[0:00] Hello, brothers, sisters and friends. A welcome to this time of worship. A special welcome, of course, to guests with us, family, but also other guests visiting with us. We pray, Lord, would bless his word to us all.
[0:13] We are here to worship God. There's intimation sheets at the back door. I won't go through them just now. It's the same intimations, mostly as last week. Everyone remembering today, Ken Craig Free Church Camp, as our own Hannah McKenzie, is involved in leading it.
[0:29] So we'll pray for that later on. We can worship God. All our singing today is in the Sing Psalms. So the first section of the psalm book. Sing Psalms, Psalm 139a.
[0:44] Sing Psalms, Psalm 139a. It's on page 180 of our psalm books. Psalm 139a.
[0:55] Psalm 139a. Psalm 139a. On page 180a. We can sing verses 1 down to verse 8 of the psalm.
[1:07] Sing Psalms, Psalm 139a. Verses 1 down to verse 8a. O Lord, you have examined me. O Lord, you have examined me. You know me through and through. My sitting, rising, all my thoughts afar are known to you.
[1:21] My going out and lying down are plain before your view. Before I speak a word, O Lord, it is well known to you. Psalm 139a. Verse 1 to 8a.
[1:32] To God's praise. Standing to sing. If you're able. Thank you. Thank you. O Lord, you have examined me.
[1:47] You know me through and through. My sitting, rising, all my thoughts afar are known to you.
[2:11] My going out and lying out are plain before your view.
[2:29] Before I speak a word, O Lord, it is well known to you.
[2:48] Your hand, O Lord, you have examined me. You know me through and through. Your hand, me through and through. Your hand, me through.
[3:03] Your hand, me through. Search not as a prayer. To your hand, me through.
[3:17] To heart, to understand. Where can I hold you?
[3:31] Spirit with me? What thunder passions go Into the heavens who are there Are in the depths below Let's join together in a time of prayer Let's pray Lord we thank you for the privilege we have Of joining together at this time of worship Help us Lord for our short time together To have our hearts and our minds Truly engaged in what we're doing here We're coming just now to worship the holy and sovereign And true and living God You're here with us today
[4:33] You're here with us not because of the building And not because of anything we're doing But you're here with us because where your people are Your word tells us you have made your home in us You now live inside us And because we're here today as a gathering of your people We know for certain that you are here Help us then for the short time Help us in our minds We bring to this place so many worries And stresses and strains Anxieties and burdens Help us just now to lay all these things At the throne of grace Will you tell us We will find mercy And help In time of need Help us also then to come today And to bring before you All the stresses And burdens And worries Of this coming week We come today Acknowledging and confessing In so many ways There are so many things Which Which are just too much for us
[5:34] And we come just now to a God Who is able A God Who is eternal A God Who is capable of taking our prayers Taking our worries And seeing them And knowing them And caring for them That we ourselves Are so aware That there is so little We can do often To change our situation We often feel ourselves So helpless And so useless But we come just now To our God And all that you are And all that you do You are good Help us Lord then To come just now Acknowledging that goodness Acknowledging that you are God And there is none other like you Help us for this short time together To bow ourselves down In our hearts before you Understanding what we do here today It is not just procedure It is not just something We do every week To as I were Tick off the box But we come just now To a place of holy worship Worshipping a holy God We thank you Lord For this gift We pray especially today
[6:35] For this time of worship As part of this worship We have the great privilege Of seeing and being involved In the baptism of Finn We thank you for him We thank you Lord That his very existence Is answered prayer That the love That he has seen And known so far The love that he will see And know as he grows up Not just from family Not just from his parents But also from the community here We thank you Lord for him We thank you for the life You have given him We thank you Lord For the privilege we have Of coming alongside The family today Both close family But also the wider family And friends And the wider community here And seeing Finn be brought Into the covenant community Of this congregation We thank you Lord As we looked at in previous weeks That today is not just a bare symbol It is not just some water It is not just some words But what we're showing here physically
[7:36] Is what has already taken place spiritually That Finn has been born into a family With grandparents And other family connections Who know you Who are yours Into a community Where you are worshipped And from that we know There are certain Incredible And beautiful privileges That Finn will enjoy He will grow up hearing the word He will grow up Knowing what it is To follow Jesus He will grow up And we pray in time That he himself Will place his full hope And his full trust In Jesus As both his friend His saviour And his king Help us Lord Today as a congregation To recognise our role here That we are here also As witnesses But not just witnesses We are here as participants As we later on Will stand together With the family And we together Will say That we commit To encouraging him
[8:36] In all your things And in all your ways Pray just now Lord For family members And friends Who cannot be here today Through illness Or for distance Or for other Various reasons We ask you Bless them And we do pray just now For those watching in now Or later on On the live stream That they also would know The blessing from your word And be encouraged As we see Finn Be brought into our covenant Family And our covenant community Thank you Lord For the privilege we have Of worshipping you today We as always acknowledge That what you've given us Is a great privilege Thank you for the privilege Of being able to sing Your praises The privilege of having Your word The privilege of gathering Freely like we do Every week We pray for ourselves We pray for the wider Gospel work in North Tulsa We remember as always Our brothers and sisters Next door We pray for them Especially in our time Of vacancy We ask Lord You'd encourage them And keep them united And in your time And in your way You would bring one
[9:37] To be an under shepherd Over them To care for them We thank you Lord For the wider gospel work In North Tulsa We thank you For recent weeks And recent months Of encouragement As we've seen The gospel go out Invitations go out As we've seen Conversations take place And we hear That you're being glorified In all these things We ask Lord Not for our glory But for your glory We would see the salvation Of every single individual And every single family In North Tulsa From the Glen to Gary We know Lord We cannot make it happen But we pray to you You have the power To change every single Heart of stone To a heart of flesh Help us Lord then To be encouraged As a gathering Of your people At days like today And moments like this moment Encourage us We see that you are Still bringing your people in The church is still Being built up We're also mindful In a few weeks time As we plan And desire If it's your will
[10:38] To have an in-house Communion weekend Pray Lord For the services On Saturday And the service On Saturday And the services On Sunday At this short time Of communion That short two days Would be a blessing To your people We also pray Especially for any In our congregation Who have been years Waiting to make That final step Of coming forward That they would see This as their chance This quiet communion This small gathering Of just ourselves They would see This chance To make that Public proclamation That they belong To a saviour Who holds on To them Pray once more Lord For all that goes on Today We thank you For your word Give us As we ask Listening ears And a listening heart Later on As we just spend Some time Seeing what it is You are saying to us The promises You give us The hope And the reassurances You give us From your living word Have all that Is done today
[11:38] Be done For your glory And for your Name's sake As we remember Ourselves We also remember The ongoing gospel Work across Scotland We pray for every Single congregation Across our island Across our nation That worships you today In spirit And in truth Pray for every Every denomination That worships you In spirit And in truth Remember especially Just now Our own free church Camps We pray especially Or for the Cancray kids Camp going on Or beginning As you say Lord just now Pray especially For Hannah We thank you For her We pray Lord For her And the other Leaders As they engage In all the work Behind the scenes That must be done To help the camps Run As they engage Lord of the campers We pray that The gospel goes out As they do Their daily activities Days of fun And of biblical reflection Lord that you Be glorified Even some of these Campers in their Young days Would come to know And come to love A saviour For themselves Pray just now Lord for those Of our number Who are missing today
[12:38] Pray just now For those away on holiday Thank you for times Of rest And times of relaxation We pray just now For those missing From our number Because of illness Pray Lord Especially for those Who have become ill In recent weeks And recent days Pray Lord just now For those who have been Missing for some time now Those who long to be here But through illness And through other complications Often cannot gather With us We ask you Bless them And look after them And keep them And they would know That we remember them But more than that They would know That you never forget them Bless your word to us Bless the singing Of your word to us That you be glorified In all that is done today In all our words In all our song In all our fellowship Look after us Lord We ask We come just now Confessing sin Come just now Confessing sin Of recent days And recent hours Come just now Admitting that in ourselves We are doing things And saying things And acting in ways That are not glorifying To you We give you praise
[13:39] That we come just now Not looking to ourselves But looking to a saviour A saviour who came Not to make good men better But to make those Who have no hope Those who have no help Those who are dead To give us life We ask all these things then In and through And for his precious name Seek Amen Let's turn to read In God's word Everything today is Psalm 139 That is our theme Also our sermon text Later on So the book of Psalms Turn to the book of Psalms And Psalm 139 That's on page 489 Of our church Bibles Of the book of Psalms Psalm 139 Psalm 139 On page 489 Let's hear God's word together O Lord You have searched me And known me
[14:40] You know when I sit down And when I rise up You discern my thoughts From afar You search out my path And my lying down And are acquainted With all my ways Even before a word Is on my tongue Behold O Lord You know it All together You hem me in Behind and before And lay your hand upon me Such knowledge Is too wonderful for me It is high I cannot attain it Where shall I go From your spirit Or where shall I flee From your presence If I ascend to heaven You are there If I make my bed In Sheol You are there If I take the wings Of the morning And dwell in the utmost Parts of sea Even there Your hand shall lead me And your right hand Shall hold me If I say Surely the darkness Shall cover me And the light About me be night Even the darkness Is not dark to you And the night Is bright as the day For darkness
[15:40] Is as light with you For you have formed My inward parts You knitted me together In my mother's womb I praise you For I am fearfully And wonderfully made Wonderful are your works My soul knows it very well My frame was not hidden from you When I was being made in secret Intricately woven In the depths of the earth Your eyes saw My unformed substance In your book Were written Every one of them The days that were formed For me When as yet There was none of them How precious to me Are your thoughts O God How vast Is the sum of them If I would count them They are more than the sand I awake And I am still with you O that you would Slay the wicked O God O men of blood Depart from me They speak against you With malicious intent Your enemies Take your name In vain Do I not hate Those who hate you O Lord And do I not loathe Those who rise up Against you I hate them
[16:41] With complete hatred I count them My enemies Search me O God And know my heart Try me And know my thoughts And see If there be Any grievous way In me And lead me In the way Everlasting Give praise to God For his holy And his perfect word Let's again then sing From the psalm This time again And sing psalms Psalm 139 And sing psalms Singing verses 9 Down to verse 13 Psalm 139a And sing psalms Verses 9 Down to verse 13 If I should take The wings of dawn And dwell Beyond the sea But also You would be my guide Your right hand Holding me If I should say Surely the dark Will hide me From your sight When all the light Surrounding me Becomes as dark As night Psalm 139
[17:42] Verses 9 to 13 To God's praise If I should take The wings of dawn And dwell Beyond the sea There are so few Would be my guide I will ride And hold me If I should still Journey the dark Will I meet From your sight When all the light Surrounding me
[18:44] Becomes as dark As night Yet even The darknesses All come To you And ever You will For God May So Christ Will Christ Come To you The night Will Shine Like In For You Know Your Be In You Hold Me On Your Loon My In You
[19:45] In Your Half For Within My Mother's Stone The Lord Let's Turn back Just for a short time Back to the Psalm We're looking at Psalm 139 Psalm 139 I'm taking probably the first half of the psalm as time permits for the sake of a text we can just take verse 1 Lord you have searched me and known me That summarizes for us the very high point of what we're looking at for a short time today Of course brothers and sisters friends we're here today to worship God is what we do when we gather like this Our worship is always based on him and we come here to a psalm where quite clearly the psalmist is just thinking through as best he can thinking through all the incredible ways that God has been good to him all the ways that God has shown care towards him that God has shown his love towards him and just for our very short time today I want us to take some verses from the psalm Some sections from the psalm verses from this psalm, some sections from this psalm, and apply them to ourselves.
[21:15] And more specifically, perhaps, for today, whilst applying them to ourselves, we also want to apply them to Finn. If the sermon was to have a title today, we might call it something like, Four Things That God Knows About Finn McKeever.
[21:32] Four Things That God Knows About Finn McKeever. We apply that also to say four things that God knows about every one of his people. Four Things That God Knows About Every Single One of His People.
[21:44] So apply it to Finn, given the situation, given our context here today. But in the back of your minds, apply it, brothers and sisters, to yourselves and friends. Those of you who, as of yet, cannot say that you know nor love Jesus.
[21:57] These are things that we pray, and we lovingly pray one day you could say apply to you too. So four very brief things, just from our verses here.
[22:09] Four Things God Knows About Finn. First of all, looking at verses one down to verse six. God knows all that he will do with his life.
[22:22] God knows all that he will do with his life. God knows all that Finn will do in the years that God will give him. First of all, God knows all of his life plans.
[22:40] Oh Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up, you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all of my ways.
[22:54] And so on down to verse six. All the life plans, every single day, from the day of his birth, is known to God. Every single waking and sleeping moment of Finn's life is known to God.
[23:11] Every rising, as the verse says to us here quite poetically, every rising up, every sitting down, it is known to God. Right now, perhaps, every single, maybe, sleepless night.
[23:26] Every night where mum and dad are there. And perhaps baby Finn is having days after days, rather than days and nights. Every sleepless night, every sleepless moment, every good night, every long day, every happy day, it is all known to God.
[23:42] Every single moment of his wee life, right now. Parts of it, of course, we know he will not remember likely. We'll have no word of. God sees it all, and God knows it all.
[23:55] Going forward in the future, every single day waking up for school. Every single day going back home from school. Every single lesson, every single thing learnt.
[24:06] Everything that feels so small for us, so unimportant to us. Things we ourselves forget about our childhood. God knows it. God cares for it. God sees it.
[24:17] There is nothing. There is nothing. Not one single bit of work he does. Not one single moment of his schooling life, his job life, his work life, whatever his life I look like.
[24:29] Every single thing that's a throwaway moment for him and for us. It is known to God. Why? Because God cares. Because God cares. Because God cares. Because God cares. And because God is who God is.
[24:41] Because he is all-powerful and all-knowing. Because he is sovereign. Because he is full of power. He knows and sees and cares for everything that we do.
[24:55] And everything that Finn will do. Of course, we don't know where life will lead Finn. We don't know where life will lead any of us.
[25:06] Parents and grandparents, where life will lead your children, your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren. We don't know these things. But we come today to a God who does know.
[25:17] And who does know fully what life will look like. And we worry and we strain and we stress, I'm sure we do, about those we love and those we care for.
[25:30] Children and grandchildren. Those who are neighbours. Those who we love. Our younger friends. And we've seen recently, the last few months, as more boys and girls join our Sunday school.
[25:42] We care for them. And we love them. And we want the best for them. But in one sense, once they leave us. Once they grow too old for Sunday school and go off and do their own thing.
[25:54] There's little we can do. Really. But we leave them with God. God knows. And God cares. Every single moment of our life is known to him.
[26:07] Also we see every single journey in life is known to God. Every single journey that Thin will do. Every single segment of his life is known to God.
[26:20] All his hopes and ambitions. All his life goals when he first starts wanting to do something in this world. When he first starts showing some skills or some ability.
[26:32] Some talent. When he first starts showing an interest in this rather than that. All that is seen and known by God. All the people he will interact with.
[26:44] All the people he will meet. All known and seen by God. All the places he will go. All the things he will do.
[26:56] And note what scripture says to us. In verse 3. You search out my path and my lying down. And are acquainted with all my ways.
[27:07] And it's not just some general knowledge the Lord has. Both within and with those who know and who love him. The Lord is what? He is acquainted. He is acquainted. Quite literally.
[27:18] He fully knows. He fully knows all our ways. It's not just some vaguely familiar knowledge the Lord keeps gentle, general track of us.
[27:29] No. He knows exactly where we are. What we're doing. But it's more than that. The Lord also knows every single thought. Every single word.
[27:40] That Finn will ever think. Or say. You discern my thoughts from afar. At the end of verse 2.
[27:51] You discern my thoughts from afar. And verse 4. Even before a word is on my tongue. Behold O Lord. You know it. All together. We come to worship a God today who is so glorious.
[28:04] Who is so powerful. But every thought we produce. Before we even think it. He knows exactly what we're about to think. Now we look before. And we won't spend time today.
[28:16] We look before. At the sovereignty. At the power of God. At how he is just different. At how he is the only true and living God.
[28:27] That brings us not just joy. But also reverence. We come today. Yes. For a joyful occasion. We praise God for it. We come today to a holy God. A perfect God.
[28:38] A God whose power is indescribable to us in many ways. A God who doesn't just know what we are doing. Which is one thing. But who knows our thoughts.
[28:50] And who knows them before we even think them. That is a God who is worthy of our time. That is a God who is worthy of our reverence. A God who is worthy of our worship here today.
[29:02] You discern my thoughts from afar. In every single word. Before a word is on my tongue. Oh Lord you know it.
[29:14] All together. So all the plans of life. All the journeys of life. Are known to God. But there is even more than that. Verse 7 down to verse 12.
[29:25] As the psalmist thinks about his experience in life. He says in verse 7. Where shall I go from your spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?
[29:37] So on down to verse 12. Just like the psalmist here realises. We can know that God will always know where thin is.
[29:49] God will always know where thin is. And we mean that physically. We mean that mentally. We mean that spiritually. We see that here from these verses.
[30:01] There is no fleeing. We know from God's presence. There is no way as it were to escape away from him. And friends a reminder for us. That God knows us.
[30:13] And we might perhaps try and ignore God. We might perhaps try and as it were run away from him. But he is always there. There is nowhere we can go. That God does not see us.
[30:24] And know us. And is there fully observing all that we are. And all that we do. For those of us who know the Lord. That is a comfort isn't it? We have a God who is always with us.
[30:36] Who is before us. Who is behind us. Who is beside us. Perhaps friends. If as of yet you can't say that Jesus is your Lord. Perhaps that is a more worrying thought isn't it?
[30:49] It is a more worrying thought. That you can't really escape this God. You might think you are. You might try and ignore him. And push his thoughts away from you. But you know. And the Bible reminds us.
[31:00] He is always there. He is always there. Look at verse 8. The first half of verse 8. We are reminded. That even in the best of days.
[31:12] Even in the best of days. God is there. If I ascend to heaven. You are there. When everything is going well in life. For baby Finn. And for the Lord's people here. God is there.
[31:23] Of course this is a poem. This is a song. It is poetic language. Ascending heaven. Is there the image of. When everything is good. When all of God's good gifts. Are being shown to us.
[31:34] When family life is good. When our personal life is good. When relationships work out well. When everything is happy. And easy in life. God is there.
[31:46] With us. With that. The second half of verse 8. Is also through. Not for Finn. But all here of the Lord's people. If I make my bed in Sheol.
[32:00] You are there. This is the word for the grave. This is the sense. When everything is bad. If I lie down in the grave. Quite literally there. If I lie down in the place of the dead.
[32:13] If everything is dark. And grim. If everything is impossible. If there is no answer to be found. These days. And friends. We all know them well. These days. When you think.
[32:23] I just can't do this anymore. I just can't do this. These days. Where you. I know. The phone goes. And it's the worst news possible. The letter comes through. It's the worst news possible. The doctor phones.
[32:34] It's the worst news possible. Whatever situation is. Financial. Or family. Or medical. Or spiritual. Or personal. Whatever the wide range of sad scenarios are.
[32:44] These days. You think. Or these weeks. Or these months. You think. This is too hard for me. This is too dark for me. You feel like the psalmist here. You're lying down in the grave itself.
[32:57] What happens? Well even there. The psalmist reminds us. Even there. As we feel at our very lowest in life. Physically. Or mentally. Or spiritually.
[33:08] There. The Lord. Does not leave. Or forget. Or forsake. His people. Not just for good days. But also. The very worst of days. There he is.
[33:21] Physically. If he travels. If he leaves our island. If he goes. And explores the world. Physically. That he is always with God. In the presence of the Lord. If I take the wings of the morning.
[33:33] And dwell in the utmost parts. Of the sea. Even there. Your hand. Will. Lead me. Or shall. Lead me. And your right hand. Shall hold me.
[33:45] There is no escaping. For baby thin. The reality. That God knows. Who he is. And where he is. And again. For those of us. Who know the Lord.
[33:56] That is the biggest. And best comfort. We have. In times. Of darkness. Again. Verse 11. And verse 12. Goes back to that. The psalmist says.
[34:07] If I say. Surely the darkness. Will cover me. And the light. About me. Be night. Even the darkness. Is not dark. To you. And the night. Is bright.
[34:18] As the day. For darkness. Is as light. To you. Brothers and sisters. As we pray. We'll be true. For baby thin. We know it's true. For ourselves.
[34:28] Just now. That these days. These weeks. When it feels like. Our only company. Is darkness. When life. As we know. In this world. Is a hard life.
[34:39] We know ourselves. In many ways. We are. More than fortunate. In our country. Situation. We know that. We're not engaged. In an act of warfare. We aren't fearing. For our lives. Just now.
[34:50] But even our own experience. Illness. And family worries. And health worries. And everything else. That comes with life. Even there. Even in the worst.
[35:01] Of situations. Even if we find ourselves. Saying. Surely. Darkness. Is really my only friend. All around me. Is darkness. All around me. Is night. The psalmist.
[35:12] Reminds himself. And reminds us. In verse 12. But even we find ourselves. Furthest away from God. Find ourselves. Furthest down into the ground. In sadness. And in misery.
[35:23] But even there. God. Is with us. This is a happy occasion. But we're so aware. That life. So often. That happiness. Is tinged with pain. And sadness.
[35:35] And we said many times. Scripture is blunt. Scripture is realistic. Because it's God's word to us. And we live in a fallen world. Where things aren't. Often good.
[35:45] Or aren't always good. And God is clear. Even in the dark times. And the hard times. For his people. He is with them. Even the darkest of nights.
[35:57] Is like brightness. For the Lord. The night is as bright as the day. For darkness. Is as light. With you. And we today.
[36:09] Commend. And we pray for baby thin. We pray for a happy life. We pray for a good life. We're reminded. That even in the darkest days. He may face. We know. That if his trust is in the Lord.
[36:20] The Lord will not forget. Or abandon. Or leave him. By himself. We then go even greater. Verses 13.
[36:31] Down to verse 16. We find out. And we're reminded. God knew thin. Before anyone here. Ever did. God knew thin.
[36:42] For anyone here. Ever. Did. For you formed me. In my inward parts. You knit me together. In my mother's womb. I praise you. For I am fearfully. And wonderfully made.
[36:54] And so on. Down. To verse 16. Before thin. Lionel met. Before thin. Lionel. Your own parents. Met.
[37:05] Before there was a congregation. Here. Before this church. Was built. Before time. And space. Before reality. Itself. The glorious. Gospel truth.
[37:16] Here for us. Is a reminder. That thin. In the great plan. Of God. He was known about. And he was cared for. Before creation.
[37:28] Itself. And how do we know that? Well we know that. Because we're here today. To recognize the fact. He's been baptized. Into a covenant community. And the very fact.
[37:38] He's been given. The blessing. The sacrament. The gift of baptism. Is a sign for us. The Lord. Has set his blessing. On this small boy.
[37:50] We're not doing today. As you know. We're not doing. Why do we baptize babies? If you want to. Look into that. There's some homework for you. We covered that. Last Lord's Day. Sunday evening.
[38:01] There's a whole sermon. On why. Are we doing this today. If you want an hour. Of your time. This week. Please go. It's online. If you want a refresher. As to why. We're doing this today.
[38:13] But in summary. The Lord. In this. He is setting. His blessing. On baby Finn. God. Knew Finn.
[38:24] Before anyone here. Ever did. There is nothing. There. There is no reality. There is no creation. There is just.
[38:35] God. Our triune God. In perfection. In beauty. In glory. And there. As it were. In the mind of God. In the plan of God. From before time.
[38:46] Into forever. Baby Finn. Was the reality. There Finn. Was known about. And there.
[38:57] The life. A thin lead. Was known about. Verses 13. And verse 14. Bring it back down. To ourselves. In the earliest.
[39:08] In the earliest. In the earliest. Seconds. The earliest. Milliseconds. Of Finn's. We. Life. He was known. To God. And every step.
[39:20] Thereafter. Verses 15 and 16. Every single. Step. Thereafter. He was known. To God. Every. Perhaps. Worrying day.
[39:32] A nerve-wracking moment. I'm sure. At times. And every earth. Part. Of Finn's. Creation. And Finn's. Existence. In this world.
[39:43] It's all known. Uncared for. By God. My frame. Was not hidden. From you. Verse 15. When I was being made. In secret.
[39:54] Integrally woven. In the depths of the earth. Just to. Avoid confusion. That. Is a phrase. That was known. In the depths of the earth. It's not literal. Again. No one thinks it is. It was a common phrase.
[40:04] It's a poetic phrase. It was how. We know. The womb. Is described. In other writings. Of the time. It's just. A poetic phrase. To say. In secret. Behind the scenes.
[40:16] In the smallest days. Of his life. Even there. Finn. Was known. His every day. His every moment. Known. And kept. By.
[40:27] The Lord. God knows. All the days. Of Finn's life. God will always know. Where Finn is. God knew Finn.
[40:39] Before anyone here. Knew of him. He saw his whole life. In eternity past. And finally.
[40:49] Just for ourselves today. And beautifully. God thinks. About. And cares. About. Baby Finn. And all his people.
[41:02] Verse 17. And verse 18. How precious to me. Are your thoughts. Oh God. How vast. Is the sum of them. If I would count them.
[41:13] They are more. Than the sand. I awake. And I am still. With you. What a thought for us today. For the creator. And sustainer.
[41:23] Of this universe. The one. Who at this very moment. Is sustaining. Not just every atom. Of our being. But this moment. Is sustaining. The most distant galaxies. We will never begin.
[41:34] To see. Or understand. The whole vastness. Of space. In the universe. Right down. To baby Finn. It is all. Kept. And known. By God.
[41:47] And he cares. Not just. For the big. And the grand. He cares. For the smallest. And physically. The weakest. And for today. That is baby Finn.
[41:58] He is the smallest. Wee boy. Here today. And in many ways. The most dependent. Wee boy. Here today. And in many ways. He has nothing. He can do by himself. Without his parents. Or his grandparents.
[42:09] Or his friends. And family. Doing it for him. But yet. He is known. And cared for. By God. And the psalmist.
[42:19] Says here. The thoughts. The Lord has. For his people. They are. Immeasurable. They are innumerable. How vast.
[42:30] Is the sum of them. If I would count them. They are more. Than. The sand. Brothers and sisters. That is the God. We're worshipping today. Yes we're here for our baptism.
[42:41] And we look forward to that. But we're here to worship God together. And the baptism is just part. Of our own service of worship here. And every Sunday we come. And every time we worship.
[42:52] We come to worship a God. Who cares. Who cares. For his people. Who loves his people. Whose thoughts towards us. Are innumerable. Innumerable.
[43:04] In how he thinks about us. And how he deals. With us. His goodness towards us. It cannot. Be measured. We can't even hope. To measure it.
[43:15] Our prayer is. We know fine well. For poor baby Finn. Today will be a. Not in a memory. This won't even exist.
[43:27] Hopefully you'll see his books. In the future. And think back. And might see the video. If it's still around. At that point. For him. It's just something. He has to endure. And he's enduring it very. Very well. Given how long.
[43:38] I'm going on for. But for us. This is God's gospel truth. Is it not? For Lionel and Fiona. And for family and friends. For congregation.
[43:49] Those missing. And those online. The truth for us. Is clear. It is beautiful. That just as God's thoughts. Towards baby Finn. Are innumerable.
[44:00] And beyond measure. So they are to every single one. Of God's people. And before we carry on. With the baptism. Just one final plea. Friends. If you haven't yet.
[44:12] Considered. Or haven't yet given the time. To think. Of where you stand with the Lord. If you haven't yet. Taken the time. To think. Well how can I come to know. And worship.
[44:23] And love. And serve a God. Who can think. Like. Think of me in this way. You're saying. God's love towards his people. Well I don't know that. I only know. A God of wrath.
[44:33] A God of fear. I'm scared of God still. I'm scared. He is hovering over me there. Waiting. And it's just wrath. To strike me down. I have a distance between me and him. What do I do?
[44:46] Well our prayer for you. Is the same prayer we have. For Finn. We pray you would come to know. Jesus. Personally. As your Lord. And saviour.
[44:57] The one. Who all this was created. Through and for. The one. Whose thoughts. Towards Finn. Are innumerable. He is the one. Who himself. Was born. As a baby.
[45:08] Who like baby Finn. Had to be taken care of. And changed. And fed. And brought up. To learn words. And learn life. And learn actions. Who had to learn.
[45:19] How to walk. And how to speak. How to think. We have a saviour. Jesus. Who was born into this world. Who became like us. In every single way. Why?
[45:29] To show to us. His love. For his people. He became like us. In every single way. Apart from sin. He lived a perfect life.
[45:41] He died the death. On a cross. As we know. Taking on himself. All the sins. Of all his people. So that. If we trust in him. What? We can be free. We can be saved.
[45:53] And know. That no longer. There is. Adversity. Us and God. No longer. There is wrath. Over us. But instead. We will be able to save the psalmist. How precious to me. Are your thoughts.
[46:03] Oh God. How vast. Is the sum of them. If I would count them. They are more. Than. The sand. For baby Finn. And for ourselves.
[46:14] I pray. This would be. What is our experience. And our story. We can bear our heads. Now. A word of prayer. Lord.
[46:24] We thank you. For the gift of your word. We thank you. For the hope. And the promises. We find. In your word. We ask the Lord. That it would be opened up. To us. And we would leave this place. Not just having spent time.
[46:35] Reading. We leave this place. Having applied. What we heard. To our own lives. To our own situation. Thank you Lord. For the gift. Of being able to worship you. The gift of singing.
[46:45] Lord. Help us. To carry on singing. With hearts and minds. Full of understanding. Look after us Lord. And keep us. Prayers. Shall have come to the. Part of our service.
[46:57] That is the baptism. Of. Of Finn McEver. Lord. We ask. That it would be a blessed time. For family. And the future. For Finn. As he remembers. And recalls. His baptism. Let's call these things.
[47:08] In and through. Christ Jesus. His precious name's sake. Amen. We can carry on singing. This time. Psalm 139a. The psalm we've been singing.
[47:21] And verses 14. Down to verse 17. Psalm 139. Verses 14. Down to verse 17. Because I am wonderfully made.
[47:34] With all your praise I'll tell. Your workmanship is marvellous. And this I know. Full well. If near the end of the psalm. If Lionel and Finn can kind of.
[47:44] And Fiona of course. Come down beside me. But wait till the end. Verses 14. Down to verse 17. Psalm 139. To God's praise. Because I'm wonderful.
[48:03] Because I'm wonderful. Wait. With all you praise I have. You might not show me smile.
[48:19] You may not lose. dich nukel series. You may not notice. Knowers are blitz. Our bless. My love is Wilma.
[48:43] Oh Oh Or I
[49:45] I I I I see to grasp them all how number less they are I know we get so big we won't spend time going through the the ends and outs of baptism we did it last Sunday evening and yourselves been to Mance and all the lectures and rules and regulations spoken to you, we're here as a congregation as a family, as a church family to welcome beautiful yes, baby Finn in to community, to covenant community.
[50:43] with us and to do so we'll all stand when I pray just in a second and remain standing after the prayer ask of vows and then we'll baptize Finn and we'll end, yes, by singing in Psalm, sing psalms in Psalm 23 we all stand together just now as we pray Lord we thank you for the blessing we have of this time together we thank you especially Lord Lord for Lionel and Fiona and for Finn we thank you Lord not just for friends and for family but we thank you for them thank you also for this wider community and those online who are here to commemorate this incredible occasion blessing a great reminder that Finn is to be a part now visibly of the covenant community we'll bless this time to us the time we think back about and remember for the years to come to be a part of these things in and through God's name for Christ's precious sake
[51:51] Amen I do the vows quickly so you can get baptized sit in again do the vows and we just yes and yes I assume you're saying yes and amen I read the vows out because otherwise it would be chaos do you believe the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as revealed in the Bible to be the one through God do you believe the Bible to be the word of God and the only rule to direct you do you believe the Lord Jesus Christ to be the Son of God and the only Saviour of sinners do you promise in the strength of the Lord you'll bring up Finn the Bible and to understand the hope that is found in Jesus yes right that being said that word has all been warm yes it is ayo ayo Finn McKeever I baptize you in the name of the Father yes and of the Son and the Holy Spirit one God may the Lord bless you and keep you and shine his face upon you and be gracious to you the Lord turn his face to you and give you peace we'll pray once more if we sing
[53:14] Lord thank you for the simple method the simple means a few drops of water that signify to us something more incredible the washing away in baptism of all that defiles and all that takes us away from you pray once more that the baby Finn as he grows up he will come to know Jesus as not just a saviour and Lord but also as his friend pray the same Lord for all connected to him that this be a day of glory for him a day of peace for him a day of joy looking back amen so as a gift as a small gift thanks to you I'll leave it here there's a bag down here one wee bible for later on when Finn's bit more understanding that's for you Vin I'll be here in the meantime even got pictures in it nice big writing nice big pictures for baby Finn parents and maybe grandparents too it's a very good bible actually very easy to read thank you you can sit down you can sit down you can sit down just sit down we're going to close just now singing to God's praise and sing psalms once more and psalm 23 sing psalms and psalm 23 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 we pray not just a psalm but a prayer for Finn as he grows up he would know the lord as his friend but also as his shepherd and be led in all the ways yes all the ways of the lord we can stand together and sing to God's praise the lord is my shepherd no one shall I know in his day lie down where the green pastures grow he leads me to rest where the calm waters flow my wandering steps he brings back to his grave in the straight house all my chosen taking his grave and this he has turned this evening to display though I walk in death where darkness is near because you have with me no reason I fear give the Lord give the Lord and your self bring me comfort and cheer in the sight of my enemies that evil you spread the oil of rejoicing you pour on my head my cup of earth rose and I viciously bend torture you come and unmercy and tears and tears will follow me close to him all my ways
[57:04] I will dwell in the house of the Lord on my hands 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