee rich shall give.

[4:34] I in thy name will lift my hands and bless thee while I live.

[4:53] Hear not with heart, oh, and with heart, my soul shall fill and be.

[5:09] Then shout my mouth with joyfulness sing praises unto thee.

[5:28] When I to thee upon my bed, remember with delight, and when on thee I meditate, it washes all the night.

[6:05] In shadow of all thy wings I'll join, for love mine help hast be.

[6:23] My soul, thy forelose heart, and me thy right hand doth sustain.

[6:41] Amen. Amen. Okay, let's all close our eyes and let's bow our hearts before God and let's speak to him in prayer.

[6:57] Amen. Lord God, we thank you for this day. We thank you for this special day that you have given to us as a gift, a day where you tell us to stop working and to take time to be still and to be with you.

[7:14] And we thank you for this place. We thank you for church and for the way that we can be with you and with each other in church. We're encouraged when we see each other.

[7:26] We thank you for friendships and for fellowship for lots of people that we know who all believe in Jesus. And we thank you that you have promised, Lord Jesus, that when even two or three of us were to meet together in any place, whether inside or outside, you have said that you will be with us and that you will bless us.

[7:49] So we ask, Lord, that you would bless us as we gather around your word and as we look to Jesus. We pray especially for the boys and girls today.

[8:00] We thank you for this family service. We thank you for the Sunday school and the different classes that have met over the year. And we thank you for Jam and for Connect and for Rooted and all the boys and girls that maybe don't come on a Sunday but who come other days in the week.

[8:18] We thank you, Lord, that you speak to us in the Bible. We thank you that we can speak to you in prayer. We thank you for Jesus who came to this world and went to the cross to take away our sin so that we can be your friends, a friendship that starts in this world and goes on forever.

[8:39] And we thank you that you've given us all these amazing promises in the Bible. You've promised, Lord, that you'll never leave us nor forsake us. You've promised that when we're worried and anxious that if we take our tears to you, you will give us your peace.

[8:54] You've promised that you will be with us all the way through life and you will be our refuge and strength. And you've promised even that you will be with us going through death into life everlasting.

[9:07] Lord Jesus, you've promised that you've got a special place prepared in heaven for all who know you and trust you. So help us, we pray, to not just hear these promises but to believe every one of them.

[9:21] Give us faith, we pray, that we would be believing in everything that you say and that we would be receiving that joy and that comfort that comes from knowing that you are real and your word is trustworthy.

[9:36] We pray, Lord, that you would be with all those who are struggling this morning. We thank you for all who are in church but we pray for many who are not at church today as well. Some who may be sick and struggling at home or maybe in hospital.

[9:50] And we ask, Lord, that you would help them that you would heal them if that's your will. But even if that's not your will, Lord, that you would be with them and that they would know that you're with them. We pray for those who are sad whose hearts are sore, maybe having lost loved ones to death in the last few days.

[10:09] And we think especially of those in Scalpy who met yesterday for the funeral. And we ask, Lord, that you would comfort them and that you would help them. We thank you that Jesus promised that all who believe in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

[10:25] We thank you that the words of eternal life are found with Jesus. And we pray that all those whose hearts are sore like that would be looking to Jesus and knowing the comfort that Jesus alone can give.

[10:39] And for those who are struggling with all kinds of different things, we ask, Lord, that you would help them. In this world, we know that when we're young and when we're middle-aged and when we're old, there are different things that we struggle with.

[10:53] Sometimes that we can be worried about, things that can be sore, things that can be hard for us to manage. But we thank you that you've told us that we shouldn't try to manage things on our own because you are the friend who is with us in everything.

[11:09] And for all who are struggling, those that we know of, that we can think of even now, we pray that you would help them. And above all, Lord, we pray that you would be working in all of our hearts.

[11:22] We pray, Lord, for those who might not be struggling just now with any worries, who may not be struggling with any struggles in their health, who may have money and who may have comfort and all kinds of different things in this world, but who don't know Jesus.

[11:40] And we ask, Lord, that you would be working in the hearts of those who are not yet Christians. Maybe some who are here, that even today, we would hear the call of Jesus saying, come to me.

[11:51] And for those who are not here, those who might not even know anything very much about Jesus, we pray that you would work in their hearts and that you would even use us to tell them about how good you are.

[12:02] We ask now that you would continue with us and that you would help us to focus on your word and to hear your voice. Take away our sin, we ask, and we pray all this in Jesus' name and for his sake.

[12:15] Amen. Boys and girls, it's good to see you all this morning. Good to see you every morning, but this is a service that is especially really for you.

[12:28] The old ones, they can all listen as well, but it's really especially for you this morning. And there's four different things that I want to say in the service.

[12:40] And the first thing I want to talk about this morning is the invitation. The invitation of Jesus. Now, who can tell me what's an invitation?

[12:53] Or have you ever, put your hand if you've ever received an invitation. So, Fraser, what kind of invitations have you ever received? I like, there's mostly like parties.

[13:07] For parties, yeah. So, parties, we get invitations to parties, they're good things, aren't they? Yeah. What other kind of invitations do you get, Miriam? You get invited to someone's house for lunch or dinner.

[13:23] Is that good? Depends on the cook, doesn't it? I'm sure it's mostly good. What other invitations do we get? Parties, we get invited to go to people's house for lunch or for dinner.

[13:38] Ever get invited for a sleepover? Yeah. They can be fun. Ever been invited to a wedding? Yeah. Are they fun? Yeah, they're, they're quite fun.

[13:51] Ailey's face was not convincing me that they're always 100% fun. But there's good things about going to, invitations to go and play football. You ever had them?

[14:02] That's a good thing, isn't it? So, there's all kinds of invitations. Oh, sorry. Invitation over there. Pardon?

[14:15] Invitation. You're just getting ahead to the point that I'm going to make, aren't you? You and Michael could go into competition as to guess the sermon before he preaches it. And then preach it better before he gets a chance to.

[14:30] So, picking up on that point, here's an invitation. See, you get invitations that have got thrills on them saying you're invited to the wedding of such and such.

[14:42] You get an invitation for Christmas parties, these nice cards. But this here is an invitation. What's this? Michael?

[14:52] It's the Bible. And it's, the Bible is like a, it's like an invitation with lots and lots of pages and lots and lots of words. And in the Bible, God is, he's asking us to come to him, to trust him, and to be saved, to, to, as the man there said, to know his life.

[15:18] And I want to zoom in this morning for part of the time on one verse. One invitation that we read in the Bible.

[15:31] And you'll have heard this verse before, so listen carefully to this verse. It's Matthew chapter 11 and verse 28. And it says, Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

[15:52] Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Who do you think said that? Who spoke that word? Come on.

[16:06] Who was it? Jesus did. And who is Jesus? He is God, isn't he? He's God the Son. He's God's Son, and he's, he's God the Son.

[16:18] He's God. And, and Jesus, in that verse, he's speaking to, to all of us, but he's speaking especially to children. He actually, in this little section, he mentions, he mentions you, mentions children.

[16:35] So who's got the, the section, Matthew chapter 11, verses 25 to 28. I'm guessing it's Alistair, from the enthusiastic look on his face there.

[16:47] Alistair, come forward, stand at the microphone, please, speak out nice and loud, and let's hear God's word through, through your reading. Matthew chapter 11, verses 25 to 28.

[17:03] At that time, Jesus said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise, and learned, and revealed them to little children.

[17:13] Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father, and no one knows the Father, except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

[17:27] Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. All things have been committed to me by my Father.

[17:39] No one knows the Son, except the Father, and no one knows the Father, except the Son. And those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

[17:54] Thank you, Alistair. So in the Bible, in this big invitation, that has lots of God's words in it, Jesus is inviting you and me and everyone, especially children.

[18:17] Did you hear what Jesus said? He said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise, because there were some big religious bosses who were giving Jesus a hard time.

[18:31] And Jesus had had a bit of an argument with them just in the verses beforehand. And Jesus then says, I praise you, Father, of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from those who think they're so wise and learned.

[18:44] And you reveal them to little children. And so Jesus is inviting you, little children, of all ages, to come to him.

[18:59] Have you ever had an invitation from a celebrity maybe to go to a concert and be a VIP or go to, have you ever had an invitation from a football or a sports star to go and sit in a special seat in the stadium?

[19:18] Put your hand with what you have. I don't think any of us have. I certainly haven't. But isn't it an amazing thing to think that the God who made everything, the God who is more important and more amazing than anyone who ever lived ever, he's inviting us to come to him.

[19:51] He's sending us an invitation in the Bible. But even more amazing than that, he sent his son who says to us, come to me, trust me and I'll be the friend who stays with you forever.

[20:13] I'll be the friend who blesses your life. And we're going to sing about that now. We're going to sing one of your favourite hymns. You always sing it out nice and loud. Bless the Lord, O my soul.

[20:25] So we'll stand to sing in just a minute and sing this hymn to God's praise. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Worship his holy name. name.

[20:44] Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul. Worship his holy name.

[20:58] Sing like never before, O my soul, I'll worship your holy days.

[21:08] The sun comes up, it's the new day dawning. It's time to sing your song again.

[21:21] Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me, let me be singing when the evening comes.

[21:35] Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul. Worship his holy name.

[21:46] Sing like never before, O my soul, I'll worship your holy name. The sun comes up, it's the old to I bear.

[22:04] Your name is great and your heart is kind. For all your goodness I will keep on singing. Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find.

[22:21] Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul. Worship his holy name. sing like never before, O my soul, I'll worship your holy name.

[22:41] Sing like never before, O my soul, I'll worship your holy name.

[23:04] One more verse, Angus. on that day.

[23:14] On that day, keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going, one more, Okay.

[23:58] Oh, my soul, worship his holy name. Sing like never before. Oh, my soul, I'll worship your holy name.

[24:19] Okay, boys and girls. So the first thing we learned was we thought for a moment or two about the invitation of Jesus. Didn't we? And how the Bible is where we hear the invitation of Jesus and he calls us to come to him.

[24:36] The second thing I want to think about this morning is the indignation of Jesus. Now, what do you think that means? When Mary was glancing over my order of service this morning, she kind of said, indignation.

[24:53] What kind of a word is that to be used in the children's service? What do you think it means? Well, we're going to find out. Mark uses this word indignation to teach us something about Jesus.

[25:08] So who's going to read Mark chapter 10? Out you come, Bethany. Okay. Mark 10 verses 13 to 16.

[25:24] And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them. So the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and he said to them, let the children come to me.

[25:36] Do not hinder them for such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.

[25:48] And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. Thank you very much. Thank you. So you've heard that story before about how there was parents who were bringing their children to Jesus.

[26:10] So that he would pray with them and he would be with them. And the disciples said, take them away. And Jesus, when he saw the disciples saying to the children and the parents, get them out of here.

[26:28] He was indignant, it says. When Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said, let the children come to me. Don't hinder them.

[26:39] Don't hold them back. Don't hold them back. For to such belongs the kingdom of God. So what do you think indignant means now? Just a simple word for it.

[26:52] Do you think Jesus was happy when he saw the disciples saying, get the children out of here? So what do you think Jesus felt when he saw the children getting pushed away?

[27:04] Michael? Angry. That's exactly it. Angry. Jesus sometimes got angry. You don't think that, do you?

[27:15] But Jesus sometimes got angry. What makes you angry? Are you going to tell me any of the things that make you angry? When's the last time you got a bit mad?

[27:31] Or have you never had an argument in your house ever? Have you never fallen out with your sisters or brothers? You ever got wild?

[27:42] When Benjamin talks. When Benjamin talks. It's a very honest brotherly confession. When your brother talks, it makes you angry.

[27:55] Nine out of ten times. Thank you for that honest confession. What other things make you angry? Any other things?

[28:05] Christy? Never get angry. No, I do get angry. You do get angry. Okay. What kind of things? What kind of things make you angry? When your sister talks.

[28:17] Oh. Or maybe when? When she's being annoying. When she's being annoying. When she's being annoying. And also, Henry was staying at my age. It was like one in the morning. It could make up all over my face.

[28:28] Oh. Oh. You didn't hear that. When Henry was staying at their house. Was it Shawnee? That was. No, I thought. It was the two of them.

[28:39] The two boys in the make up bag. And you all wanted to go to sleep. And they came when you were asleep. And they put make up on your face.

[28:50] And it made you angry. Very angry. Angry. Yes. What about when your team's losing on football? How does that make you feel?

[29:03] Angry. Or when your sister. Let's get into the teenage years. When you see your sister in a photograph on Be Real. Or whatever the thing is.

[29:14] And she's wearing your top. Hypothetically speaking. That might make somebody angry. See, these are the things that make us angry.

[29:31] But these are not the kind of things that make Jesus angry. Jesus got angry when he saw people stopping other people coming to him.

[29:46] So when Jesus saw people who wanted to come to him. And there was other people getting in the way. Saying, no, no. Stay away from Jesus. That made him angry. And in John chapter 2.

[29:59] There was a story where Jesus. He walked into a church. And there was an area in the church. That was a special area. Where people could pray. And they could meet with God. And they could listen to what God was saying to them.

[30:11] And when Jesus went in. He looked around. And there was noise. And there was money. And there was people selling all kinds of things. And all the religious bosses were strutting around. And nobody could worship God.

[30:25] Because of the noise. And all the stuff that was going on. And Jesus was angry. So angry. He flipped the tables over. He said, get all this stuff out of here.

[30:36] This is supposed to be my father's house. Where people can pray. He says, you've turned it into a den for Robert. He was angry.

[30:48] And in this section here. Jesus, he got angry with his disciples. Why did he get angry with his disciples? It's because they were stopping the children coming to him.

[31:01] Now, we're not told this. But why do you think that. Why do you think that the disciples were trying to stop the children from coming to Jesus? I wonder.

[31:16] Might have been that they had. Might have been that they were really messy. Sometimes children can get a bit messy. Or maybe they were making a big noise.

[31:27] They were crying. And they were shouting. And they were brothers and sisters were fighting with each other. Maybe that kind of stuff was going on. And they were up to all kinds of nonsense. And the disciples looked.

[31:39] And they thought. Jesus hasn't got time for all this hassle. Get them out of here. Maybe that's what they were thinking. Or maybe they thought Jesus was just so busy.

[31:53] That he didn't have time for the children. But he had serious important things to do. But when Jesus saw the disciples pushing the children away.

[32:08] He got angry. Because what we learn about Jesus in the Bible. Is that there's never anyone. Whether they're young or old.

[32:20] Who's too messy. To come to him. We might have very messy lives. But Jesus still says. Come to me.

[32:31] Come to me. And I'll help you. And we never find a verse in the Bible. Where Jesus checks his watch. And says. I'm sorry. But I'm out of time. And you'll have to come back.

[32:43] And see me a week on Thursday. He never says. Let me just check my diary. No, no. I'm sorry. I've got no time for you today. Never. Is there a verse like that.

[32:54] Whenever people came to Jesus. He never pushed them away. He always accepted them. And he got angry. He was indignant.

[33:05] With people who tried to push them away. So boys and girls. I wonder. I wonder.

[33:17] Does anybody ever say to you. Oh. Just forget about Jesus. Just now. I hope not. I hope nobody ever. Says to you. Leave all the stuff about Jesus.

[33:29] Till you're older. You're too young. Just now. Just get on with life. There's lots of things to do. When you're old. And you're grey. That's when you can start to get serious. About church.

[33:40] And about coming to Jesus. But just now. Just go and get on with life. If anybody says that to you. Jesus is indignant. With them. He's angry.

[33:54] And anything. Anyone that holds us back. From Jesus. It makes them sad. It makes them angry. You know.

[34:05] When we spend all our time. On a pad. Or on a phone. When we're so busy. With every other thing. That we. We never have time. To pick up the Bible.

[34:17] Makes Jesus sad. Makes him angry. Because. He is saying to us. I want you to come to me.

[34:27] And don't let anyone. Don't let anything. Stop you. From coming. To me. So boys and girls.

[34:39] Young. And older. Come to Jesus. And don't listen to anyone. And don't let anything.

[34:49] Get in between you. And Jesus. The invitation. Comes. From Jesus. But there's indignation.

[35:00] There's anger. When he sees. The things. And people. That push us away. And hold us. Back. We're going to sing again now. And we're going to sing. About this invitation.

[35:12] From Jesus. To seven. Five. On mission. Praise. The words are on the screen. I heard the voice of Jesus. Say. Come. Unto me. And rest. They don't know weary.

[35:49] One lay down. Thy head upon my breast. I came to Jesus.

[36:00] As I was. Really. And warm. And sad. I found in him.

[36:12] A resting place. And he has made me glad. I heard the voice of Jesus.

[36:25] Say. Behold. I freely give. The living water.

[36:36] Thirsty one. Stood down. And drink. And live. I gave. I gave to Jesus.

[36:46] And I drank. Of that time giving stream. My thirst was quenched.

[36:57] My soul revived. And now I live with him. I heard the voice of Jesus.

[37:10] Say. I am this dark world's mind. Look unto me. Thy Lord shall rise.

[37:23] And all thy daily rise. I look to Jesus. And I crown.

[37:34] In him my star. My son. And in that light. All bright. My wall.

[37:44] Till traveling days are done. All my days are done. All my days are done. All my days are done. All my days are done. All my days are done.

[37:54] All my days are done. All my days are done. So boys and girls. You're listening well. We have the invitation of Jesus. He says come to me. We have the indignation of Jesus. He's angry at those who try to stop the little ones and the older ones coming to him.

[38:09] And the third thing we have here that I want to think about is the gift of Jesus. Because Jesus promises to give something to those who come to him.

[38:21] Now when we think about the invitations that we get. If we respond to them. We're given things aren't we? So what did you talk about? You talked about parties I think.

[38:33] Did any of you go to the school prom? So if you get an invitation to go to the school prom. When you go you get nice food I guess. Some music.

[38:43] You get to do some of your disco dancing moves. Do you want to come forward and show us? No. Let's not do that. Or if you go to a wedding.

[38:54] What do you get at a wedding? Ailey. Get a nice dinner don't you? Yeah. And you get a chance to do some dancing. And at the end of the wedding.

[39:07] If I remember rightly. After the meal was finished. And I think about my cousins and us. We'd be able to go around all the tables. And there would be a big bowl of after eights. And you'd be stuffing all the after eights into your pockets.

[39:19] And you could eat after eights for the next four or five hours. Until you were so full of sugar you couldn't focus. But when we get. When we respond to our invitation.

[39:30] We get given things usually. When we go. Now. What happens when we come to Jesus? What did Jesus promise to give to those who come to him?

[39:42] So let's see if we can remember the verse. Jesus said. Come to me. All you who are weary and burdened. And I will give you.

[39:55] Do you remember what it was? Help them out. Rest. Jesus said.

[40:06] Come to me. All you who are tired. Weary. Burden. Weighed down. I'll give you rest. Put your hand up.

[40:17] If you've ever spent a whole day. Carrying a heavy school bag. Michael. You know what that's like. Don't you? I remember.

[40:28] When I was in school. On Thursdays. The school bag used to be super heavy. We had maths. We had English. Geography. Massive big folder. Full of maps.

[40:38] All kinds of stuff. And the teacher insisted. You had to bring it every week. And then we had PE as well. So you've got all the stuff there. She'd be heading off in the house in the morning.

[40:49] With this bag on your shoulder. And as the day went on. You got more and more tired. Do you know what that's like feeling? Have a heavy bag on your shoulder. Do you want to find out?

[41:00] Come here. Can you take that bag? And put it on your shoulder. Maybe. Well, it's going to.

[41:12] Well, maybe Hannah can help you a little bit. Maybe walk over to the piano. It won't help too much. So you get the message. Walk over to the piano. And then come back.

[41:24] You're walking a bit funny. Filming. Why are you walking funny? Okay. Okay. Just pop it down now. Hannah, you can put it down there.

[41:37] Finley, do you want to pick her up and just take her back over? Just yourself. Don't need to be on your shoulder. Just take it the way it is. That's it. Oh. That's it. Lois, go and give him a wee hand.

[41:50] The two of you will maybe manage. Oh.

[42:05] Lois's face is going red. See, it's a heavy bag. Listen to this. It's heavy.

[42:17] And when you're carrying a heavy school bag around for the day, by the end of the day, when you get to put it down, it feels good because you think, oh, at last, I can rest.

[42:31] And you know, sin makes us tired in our hearts. The Bible teaches us that. Sin makes us weary. And sin, it's like a heavy weight that we carry around.

[42:47] But Jesus came into this world to take sin away, didn't he? You tell me that every week. Jesus came to take the burden, the weight of our sin away, so we can enjoy rest.

[43:03] So tell me this. Where did Jesus take our sin away? How did Jesus take our sin away? What did he do? Miriam. He went to the cross, didn't he?

[43:14] And he suffered and he died. And on the cross, Jesus felt the weight of our sin. This heavy weight.

[43:25] My sin would be much heavier than this. And Jesus felt that weight of our sin on his shoulders when he was on the cross. We sing about that in a hymn.

[43:36] I think we're going to sing that hymn next. It says, Behold the man upon the cross. Look at the man on the cross. My sin upon his shoulders. But if we come to Jesus, if we trust him, just like a little child, if we tell him about the weight of our sin, and all the stuff that we know is heavy and it's dark in our hearts, if we tell him that, we tell him about it, and we ask him to take our sin away, he promises that he will.

[44:12] And he promises that he will give us rest. And it's a rest that begins in this world, but it goes on forever.

[44:25] And it's a gift. Look over there. What do you see over there? You see some gifts. Don't you, Luke? Now, tell me, how do you get your gift?

[44:41] What do you have to do? Do you have your credit cards with you? Do you have to pay for them? No. Do you have to put on your rubber gloves and do six hours washing the dishes in the kitchen for the cups of tea?

[44:57] Do you have to work for it? No. So what do you have to do? Just take it. Somebody's going to call your name, and you're going to come out the front, and you're going to take it.

[45:09] And, you know, in the Bible, and even in this message today, Jesus, he's calling our names, and he's saying to us, Alistair, John O, John Rory, Grace, Lois, Finley, Emily, Miriam, and all of you.

[45:29] He's calling you by name, and he's saying, come to me. And if we come to him, he promises that he will give us the gift of everlasting rest for our hearts.

[45:47] So we're going to sing now about the cross, about that place where Jesus worked to give us rest. How deep the Father's love for us, how vast be on all measure.

[46:00] We'll stand to sing in just a moment. Let's sing in just a moment.

[46:31] To make a wretch his treasure, Ungrate the pain of searing loss, The Father turns his face on grave, As wounds which mar the chosen one, Bring many sons to glory.

[46:59] Behold the man upon a cross, I stood upon his shoulders, Ashamed I hear my moaning voice, Call out among the stompers, It was my sin that held him there, Until it was accomplished.

[47:45] His dying breath has brought me life, I know that it is finished.

[47:57] I will not boast in anything, No gifts, no power, no wisdom, But I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection.

[48:29] Why should I gain from his reward? I cannot give an answer, But this I know with all my heart, His wounds that made my ransom.

[48:57] This is the last thing, This is the last thing boys and girls. We've got the invitation of Jesus, He says come to me. We've got the indignation of Jesus, He was angry when he saw people stopping the children, Being able to come to Jesus.

[49:16] And then we have the gift of Jesus, He promises rest to those who come to him. And the last thing, Very short thing, Is the mission of Jesus.

[49:28] You know, he gives us a mission. Because when we come to Jesus, Yes, he gives us rest for our hearts, But he doesn't expect us to just put our feet up, And do nothing.

[49:45] For the rest of our days. He gives us a job to do, When we're in this world. So, can you guess, Boys and girls, What does Jesus want you to do?

[49:59] He wants you to come to him, But once you've come to him and trusted him, And once you're able to see that, He's your savior, He's your friend. What do you think he wants you to do?

[50:12] Really? Tell other people. He wants you to tell other people. He wants you to bring other people to him.

[50:26] To him. The disciples got around, For stopping people from coming to Jesus. And Jesus was teaching the disciples, That he wants people to come to him.

[50:41] To be brought to him. So you can bring your friends to Jesus. How can you bring your friends to Jesus? What else?

[50:52] You can ask them if they want to come to Jam and Connect, They'll hear about Jesus there. What else can you do? What else can you do?

[51:03] You can pray for them. Can't you? You can tell Jesus about them. And that, In that way, In a secret way, You bring them to Jesus. And just like the, The parents, Two thousand years ago, In the passage that we read, Just like they were bringing their children to Jesus.

[51:23] Today we've got Helen, And Hannes, And baby Lachlan, And Olivia through the, The bag there, With us. And, They want to bring, Little Lachlan, To Jesus.

[51:40] So how can they do that? Well, They can do that by reading the Bible to him. She gets a wee bit older. And the Bible stories that we remember well, David and Goliath, And Noah and the ark, And all these amazing stories in the Bible.

[51:55] These stories about Jesus, They can, They can sit down with him. And as he gets older, He can, He can learn about Jesus. They can tell Lachlan about Jesus. And they can tell Jesus about Lachlan as they pray for him.

[52:10] And they can bring Lachlan to Jesus by, By taking him to, To church, Like they're doing this morning. And like they do in Inverness. Inverness. By making Sunday a day, By making Sunday a day, Not for sports, Or shopping, Or hill walking, But for coming to the church, To be with Jesus, And to be with his people.

[52:33] And so, Hannes and Helen are going to make some promises, This morning, To do these kind of things. And as they do these things, Then they'll be bringing Lachlan to Jesus.

[52:49] Now do you think Lachlan understands that yet? Look at him. I don't think he understands it yet. I think he's having a good time. He's making some cool noises in the front.

[53:02] He can clap his hands. So he doesn't understand yet what's happening. But we pray that as he gets older, He'll believe in Jesus for himself.

[53:15] And he'll ask Jesus to be his own savior. So Hannes and Helen are going to stand now. And we're going to stand with them.

[53:27] As a congregation. So I'll pause just for a wee second until Whoever is through there needs to come through. I love you, is it? And let's all stand.

[53:44] So I'm going to ask Helen and Hannes Four questions. And they're going to answer. And make some promises. That very simply mean that they're going to bring up Lachlan As they're bringing up Olivia.

[54:02] To know about how good Jesus is. And how Jesus wants them to come to him. To him. So. Question number one. Do you acknowledge the Bible to be the word of God And your only guide in all matters of faith and conduct?

[54:20] And do you confess God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit As revealed in Scripture to be your God? Yes. And do you profess faith in Jesus Christ as the only Savior of sinners And as your Savior and your Lord?

[54:37] Yes. And do you promise independence on God's promised help By your prayers, teaching and example To bring up your child Lachlan In the instruction and discipline of the Lord.

[54:53] Well I'm going to baptise Lachlan now So. Let's hope he's going to be a good boy here. He's going to be a good boy here. They're all friendly Lachlan.

[55:07] Lachlan, John, DeCock, I baptise you in the name of the Father And of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

[55:21] The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you And be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you And give you peace.

[55:36] And Lachlan, let's say a prayer now. Lord God, we thank you for your goodness We thank you for your grace We thank you for your gifts We thank you for every good gift that we receive from you And we thank you especially for Lachlan this morning As we thank you for Olivia as well We ask that you would be near to him We pray that as he grows up That he will know about Jesus That he will understand how much you love him And we pray that in his early years As we sang in the psalm He would come to the Lord And he would find that satisfaction in his heart Of being a child of Jesus We pray for Helen and for Hannes As they've taken promises As they've made vows to bring up Lachlan As they've also taken vows to bring up Olivia To know about Jesus And to be in the house of God And to be pointed to the Lord Jesus And to be pointed to the Lord Jesus

[56:38] We pray that you would help them To keep these vows And help us as well To pray for them As they seek to be good parents And we pray for Anthony And for Christian as well And we ask that you would help them To as they point Lachlan and Olivia to Jesus And we pray for Hannes' parents as well That your blessing would be upon them We pray for the congregation in Inverness That they go to We thank you that the gospel is preached there We pray that you would be with Alistair the minister In that place And we ask Lord that they would be a part of that church family And that they would know your blessing on them there As we pray your blessing upon them here also To hear our prayers Thank you for the privilege of being able to bring The little children to you And we ask Lord that they would know your blessing on them Today and always And we pray these things in Jesus name And for his sake Amen

[57:40] And look how good he is I better hand you back to your dad We're going to sing now to God's praise And we're going to sing Mission Praise 52 God sent his son They called him Jesus He came to love Heal and forgive He lived and died to buy my pardon An empty grave is there to prove my saviour lives Because he lives I can face tomorrow We'll stand to sing to God's praise God's praise God sent his son They called him Jesus He lived to love Heal and forgive He lived and forgive He lived and died He lived and died He lived and died To buy my pardon An empty grave is there to prove my saviour lives Because he lives I can face He lived and forgive He lived and forgive He lived and forgive He lived and died To buy my pardon

[58:41] An empty graves is there to prove my saviour lives Savior lives. Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone.

[59:02] Because I know, I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives.

[59:14] I just need to hold a newborn baby, but feel the pride and joy He gives, but raise her still.

[59:31] The calm assurance, this child can face a certain date. Because He lives, because He lives, I can face tomorrow.

[59:46] Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know, I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives.

[60:04] And then one day, I'll cross the river, a white-like sign, no glory green.

[60:17] And then as death gets way to victory, I'll see the light's glory and I know He lives.

[60:30] Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone.

[60:43] Because I know, I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives.

[60:54] I know He lives, all fear is gone.

[61:24] I know He lives, all fear is gone. Because His PAT I know He lives. Then one day, after time, forever be. I know He lives, I have a monkey and goblin. But the mission was Geschäft over here. Let's read down. He does he notice of his husband типа of geography? Keep the time behind him.

[61:34] I know he does. When you think of his husband Smoke from where he lives, all his husband spots under it, he肯etimet round him quants. He runs the chad, and give the way he believes he lives and his child vive with his sonource shows, The two�이ter behind him, which time introduces him came.

[61:51] I can't give complicated this memory of his wife, this person was about his sonuranbero武s. Donald's first time today he's been very brave.

[62:12] Hopefully this will work okay. If not, you're going to sing much louder than the screen anyway, aren't you? Pardon? Okay.

[62:22] Okay. These are always the longest minutes to pass.

[62:54] Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay.

[63:05] Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay.

[63:18] Okay. Okay. Okay.

[63:31] He's the host of the cross.

[64:01] For the sin and the shame. When he saw where the weather. And way down with the dead. And the man who was slain. And the throne's up again. He's the hope of the lost.

[64:13] He's the boss of the cross. Singing, singing. Death in plain. He rolls again. He's boss of the cross. See God praising.

[64:25] Everyone praising. Mighty Jesus. Boss of the cross. Na na na na. Na na na na. Na na na na.

[64:36] Na na na na. Na na na na. Na na na na. Na na na na. Na na na na. Day one.

[64:47] He was crucified. Day two. Very dead and died. Day three. Guns up to one. Boss of the cross.

[64:58] Gets glorified. Day one. He was crucified. Day two. Very dead and died. Day three.

[65:09] Guns back to one. Boss of the cross. Gets glorified. Singing, singing. Death in plain. He rolls again.

[65:21] He's boss of the cross. Singing, singing. Singing, singing. Everyone waiting. Mighty Jesus. Boss of the cross. Smiles and singing.

[65:33] We're playing. He rolls again. He's boss of the cross. Singing, singing. Everyone waiting. Mighty Jesus.

[65:44] Boss of the cross. La na na na. La na na na. La na na na. La na na na. Thank you.

[65:54] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[66:07] Thank you boys and girls. Okay Gordon. What happens next? Okay. I'm going to call out the name. and if you come over to him it'll give me your food. Raise up.

[66:26] Thank you. Thank you. Welcome. Emily. Finley. Finley, there you go.

[66:38] Half a lot. Half a lot. You know. Reezy. Lost. Ellie M.

[66:51] Aarie Markson. There you go. Christine Marie. Christine Marie. There you go. Stan washed on.

[67:06] Son made sure. There you go. Christy? Christy? Be patient with your sister.

[67:19] Better talk. Kyle? Kyle? You can't miss Monica.

[67:33] Hayley? Yes? Hayley, come. Friggaet? Jono?

[67:47] Miriam? Miriam? Michael?

[68:03] Elie? There we go. Jake.

[68:36] Stephanie. There we go. Caitlin. Katie.

[68:52] Here. John. John Rory.

[69:03] Here still looking amazing. Hello. Chris.

[69:17] Grace. Anna. Thank you.

[69:33] And Alistair. Thank you Alistair. Good to be there. There's a few left over. And they will be given out.

[69:45] Thank you boys and girls for coming over the year to the Sunday school on Jam and Connect. Don't go anywhere Gordon. Thank you to the teachers and parents who take them and who teach them.

[69:57] So Gordon would you like to pray for the young ones now as they get to the end of this year and come to the beginning of next year. Beginning of next year. Let's pray.

[70:09] Dear Heavenly Father we thank you that we can indeed come before you. And we can come and thank you for every good and perfect gift that comes from you. We thank you that we can join this morning.

[70:21] And we can Heavenly Father look at the gift that you have offered through your son Jesus. And over the past year as the children have come to Sunday school.

[70:33] The young ones have come to Bible class. That Heavenly Father we thank you. That they have learnt more about you. And we pray that as these seeds are scattered. That Heavenly Father according to your time and according to your purpose.

[70:47] That they would indeed bear fruit for you. As a congregation Heavenly Father we indeed pray that each one of us would commit to pray for each one of these young ones. Not just the ones that come here on a Sunday but Heavenly Father for Jam and Connect and Rooted.

[71:03] For each one of them Heavenly Father that comes to hear about the wonderful gift of Jesus. And we pray that as they grow. As we have already prayed for Lachlan and Olivia.

[71:16] That Heavenly Father that they would grow. To know and to love you. That they would walk with you every day of their lives. We recognise that there are many voices in this world that would seek to sift them.

[71:30] And take them away from you. That we pray Heavenly Father that while they are here. While we have opportunity to witness to them. To root and ground them in your word.

[71:41] That we would indeed take that opportunity. And that Heavenly Father whether it be here at Sunday school. Are in the home. Or in the home. That we may indeed read to them.

[71:52] Read to them from your word. Read to them from the books that they have been given today. That they may learn more of you. And that as they grow in wisdom. As they grow in stature.

[72:03] Most of all we pray Heavenly Father that they would grow to know and to love you. And to walk with you each and every day of their lives. We thank you for the Sunday school teachers.

[72:14] For those that commit to volunteer Friday after Friday at Jam and Connect in route. We pray that you would bless them. That you would uphold them. And that Heavenly Father as a team that we would continue to pray together.

[72:26] And that we would seek to see your kingdom advance here in town. And we ask all this not for our glory. But for your glory and for the furtherance of your kingdom in Jesus name.

[72:37] Amen. Amen. We're going to sing our final hymn this morning. Which has become a bit of a favourite for us. Though the nations rage we sing about the ancient of days.

[72:51] The God that we can trust. Whatever is up ahead we thank you. We can sing of our thankfulness to God for how much we can trust Him.

[73:02] So we'll stand to sing to God's praise. To the nations rage, kingdom cries and fall.

[73:13] There is still one day reigning over all. So I will not fear. For this earth remains. And my God is the ancient of days.

[73:28] None above Him, none before Him, all of times. And my God is the ancient of days. None above Him, none before Him, all of time in His hands.

[73:41] For His throne it shall remain and never stand. All the power and all the glory I will trust in His name.

[73:54] For my God is the ancient of days. Though the dread of night overwhelms my soul.

[74:21] He is here with me. I am not alone. For His love is sure. For His love is sure. And He knows my name. For my God is the ancient of days.

[74:34] None above Him, none before Him, all of time in His hands.

[74:49] For His love is the ancient of days. All the power and all the glory I will trust in His name.

[75:03] For my God is the ancient of days. Though I may not see what the future brings.

[75:17] I will watch and wait for the Savior came. Then my joy will be standing face to face.

[75:31] In the presence of ancient of days. None above Him, none before Him, all of time in His hands.

[75:45] For His glory shall remain and never stand. All the power and all the glory I will trust in His name.

[75:59] For my God is the ancient of days. For my God is the ancient of days.

[76:12] And now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of God the Holy Spirit be with us all now and forevermore.

[76:24]  Amen.