[0:00] Good morning everyone, it's a joy to worship the Lord. What's more, a special welcome if you're visiting us or if you're perhaps your first time or you've come back after a wee while away. We are so happy that we're all together today to worship God.
[0:14] Of course today's a wee bit different, we've got a family service today with the boys and the girls getting their well-deserved prizes. More of that later on. We're going to start off by singing. And we sing from Psalm 16. Sing Psalms, Psalm 16.
[0:29] That's on page 16 of the Blue Psalm books. Sing Psalms, Psalm 16. We can sing from verses 8 down to verse 11.
[0:44] Sing Psalms, Psalm 16, verses 8 down to verse 11. Before me constantly I set the Lord alone, because he is at my right hand I'll not be overthrown.
[0:56] We stand to sing, if you're able. In the Lord alone, because he is at my right hand I'll not be over. In the Lord alone, we stand to sing, if you're able. In the Lord alone, we stand to sing, if you're able.
[1:06] That's on page 16, verse 11. We stand to sing, if you're able. You're able. I said the Lord come because it is at my right now I'll walk in your own before my heart gets out my heart will sing my Lord can sing my Savior in own and Thank you.
[2:30] Thank you.
[3:00] Thank you. Right now, joy from you is still sound.
[3:12] Amen. Amen. Let's pray. Amen. Amen.
[3:52] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[4:04] Amen. this congregation, the teachers who have retired perhaps, but who have still so much love and so much time for the boys and the girls. We thank you for their hard work this session, Lord, for all the work behind the scenes, all the work they do at home, to come and to teach the boys and the girls all about Jesus and all about who he is and all about why it matters that we know him and that we follow him. We thank you for our time of worship today. Help us, we ask for this short time to lay aside all the concerns and all the many worries which may be in our minds just now.
[4:42] We come to this place and we confess that we bring to this time of worship all the anxieties, all the stresses, all the burdens of this past week. We also bring to this place today all the worries, all the burdens, all the anxieties, all the stresses of this coming week. We ask for this short time we would take all these things, all these things which weigh us down in our minds and in our souls and bring them to the throne of grace, that place where your word tells us we can come and know for certain that you will hear our prayers, that you will give us grace and peace and mercy to help the ones you love.
[5:24] We thank you we come this day knowing we come to a God, a God who created all things, who at this very moment, Lord, you sustain all things. You keep the stars and the planets, Lord, in their motion. Our whole universe is kept going by you. We come this day not talking to a big far away God, but we come this day talking to a eternal God, but who is close to us.
[5:51] And you tell us that you're close to everyone who calls out to you. This morning we give you praise, Lord, that you are here with us. We can be sure and certain that because we are here today as your people, because we're here today to worship you and to praise your name, that your presence is here, that you, the God who made all things, you, the eternal, perfect God, holy in all your ways, that you are present here today. Help us, Lord, to worship you well. We come just now and we remember those who cannot be here, but who love to be here, who long to be here, friends and brothers and sisters who, because of illness and because of age and for other various reasons, cannot come and worship with us as often as they like to.
[6:38] We also remember today those in our own community who are mourning, those who have lost a loved one, those who are coming to terms with what it means to have lost one so close to them and so precious to them. Lord, we ask you to be with those who are mourning just now and be with that family.
[6:58] We pray the same thing, though, for those who have mourned a loss of months or years or tens of years ago. We know that grief never leaves us. It just changes year to year. Lord, we ask you would fit alongside those who are grieving just now.
[7:11] Let me thank you, Lord, for those here today who perhaps don't and can't yet call themselves yours. Those here today, some perhaps who have come recently and some who have been coming out to this building for many years, but who as of yet, who as of yet cannot say that they know Jesus or that they love him. Lord, we ask that as they come today with all the questions in their minds, that you would, through your word, help to begin to answer some of those questions.
[7:40] That they would leave this place not knowing only that we care for them, that we love them, but more than that, they would leave this place having known your care and your love for them as they hear it through your word this day. We thank you, Lord, once more for this chance to gather together. We pray as always for our brothers and sisters next door. We pray for them in their own witness and their own service to you. We pray for them in their time of vacancy. Lord, as they await one to lead them and to guide them, we ask you to be with them. Lord, keep them united. We ask, Lord, to see days of gospel refreshing and gospel blessing in this community. I pray once more, Lord, for those who do not and who will not pray for themselves. Those who we love, those who are so close to us, those who are our close friends, our close family, our neighbours, who have no interest in the reality of their never-dying souls, who have no interest as to the eternity they're heading towards, Lord, we ask that you would help us to pray for them, help us to remember them, help us to show them the care and the love that's been shown to us. Help us to be bold and brave and gentle witnesses. Help us in our conduct, in our words, our actions. Everything we think and say and do help us to reflect our saviour. We come and say,
[9:04] Lord, and we know we live in a world where there's so much pain and so much sadness, where there's so many awful things taking place. We pray just now especially for the ongoing conflict, Lord, in Ukraine.
[9:19] Lord, you alone know the suffering. We pray especially just now for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. Those, Lord, who at this moment are seeking to worship you just now. We pray the same for our brothers and sisters in Russia too. As they come to terms, Lord, with all they must come to terms with.
[9:37] We live in a world we know where sin has had an effect, where sin ruins relationships, child to parent and brother to sister, friend to friend. But the biggest and most horrendous reality of sin is it's ruined our relationship between us and you, the God who made us. And because of our sin, we ourselves can do nothing to come close to you.
[10:01] We ourselves can do nothing to be saved by you. That's why you sent Jesus, your son, to come and to live a perfect life, to come and to die on the cross and to take on himself the punishment for all the sins of all his people.
[10:18] So we can today with confidence, with real confidence, come just now and pray, knowing that if we love Jesus, if we can say that he is our saviour and our friend, that we can know for certain that we are saved, that we are his, that our home is with him and one day he'll come and take us home to be with himself.
[10:39] Until that day comes, help us to serve you well where you've placed us. We come today, Lord, we confess sin. We confess that we have sinned against you. The things we have said and done and thought. Lord, we have done things against you, a holy God.
[10:55] We come just now crying out for forgiveness for that sin and we know that as we come, we come clinging on to Jesus. As we come clinging on to Jesus, we know that he holds strongly and eternally on to us.
[11:09] Asking all these things in and through and for Jesus and his namesake. Amen. Let's turn to read in the Bible now. We can turn to the Gospel of John, chapter 10.
[11:24] That's on page 842 of the Church Bibles. Page 842. Page 842.
[11:42] I'll read verses 1 down to verse 18 of the chapter. John, chapter 10. Let's hear together the word of God. Truly, truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.
[12:02] But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
[12:13] When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow. They will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.
[12:28] This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
[12:41] All who came before me are thieves and robbers. But the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
[12:55] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
[13:09] He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leads the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
[13:21] He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me. Just as the father knows me, and I know the father, and I lay down my life for the sheep.
[13:37] And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So it will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the father loves me, because I lay down my life, but I may take it up again.
[13:53] No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my father.
[14:06] Amen. We give praise to God for his holy and his perfect word. Let's sing one more time before we come back to look at what the Bible is saying to us today. We can sing from Sing Sam's Psalm 100.
[14:20] Sing Sam's and Psalm 100. It's on page 131 of the Psalm books, page 131. Psalm 100 on page 131.
[14:34] Psalm all about praising God for how good he is to us. Shout to the Lord with joy, all who to the earth belong. Adore the Lord with joyful hearts, and come to him in song.
[14:45] Psalm 100, the whole psalm, to God's praise. Thank you. Thank you.instrumental To have the Lord his own, he gave us as his own.
[15:37] We are the sheep of the Lord, he gave us as his own.
[15:55] In the earth, he gave us the sheep of the Lord, he gave us the sheep of the Lord.
[16:25] He gave us the sheep of the Lord, he gave us the sheep of the Lord.
[16:55] He gave us the sheep of the Lord, he gave us the sheep of the Lord.
[17:32] But if I ask a question sometimes, and the adults won't answer because they won't talk back to me, but you guys will. So if I ask a question, will you guys help me out a wee bit? Maybe?
[17:43] You're not a good, thank you. Okay, so we're looking at John chapter 10. We're looking all about the fact that Jesus calls himself the good shepherd. There's four things, just four very short things Jesus tells us about himself.
[18:00] First of all, looking at verses 1 all the way down to verse 5. And Jesus tells us one amazing thing in these verses. He tells us that he knows his sheep.
[18:16] Jesus knows all about his sheep. So when Jesus talks about his sheep, what's he talking about? He's talking about us, isn't he? Talking about us, everyone who loves him and who knows him.
[18:29] Boys and girls, mums and dads, guys and granddads, everyone else. He's talking about us. If we know Jesus, if we love him, then we are one of his precious sheep.
[18:42] In verses 1 down to verse 5, Jesus tells us he knows his sheep. Okay, first question, boys and girls. What do I have here? It's quite small, you can see it. What do I have? A passport.
[18:55] What does a passport tell us? What's it used for? Travelling. What's inside a passport? What information? All about me.
[19:07] It has my picture, which is very embarrassing. It's a very old photo. It has my name. It has where I'm from, when I was born. It also has all the places I've had the great chance of going to visit over the last few years.
[19:22] Now, think about sheep. What do sheep have? About a wee bit like a passport. It's usually on their ear. A tag. And that tag tells us all of the sheep.
[19:35] It tells the farmer, the crofter, the sheep's history. And some tags. Maybe all tags now, but some tags are really cool. You can scan them. And on your phone, it'll tell you all about the sheep.
[19:47] Where it came from. Where it was born. All the crofts it's lived in. All its wee life. Even tell you what croft it's going to next. Jesus says in verses 1 down to verse 5.
[19:59] He tells us he knows all about us as his sheep. In verse 3, we see something even more amazing, don't we? Verse 3.
[20:10] The sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Boys and girls, mums and dads, granddads, friends.
[20:22] Jesus doesn't just know something about his people. He knows everything about us. Not just our name. Not just what the passport has.
[20:34] He doesn't just know our name and our address. He actually knows everything about us. He knows everything we think and everything we say. He knows everywhere we've been.
[20:46] He also knows everywhere we're going to go. The Bible tells us he knows our whole future. Jesus knows everything about us. It was even more amazing.
[20:59] And the adults were talking about this a few weeks ago in the prayer meeting next door. The Bible tells us that Jesus knew all about us even before we were born.
[21:09] Even before we were born. Long ago. Before the earth existed. Before God made everything. He knew everything about his people.
[21:21] And even more than that, we'll say in a second, he loved you. Long, long ago. Before he made the earth, he loved you. So Jesus calls his people by name.
[21:32] He knows all about us. And that gives us so much happiness. It gives mums and dads and boys and girls. It should give us so much happiness. Just think just now.
[21:44] Mums and dads and granddads. Boys and girls. When you think of what your mums and dads and granddads, what they all know about you. And think how much they love you. And think that Jesus loves his people so, so much more.
[21:59] It gives us hope, doesn't it? Even when life is scary. Even when scary things happen. Even when we are scared and feel alone. We can know for certain that Jesus still loves us.
[22:12] It also means we should be happy, doesn't it? We can be really happy knowing that no matter what happens, we can know that Jesus takes care of us. He loves us.
[22:22] So Jesus knows all his sheep. He knows all about us. We also see one other amazing fact. It says that Jesus leads his sheep.
[22:35] At the end of verse 3, he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Like any good crofter, when you're taking a sheep from one croft to a next croft, usually there'll be someone in front of a sheep and behind the sheep and around the sheep.
[22:53] Why? Why does a good crofter go in front of a sheep from croft to croft? Yes. Yes. Because it's dangerous, isn't it?
[23:04] There's roads and there's big ditches and sheep. And boys and girls, you guys missed this. But last Sunday evening, I was telling the mums and dads how much I don't like sheep. I don't like them at all, at all, at all.
[23:17] And sheep are quite often silly animals. And they do silly things. And boys and girls, mums and dads, we often do silly things. So Jesus says he goes before us. He leads us on the way.
[23:27] He looks after us. So as you guys grow up and leave school, and I had the great joy, I really enjoyed the assembly. You guys did so well in the school assembly.
[23:38] And back, a really fun day for me. I got to sit up at the front and watch all you guys. You guys sat so well. It's a long assembly, wasn't it? You guys did so, so well. But you guys grow up, go to school, and leave school, and go do a job, or go to university.
[23:54] Mums and dads, guys, and granddads, as you guys get older too. So we all get older together and go through life. Jesus says he leads his sheep. He is always before us.
[24:04] Now we face things in life that are scary. We face things in life that we don't know what to do. And we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, do we? Or next week, or next month.
[24:15] We can go home just now. We don't know what's going to happen the rest of this week. But the Bible tells us that Jesus is going before us. We don't know, but Jesus knows.
[24:28] And like a good shepherd, like a good crofter, Jesus cares for us, and he promises to lead us. Now it doesn't mean that scary things won't happen. When sheep go from croft to croft, they still have to go over the roads, and sometimes through a loch, and sometimes through a river.
[24:46] It's still scary. It's still uncomfortable. But the crofter, the shepherd, is with them. And Jesus says, even when life is scary and uncomfortable, he is always with us.
[25:00] So Jesus knows what? He knows all about us. He loves us. Verses 7 down to verse 10, we see the next fact about Jesus and the sheep.
[25:13] Verse 7 down to verse 10. So Jesus again said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. Verse 9 then. I am the door.
[25:23] If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. I am the door. This one's much harder.
[25:34] Much, much harder. What do I have here? I'll hide the name. What do I have here? It's quite hard to see. Very hard to guess. It is used by someone who is sitting behind the boys and girls there.
[25:52] Someone there close to me. It's used by Emma. Why does Emma use this every day? For work? Yeah. What for work, I wonder? It's got a card in here.
[26:03] It's got a card in here that's used to do something very special for Emma. It's used for her door at work. Without this card, this card and these bits and pieces, Emma won't get into work in the morning.
[26:19] I have to keep this very, very safe. Because if I lose this, Emma gets in big, big trouble at work. Jesus says he is the door. Now we know, of course, about boys and girls. We're silly almost saying this.
[26:31] We know that Jesus doesn't mean he's an actual door, does he? But what is he saying? What does Jesus mean that he is the door? What does Jesus mean when he says that I am the door? If anyone enters by me, he will be saved.
[26:46] He means that if we trust in him, if we love him, he is the door. That he keeps us safe. That's our second point. The shepherd keeps the sheep safe.
[26:59] Jesus says he is the door. And outside the door, there's lots of scary things. In this world, there's lots of bad things and scary things and sad things. But Jesus says if we trust in him, mums and dads, grandas and grandas, if we trust in him, if we love him, that he will keep us safe.
[27:19] And a wee bit like Emma's key card, you can't get in if he doesn't let us in. He keeps us safe and sound all the time.
[27:35] He looks after us and loves us. There are lots of scary things in this world. But Jesus says if we follow him, he will keep us safe forever.
[27:48] Now, we will still be scared as Christians, boys and girls. We'll still see and feel and think scary things. But he will keep us safe, ultimately keep us safe forever.
[27:58] Even more than that, even more wonderful than that, he tells us, if anyone comes in church by me, verse 9, he will be saved.
[28:10] We'll go in and out and find pasture. Boys and girls, you guys heard this in Sunday school, but just for mums and dads and grandas and grandas, there is no way to heaven.
[28:21] There is no way of salvation. There is no way to God but through Jesus. He alone is the door. And if you try and do anything else, and maybe you live a good life, and maybe you look after your family, and you love your family, mums and dads and grandas, and you try to live a life as a really good person, we praise God for that.
[28:46] It's a good thing. But it won't get you to heaven. Being a good person doesn't get you to heaven. There's only one door, only one way to being saved.
[28:56] It's only through following Jesus. The boys and girls hear this in Sunday school all the time, but mums and dads, grandas and grandads, the boys and girls actually listen sometimes to this. Sometimes the older we get, the less we listen.
[29:10] But Jesus tells us again, if we don't trust in him and follow him and believe in him, there is no other door. There's no other way to heaven but through Jesus.
[29:22] So the shepherd keeps his sheep safe. He is the door which keeps us very, very safe. Okay, thirdly, we're almost there. Thirdly, verses 11 to verse 15.
[29:35] The shepherd loves his sheep. Verse 11. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
[29:46] Very easy question, boys and girls. What's this? You can see it. It's very hard to see. It's missing from my hand. A wedding ring. We talked about a wedding ring before, actually.
[29:59] What does a wedding ring mean? It's not a trick question. I'm married to someone. Who am I married to? Sarah. Sarah. Sarah. No. No.
[30:10] Emma. Don't get me in trouble. What you guys don't know is inside this wedding ring is actually a wee bit of a Bible verse.
[30:20] It's Ephesians chapter 5 verse 25. Ephesians 5 verse 25 which tells us it's an instruction, it's a command to husbands to love their wives like Jesus loves the church.
[30:39] And here we see in our verses 11 down to verse 15 that Jesus loves the church. He loves his sheep. But how does he show his love for us?
[30:50] He says, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Now, boys and girls, I love my wife very, very much.
[31:01] And the mums and dads here and grins and granddads, they love each other and love you boys and girls very, very much. But Jesus loves us so, so much more than that.
[31:13] And he shows his love to us how? He came down and he gave his life for us. Boys and girls, you know this.
[31:23] But just as a refresher to mums and dads and grins and granddads, we sin. We do wrong things. We do bad things. We do things which go against God.
[31:34] And that sin separates us from God. Completely separates us from God. And it means we can't go to God. All our good works, all our good living, it doesn't get us to God at all.
[31:51] And if nothing happens, if nothing took place, then we would always be separate from God. No hope and no help. We see that God sends his son.
[32:02] Jesus, of course, is perfect. Sinless. He came and he lived a perfect life. And when he died, he took onto himself all the sins of all his people.
[32:13] He was punished for all the sins of all his people. Sinless. Which means, quite simply, if we trust in Jesus. And this is the simple good news of the gospel.
[32:25] If we trust in Jesus. And this is why the gospel is often so scandalous, so hard to believe. If we trust in Jesus, no matter what our history might be.
[32:36] Whatever our story might be. No matter how much of a mess we may have made. Mums and dads, grins and grandas, friends. What kind of mess we have made of our lives.
[32:47] It does not matter if we come to Jesus. If we trust in him. He says, we are forgiven. How? That doesn't make sense. It's not fair. It's not fair. That's a point.
[32:58] It's not fair. He takes all the punishment for us. He takes all the pain. All the wrath. All the justice for us. He takes all that.
[33:10] He took it all on the cross. The Bible says, he became sin. He became like sin for us. He took all our badness. All our sin. And he suffered for it.
[33:21] So that if we trust in him. We can be called perfect and holy and loved. The shepherd loves his sheep.
[33:33] He loves his sheep so much. He lays down his life for the sheep. One final amazing fact about the shepherd and the sheep.
[33:43] We have in verses 16 down to verse 18. Verse 16. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also. And they will listen to my voice.
[33:55] So it will be one flock and one shepherd. Why would a shepherd use these? What has taken place for a shepherd to have to use these? Would a shepherd use these just to see a sheep right next to him?
[34:13] These are very, very short. If I use these just now. Kaylee and Carla, you guys' heads are massive in these things. Too close. When a shepherd uses these. If the sheep are what?
[34:24] Are far away. If the sheep are perhaps maybe lost. Now I have seen my family, my uncle in particular, use binoculars.
[34:35] Sometimes bigger than these ones. To find sheep that are missing way, way away. Like on a hill so far away. How can he see it? But he uses binoculars and he sees them.
[34:45] Even more than that. He sees this tiny wee speck of a sheep. Boys and girls, this is not a joke. He sees this tiny wee speck of a sheep. And he tells me, oh that's that sheep from that croft. And she always escapes.
[34:56] How do you see it? How do you know? It's so small. But he knows the sheep really well. And the Bible tells us and Jesus tells us. That he won't lose any of his sheep.
[35:08] That he will bring all his sheep in. He will look after all his sheep. The crofters here, they love their sheep.
[35:20] And crofters will go to great lengths not to lose their sheep. But Jesus loves us as a sheep so, so much more, doesn't he? The Bible tells us that Jesus will find all his sheep.
[35:36] There won't be a single sheep missing at the end. He will gather in all his sheep. Now why is that good news, boys and girls, mums and dads, guys and granddads? It means that those, we think, who have no care for Jesus.
[35:48] Those who live lives that just are so, so against God's rules. Those who live lives that are such a mess. We think, and we're wrong.
[35:59] But sometimes we think, oh they can't be saved. We think, oh they'll never know Jesus. Boys and girls, mums and dads. There are some people here today. And they once lived lives that were so, so bad.
[36:12] But doing really bad things all the time. And they'll tell you about it. How awful things they did and said and thought once were. But do you know what? Jesus found them.
[36:23] They were so far away in a hill, lost somewhere. But Jesus found them. And he brought, he went to get them. And he brought them back into his croft, into his field. And they're here today.
[36:35] And they'll tell you that they love Jesus. And even though they did bad things, lots of bad things. Jesus still loved them. And takes care of them. And brought him home to be with himself.
[36:47] So the good shepherd, Jesus. He knows his sheep. The good shepherd, what else? He knows his sheep. He also, he keeps his sheep safe. He also loves his sheep.
[37:01] And finally, he finds all his sheep. The boys and girls, you guys know this. You've heard this in Sunday school. But mums and dads, granddads and granddads, sometimes they're a bit more slow to listen.
[37:14] Don't waste. The boys and the girls, they listen well. And they ask big questions in Sunday school. I know they do. But mums and dads, granddads and granddads, friends who are joining us today.
[37:26] Don't waste your time. Don't waste your years. Don't waste your weeks and months looking for an answer you won't find anywhere else. The answer is found only in Jesus.
[37:37] And if you want to ask more about that or talk more about that, I promise you can find a friendly face amongst the elders or with myself. My details, conadils are on the website.
[37:48] I'll be at the door afterwards if you want. The mans is in the village. You know where it is. We've got an open door at all times. Please swing by and have a coffee, have a chat. Don't waste time.
[37:59] Come to know the good shepherd. I'm going to pray very quickly. I'm going to ask Ben to come down. And I think we've got some words of prizes for the boys and the girls for all of their hard work.
[38:10] So I'll pray very quickly. Lord God, we thank you once more for the gift of your word. We thank you in the Bible. We find out that Jesus is the good shepherd who loves his sheep, who cares for his sheep.
[38:22] The good shepherd who came to give his life for his sheep. But all who trust in him will be saved. We thank you once more for the boys and the girls and all of our hard work. We thank you, Lord, that they listened so well this year.
[38:34] And that they did so much hard work, Lord. We ask that as they enjoy their summer holidays, they will be blessed and come back ready to learn more about who you are and what you have done. Let's call these things in and through and for Jesus' name's sake.
[38:48] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[39:22] Hi, everyone. Welcome to our Sunday School prize-giving today. We are all incredibly thankful for our Sunday School and that this year we've had eight kids attending the Sunday School. They've all been an incredible encouragement to us as teachers and I'm sure as the wider congregation as well. It's been an absolute pleasure for us as teachers to teach the kids, have fun with you and learn more about God through the Bible. This year we began at the beginning, which is always a good place to begin. We started with creation, focusing on the world that God created and then we saw how that was changed through the fall, through Noah, the flood, the Tower of Babel, seeing how these events led God to choosing Abraham and his family as part of his great rescue plan.
[40:05] We spent time helping the children see and understand that a long time later this family line, chosen by God, led to the birth of Jesus and what that means. We also spent time looking at the New Testament, didn't we? Specifically Jesus' baptism and the beginning of his ministry and a few of the parables. So we looked at the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son. As well as spending time on the birth of Jesus, his death, the resurrection and the significance of these events hopefully to the boys and girls now and also into the future.
[40:36] It's our hope and prayer that the children continue to grow in their knowledge and understanding of the Bible and especially how it all fits together from creation to Jesus to now here in Tulsa and then for the rest of their lives. So today we mark the end of another Sunday school year where you will all be getting a wee book that we hope you will enjoy reading and that will help learn a little bit more about God. So I'll ask you all to come up one by one. I think I've got the ages in order so we'll start with Sandy.
[41:03] And then if we have Ewan.
[41:19] we'll be seeing you in our website.
[41:43] Thank you. Carly. Yes.
[41:58] Sarah. Ian James.
[42:16] She's on her way already. Kayleigh. And last but no means least, Elliot.
[42:31] Now, Elliot is getting two books, because this is Elliot's last year in Sunday School. So we've decided to mark the occasion by giving you a study bible as well. So this is to help you grow more to know Jesus and learn more about God and what it means for you.
[42:44] So thank you. And that's us. Thank you very much. Thank you so much Ben. That was so encouraging, isn't it, a congregation, to see that you have the hard work of the boys and the girls.
[43:07] Again, the Sunday School teachers, the work they do, I'm sure we all know it is incredible. So please do keep them in prayer. Behind the scenes, they all have full time jobs, work a full week, and then spend time during a week to prepare for Sunday.
[43:22] So we're thankful and we praise the Lord for them. Let's bring our time to conclusion by singing God's praise. Sing Psalms and Psalm 23.
[43:33] I sing Psalms, Psalm 23. That's on page 28 of the Blue Sandbooks.
[43:49] The Lord is my shepherd, no one shall I know. He makes me lie down where the green pastures grow. He leads me to rest where the calm waters flow.
[44:01] Psalm 23 to God's praise. The Lord is my shepherd, no one shall I know.
[44:16] He makes me lie down where the green pastures grow. He leads me to rest where the calm waters flow.
[44:36] Thy wandering steps, heaving heart to his day. How His prayer, knowing, can I know. истории, loving your path to ark, I thank Him for hisейств excellence, Keep me safe.
[44:52] Heavenly, am I not single on this way. Stand��라고요.ztvossom! dev равно the dérbourjae into despite, On the vista, God. And the Zion of the Ark of the Heavenly dont if you was save.
[45:04] Our current yang doingぜ, all heaven is eyes forever. Through48 in the days whose death fairs Crowes bring me and heaven is no longer worthy to shame. Where darkness is near Because to the end In hope with thy affair Your Lord and your Son Give me comfort and cheer In the sight of my end Be sat in the youth's pen Be our God with joy To give more on my end Cry now, O earth, O stand, I'm gracious, we have
[46:07] To journey the garden And her she and grace Will follow me close With him, O Lord, I'm gracious I will dwell in the eyes Of the Lord Almighty Let's close with our diction With the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ And the love of God the Father And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit Both you now and forevermore Amen