[0:00] Good morning, it's good to be with you today as we join together. May the Lord bless us and lead us and be our teacher in the doctrines of grace. We will begin our service this morning singing to God's praise from Psalm 111. Psalm 111, singing from the beginning to verse 4.
[0:24] Praise ye the Lord. With my whole heart I will God's praise declare where the assemblies of the just and congregations are. The whole works of the Lord our God are great above all measure.
[0:39] Sought out they are of everyone that doth therein take pleasure. Psalm 111 from the beginning we'll sing to verse 4 to the praise of God. With ye the Lord with my whole heart I will not miss thee clear where the assemblies of the just and congregations are. The whole works of the Lord our God God's praise above all measure. Sought out they are of everyone that doth therein take pleasure.
[1:56] His work most golden number is, most glorious and pure. And His untainted righteousness forever doth endure. His works most wonderful He hath made to be thought upon. The Lord is His gracious and He is full of compassion.
[2:54] He is full of compassion. We'll join in prayer together. Let us pray.
[3:10] Let us pray. Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. These wonderful words bring us to the very heart of worship, bring us to the very central focus and purpose of the Church of Christ on earth, Lord. We acknowledge today our purpose here is to praise your name. We bow, Lord, in worship before you on this your day. And we bless you for the opportunity we have of gathering together in your house around your word. And as we do so we pray that the Holy Spirit would lead us, guide us, instruct us and illuminate within our hearts and minds an insight and understanding into the glory and grace of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. For we meet today in the name of a risen Savior, the name of Jesus, a name so precious to your people. A name that is the name of your God.
[4:01] We meet today in the name of God. For God so loved the world.
[4:16] Lord, that he gave his only begotten Son. Lord, these words that are emblazoned into the heart and mind of your people, so often they stir us. They stir us to praise your name, but also, Lord, they leave us with that sense of wonder and awe.
[4:36] And Lord, as we bow here together today, we know that in the provision of your Son, the Lord Jesus is our hope, our peace, our joy, our solace. For in him and him alone is forgiveness of sin to be found through him, because of him, in him, because of his perfect life, because of his sacrificial death, because he has been raised from the dead.
[5:04] We have today, we have today, we have been raised from the dead.
[5:34] Gratitude for not just the greatness of your grace, but of your grace. For while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
[5:47] Can we, Lord, ever understand the depths of these words? The wonder of your provision. How deep the Father's love for us. how vast beyond all measure and as we reflect on this today we pray lord that our hearts would indeed burn within us that we would today be lifted up blessed nourished encouraged ready for the week to come ready for the stress and pressure and anxiety that so often life brings to bear upon us may we lord at these times at times in the shadows at times in the valley floor may we remember we're not there alone for we have the promise of christ lo i am with you always to the very end of the age we bless you lord that we have such a savior who has gifted the spirit and the spirit through him and by him poured out what a joy and privilege to know that we have not a spirit of of weakness but a spirit of power and of love and of self-control and so lord we face the world the flesh and the devil we face them not in our own strength because we can't but we rely on you we rely on the spirit we rely on your grace and we would seek lord day by day week by week communion season to communion season to walk in step with the spirit to keep peace to draw alongside to walk with and look to our lord and savior jesus who has said take up your cross daily and follow me and lord we know this day that we have hope and joy and forgiveness and reconciliation we have all these things because of his cross where he went to secure a just and lasting peace for his people and so we bless and praise you lord in all humility and wonder for the cross of christ we thank you that we today have a table and we thank you lord for the meat for the meal at this table that is prepared for us because of jesus we have here a time an opportunity and moment of fellowship because of his loneliness we know lord at the cross that cry my god my god why have you forsaken me out of the darkness came that cry of anguish and dereliction as he sensed abandonment and for the first time that sense of being truly alone as he became the sin bearer of the world lord we pray today for the humility that we must have in our hearts and minds as we reflect on these things that we might in our hearts sing that great christian song hallelujah what a savior for he gave himself for us he paid our price he stood in our place and he emptied the cup of god the father's wrath lord these things truly do humble us and may it be today that from this time as we as we gather the table as we rise from the table that we might be prepared to live a life that is worthy of the calling of our lord and savior to be unashamed of the gospel to be ambassadors and to share and explain the reason that we have for the hope that is within us but our hope is jesus it is all of him so we pray lord god for your blessing upon your word and sacrament here today we pray for every congregation that meets on our island across our nation today with that same focus and desire to honor the name of jesus may your people lord be encouraged where they meet in worship today may there be a depth of to their singing may there be sincerity in our prayers may there be joy in
[9:54] our worship may we know lord that encouragement from being fed from on high in the presence of the holy spirit within us we pray lord for your cause today for the cause of christ and lewis and scotland across the uk and the world we ask lord that the gospel would truly take root in many hearts this sunday as it is proclaimed as the praises of the lord jesus are set forth as the doctrines of grace are expounded as the cross of christ is held on high as the only way of salvation for sinners may men and women and boys and girls come come in their thousands to be saved to be made right by being made new and may many know the truth today to say behold the old is gone the new has come so lord we seek today your blessing upon our time together we lord confess our sin acknowledge our weakness and so we come to the table hungering and thirsting after righteousness knowing we will be filled we will be filled we know lord that what matters most is meekness what matters most is sincerity and we seek you with all our heart today and we pray today lord that we would find you and we would know you as we reflect on your word and study the scripture as we in our hearts and minds envisage the cross may the impact the importance the meaning of what happened there be blessed to our hearts and new today lord undertake for us be with us in the concerns and worries that lay upon us be with us in the uncertainties we face and the burdens we bear and the burdens perhaps we've even carried here this morning we bless you lord for that great promise cast your burdens upon me but i care for you may we do so today humbly and adoringly throw near to us lord bless us forgive us renew as we pray and all these things we ask for jesus sake amen we'll read this morning from god's word from the gospel of john and reading in chapter 19 the gospel of john feeding in chapter 19 we'll read from the beginning of the chapter that the the mockery of the trial has come to an end that jesus accusers the pharisees the high priest they have done their work they have sold their soul to pilot they have demanded his death they have said we have no king but caesar and pilot finally hands jesus over at the beginning of chapter 19 we read pilot therefore took jesus and scourged him and the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns and put it on his head and they put on him a purple robe and said hail king of the jews and they smote him with their hands pilot therefore went forth again and saith unto them behold i bring him forth to you that ye may know that i find no fault in him then came jesus forth wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe and pilot saith unto them behold the man when the chief priests therefore and the officers saw him they cried out saying crucify him crucify him pilate saith unto them take ye him and crucify him for i find no fault in him the jews answered we have a law and by our law he ought to die because he made himself the son of god and pilot therefore heard that saying he was the more afraid and went again into the judgment hall and saith unto jesus
[13:57] whence art thou but jesus gave him no answer and saith pilate unto him speakest thou not unto me knowest thou not that i have power to crucify thee and have power to release thee jesus answered thou couldest have no power at all against me except that were given thee from above therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin from henceforth pilate sought to release him but the jews cried out saying if thou let this man go thou art not caesar's friend whoever maketh himself a king speaks against caesar when pilot therefore heard that saying he brought jesus forth and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the pavement in the hebrew cabatha and it was the preparation of the passover and about the sixth hour and he said unto the jews behold your king and they cried out away with him away with him crucify him the pirate saith unto them shall i crucify your king the chief priests answered we have no king but caesar then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified and they took jesus and led him away and he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull which is called in the hebrew called gotha where they crucified him and two others with him on either side one and jesus in the midst amen may he bless to our hearts his word to his name be all the praise our next singing this morning is taken from the first three verses of psalm 103 psalm 103 this singing will be in gaelic singing the first three verses on earth of psalm 104
[16:13] The Greatest Rev束 Thank you.
[17:13] Thank you.
[17:43] Thank you.
[18:13] Thank you.
[18:43] Thank you. Thank you.
[19:43] Thank you. Thank you.
[20:43] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[20:55] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. where we read of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus singing from Psalm 103 Without my soul, bless God the Lord and all that in me is be stirred up this holy name to magnify and bless I wonder if there's anything that has quite the stirring effect in the soul of the Christian as reading of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus and we notice the words in verse 17 following Pilate delivering him over to be crucified that they took Jesus and led him away and he bearing his cross went forth he bearing his cross went forth any familiarity with the Bible at all will confirm to anyone who reads this book that at its centre stands a cross it is immovable it is fixed at the very heart of the gospel and it is in effect the epicentre of God's message to Kalanish, to Lewis, to the world today you cannot understand the Bible in isolation to the cross and you cannot come to God apart from the cross this is abundantly and crystal clear in the word so as we read with open hearts and as we as the old Christians did in Berea as we search the scriptures diligently to know these things are true we will discover that unless and until we come in repentance and faith to Jesus Christ we remain under the wrath and curse of God a condition the Bible describes as being lost and so the lostness that we face stands behind the cross for God so loved the world that he gave he gave his only begotten son and so we find in the scriptures
[23:17] God's plan coming together God's plan being fulfilled at this moment he bearing his cross went forth you see as you read the Bible you discover and understand that in this word everything is either pointing forward to the cross or is looking back explaining the cross it is the centrepiece it is the epicentre of what we need to understand and grasp about the gospel and so it's right and accurate to say Christianity is a religion that is all about what happened at the cross and why it matters to us today the foundation of all gospel preaching gospel mission activity plans outreach everything from Sunday schools to missionaries going across the oceans of the world it all comes down to the cross the apostle Paul says it best as often is the case when he went to Corinth what did he do we preach
[24:18] Christ crucified I determine not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified that was the foundation he built upon that was the message he declared it was the hope he brought it was the saviour he presented and here we find him bearing his cross he went forth there is a table today because of the cross there is bread and wine today because of the cross there is an invitation and someone's to come to Christ today to one and all because first there was a cross I just want to think about two things with you this morning first of all what the cross was and then secondly some time on what the cross means in this context 2000 years ago as today we can well imagine first of all we can say this of what the cross was the cross was an object of shame the cross was an object of shame the procession begins with Jesus bearing his cross as was the custom at the time under the Roman military efficiency in all its barbarity and brutality the upright of the cross would have been already fixed in place at the place of execution and the prisoners would have had thrust upon them the horizontal piece the cross piece that's what was placed across the shoulders of Jesus as he went forth to this place called
[25:56] Golgotha where they crucified him as he arrived there and what followed next was deliberately designed to maximise his suffering and his humiliation this is how one historian gets into this she wrote that Romans the Romans adopted crucifixion and ensured that it was reserved for criminals rebels or robbers provided they were also slaves foreigners or other non-persians that's how the Roman authority viewed crucifixion it was reserved for the lowest of the low it was reserved for those who were truly wicked truly desperate truly despised non-persians and so as the soldiers formed their escort and drove this procession from the praetorium out toward the place of execution in their mind's eye they were just drawing this
[27:00] Jewish non-persian to his ultimate and guaranteed place of death you see to see a cross was to shudder in horror everyone knew what was going to happen everyone knew the design of this particular object shame and yet this is where we find our sinless saviour the lamb of god he went out bearing his own cross surely this is what motivated wesley to write these famous words amazing love how can it be that thou my god should die for me it is truly awe inspiring perhaps that's the wrong phrase maybe we should feel more awestruck when we step back and survey the scene of the sinless spotless son of god the lamb of god who came to take away the sin of the world doing so in this way bearing his cross he went forth it's an object of shame but clearly it was also secondly an instrument of suffering and the closer this suffering came the closer this hour came the darker its shadow on our lord and saviour jesus christ the torment in the garden of gethsemane so known to us so precious to us it's holy ground to go there to consider him in prayer in anguish in agony of soul father if it be your will let this cup pass from me nevertheless not my will but thine be done he knew what was coming the weight and shadow of the cross is looming and pressing in upon him the garden in its torment is a place of wonder and it truly humbles us to consider our saviour there he knew what was to come yet friends we find him bearing his cross and going forth this place of suffering this place of agony was calling it was where the father had prepared for him from all eternity to go the hour had come in hebrews and 12 we read that who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and he has sat down at the right hand of the throne of god but before the throne there was this cross an object of shame and an instrument of suffering and we know as we read our bibles and the gospel makes very clear that he came to this place and he bore this cross in order to bear the sin of the world that's how john spoke of him at the beginning of this gospel behold the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world but sin is so serious so awful in its reality and power and guilt sin has destroyed and broken and gnarled and mangled any opportunity of relationship with the father that it took the death of the son of god to deal with it best we ever begin to take a frivolous view of sin we need to remember what it cost christ to deal with sin bearing his cross he went forth so it was an object of shame it was an instrument of suffering it was also of course to become an altar of sacrifice as we study this cross and as we read the scriptures we see love in action we see divine satisfaction we see that christ gave himself
[31:01] for us there's that wonderful moving way that paul speaks so personally of what it is to be a christian he loved me and gave himself for me and these words should they shouldn't be far from our thinking and our living our conduct maybe you face a tough week ahead maybe the thought of monday for many can be difficult and quite intimidating and it can have an impact on people's well being and ability to function properly the pressures and concerns that life so often brings let us remember friends in christ we do not face these pressures alone he is with us how so ephesians 1 and verse 7 in whom we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace to you who believe he is precious and that preciousness goes both ways i will be with you always and we mustn't doubt that sometimes we do sometimes we question sometimes we struggle sometimes the world the flesh and the devil the assaults become so repetitive and so strong and so debilitating that sometimes we can be knocked off course like pilgrim and pilgrim's progress being buffeted and tempted away from the king's highway into the slough of despond into vanity fair into doubting castle it is remember he bearing his cross went forth he gave himself christian friend that we today would speak of a saviour and we can do so in rapture as he gave himself to this place he went out bearing his own cross and in so doing he made atonement he gave and won and secured reconciliation with the father remember what the angel said in announcing his birth you shall call his name jesus for he shall save his people from their sins how did he do that he bearing his cross went forth and they crucified him that's how he gave himself we know again going back to a sincere reading of the scripture that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins and this is the thing about the cross perhaps we're getting into its meaning now it's not that blood was shed there that amazes us and leaves us awestruck it's whose blood the son of god perfect and righteousness the one who knew no sin the one who was made sin for us because he himself knew no sin and yet this is the one whose blood is shed how can we make sense of that how do we explain that we fall back onto the character of our loving heavenly father for god so loved the world that he gave the cross then he went forth bearing his cross to a place called in hebrew the place of a skull and there they crucified him this altar of sacrifice the demands of divine justice are met in full as the father's wrath is poured out on his son at the cross my god my god why have you forsaken me out of the darkness comes the cry of abandonment because atonement is being made through him what the cross was secondly we can think for a bit of time this morning about what this all means for us today your place at the table shows it means everything to you you've come to the lord jesus in repentance and faith
[35:01] you've sought in him the forgiveness of your sin you have said lord be merciful to me a sinner you've come an understanding of your need to be born again and you've come to the only one who can effect that for you and in you jesus and having made that step and made that profession here we gather together today to say i love the lord i am looking to the lord he is my savior what then the cross means it's an incredible message it's a message the like of which there is nothing in the world that comes close there's no other religious system in the world that presents the death of the savior there's no other religious system in the world that comes close to explaining and presenting the love of god the father nothing comes close nothing compares all other religions are about you and me and what we can do to earn our way to heaven to to win glory to win paradise to to be to earn our way there to work our way there to to deserve our way there we can do this and we can do that but christianity doesn't say that christianity says the only thing we can do the one thing we must do is repent of our sin and believe in the lord jesus christ that's how paul met the philippines jailer in his cry of desperation what must i do to be saved believe in the lord jesus christ and in believing we take our place together at his table what thing can we say about the cross just just to to move this on as we prepare our hearts to share in the supper he has prepared and provided because of the cross the apostles and the church of christ on earth proclaims through this man the forgiveness of sin is proclaimed to you what a message that the messengers of the cross be it minister elder deacon missionary sunday school teacher a youth club leader can bring the same message about the one savior to sinners worldwide believe in the lord jesus christ and you will be saved the forgiveness we find through him and in him because of him because of this cross full and free and we proclaim this message with all our hearts through this man the forgiveness of sin is proclaimed to you it's a message that's embedded in the first missionary journey in ante of poseida that is how paul preached to the people there and it's a message you've heard in calanish and whatever congregation perhaps you belong to for many many years the same message about the same savior who went to this cross that we might know the forgiveness of our sin so the meaning of it it was clearly a place of substitution he took our place why did he go there answer that question why why did he he go there why did jesus not call down the legions of angels to seek and destroy the roman power roman military and jewish obstinacy why why did he not expose their their superficial religion their hypocrisy their hatred because he came to take our place he did not come to impress pilot he did not come to satisfy jewish political longing for the restoration of pride and a national standing he didn't come to lead the armies of israel throughout the
[39:01] roman occupier which is what so many of them wanted they wanted an earthbound king an earthy king they wanted a king and a charger wearing armor leading the forces and tribes of israel that's not the messiah's mission no he came to do something far greater far more wonderful far more awesome he came to take the place of sinners he came to stand where guilty sinners would stand and face divine judgment in order to save us from that experience he went there and to do that we find him bearing his cross going forth it's a wonderful hymn that puts it this way bearing shame and scoffing rude in my place condemned he stood sealed my pardon with his blood hallelujah what a savior it's a place of substitution he stood friends where we were due to stand and he faced and emptied and secured our forgiveness by emptying the cup of what we call the wrath of God the divine displeasure and justice for sin that's what is a m 53 is all about as you read that and again often we return to it in our bibles don't we because because of its power because of the conviction and because of the teaching that we find here he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we did esteem him stricken smitten of God and afflicted but he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed what a savior and to effect our forgiveness to secure our salvation he bearing his cross went forth the love of God poured out and revealed and confirmed in and through the face of Jesus Christ a place of substitution we know this it's what makes sense of the cross as we apply it to ourselves we when people maybe try to stray from here and present a different way and present a different gospel and go to a different message it makes no sense the second you move away from penal substitutionary atonement the cross makes no sense why did Jesus die if he did not have to become the substitute for sinners why did Jesus die if he was not the sin bearer for the world the lamb of God taking away the sin of the world paying the price for his people the only sense we can make of that is because he was a substitute in our place a place in a substitution it was also a place of darkness we know that as I think as Luke puts it the light of the sun failed it's as if God draws a veil over this scene for those three hours saying to all and sundry there and to us who read that at this moment as he became the sin bearer as he became the gathering in place for the sin of the world the father blots out the sun and says you've seen enough now I will deal with him and in that darkness of dereliction and suffering and agony we read that he became a curse for us this is our Savior he came into the world to
[43:03] seeking to save the lost he came into the world and at this moment in the cross we know that darkness descended from around midday to 3 p.m. there were three hours of darkness as this became a place where the father dealt with the sin of the world and found the guilt of sin on the person of his son as that darkness came to an end Jesus cried out with a loud voice my God my God why hast thou forsaken me and again the only explanation for that forsakenness and abandonment for that loneliness as he had become the sin bearer and God is of pure arising to behold iniquity it became a place of darkness as the father dealt with sin it also became a place of course of loneliness in that darkness on that cross no one else was with him no one was there no one else could accomplish what he did on the cross no one else was acceptable no one else could reconcile us to the father no one but Christ and that's what he did for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God this is what we mentioned yesterday as the sweet exchange he takes our filthy rags he takes our sin and he clothes us in the robes of his righteousness he he wipes the slate of our guilt clean he makes us right by making us new this is the work of salvation applied by the spirit in our hearts and our souls and it's all made secure because he bearing his cross went forth placed in a substitution a place of darkness a place of loneliness where he became a curse for us and this is the thing about the loneliness we have a table today that at heart is a place of fellowship but it's a place of fellowship we enjoy because of the cross of loneliness no one else was there no one else was acceptable no one else could reconcile us to the father and so the son said i will go i will pay the price i will stand in their place i will be their substitute i will experience the darkness i will take their loneliness because i want them to have fellowship and union and unity and blessedness and forgiveness and then finally and ultimately of course the place this cross became a place of death verse 30 when jesus therefore had received the vinegar the sour wine he said it is finished and he bowed his head and give up the ghost why do our detractors and our opponents and our enemies deny the power and efficacy of this place because they cannot bear a dead redeemer they cannot grasp the death of the son of god they don't want to know about this place of death and loneliness and darkness and judgment and substitution and they don't want to know that jesus gave up his ghost that he gave up himself to death that he laid down his life only to take it up again they don't want to know that because it speaks of the awfulness and seriousness of the problem and realism of sin and what sin has done it's
[47:05] banished us from god it leaves us lost it's a condition of our birth all of us if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us of course the naysayers and again the opponents and the critics say oh all you're obsessed with in the free church it's sin and rules and judgment you're overbearing you're overpowering you're just obsessed with laws and regulations and traditions no we're not we're obsessed with christ we're not serious about ourselves but we're very serious about the bible because it is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him forever the scriptures principally teach what we are to believe and what we are to do and the two must be married there must be belief and behavior but for what we take into heart we live out in our lives so we're serious about the word because we're serious about the sun that's what should drive us that's what should dominate us that's what should define us the love of god revealed in the face of jesus christ and here we find this love and every step of the way as he bore that cross he does so in love obedient to the father despising the shame he bore the cross he went to this place of death and he poured out his soul there unto death the cost of our redemption is nothing other and nothing less than the death of god's beloved son yet we know today that death did not have the last word on jesus of nazareth the grave could not hold him and in his death he opened up a new and living way because that next sunday morning the grave was empty and because of that empty grave because he gave himself to death and poured out his soul unto death on this cross which he bore in love and commitment and fidelity to the father he experienced the forsakenness of the father because he abhor the guilt of sin through him we come on to this new and living way that bunyan so wonderfully describes us the king's highway that leads to the celestial city but we couldn't go there we couldn't step out we couldn't make our way from the city of destruction in and of ourselves but by grace that's all changed and we sit at the table now in anticipation of the meal we're about to share in because of the grace of christ because of the love of god because of his substitutionary death in our place there is forgiveness here for one and all what must we do believe in the lord jesus christ and we will be saved and so no one walks that highway without first coming to the christ of the cross and that's what you've done friends you've come to the christ of the cross not a dead savior but a risen redeemer one you understand who has made his offer of life to you individually and in your heart you heard a hugh bonner so so wonderfully pended i heard the voice of jesus say come unto me and rest you heard that summons and you understood and realized it was you he was talking to and you responded in repentance and faith and you came thanks be to god in doing so you know there was rejoicing in heaven among the angels and what a wonderful image that is that there is rejoicing in heaven all the time every time sinners cry out lord be merciful to me a sinner when they come in repentance and faith there's rejoicing among the angels what a joy and what a glory that is
[51:10] and may god bless us each one as we walk by faith looking unto jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith christ then bore our sins and he became for us the sin bearer why peter puts it in his first letter in chapter 3 so powerfully to bring us to god that's why that is the final and full definition and meaning of the cross he died to bring us to god because we couldn't get there ourselves and because of that wonderful message because of the wonder of a savior who would do that for us paul the apostle as he planted churches as he endeavored in his missionary journeys to to extend the kingdom depending on the spirit relying on grace said these wonderful words galatians 6 and verse 14 with which we close god forbid that i should glory save in the cross of our lord jesus christ by whom the world is crucified unto me and i and to the world let's pray for a moment together lord our gracious god we bless and praise you anew today for the wonder of the cross we bow we adore we wonder bear in shame and scoffing rude in my place condemned he stood may we lord today be encouraged and enlivened may our spiritual pulse quicken as we think of the cross and the love of our savior and the love of our father and the effecting work of the holy spirit and blessing to our hearts and lives the redemption accomplished there by christ go before us as we continue to share together at this table of fellowship and may we give thanks in our hearts that we have this fellowship because he tasted that loneliness that we have this light because he went into the darkness that we have this life because he tasted death to god be the glory in jesus name amen we'll sing in our service at this point in our service today from psalm 31 psalm 31 we'll sing from the beginning of the psalm to verse 5 in thee oh lord i put my trust shame that may never be according to thy righteousness to thou deliver me bow down thine ear to me with speed send me deliverance to save me my strong rock be thou and my house of defense and we notice the words of verse 5 used by our lord on the cross itself in thee oh lord i put my trust shame that may never be according to thy oh lord i put my trust shame that may never be
[55:35] to save me my strong rock be thou and my house of defense and my house of defense because of ours my rock be My fortress day Therefore to thou Me lead unkind In for thy domain To stay On sit the bar My strength
[56:36] For me Adopt the man Which lay in Subtempty for me So greatly I'll send Into thy hands I do commit My spirit For thou art thee O love thee O my God O pure Thou hast Redeemed me Amen
[57:40] At this point in our service We come to the Lord's table And it is our custom To speak of fencing the table To just reflect for a few moments On what the table is Who the table is for What happens here At the Lord's table And as with everything In the church of Christ We remember That clarion call In Galatians 6 God forbid I should glory Save In the cross Of our Lord Jesus Christ By whom The world is crucified To me And I To the world So we do not glory In our procedure Our process We do not glory In our tradition Or our liturgy These things Support Our fundamental aim Which must always be To glory In the cross Of our Lord Jesus Christ That Is the heart Of this service Is the meaning behind The supper That's why we gather At the table
[58:40] As we do Now But we know also From the scripture Of course That the Lord's table Is for the Lord's people And so we say It's not for everybody To sit at the Lord's table It's not for those Who do not believe It's not for those Who have not sought Forgiveness for sin It's not for those Who have yet To bow the knee Before King Jesus It is for those Who have been converted What is conversion?
[59:11] It's where we speak Of faith And repentance Where we speak Of a penitent faith And a believing repentance Repentance Godly sorrow That leads unto life It's where we have Cried out Lord be merciful To me A sinner We remember I think yesterday Mentioning that Professor John Murray Made the point That we don't Separate faith In repentance They permeate One another And in that act In our hearts In that believing In the Lord Jesus Christ And in seeking The forgiveness Of our sin In and through him And him alone We now seek To come to his table But the fundamental Thing I guess That also draws us Here to this supper To share together In this meal Which is a spiritual feast Is simple obedience Jesus said Do this In remembrance of me Sometimes perhaps
[60:11] We forget this Because We feel and sense Our own unworthiness And we feel I'm a sinner I've failed I've fallen I've struggled I'm weak I keep getting this wrong I don't get that right And we stumble And mumble When perhaps We feel we should be Mounting up With wings as eagles And all how we wish We were better And stronger And clearer And better ambassadors And good witnesses That friends Is our Lot in life Because we are Forgiven Sinners The struggle remains The warfare Remains The ongoing Conflict Between the spirit And the flesh Which we feel So keenly Every single day Because of our Awakened Tender conscience In our Lord And Saviour We read of his Sufferings His anguish His abandonment And we feel So unworthy And yet He says to us Do this
[61:13] In remembrance Of me And so we come In obedience We come To give thanks We come In gratitude And we come To adore We come Not just Obediently But expectantly Because at the table We share In a specific Wonderful Means of grace This is a meal This is a meal It's a spiritual Feast And as we set Aside by prayer The bread And the wine We ask the Lord To bless these To the nourishment Of our souls To grow us Christians That we'll go Into the rest Of the day And into this Week ahead Giving thanks For our Saviour That Monday Might be that Little bit more Bearable And Tuesday And Wednesday That we might Live to the glory Of our Lord And Saviour God forbid I should glory Save on the cross Of our Lord Jesus Christ We come Expectantly We confirm
[62:13] Our faith In him And we receive Blessing Through him We reflect Of course On the great Cost of Jesus That he bore In order to Furnish This table For us Today Finally Then we say That those who Participate in the Lord's Supper Are simply this People of faith And by faith We are made Partakers Of his body And blood With all His benefits To our Spiritual nourishment And growth In grace This is our Saviour And he is Our song And we will Praise him All the day Long And so we Look to him In obedience In anticipation In faith And as we do So We take our Place At his table And we do So prayerfully So we're Going to sing
[63:13] At this point In our service From Psalm 118 These wonderful Words which we Sing so often At this point In our communion Services Psalm 118 Verses from Verse 15 And we'll sing To verse 21 And dwellings Of the righteous Is heard The melody Of joy And health The Lord's The Lord's right Hand Doth ever Valiantly The right Hand of the Mighty Lord Exalted Is on high The right Hand of the Mighty Lord Doth ever Valiantly As we sing These verses I would invite Any who are Members in Their own Congregations Who have yet To take their Place at the Table to Please do so This is the Table of the Lord Jesus Christ And we look To him In faith For he says To all Who had his Own Come And dine We'll sing Then these Verses together
[64:13] In dwellings Of the Righteous Is there The을 Dine Richard The Lord's right and judgment ever valiantly.
[64:54] The right of the mighty Lord, exalted is all night.
[65:14] The right of the mighty Lord, exalted is all night.
[65:33] I shall not die, but live, and shall the works of God discover.
[65:51] The Lord can't lead just as I said so, but not to death till no end.
[66:12] O set ye open unto me the gifts of righteousness.
[66:29] Then will I enter into them, and I the Lord will bless.
[66:48] This is the gift of God by it, that just shall enter.
[67:05] The Lord will bless. It's important that as the Church of Christ, we emphasize that all we do is found and based in the Bible.
[67:42] So we find at this point in our service what we call our warrant for what we are doing here. For I have received from the Lord, we read in 1 Corinthians 11, that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread.
[67:58] And when he had given thanks, he'd break it and said, Take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me.
[68:09] After the same manner also he took the cup when he had supped, saying, This cup of the New Testament in my blood. This do ye as often as ye drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death until he comes.
[68:28] This then is our warrant. We don't believe the outward symbols by and of themselves, this bread and this wine, will be to our benefit. But we do believe that the Lord who blesses is here.
[68:44] Not bodily we receive, but spiritually. We receive by faith in him who gave himself for us. He has saved us.
[68:56] He will keep us. He wishes to bless us. The table is set. All things are now ready. Let me just read at this point the song by Christian, when he came to the cross and pilgrim's progress.
[69:14] Bunyan describes the experience of the burden of his sin, being released and fallen from his back and rolling down a hill and disappearing into the sepulchre, never to be seen again.
[69:24] Christian's response is these words as he stands at the cross. Thus far did I come, loaded with my sin, nor could anything ease the grief that I was in.
[69:37] Till I came here. What a place is this? Must here be the beginning of my bliss. Must here the burden fall from off my back. Must here the strings that bound it to me crack.
[69:50] Blessed cross. Blessed cross. Blessed sepulchre. Blessed rather be the man that there was put to shame for me.
[70:02] Let us pray. Our Lord and our God, we bless you and praise you for the wonder of the cross, for the love of your Son, for your provision and love of him for us in our room instead.
[70:17] We bless you, Lord, for the cross. God forbid that we should boast in anything save the cross of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
[70:27] We bless you for this table of fellowship and for the meal that is set here and prepared for us. And through this bread and through this wine we pray that this meal will be to us a spiritual feast, a harvest of holiness, an oasis of blessing.
[70:45] May we know your grace and mercy and peace as we share together in this meal. In Jesus' name. Amen. He said, take, eat.
[70:56] This is my body. Broken for you. See, this is my blood.
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