[0:00] We're going to begin our worship by singing to God's praise. We're going to sing in Psalm 16.! We're going to sing from verse 8 to 11.
[0:13] ! We'll stay down to the end of the psalm to God's praise and we stand to sing.
[0:33] Amen.!
[1:30] My body too will rest secure in open with a name.
[1:47] For you will not allow my soul in death to stay.
[2:05] Lord, help me to lead your holy one to see the truth in his.
[2:23] You are made known to me the path of life divine.
[2:39] This child I know that you might come.
[2:52] Joy from your face will shine. We'll bow our heads together in a short word of prayer.
[3:08] Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, as we come to unite our hearts in prayer and as we lift up our voices in song and praise to you, we are thankful that as we come today, we do indeed set the Lord before us.
[3:24] That all that we seek to do, we seek to do for your sake and for your glory. So we give you thanks for this day and this opportunity to worship you, this blessing that is ours to be under your word, to be hearing it, to be learning from it.
[3:39] And today as we have the service of baptism too, we thank you for that blessing that there is to be heard and seen in that as well. And we do pray that together we will be encouraged, that we will be blessed by you.
[3:53] And we pray for our young people as we come to you today. We thank you for them. We thank you for those who will be baptized today and we pray for your blessing on them and their families.
[4:05] We thank you for all who belong to us as a congregation, from our creche, our tweenies, our Sunday school, our Bible class, our youth fellowship, and all our families, Lord, we commit to you asking your protection and blessing over them.
[4:19] Thankful that there is that desire to learn of you. And we pray that they may come to know you in that special way, that they will set the Lord before them, themselves all the days of their lives.
[4:33] So may you bless us. May you watch over us. May you continue with us in all that we do as we ask it all in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen. Before the young ones go out to the Sunday school, I just want to say a few words to you.
[4:49] And in my hand here, I have something that probably most of you have at home. Do you recognize what it is? It's a TV controller. Now, this can cause a lot of discussion in the house, a lot of debate.
[5:04] Has anybody hidden the controller on anybody else so that you have control over what you're watching and what everybody's watching? It can cause a lot of discussion. It can even cause little fights to start.
[5:16] Where do you put the controller? Because it gives us a sense of power. Because we can rewind, watch something again. We can fast forward if we're not enjoying something we're watching.
[5:27] We can pause if we want to take a wee break and come back and watch something again later. It gives us that sense of power. Well, today as we come to look at God's word, as we come together today, we have a special service, service for baptism.
[5:45] And we'll see that later on towards the end of the service. But as we come to look at God's word, it's almost like we're pressing the rewind button on the controller.
[5:55] We're going to go back into the book of Acts in the New Testament, back to a time like 2,000 years ago. And we're seeing a sermon being preached, just like we see here today.
[6:08] And we're seeing Peter there preaching a sermon. We're seeing people listening to what he's saying. And we see people then seeking to understand about what he's saying, wanting to know more about what he's saying.
[6:22] And they have a question, what should we do? It's a great question that for ourselves today when we think of all that we're seeing and all that we're hearing. What do we do with it?
[6:34] Well, we are reminded that as we go back to the book of Acts and as we see Peter saying, you must be baptized. He's telling of the importance of being baptized in the name of Jesus.
[6:45] Is that a doctor then?
[6:57] He's telling of the story.
[7:45] That's all. That's all. Thank you.
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[10:45] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
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[18:35] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[19:15] Thank you., that today we will hear your word speaking to us as a new word a fresh word for us today just as fresh as it was then with the same power the same blessing in it lord that you are the one who is able to save and so we ask that you will help us to do all for your glory and we look to you in these days lord with all our different needs we thank you that you are god and lord for all and whatever our need today we thank you that we can bring it before you we do remember particular needs around us today we thank you for our homes and our families but we pray lord that in those homes where there is grief and sorrow and sadness that you will come and comfort and console as we particularly remember the family of anne mcdonald today we pray for each one of them may your blessing and your peace be with them in a special way and in these coming days as well as we prepare for the wake and the funeral services to take place lord we ask that your spirit will comfort and guide in these times we thank you for the fellowship of your people in these days as well for the way that we are able to unite our hearts and prayer for one another bringing all our different needs to you and we do pray for our community and thank you for the power of prayer and we ask that especially in matters concerning your cause that you would unite us together as your people in that spirit of prayer as we think of the situation regarding tesco at this time we do commit all the prayers of your people and the prayer meeting this evening in the apc church lord that we are time of unity and blessing in that a time when we are assured of your presence and the power of that you have for we may be weak in ourselves but we thank you that you can do all things for us and so we pray for your grace and your mercy upon our town and upon decisions made regarding your day and if it is your will lord we do pray that decisions will be overturned by your power and by your grace so give us that spirit of prayer and give us lord to look to you in these days as well to seek your blessing over us in being seeing numbers added to those who are being saved even as we have read of in your word we thank you that your word reminds us of that great power that you have that salvation belongs to you alone and so here are prayers for our people for our community for our nation and the nations of the world and we see so many needs around us with the devastation in spain in this past week and we pray for that situation lord for those who are hurting and mourning for those who are still missing for those who are helping in these situations lord may your grace and mercy be with them and may you lead us as a people lord in all of these days as we think of the united states and the election taking place there in these coming days lord we pray for your blessing over that nation as such a powerful nation throughout the world that has so much to offer for good as well as evil and we do pray lord that you will be pleased to bless and to guide and to pour out your spirit upon all our lands so here our prayers continue with us in this day and go before us is all we ask we ask the forgiveness of our sins in jesus name amen we're going to sing again to god's praise this time in psalm 90
[23:24] in the scottish psalter page 350 of the psalm books psalm 90 page 350 we'll sing from verse 14 to verse 17 with thy tender mercies lord as early satisfy so we rejoice shall all our days and still be glad in thee we'll sing from verse 14 to 17 to god's praise and we stand to sing singing singing So we'll be joyed shall all our days, and still be glad in thee.
[24:34] And Lord, in us the days of thee, where then we leave our heart, and years where then we ever last see.
[25:00] So do the ring us fly. O let thy wife and power appear, thy sermons face before.
[25:24] And show unto her children dear thy glory evermore.
[25:42] And let the beauty of the Lord our God be as a poor.
[26:00] Around the world, his vibration, his vibration, his vibration.
[26:16] Amen. For the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
[26:52] For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. Amen.
[27:03] I deserve privilege to be here today under God's word, having his word before us, having the assurance that he gives in his word of his presence with us, that when we are gathered in his name, he is in the midst to bless.
[27:20] And today we come with that significance, too, of the sacrament of baptism, and all of that shows to us of the wonder of who our Lord is.
[27:30] Today is a special day for parents who are baptizing three precious children, for their families, and for us all together as a congregation and as a community of fellowship here.
[27:45] It's a special day to partake of in the service, hearing the word of God, seeing what's happening before us, and asking, what does this mean? What does it mean for those who are baptizing, and what does it mean for ourselves as a congregation, and even personally?
[28:03] What does it mean to me as an individual? What's the significance of it? You see, in baptism, our focus isn't just on those who are being baptized.
[28:15] Our focus is, first and foremost, on Jesus Christ and the blessings that we pray for in him, for us all together, for the wee ones who are baptized, for their parents and families, and for us all together.
[28:32] It is all about Jesus. Someone once said this of baptism. Baptism is like a precious jewel, set apart by itself.
[28:43] It's nice and appealing, but has nothing within it to compel. But place baptism against the backdrop of our sin, and turn on the light of the cross, and the jewel explodes with significance.
[29:01] You think of when you see a jewel, when it's just sitting there, maybe it doesn't look that impressive. But put something in the background, especially a dark background, and shine a light through it, and it explodes in all its colors and all its beauty.
[29:16] And so it is with baptism. It's not just about gathering together as family and friends. There's so much significance behind it, and especially when we see our sin, and what's signified in baptism, and the cross, and what Jesus has done for our salvation there.
[29:35] As Peter preached this sermon in Acts chapter 2, at the heart of it was all about the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 36 says, Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.
[29:57] Before it came to seeing their need, and before it came to the baptism, was to see Christ crucified, and all that that means. He has been made Lord and Christ, whom they crucified.
[30:11] We're thinking today of the blessings that there are in baptism. The blessings that we know in Christ that we are reminded of through baptism.
[30:23] And that comes as we see Christ with faith. As his word, as you see there in verse 37, they were cut to the heart by the word. As the word cuts to our heart, as we hear the word, and as we see the significance of it, may it cut to our hearts today in the same way it did then, so that we might know the blessings that are ours in Christ.
[30:50] A man called Fred Marsh spoke of the blessings that there are in Christ in this way. He spoke of it in a number of different ways. He said there's an inheritance that can never be lost, a grace that can never be limited, a hope that can never be disappointed, a joy that need never be diminished, a peace that can never be disturbed, a salvation that can never be cancelled.
[31:17] What we have through faith, and that's what baptism points us to, our need of our cleansing of our sin that comes through Jesus Christ.
[31:28] These are the blessings that we seek for the children who are baptized today, for their families, for their parents, and for all their families together, but for us all together too, that we would see that this is the word of God to us all.
[31:45] And so we're going to think of three things that we see in these verses of baptism. The first thing we see is the need. The second thing we see is the name. And the third thing is the number.
[31:58] The need, the name, and the number. So first of all, we see the need that we have for baptism. Peter here has preached a powerful sermon.
[32:11] The Spirit has been with them. The Spirit of God was poured out on the church, as you see at the beginning of chapter 2. And Peter stood up in their midst and proclaimed the word of God to them.
[32:22] And what he saw was what every preacher longs to see. He saw a response. A wonderful response.
[32:33] And that's the response you see in verse 37. When they were cut to the heart, they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brothers, what shall we do?
[32:45] They heard the word of God. They heard about the crucified Christ, who had been crucified for their sins. And they pleaded, What shall we do?
[32:58] They realized there was a need of something. They realized that this word called for a response. And their question is, What shall we do?
[33:09] When we gather this morning for this service of baptism, there's so much to be thankful for. There's so many blessings that we can see. There's reminders to us of these blessings before us.
[33:24] The blessings that we have in life. As we think of the children being baptized. As we think of the privilege of being together for it, under God's word. But in it all, what is our greatest need?
[33:39] What should we be most thankful for today? We could come here today and say, It was nice to be here. It was lovely to see families together.
[33:51] It was beautiful to see children baptized. We could go away thinking all of these things. And they are all great blessings that we are to be thankful for.
[34:04] But is it the most important thing that we are to see when we think of what's before us today? And what it represents and says to us of our need.
[34:16] It's not to see something that's nice and beautiful and a blessing in so many ways. But to see the word of God and the sacrament of baptism and speaking of the wonder of the grace of God to us.
[34:30] A sinful people. It's hard to think of that when we think of baptizing young infants. A sinner. It doesn't sound right.
[34:42] And yet we all come into this world as sinners in need of salvation. When the people ask that question, What shall we do?
[34:53] It's the same question that we have to ask ourselves today. What shall we do? What is our greatest need? As we see this before us today.
[35:04] Well, Peter gives us the answer. When they ask that question, Peter gives him the response. In verse 38, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins.
[35:20] Sin is our enemy. And so our greatest need is to be rescued from sin. I'm sure you will all have seen the devastating floods in Spain this past week.
[35:36] Whenever you see a natural disaster like that and so many other different things, it reminds us of the power that's behind it. The devastation that it brings.
[35:48] It's hard to believe when you see the pictures on the television, how quickly things happened. How quickly things changed for them. How helpless the people were. How powerful the force of the water was.
[36:04] Devastation and tragedy came. And the need for the people in the midst of it was rescue. And yet sadly for so many, that rescue wasn't there.
[36:15] It's tragic. And it's a reminder to us of our need to be saved. Of our need to be saved. Not from the powers of this world in that sense, but the power of our enemy of sin.
[36:29] The power of sin. And there's a psalm that speaks of this in a powerful way. Psalm 65 at verse 3. It says, When we were overwhelmed by sins and guilt upon us lay, you pardoned all our trespasses and washed our guilt away.
[36:49] When we were overwhelmed by sins. It's the same kind of idea as the waters of a flood pouring over a people and overwhelming them.
[37:00] Sin does the exact same thing. It overwhelms us. But yet we are assured there that when we put faith in our Lord, you pardon all our trespasses and wash our guilt away.
[37:15] And that is what we see of our need in baptism. The water that signifies our need to be cleansed from our sin. We are all overwhelmed by sin.
[37:29] But what we want is to see the word of God pricking our hearts. Reminding us of our great need. The blessings, yes, that there are in baptism.
[37:40] The beauty of seeing children baptized. But we see it in the backdrop of sin. Our sin. Your sin and my sin. And our need of repentance.
[37:54] Of turning from our sin. And turning to the Lord Jesus. Turning to him for forgiveness of sin. It reminds us then of our need.
[38:08] And that leads us then secondly to the name. The name. When we come to baptism, names are obviously so important.
[38:19] We have wonderful names of the three children today. Isaiah James Murray, Andrew Kenneth MacDonald, and Annie McLennan. you will hear these names as the children are baptized.
[38:32] Precious names. Names full of meaning for precious children. But today is not a christening service.
[38:42] It's a baptism. It's a baptism. We have these names today that we baptize them in. But it's in the name of Jesus Christ that they are baptized.
[38:55] And that's the name that is above every name. Their names, the names of the children, are precious as we baptize them. But they have these names. And here we come to baptize us as Peter says there in verse 38, repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
[39:19] And as later we will baptize the children, what we say is we baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The name that is above every name.
[39:31] And it's the name of Jesus that resonates in the word before us. In the preaching of the word it's the name of Jesus that we are to hear. And in the baptism it's in the name of Jesus.
[39:44] And it's a powerful name. As children, you grow up and I'm sure as these children before us today as they are baptized and as they grow up they will hear their names echoing around the house in different times and in different ways if they haven't already heard it.
[40:04] I'm sure we were all used to hearing our names being called. And it's usually when you hear being called in a slightly louder tone you know there's something wrong.
[40:16] Something we've done that we shouldn't or something that we haven't done that we should. So the name will echo around the house. Whatever name you're called.
[40:27] John, Donald, Anne, Barbara, whatever it is the name will echo around. Where are you? What have you done? Or what haven't you done? Names are important.
[40:40] They identify us as individuals. And we all have a name. But as we think of ourselves growing up or these children who are baptized growing up what we want to see and hear and know is the name of Jesus resonating around our homes and our communities as well.
[41:02] As parents and as parents who are baptizing today it is your burden as parents to teach them the word of God. To teach them about Jesus from the word of God and the precious saviour that he is.
[41:20] That is the burden that you are taking not just today but already and as you go forward that burden is on you. To make the name of Jesus a precious name in your home.
[41:33] And it's a burden on the families the wider families too. The responsibility of looking after your family too. Of making sure that the name of Jesus is part of that child growing up and part of your children your children's children growing up.
[41:51] And it is our responsibility too as a church as a congregation we take this burden with them to be a people who will pray for the children for our families for all of us together as a congregation.
[42:08] And we pray in the name of Jesus. It's a wonderful thing that we can use individual and personal names before God in prayer. But every name that we offer we come ultimately to the name of Jesus.
[42:22] to the name of Jesus that is above every name. And why is Jesus' name so important? I'm sure you already know and many of you do why that is so important for us.
[42:37] The hope that this name gives. You think of Jesus himself when he came into this world when Joseph heard that Mary was to bear a child Joseph was told she will bear a son and you will call his name Jesus.
[42:54] Why? For he will save his people from their sins. The importance of that name. You will call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins.
[43:09] And that's a reminder we have in the blessing of what baptism shows to us. That Jesus is the one when we put our faith in him that he is able to wash our sins away.
[43:22] Just a couple of chapters later in the book of Acts in chapter 4 again you see the importance of the name of Jesus there in verse 11 and 12 where it says this Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you the builders which has become the cornerstone and there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
[43:50] It is this power in the name of Jesus and it is our prayer that the name of Jesus will be precious to the children to the parents to the families and to us all because you see here that there is a promise here in verse 39 this promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off everyone whom the Lord calls to himself.
[44:17] It is a real blessing when you see children's children and today we have the blessing of having a great grandfather involved in the baptism not just children's children but it goes further than that as a blessing to us when we see generations coming and after us and we see a generation growing up and the name of Jesus being precious and the name of Jesus being blessed to them and so we look to this name the name of Jesus is precious precious as the names of the children are today it is the name of Jesus we long for them to know and to be precious to them and to us all together the last thing I want us to see here as we look at these verses is the number so we see our need we see the name of Jesus now we see finally the number the importance of number but not in the sense of how many but what it signifies when Peter answers in verse 38 he tells him to receive the Lord
[45:31] Peter said repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sin when he said this they heard this they heard the greatest news they could hear that there was hope and what you see then is in verse 41 3,000 were added to their number that day 3,000 souls were added 3,000 responded and were saved were baptized and you think to yourself how did they manage that in one day 3,000 we have three here today being baptized 3,000 just seems beyond our imagination just how it could possibly happen we'd have to call out a few retired ministers to help with those kinds of numbers but what a blessing on the church when we see the power of God through his word as a people cry what must we do repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus and added to their number that day were 3,000 souls
[46:39] I wonder did Peter expect that to happen as he preached the word I doubt if he did not to this extent but he knew the power of God he knew the power that God could save and it doesn't depend on us but on what God can do and so we are reminded of that today as well that it is the Lord who is able to save and the prayer is that he will add to our number those who are being saved because you see as I say it's not about the scale of numbers here the 3,000 that so often catches our attention but it's more the word added there in verse 41 there were added that day about 3,000 souls and you see what follows in verse 42 to 47 is the fellowship of believers there was already a core of believers here there was already a congregation of people who were trusting in the
[47:49] Lord and what the Lord was doing was adding to that number those who were being saved and so as you go on and you see the numbers spoken about here it's a reminder to us that today is not just about the three children being baptized baptized it's about us all together our collective responsibility and our collective need to be a people who pray for and look out for these children a reminder to us that there are already those who belong to the Lord in our number and we pray that the Lord would add to our number even as we see in verse 47 daily being added to the number those who are being saved those who are being saved that is our prayer don't lose sight of the blessing of children as parents don't lose sight of the blessing of these children as families don't lose sight of our children as a congregation and the responsibility that is ours towards them all and to ourselves collectively as a people what we want is the fellowship of believers and the
[49:12] Lord adding to our number those who are being saved and for that it means taking our responsibility serious praying and seeking the Lord's blessing on us all together as parents we can so often feel that sense of guilt that we haven't given the time that the children deserve that we miss out on so much but let us never lose sight of how precious they are and to keep praying for them and you say to yourself well we couldn't lose sight of them but we so easily can and I'll give you an illustration of this how this can happen there was a man called Charles Francis Adams and he was a political figure in the United States back in the 19th century and he kept a diary and in his diary one day was an entry and all it said was this went fishing with my son today a day wasted well his son
[50:19] Brooke Adams he also kept a diary a diary that still exists to this day and on the same day this was his entry into his diary went fishing with my father the most wonderful day of my life and you see there the difference how easy it is to get caught up in thinking that our time is wasted when the child is actually seeing it as the most precious day of his life it's all about how we view an investment into our children into our families into our congregation but anything done with them is not wasted and especially as we think of teaching them and nurturing them and bringing them up in the fear and the nurture of the Lord it is not wasted and our prayers are never wasted our prayers are to be for them and with them as they grow up and wherever they go that we would take our responsibility in baptism as parents as families as a congregation that we would take these things seriously and that we would see an investment in them as we see our need our great need to repent and believe for the forgiveness of our sins as we see the great name that is able to save the name of the
[51:46] Lord Jesus Christ and as we see the number and our responsibility collectively may we seek to know the blessing of God upon us and with us going before us in all of these things and that the Lord indeed would be pleased to add to our number not just those who are baptized but those who are being saved that our sins would be forgiven through faith in the one who washes our sin away that is our prayer and may the Lord bless and grow his church and watch over us all together as we seek his blessing in these things let us pray our father in heaven we do rejoice in your word and your goodness to us may you continue to bless it to us lead us by it and hear our prayers over it as well as we pray for your word to be blessed we pray your blessing on all that we do even as we come now to this part of the service we come to the baptism
[52:54] Lord continue with us as we ask all the forgiveness of sin in Jesus name Amen we're going to sing together now to God's praise we're going to sing in Psalm 84 in the Scottish Psalter page 338 Psalm 84 we're going to sing from verse 1 down to verse 6 how lovely is thy dwelling place O Lord of hosts to me the tabernacles of thy grace how pleasant Lord they be my thirsty soul longs vehemently ye faints thy courts to see my very heart and flesh cry out O living God for thee we'll sing from verse 1 to 6 to God's praise and we stand to sing!
[53:46] O love to God's love singing singing It takes my course to see My very heart and flesh cry out For living God for me We hold the spell of pride divine And house wherein to rest
[54:48] The swallow also for herself Hath purchased sand and hares In thine old altars where she'd stay Her young ones forth may bring O thou almighty Lord of hosts Through art I fought and came Blessed are they in thy house And house thou dwell They ever give thee praise Blessed is the man who stands The Lord and whose heart are thy grace Who passeth girl, O make that smell
[55:55] Therein to dig up wells Also the rain that falleth down Therein to dig up wells With water built Welcome to you all Well we've been looking at the importance Of baptism in our service this morning Together as we've been looking at the book of Acts We've seen our great need of baptism We've seen the name that's involved in baptism The children have their own names But we come seeking the name of Jesus
[56:57] To be the name that's blessed to them And to us all together And our longing today is that as we see A number added to those who are baptized In our congregation We will come God willing To see more and more being added to our number Those who are being saved That is our prayer And so as we come to the baptism part of this service I have some questions to put to the fathers in a moment And then I'll be inviting them to come forward One family at a time To be baptized here and here And we've also got the Reverend James McKeever here with us Who is going to be the baptism of Isaiah James Murray With James and Marion So I'll invite him to come forward in a few moments as well We have the water that's used for baptism It reminds us of the significance of what Jesus has done for us When he came into this world He came with that name called Jesus That he might save his people from their sins
[57:59] And we see what he has done for us at the cross And we see there that for our sins to be forgiven He had to endure that He had to go through that He had to give his life That he rose from the grave as well He lives now And it is him we look to for our salvation And so as we come to the baptism part We're going to pray for the baptism That's before us And we'll just say a word of prayer just now Let us pray Our Father in heaven We do thank you for all that we see before us at this time We thank you that you are the one who is in the midst That your name is the name that we look to As we baptize the children with their names that are before us Lord we thank you too for the name of Jesus Christ The one who is there for our salvation The one through whom our sins are washed away We thank you for the water that's before us as well
[58:59] For all it signifies to us And may you bless it in the purpose Which is used today in the sprinkling of water We will be reminded that we are washed from our sins By the blood of Jesus Who came for the forgiveness of His people And so we come now looking to your blessing On all that we do And we ask it all in Jesus' name And for His sake Amen Well if the fathers could please stand at this point I have questions to put to you And I'll just ask the question And then just look for an answer for the question From the three of you The first question is Do you acknowledge God The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit Revealed in Scripture To be the only true God And your God Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ The only mediator between God and men Do you now promise to bring up this child
[60:00] In the nurture and the training of the Lord Well we'll stand now As we come to the baptism part I'll invite James to come forward first Reverend James with James and Marion And we Isaiah James Murray Please Please!
[60:41] Please! Please! Please Isaiah, James, Murray, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God.
[60:57] May God bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May He lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.
[61:20] Amen. Leave it right off. Kenny and Amy, if you want to come up now.
[61:33] Little Annie. Hopefully I won't get too wet, but there's a towel there. To you, in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God.
[61:46] May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. And the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.
[62:11] Ali and Lauren, come up for the family. It's nice to see you all together here.
[62:30] Andrew Kenneth MacDonald, I baptize you in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God. May the Lord bless you and keep you.
[62:41] May the Lord be gracious towards you and make His face to shine upon you. May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.
[62:51] Amen. Amen. Amen. We'll again engage in a word of prayer.
[63:18] Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we do give you thanks for the blessings that are before us and the baptism. We thank you for all it reminds us of, our engrafting to Christ.
[63:30] Amen. It reminds us that we need you, Lord. That we need you as our precious Savior that you alone are able to save. And we do pray that you will bless these families together.
[63:41] That you will bless Isaiah James Murray with James and Marion. That you will bless Annie McLennan with Kenny and Amy. That you will bless too, O Lord.
[63:52] Lord, Alistair and Lauren and Andrew Kenneth MacDonald and the rest of their family too, Lord. May your blessing be with them and the extended families and us all together. May you help us to take these vows before us seriously.
[64:06] To remember our children and our children's children. To seek your blessing and your favor upon us all. As we ask all with the forgiveness of our sins. In Jesus' name.
[64:17] Amen. You'll be seated again. It is a real privilege and blessing to see and hear children in our midst.
[64:31] And we do continue to pray that the Lord will be gracious to you all. And to bless you and to watch over you all the days of your lives. Our final item of praise is going to be from Psalm 22.
[64:45] And we sing at the end of this psalm. It's the Sing Psalms version on page 27. From verse 28 down to verse 31.
[64:56] Three stanzas. Dominion to the Lord belongs and over nations he is king. The rich of all the earth will feast and worship with an offering. All those whose destiny is dust will humbly kneel before his throne.
[65:11] They cannot keep themselves alive for they depend on him alone. Hostility will serve the Lord and generations still to come will tell a people yet unborn the righteous acts that he has done.
[65:25] We're reminded in this psalm of our dependence upon God. We depend on him alone. And we do pray that we will all go from here today depending on him as the one who is able to save.
[65:38] And there's a beautiful image there at the end of the psalm. A generation still to come will tell a people yet unborn the righteous acts that he has done.
[65:49] As we see children's children baptized here today. We do pray the Lord's blessing to continue that one day God willing they may see their children. Children yet unborn being blessed and taught of the wonders of Jesus.
[66:04] So we're going to stand to sing these verses to God's praise. Amen. Amen.
[67:04] Amen. We pray the people yet unborn the righteous acts that he has done.
[67:50] We're going to close now with a benediction. After the benediction I'll go to the door to my left. Now may grace, mercy and peace from God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest upon and abide with you all now and forevermore.
[68:06] Amen.