Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.northharris.freechurch.org/sermons/93248/26426-am/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] Good morning, everyone. A warm welcome to the service today and those who are visiting with us.! We've got a few visitors today and it's especially good to see you if you're visiting. [0:11] There's tea and there's coffee at the end of the service. If you're able to stay behind, please do so. One or two things just to note before we begin. The first is to say that there's a creche just behind me on my right and if there's any little ones that need to go out and use that in the service then they're very welcome to do so. The children go out after the second singing for Sunday school so if there are any visiting children, I don't think there are, then you're welcome to join them also. [0:47] Evening service tonight is a gallic service, the monthly gallic service and that will be taken by the Reverend Kenny Ferguson and there's a fellowship after that from about quarter past seven onwards. [0:59] Cami, Crisaldan Maria have been organising that and I understand that Jonathan McKeever from Stornoway is coming to share a testimony at that this evening. Tomorrow there's a community lunch from 12 till 2 so please note that. Funds this month go to Sarcoma UK and if you're able to go along to that please do so. Kirk session tomorrow at 6 if the others could note that please. [1:26] And in the course of the week as it progresses, prayer meeting on Wednesday. Scott will take that service on Wednesday at half past seven. Men's Bible study on Thursday at half past seven. And the Presbytery Camp for Scaladale starts on Friday. That's the S1s to S3s. That doesn't affect many of those in the room here, a few, but for those of us who are well past that age, please remember to pray for that camp over the weekend. Services next Sunday. The morning service will be taken by Kiki McRae and the evening service will be a mission service. Many of you will remember Dr. Adam who's shared two or three times here in the past about the ministry that he's involved with, which I can't really say much about. And because of the nature of the ministry that he's involved with, the service in the evening next week will be in person only. It won't be live streamed. I'll be away next Sunday, God willing, at Garibost. I take over as an interim moderator and would value your prayers for that. [2:40] So these, I think, are all the notices. We'll begin now this time of worship and we'll sing to God's praise. From Mission Praise 52, God sent his son. They called him Jesus. [3:02] He came to love, he loved for you. He lived and died to have a garden, an empty visit to prove that the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has the Savior who has God's delay. [4:06] A speed to hold. A yield for baby. A field of pride. [4:17] A joy he filled. But later still. The calm assurance. This child can face a certain day. [4:32] Because he lives. Because he lives. I can face tomorrow. Because he lives. [4:46] All fear is gone. Because I know, I know. He holds the future. And life is burnt. [4:59] The living just. Because he lives. And then one day. Across the river. [5:12] I'll find life's fine. The Lord will give. And when I'm scared. I'll find life's fine. [5:23] I'll find life's fine. I'll find life's fine. I'll find life's fine. My god who lives. because he lives. [6:07] Well, let's unite our hearts together in prayer. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for the joy and the hope that fills that praise that we have sung. [6:27] We thank you, Father, that we come into your presence this morning, knowing that we are called, that we are invited, and that we are assured that as we come to you as your children, you will not push us away, but you will receive us. [6:45] And we thank you that that is a promise which we can see is sure and is guaranteed because of Jesus and all that he has done. We thank you for the gospel that we have sung. [7:00] God sent his son. They called him Jesus. He came to love, heal, and forgive. He lived and died to buy my pardon. [7:11] And an empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives. We thank you for the wonder of that message. that God would love the world, that he would send his son into this world to seek and to save sinners like us. [7:31] And we confess our sin. And we confess, Lord, that the good that we want to do so often we fail to do and the evil that we don't want to do we so often find ourselves returning to. [7:46] With the Apostle Paul, we say, what a wretched man I am, who will rescue me. But we thank you that the rescuer, the Savior, is Jesus. [7:58] We thank you that his righteous life is the life that is ours if we are trusting in him. And we thank you that his death on the cross and the blood that was shed is the means of our salvation. [8:13] Without the shedding of blood, the word says there is no forgiveness of sin. But because the blood of Jesus was shed, we have the promise that everyone who comes confessing sin and looking to Jesus is forgiven. [8:32] And we thank you that we have our guilt removed. And we thank you that we have the guarantee of life in abundance in this world and life which is eternal. [8:47] We meet together today on the first day of the week. And this is the day that we remember that Jesus not only died for our sin, but he rose from the dead. [9:01] And because he lives, we can face tomorrow and every tomorrow that you give to us in time. And then when time comes to an end, we thank you that we have the promise that we pass through death's dark veil into life and light that is everlasting. [9:24] So we thank you, Lord, for the wonder of the gospel. And we pray that you would help each one of us to believe. Because without faith, we know that the good news about Jesus remains at a distance from us. [9:41] It doesn't change anything for us. But when we believe, we have the promise that all that he has done, he has done for us. And every blessing that he has paid for with his blood is given to us. [9:58] So help us, we pray, to come to Jesus, to trust in Jesus, and to know the salvation that is ours in Christ. [10:09] We thank you for this day and for the joy of the prospect of baptising a wee one. We thank you for so many little ones that we have prayed for. [10:21] Those who are with us, those who are in the creche, those who have grown up and are going through Sunday school and YF, we pray your hand of blessing to be upon them. And we thank especially of baby Christina today and we thank you for her and for Kathy and for Ivan. [10:38] And we ask, Lord, that as they prepare to take promises, to make vows, we pray that they would know your special presence with them and that they and we would know the blessing of being able to say that this child can face uncertain days because he lives. [11:00] And we see in this world that we live in very uncertain days. We see so much that troubles us and bothers us. But we thank you that we can take situations that even we are far removed from and that we have no way of influencing through our own human strength. [11:21] We thank you that we can take everything to God in prayer. So we think of places of warfare. We think of places of trouble and turmoil. We think of our own country that seems so unstable in so many ways. [11:36] And we ask, Lord, that you would be at work and that you would bring relief to those who are suffering, that you would bring wisdom to those who are much in need of it and often will not ask for it for themselves. [11:49] We pray that they would receive wisdom, Lord, and that they would be humble to the point that they need to know that they have to ask for wisdom. So we pray for these situations, Lord, as we see different countries. [12:07] We pray for ourselves. Lord, we can think of those who are sick. And we ask, Lord, that your hand of healing would be upon them. We think, especially of Shona Davidson, having finished her chemo and preparing for surgery, we pray for your protection over her and your hand to be upon her. [12:27] We pray, Lord, for success and for healing. We pray for Lydia as she comes towards the end of her treatment in Glasgow and prepares to come back to Harris. And we ask, Lord, that you would increase her strength and that she would know your healing hand upon her and many others that we can think of in our mind's eye, even though we don't speak their names just now. [12:50] We bring them to you in prayer, asking, Lord, that you would bless them. We pray for those who struggle with anxiety, with addictions, with many things that make life difficult. [13:02] And we bring them to you also as we see them in our mind's eye and as we name silently in our own hearts. We pray, Lord, that you would meet with them and that you would give them strength that is not their own. [13:15] We pray for those who are grieving. Always we remember those whose hearts are sore and we ask that they would know the comfort and the compassion of God. [13:26] And we pray for those who are healthy and who are comfortable and who have everything that this world can offer but haven't yet got Christ. We pray for those who are still lost and who may not even know that, those who may be far from you. [13:45] And we pray, Holy Spirit, that you would awaken the souls of those who are not yet in Christ and cause them to look to Jesus the Saviour and help them to know their need of a Saviour. [14:00] And for any who may once have walked close with Jesus and who are now at a distance, Holy Spirit, we pray that you would draw them back. We know that our words and our will can have no impact. [14:15] But as we pray, we believe that you are able to hear and that you are able to draw. So, be at work, Lord, we pray for your glory and for the blessing of your people. [14:28] And we ask all this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Boys and girls, would you like to come forward, please? How are you guys all today? [14:57] How are you all today? Is the microphone working? Are you all well today? Give up. [15:10] I'm going to give up. I've got some pictures to show you. Some pictures on the screen. Now, does anybody know, we'll start with that one. Does anybody know what that is? [15:26] Benjamin, tell me, what's that? It's a mountain. Do you know the name of that mountain? I wouldn't think you would. Do any of the older ones know the name of that mountain? Nope. [15:37] Good guess, but nope. Pardon? Nope. I think, I hope I'm right here. If I'm right, it's Stark Polly. Okay. [15:48] It's a mountain. We'll imagine it's Stark Polly. Okay. It's a picture of a mountain which I'd hope was Stark Polly, but it isn't Stark Polly. Let's move on to the next picture. [16:01] Does anybody know what that is? It's a mountain. Do you know the name of that mountain? That one definitely is Stark Polly. So that one's Stark Polly and can you see the path, that narrow path and the guy up ahead with the orange jacket? [16:21] So that's Stark Polly and we'll have the next picture. Now, this is the rear view so it's not easy to see who these people are. [16:34] Do you know who these people are? You do know them, but do you know who they are? Well, we have one more look. One more. [16:47] Next picture yet, Alan? That one. Who are these people? Who's that at the front? Benjamin Finley? [16:58] You definitely know. Lois. So Lois and Grace and Anna and their cousin Isabella. [17:09] went for a walk. So I thought I would tell you a wee bit about this walk that they went on. They went to climb up the mountain Stark Polly and it's quite a high mountain and it's not the easiest walk but it's something they wanted to do and Amun, if you go back to that last picture, please. [17:30] Now, that, as you can see, is quite a steep ascent up that mountain and boys and girls, does that look to you like a path that they're on? [17:46] What do you think, Joseph? Does that look like a path? It doesn't look like a path and the reason it doesn't look like a path is because it's not a path. [17:58] See, for a while after they left the car, they started following the path up the mountain and it was quite steep and then as they were looking up at this mountain, so I'm told I wasn't there, Lois said, look, I think there's an easier way to get to the top. [18:20] That path looks very narrow and very steep. The top's just there. I think it'll be much easier if we go over this way. And before you know it, they were off the path and they were going through boggy ground and they were finding it hard to keep on going and eventually they had to hang on to this fence to try and pull themselves up to the point that they could get back onto a level bit and then they had to go on to the path. [18:53] So boys and girls, was it a good idea? Do you think to get off the path? No, it wasn't. So boys and girls, if you're going to climb up the Klesham, then probably the best guide for you to have might not be Lois. [19:18] If you're going to follow somebody up the Klesham, maybe follow Duncan McPherson, he'll know the way to go, but think twice before you follow Lois. You've got to be very careful, whether you're climbing up a mountain or in lots of different things, you've got to be careful who you follow. [19:35] Now, tell me this, boys and girls, just as we finish. Can you think of somebody who said, follow me? exactly, Benjamin, Jesus. [19:52] When he saw the disciples that he wanted to be with him, he went to them and he said, guys, put down your nets, switch off the engine of your boats, they didn't have engines, but just imagine, out of your boats and follow me. [20:14] And you know, if we follow Jesus, he is the best one we can ever follow, because he promises that he will guide us in the perfect way that he's chosen every day of our lives. [20:32] He says, if you follow me, I'll guide you, I'll give you wisdom, I know the way, because he said, I am the way. So if we follow Jesus, he'll guide us all the way through life, he'll even guide us through death into life that is everlasting in heaven. [20:56] So boys and girls, what I want to say to you this morning, very simply, is follow Jesus. Believe in Jesus, trust in Jesus, listen to what he says to you as you open the Bible, ask for help from him every day as you pray, and he'll never let you down. [21:18] He takes people who are lost, and he takes them to a place where we are safe forever. And what we're going to hear, just in a minute, is we're going to hear Kathy and Ivan and they're going to be professing the fact that they're following Jesus. [21:44] They're trusting in Jesus. They're following Jesus, and they're going to come up here in a minute, and they're going to make a promise to bring up little baby Christina, who's very, very well behaved there in the front row, and they're wanting to bring her up in a way that points her to Jesus so that when she gets older, we hope and pray that she too will want to follow Jesus as her Savior and her Lord. [22:16] So I'm going to ask Ivan and Kathy to come up just now as they prepare to take their promises. So if you come up here, I'll just move this over. So I think I'll leave Christina in your hands just now, and I'll take her in just a minute. [22:42] No, no, you're fine, you're fine, you're fine. So let's stand with Kathy and Ivan as they take their rags. Ivan and Kathy, do you acknowledge the Bible to be the Word of God and your only guide in all matters of faith and conduct? [23:08] Do you confess God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as revealed in Scripture to be your God? Yes. Do you profess faith in Jesus Christ as the only Savior of sinners and as your Savior and Lord? [23:28] Yes, I do. And do you promise independence on God's promised help, His grace, by your prayers and teaching and example, to bring up your child, little Christina, in the instruction and discipline of the Lord? [23:46] Yes, I do. Now it's my turn to have a wee cuddle. Thank you. Christina, Ariella, MacLeod, Singa, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. [24:17] Amen. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. [24:32] The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. We'll pray, and I think I'm going to hold on to her for a little minute more as we pray. [24:47] Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for the blessing of all that we're able to do just now. We thank you for baby Christina, and we ask, Lord, that you would bless her and that she would grow up knowing from the earliest time in her life that Jesus loves her and that Jesus calls her to follow Him. [25:12] we pray for Ivan and for Kathy. We thank you that they are trusting you, and we ask, Lord, that as they go on in their marriage and as they seek to bring up baby Christina here, we pray that they would know your help and your strength, and we ask, Lord, that they would be enabled day by day to point her to Jesus. [25:42] and we pray for Peggy and for Chrissy, for Ian and for the wider family, asking, Lord, that you would be with them also and bless them, and help us as a congregation, help us, every one of us who are here today, to remember the blessing of what we are able to do, to remember Christina and all these other children who are with us. [26:08] Help us, we pray, not to do anything that would hinder them from coming to Jesus, but to do all that we can to help them look to Jesus. And we pray this in Jesus' name. [26:20] Amen. You're right, the prayer was getting about long. Here we go. Thank you. You can all take a seat now, thank you. [26:43] Thank you, boys and girls, you listened very well. We're going to sing again now to God's praise, and Chrissy has chosen this hymn, hymn hymn 4, 549 in the hymn book, Our Children, Lord, in faith and prayer, we now devote to thee. [27:01] Let them thy covenant mercies share, and thy salvation see. We'll stand to sing to God's praise. Our children, Lord, in faith and prayer, we now devote to who Let them thy crown and mercy share, and thy salvation see. [27:49] So helpless be, so gist embrace, while dwelling here below. [28:07] To earth stand out, O God of grace, the same compassion show. [28:26] O Lord, whose sympathy twerp hound within thy Father's stride, Whose years with changeless virtue count, When all are light divine, Dependent on thy bounteous bread, We sing thy grace alone, In childhood, manhood, age and death, [29:35] To keep us still thy own. Okay boys and girls, if you head to Sunday school now please. [29:51] And remember to pray for them as they go. And I'm now going to hand over to Uncle Ian. [30:26] So Ian Morrison, whom we know well, We're pleased to have Ian and Sheena with us today. And Ian is going to take the rest of the service, He'll read God's word, and we'll sing, And then he'll preach and lead the service. [30:42] So thank you Ian, and I'll hand over now to you please. Oh, ready. Thank you. [31:15] Thank you David, for your welcome, And it's good to be with you here this morning on this special day. We're going to read from God's word. The reading this morning is from the book of Acts, And it's Acts chapter one. [31:28] And we're just going to read down from the beginning down to the end of verse 11. And if you have your Bibles with you, it's on the screen, but if you have your Bibles with you, if you follow the reading. [31:45] This is God's word. In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day when he was taken up, After he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. [32:02] He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, A prayering to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God. [32:13] And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, Which he said, you heard from me, for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit, not many days from now. [32:31] So when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel? He said to them, it is not for you to know times or season that the Father has fixed by his own authority, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. [32:53] And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. [33:09] And while they were gazing into heaven, as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, And said, men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? [33:21] This Jesus, whom was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him going into heaven. Amen, and may the Lord add his blessing to his holy and inspired word, and to his name be the praise. [33:39] I'm going to sing in Gaelic now two stanzas from the beginning of Psalm 23. Psalm 23, two stanzas, the Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want. [33:50] Psalm 23, two stanzas, the Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want. It's a very good song for you, and I'll be in the coming of you. 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