We'll begin our worship by singing to God's praise in Psalm 34.
It's the Sing Psalms version on page 40 of the Psalm book.
We're going to sing from verse 8 to verse 14.
Again, I'm just a reminder that the Sunday school starts today and the tweenies will
come in as well and they'll go out to the Sunday school and the tweenies during the
second singing.
So we're glad that the Sunday school and resuming again today, we give thanks for that.
Psalm 34 at verse 8, come taste and see, the Lord is good who trusts and him is blessed.
O fear the Lord, you saints with need, you will not be oppressed.
We'll sing from verse 8 to 14 to God's praise and we stand to sing.
Come taste and see, the Lord is good who trusts and him is blessed.
O fear the Lord, you saints with need, you will not be oppressed.
Young lions may grow weak and faint and hunger for their food, but those who wait upon the Lord
will not be oppressed.
Come hear my children gather round and listen to my word.
And I will help you understand how you may fear the Lord.
Does anyone delight in life and long to see good days?
God bless you, the Lord is good.
Then keep your tongue from evil speech, your lips from lying ways.
Depart and turn from evil paths and practice what is right.
Desire to know the way of peace, pursue it with your might.
I will come to God in prayer. Let us pray.
Amen.
I will come to my word and I will help you understand how you may fear the Lord.
We pray that every one of us as we gather together here will have a real hunger to come and hear what you have to say to us.
And to give thanks that in him we have one who is able to save.
Help us to turn from our evil paths if that is what we need.
And that we would come and follow him and put our trust in him.
We thank you then for your word.
We thank you for all your people as we gather together in your name today.
Here and as those who tune online.
Those who meet throughout our land and throughout the world today.
We thank you that there is a chorus of your people offering a praise to you far and wide.
And so we ask that you will hear our prayers.
That you will bless us in all we do.
May it be to your glory.
And all we ask, we ask the forgiveness of our sins.
In Jesus name.
Amen.
Well a word to the young ones before you go out.
As I was praying there I mentioned that this is the day that the Lord has made.
And what do we think of when we think maybe of these words?
This is the day.
What day is the psalmist there talking about?
What's your favorite day of the week?
Does anybody have a favorite day of the week?
I'm sure everybody's favorite day is Monday.
Is it?
Monday is usually everybody's favorite day.
When you get to go back to school.
When you get to go back to work.
It's a great day, is it?
I don't think you're convinced that Monday is your favorite day at all.
Maybe Saturday is your favorite day.
Saturday when you get to take a break.
Have a long lie.
Do the things that you want.
Maybe meet up with pals and enjoy a wee break.
Just think about that.
What's your favorite day of the week?
Another thing is that sometimes maybe when you wake up.
You wonder what day is it?
Not just young ones but older ones too.
Especially maybe during holiday times.
You wake up and you wonder what day is it today?
And how do you find out what day it is?
Maybe you put it on the news.
And see well what day is it?
They'll tell me on the news.
Or you pick up a newspaper and it'll tell you what day it is.
Maybe you check your phone or something like that.
Just to find out what day it is.
And sometimes you'll maybe be disappointed what day it is.
Other days you'll be glad what day it is.
I want you to think today about a special day that God has given to us.
He has given us every day of course.
All seven days in the week.
But he gave us a special day in the week.
And a day that I hope will if it's not already become all of our favorite day of the week.
All of that to us.
That will be our favorite day of the week.
And that is Sunday.
Sunday and today is a special day because we come together to worship God.
We come together today with Sunday school starting once again.
We come with the creche and the tweenies coming together.
We come as a people.
We come and worship God together.
And it really is a special day.
And that's what the psalm reminds us.
Psalm 118.
Where the psalmist says,
This is the day God made in it.
We'll joy triumphantly.
The psalmist is so glad that there is a day that we can come and worship God.
And may that be our song today as we come together.
That we would delight and rejoice that God has given us this day.
His own day.
The Lord's day.
This Sunday.
To come and worship Him together.
We may have other favorite days in the week as well.
Days we enjoy doing different things on.
But may Sunday really be a special day for us all.
Where we give thanks to God for the rest that He gives us.
And especially the rest that He gives us in knowing His own Son, Jesus.
So may you be blessed today in your classes as they resume.
And may we all be blessed in this.
His day may be a real time of refreshment for us.
Well, we give thanks to God.
And we're going to share together now in the Lord's Prayer.
And we'll just say that together.
So we'll put our hands together and say the Lord's Prayer.
Our Father which art in heaven.
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation.
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.
Amen.
We're going to sing again to God's praise in Psalm 5.
And this is in the Scottish Psalter version.
Page 203 of the Psalm book.
Psalm 5 on page 203.
We're going to sing from verse 1 to verse 7.
Give ear unto my words, O Lord, my meditation way.
Hear my loud cry, my King, my God.
For I to thee will pray.
So we'll sing these words to God.
Psalm 5, verse 1 to 7.
And we stand to sing.
Amen.
Give ear unto my words, O Lord, my meditation way.
Hear my loud cry, my King, my God.
For I to thee will pray.
Lord, thou shalt early hear my voice.
I early will direct my prayer to thee.
And looking up, an answer will expect.
For thou art not the God that doth in wickedness delight.
Neither shall evil dwell with thee, nor fool stand in thy sight.
All that ill-doers are the haste.
God's hope that liars be.
The bloody and deceitful man abhorred is by thee.
But I into thy heart will come in thine abundant grace.
And I will worship in thy fear toward thy holy place.
Amen.
We're going to read together in God's word now in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy chapter 6.
Let me read the whole of this chapter.
Deuteronomy chapter 6.
In the previous chapter, Moses has just given to the people of Israel the Ten Commandments.
And they're about to enter into the Promised Land.
They're preparing to go into the Promised Land.
So he's given them these commandments.
And now he is instructing them in how they are to live as they seek to go into this new land.
So in chapter 6, we read these words.
Now this is a commandment, the statutes and the rules that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you.
That you may do them in the land to which you are going over.
To possess it.
That you may fear the Lord your God.
You and your son and your son's son.
By keeping all his statutes and his commandments.
Which I command you all the days of your life.
And that your days may be long.
Hear therefore, O Israel.
And be careful to do them.
That it may go well with you.
And that you may multiply greatly.
As the Lord, the God of your fathers has promised you.
In a land flowing with milk and honey.
Hear, O Israel.
The Lord our God.
The Lord is one.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.
And with all your soul.
And with all your might.
And these words that I command you today.
Shall be on your heart.
You shall teach them diligently to your children.
And shall talk of them when you sit in your house.
And when you walk by the way.
And when you lie down.
And when you rise.
You shall bind them as a sign on your hand.
And they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
You shall write them on the doorposts of your house.
And on your gates.
And when the Lord your God brings you into the land.
That he swore to your fathers.
To Abraham.
To Isaac.
And to Jacob.
To give you.
With great and good cities.
That you did not build.
And houses full of good things.
That you did not fill.
And cisterns that you did not dig.
And vineyards and olive trees.
That you did not plant.
And when you eat and are full.
Then take care lest you forget the Lord.
Who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
Out of the house of slavery.
It is the Lord your God you shall fear.
Him you shall serve.
And by his name you shall swear.
You shall not go after other gods.
The gods of the peoples who are around you.
For the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God.
Lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you.
And he destroy you from the face of the earth.
You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.
As you tested him at Massa.
You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God.
And the testimonies and his statutes which he has commanded you.
And you shall do what is right.
And good in the sight of the Lord.
That it may go well with you.
And that you may go in and take possession.
Of the good land that the Lord swore to give your fathers.
By thrusting out all your enemies from before you.
As the Lord has promised.
When your sons ask you in time to come.
What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes.
And the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you.
Then you shall say to your son.
We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt.
And the Lord brought us out of Egypt.
With a mighty hand.
And the Lord showed signs and wonders.
Great and grievous against Egypt.
And against Pharaoh.
And all his household before our eyes.
And he brought us out from there.
That he might bring us in.
And give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers.
And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes.
To fear the Lord our God.
For our good always.
That he might preserve us alive.
As we are this day.
And it will be righteousness for us.
If we are careful to do.
All his commandments.
Before the Lord our God.
As he has commanded us.
Amen.
And may God bless that reading.
From his word.
We will again engage in prayer.
Let us bow our heads in a word of prayer.
Our Father in heaven.
As we hear of the instructions.
That you gave your people of old.
They may seem instructions for a people.
So long ago.
And not relevant to ourselves.
We may be think that in our own wisdom.
That we have the knowledge to go forward.
By our own understanding.
Of the ways of this world.
That we can build our own commandments.
That we can find our own way.
That we can do as we please.
But in your word.
We find that there is only one way.
To live.
And that that is according to your truth.
And that your truth.
Is a word that stands firm forever.
That your word is relevant today.
As it always is.
It always will be.
For it is a word that is able to give life.
And to give blessing to your people.
We thank you that in the midst of.
A people who often failed you.
As we read in the Old Testament.
Who were distracted.
Who listened to the wrong voices.
Who went according to their own wisdom.
That you still spoke to them.
And called them back to yourself.
And as we live in a day.
That is so similar.
A day when we have listened to the voices.
Of this world.
When we have gone our own paths.
And had our own wisdom.
As we saw it.
We thank you that you are still a God who speaks.
And a God who is still calling.
A people back to yourself.
And so may each of us hear your voice.
And your word to us this day.
Return to me.
That I may return to you.
May we seek your blessing over us.
As a people.
And that you would do us good.
In these days.
That you preserve us.
You keep us.
And it is only in your strength.
That we go on.
So help us to acknowledge you.
And to give thanks to you.
And to praise your name.
That you are a God.
Who is so faithful.
We do thank you for this.
Your day.
We thank you Lord.
For the blessings that are ours.
We thank you for the abundance.
Of good things.
That we enjoy from your hand.
We are richly blessed.
In this past week.
We give you thanks.
For the communion season.
We enjoyed together.
For the encouragements.
That were there.
We give you thanks.
For new members then.
And also in the last few months.
As we see them.
In our intimation sheet today.
We pray that you will bless them.
Each one mentioned.
That you will guard them.
That you will uphold them.
That you will use them Lord.
In your kingdom.
And in our midst.
As a people here.
We thank you for the way.
You strengthen us in number.
We thank you for the way.
You strengthen us.
In our faith.
Through word and sacrament.
We thank you for the way.
That we are strengthened.
In our fellowship.
With one another.
And we do pray your blessing.
Upon the fellowship.
Of your people here.
That together.
We will indeed encourage.
One another.
We thank you for all.
The things that are resuming.
In our midst.
As a congregation.
We pray your blessing.
On the Sunday school.
Once again.
We give you thanks.
For all the children.
For the teachers.
For the helpers.
Your blessing.
And peace be upon them.
We thank you.
For the youth fellowship.
God willing to take place.
This evening.
We thank you Lord.
For the young ones.
Who are involved in that.
Both in leading.
And in coming along to it.
And we pray your blessing.
On us as we gather there.
We thank you.
For all that's going on.
Through the week.
With the toddler groups.
For the prayer meetings.
With the resumption.
Of the over 55 group.
To start soon.
With the WFM.
And so many other events.
Going on Lord.
We give you thanks.
That you are a God.
Who is giving us.
The opportunities.
For all of these things.
Once again.
And may you bless it.
To us as a people.
We give you thanks.
To that in the midst.
Of the sorrows.
And sadness.
Of this world.
That you are a God.
Who is compassionate.
And kind.
One who is able.
To comfort.
As only you can.
And as a congregation.
As once again.
We have the sad news.
In this past days.
Of deaths in our midst.
We give you thanks Lord.
That you are a God.
Who speaks.
And who ministers.
We pray for each family.
Who has lost a loved one.
We pray for our congregation.
As we mourn the passing.
Of people who are loved.
By many here.
Lord.
And we pray that.
In the days ahead.
In services.
To take place.
Of worship.
And of the funeral service.
We ask your blessing.
On all that is done.
In your name.
We look to our land.
As well Lord.
And we pray.
Oh Lord.
That you will guide us.
By your wisdom.
As we think of the week ahead.
And the appointment.
Of a new prime minister.
To our nation.
We pray that.
Whoever it is.
That is appointed.
May be used by you.
That they would bow the knee.
Before you.
That they would hear your voice.
In the midst of all the other voices.
That will clamor for attention.
We pray for our land.
Oh Lord.
In the midst of all the different struggles.
That we have.
How we need you Lord.
To pour our new spirit upon us.
To come in a day of your power.
To revive us.
To bring us the peace.
That only you can.
We pray that.
For our world as a whole.
We thank you for those.
Who go out.
Into the midst of all the different lands.
Of this world.
Proclaiming your name.
We thank you for Muriel.
And pray for our own ministry.
And pray your blessing on her.
That you will uphold her.
And keep her.
And we thank you for opportunities.
To meet with her online.
And pray that that will be blessed.
To each and every one of us.
So we thank you Lord.
That there is much to praise your name for.
Above all Lord.
We pray that.
In this day.
In this time of worship.
And as we go forward.
In your strength.
That you will be our shepherd.
That you will guide us Lord.
And give us.
From your living waters.
To refresh our souls.
And to give us.
That quenching of our thirst.
That we live in a dry parched land.
As your word describes it so often.
We thank you Lord.
That there is refreshing showers.
From your spirit.
And from on high.
So we pray Lord.
Refresh us.
Do us good.
And continue with us.
Throughout this day.
Help us to do all.
To your glory.
The singing of your praise.
The worship of your name.
The reading of your word.
And our meditation upon it.
May it be blessed by you.
And we ask all.
Acknowledging our sins anew.
Thankful for the forgiveness you offer.
In Jesus Christ our Lord.
In whose name we pray.
Amen.
We again sing to God's praise.
Before we turn to the passage.
We're going to look at.
Singing in Psalm 127.
Psalm 127.
The singing Psalms.
Version on page 171.
Unless the Lord builds up the house.
Its builders toil in vain.
Unless he keeps the city safe.
They vainly watch maintain.
We'll sing the whole of this Psalm.
To God's praise.
Psalm 127.
And we stand to sing.
Amen.
Unless the Lord builds up the house.
It's builders toil in vain.
Unless he keeps the city safe.
They living watch in vain.
In vain you rise before the dawn.
And with our vainly keep.
That you may toil for food to eat.
He gives his love won't sleep.
Sons are a precious heritage.
A blessing from the Lord.
The children that are born to us.
Are truly history, Lord.
Like our rose in a warrior's hand.
Our children of one's youth.
The man who's quivered full of them.
Is blessed by God in truth.
Such men will not be put to shame.
That will not be their fate.
When they contend against their foes.
Who faced them in the gate.
Well, let's turn to our reading in Deuteronomy chapter 6.
We're thinking about the first nine verses of this chapter.
We can read again at verse 4.
And so it goes on.
Normally, when you have a mass walk out in church.
It wouldn't fill you with much enthusiasm.
But today, looking on as the children walked out.
It was great to see and encouraging to see so many of them.
Going out through the various exits.
It's great to see a hunger for parents to bring their children to Sunday school.
To creche and to twinnies.
It's great to see so many people of different ages coming together to worship God.
Because that is the way that we are meant to live as a people.
We are to be a people.
Whatever age and stage we are at in life.
That come and give thanks to God and praise to God for all his goodness to us.
And we often speak in the place which we live as a sense of community.
And in our islands, we do indeed enjoy that blessing of having a real sense of community.
It's something that we hold dear to ourselves.
A sense of belonging.
A sense of knowing that maybe in our greatest times of need.
That there are always people who will come and gather around us and help us in our times of need.
We ask ourselves today, what does it mean to live in a community?
And what kind of community are we?
When we look around ourselves, we see that there are many different types of community that we can belong to.
A community is often seen as a group of people who have a particular interest in mind.
So even around us, we could have such a community as we often would say, a Gaelic community.
We might have a real sense of being a part of a musical community around us.
Many people have these kinds of interests.
We speak about the scientific community and all kinds of different interests that we have.
But you find with these kinds of communities that there's almost an exclusiveness to them.
You have to have an interest in these things or a desire for these things to be part of that community
and to feel a real sense of belonging.
But there's another kind of community that is even more precious to us.
We have all these kinds of communities around us.
But the greatest kind of community that we enjoy and are part of here is to be a community of God's people.
To have that blessing of being together around God's word, young and old alike.
There being a oneness and a bond that exists between us that has its foundation in Christ our Lord.
And to have that desire to bring ourselves together as families, as individuals,
but collectively coming as a community of God's people, praying together,
worshipping together, and seeking God's good on us as a people.
So what kind of community then does God want us to be?
As we come together to worship, we are not to be an exclusive kind of group.
We are not to be accepting only of a certain kind of people.
But we are to be very much an inclusive community.
That we would feel welcome.
That we would feel at home.
That we would feel the presence of a place of peace in our midst
as we gather together to worship God.
Young, old, middle-aged, whatever our background, wherever we're from.
That we would find a real sense of oneness as a community under God's word.
And above all, that we would have God and his word in our midst as a people.
That is what we have here in the book of Deuteronomy.
That's what we have in the passage before us today.
And today as we think of the Sunday school resuming,
as we see so many young ones coming out,
is to think not just that we are a people who,
yes, we are blessed by having young ones and seeing them here.
That we feel also that we are all part of this community together.
And to see our own responsibility towards our young ones
and towards one another.
And our responsibility towards God.
To truly be his community.
And as we look at this passage today,
we see what Moses is instructing the children of Israel.
To be as a community.
And how that they are to live together as one
with God at the heart of their community.
Somebody once said,
what forms and sustains a community
isn't a commitment to community per se,
but a commitment to the word.
So it's not just to feel a commitment to the people around us,
but to have that foundation of a commitment to the word
that gives us that sense of belonging
and that sense of community.
Because as Moses is speaking to the children of Israel here,
he is giving them a warning too.
This is how you are to live.
This is how you will find blessing.
But he gives them a ringing warning in their ears as well.
And you see that in verse 11 and 12.
He's saying there,
when you're going into this land,
remember it's not a city you built yourselves.
It has houses full of all good things
that you did not fill,
and cisterns that you did not dig,
and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant.
There's all of these things.
But he says,
when you eat and are full,
then take care lest you forget the Lord.
The Lord, who he says,
brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of slavery.
Again, we think of our own day,
we have so much.
And that warning rings through in our ears.
Let us be careful that as a community of God's people,
we do not forget the Lord.
So I want us to think of three things
that we have in this passage
that gives us a sense
of the kind of community that we are to be.
The first thing is
that we are to be a listening community.
The second thing is
we are to be a loving community.
And the third thing is
we are to be a living community.
So the first thing is
we are to be a listening community.
How can we obey God's word?
How can we live as God's community
if we do not listen
to what he is saying to us,
if we do not heed the instruction of his word?
So there in verse four,
Moses is saying to the people,
hear, O Israel.
Listen, O Israel,
to what I am saying to you.
This is the beginning of God's dealing with the people
and telling them,
as you go into this land,
this is one of the first things you must do.
You must listen to my word.
Listen to what I am saying to you.
And why is this?
Well, God knows the kind of place
that they are going into.
He knows the land in which they are going into
and he knows the temptations
that there will be around them.
They are going to enter into a land
that already has various kinds of communities.
Communities that have various and many gods.
And as God's children go into this land,
they are going to be confronted
with these other communities.
They are going to hear
what these other communities are saying to them
and to listen to them talking about their gods
and their ways
and the way that they would seek
to move them towards living themselves.
They are going to hear much advice.
And in many ways,
God knows the temptation
is going to be there for them.
To listen to this,
it's going to seem so much better and easier
than the God that they have had
and listened to in the past.
But God is saying to them,
listen,
the Lord,
our God,
the Lord is one.
So they are to listen
to what God is saying.
And as a people today,
the same instruction rings through to ourselves.
How often in your life do you hear advice?
How often in your life are you given instruction
and told that this is what you are to do?
This is how you are to live.
This is what you are to believe.
We're flooded day by day with information.
It comes at us thick and fast.
There's so many voices
trying to vie for our attention,
telling us that this is what we need to hear.
This is what we need to listen to.
It's constant.
But what or who is it
that we are listening to ourselves?
We can easily become stressed
by all that we hear.
Being pulled in so many different
kinds of directions.
And that's the challenges
that the children of Israel were going to face.
That's the temptations
that they were going to be confronted with constantly.
So God is saying to his community,
to his people,
listen first and foremost
to what I am saying.
Listen to my voice.
Hear what I am saying to you.
And that is what we are to do today
ourselves as well.
In the midst of everything,
all the information
that's constantly flowing our way,
we as a people are to listen
to what God is saying to us.
To listen to what his word
is saying to us.
To put our trust in his word.
To put our trust
in his son, Christ Jesus,
who is the word
that became flesh
and dwelt among us.
We have this precious resource
before us
to enable us
as a community,
a community of God's people,
to listen
to what he is saying.
The Psalm,
Psalm 34
that we sung,
it says,
Come here, my children,
gather round
and listen
to my word
and I will help you
understand
how you may fear
the Lord.
There is instruction
there for us
and it is to come
and to listen.
But are you too busy
to listen?
Are you too busy
to be still
for a moment
and listen
to what God
is saying to us?
Even as God's people
we can become so busy
that we don't listen
to what God
is saying to us.
We don't make time
to hear what God
is saying to us.
Charles Swindle
is a famous
Christian writer.
He's written many books.
He wrote a book
called
Stress Fractures.
And in that book
he's speaking
about the busyness
of his own life.
and the effect
it had on him.
And he says
at one point
in that book
that he had
far too many
commitments
in his life.
He was doing
too much.
He was becoming
nervous and tense
about everything.
And this was affecting
his life
at home.
He was saying
I was snapping
at my wife
and her children.
I was choking
down my food
at mealtimes.
Feeling irritated
at those
unexpected interruptions
through the day.
Before long
he says
things around
our home
started to reflect
the pattern
of my life.
That was just
hurry,
hurry.
He says
it was becoming
unbearable.
But then
something happened
that left
an impression
on him.
He says
I distinctly
remember
after supper
one evening
the words
of our younger
daughter
Colleen.
she wanted
to tell me
something
important.
Something that
had happened
to her
in school
that day.
And so
she started
speaking
hurriedly
and she said
Daddy
I want to
tell you
something
and I'll
tell you
really fast.
And suddenly
it dawned
on Charles
Wendell.
He realised
her frustration
that everyone
was in the
household
was becoming
so fast
paced
everything
had to
be rushed.
And he
stopped
and he
answered
and said
to her
honey
you can
tell me
and you
don't have
to tell
me
really fast.
Say it
slowly.
But it was
her response
then that
really hit
home to
him.
She said
then listen
slowly.
Are we
so rushed
in our
life today
that
everything
needs to
be done
quickly.
Even
our
listening
has got
to be
done
quickly
because
we've
got so
many other
things to
do.
Our
listening
to God's
word
our
making
time
for him
it's
becoming
a rush.
As
God's
community
we are
to engage
in listening
to him
and making
time
to listen
to him.
As we
gather
round
God's
word we
find that
he's
talking
to every
one of
us
together
young
and old
all of
us
together
to come
and listen
to what
God is
saying
to us.
Sometimes
we just
have to
heed
that
advice
ourselves
that we
listen
slowly
that we
make
time
for God.
So let
us be
a
listening
community
of God's
people.
Listening
to each
other
listening
to our
children
listening
to young
and old
alike
making
time
for one
another
but above
all
listening
to God
and what
his word
is saying
to us.
The second
thing we see
here is that
we are to be
a loving
community.
So as you
go through
these verses
we find that
following the
first part
which is to
listen and
to hear
what God
is saying
to us
we are also
to be
challenged
by what
we hear.
We are not
just to
hear and
put it
away.
We are to
listen and
seek understanding
in what God
is saying
to us.
And the
challenges
there for us
is that if
we want to
be a
community
of God's
people
we have
to ask
ourselves
well where
is our
heart's
desire
directed.
If we
come to
see that
God is
one and
there is
no other
God
and if
we are
listening to
him
then what
are we
to do
with that?
Well he
goes on
here in
verse 5
to give
us
instruction.
He says
you shall
love the
Lord your
God with
all your
heart and
with all
your soul
and with
all your
might.
And these
words that I
command you
today shall
be on
your heart.
There is
instruction
there for us
we are to
be a
loving
people.
That we
are to
listen to
what God
is saying
to us
but that
we are
also to
put that
into practice
in the sense
of being
affected by
what we are
hearing.
As we
make time
to listen
to God
as we
hear what
he is
saying to
us
as he
opens
our ears
and opens
our heart
what is
that doing
to us?
Is our
heart
becoming
hard?
Are we
pushing
him away?
Or are we
listening and
seeking
understanding
through
prayerfully
approaching
him?
Moses is
saying to
the children
of Israel
here you
shall love
the Lord
your God
with all
your heart.
And the
question for
us is do
we love
the Lord
and especially
do we love
the Lord
with all
our heart?
Somebody
once said
the first
duty of
every soul
is to
find not
its freedom
but its
master.
Not to
find our
freedom
but to
find our
master.
And so
who is it
or what
is it
that you
love most
in this
life?
Who or
what is
the master
the ruler
of your
life?
If we
are to be
a community
of God's
people
if we
are to
listen
to his
word
then we
are to
see that
our love
should be
directed
towards God
first and
foremost.
if we
were to
ask
today
how does
that
congregation
grow in
godliness?
How do we
individually
grow in
godliness?
By listening
and recognizing
that God
is worth
all our
love
and that we
can love
only because
he first
loved us
and gave
himself
for us.
that we
would be
moved by
the love
of God
for us.
To love
him with
all our
heart.
To love
our families.
To love
our community.
To love
our young
people.
To love
our old
people.
That the
love of
God would
transcend
everything
that we
seek to
do for
him.
In the
New
Testament
as Jesus
was teaching
his people
around him
one person
came to
him and
said
teacher
which is
the greatest
commandment
in the
law.
And where
did Jesus
take them
for that
greatest
commandment?
He took
them to
these words
that we
have in
Deuteronomy.
Jesus
said to
him you
shall love
the Lord
your God
with all
your heart
with all
your soul
and with
all your
mind.
This is
the great
and first
commandment
and a
second is
like it.
You shall
love your
neighbor as
yourself.
a loving
community
as the
Lord at
his heart
and in
our heart
and as
we love
the Lord
with all
our heart
that leads
to us
loving our
neighbor as
ourself.
Having a
desire and a
hunger that
our community
be one
but in the
sense that we
would also see
many others
coming into
this community
a belonging
and finding
belonging
in God
and in
his son
Christ
Jesus.
Moses is
telling his
people here
he's instructing
them in
discipleship if
you like.
That's what we
would call it
today.
We disciple
one another.
We disciple
individuals.
We disciple
ourselves
collectively.
He is
speaking to
the community
here in
Moses'
day and
saying disciple
one another.
Love one
another.
Love the
Lord and
do good to
each other.
And so
today he's
instructing us
in the same
way too.
To disciple,
to encourage
one another,
to pray for
one another,
to be there
for one
another.
All of
these things.
It's not
just thinking
biblically but
acting biblically.
He says
here these
are the
commands that
you are to
do.
These are
the things
that you
are to do.
So it's
not just a
case of
simply
listening to
these
commandments.
It's not
just a
case that
you know
these
commandments.
It's not
a case that
you can
recite
these
commandments
or that
even you
accept
these
commandments.
It's
that you
do
these
commandments.
That you
put these
things
into
practice.
Martin
Luther once
said,
a religion
that gives
nothing,
costs
nothing,
and suffers
nothing is
worth
nothing.
So what
is our
community
like?
Is it a
community
that's willing
to give?
Is it a
community that's
willing to
bear a
cost?
Is it a
community that's
willing to
suffer?
Because if
we're not,
we're worth
nothing.
So God's
word challenges
us to do
as he
commands,
to be
a loving
community,
loving the
Lord and
loving our
neighbor.
The final
thing I want
us to take
from this
is that we
are to be
a living
community.
If we are
called to be
a people who
hear these
things,
and if we are
called to be
a people who
love the
Lord with
all our
heart,
we have to
leave it with
this,
what are we
going to
do with
that?
What will
we do
with that?
Surely it's
to make sure
that we are
practicing these
things,
not just on
a Sunday,
not just in
our time of
worship,
not just in
bringing our
children to
Sunday school
and that's
that box
checked for
the week,
but together
actively living
for God,
instructing our
children,
encouraging them,
discipling and
helping one
another,
being in
fellowship with
one another,
worshipping
throughout the
week,
living together
in a sense
of being
active in
every way
we can,
prayerfully,
practically.
We all have
a part to
play,
every one
of us.
It doesn't
matter where
we are in
life,
it doesn't
matter even
if we're not
able to come
out as we
once did.
Maybe there's
those tuning
in online and
you maybe
don't feel
you belong to
this community,
you do,
and you have
an active
part to
play in
this community
as you
pray for
it,
as you
remember
different
people,
as we
all engage
together,
we become
a living
community for
Christ,
showing forth
his love
towards those
around us.
Paul,
as he wrote
to the church
at Philippi,
he instructed
them to live
in this way.
He says in
chapter 4,
verse 8,
finally,
brothers,
whatever is
true,
whatever is
honorable,
whatever is
just,
whatever is
pure,
whatever is
lovely,
whatever is
commendable,
if there is
any excellence,
if there is
anything worthy
of praise,
think about
these things.
And what you
have learned
and received
and heard
and seen
in me,
practice
these things.
Practice
these things.
And he
says the
God of
peace
will be
with you.
That is
a promise
that the
children of
Israel had
from God
here in
Deuteronomy
6.
He says
to them
that it
would go
well
with you.
He speaks
here about
teaching
diligently
the children,
speaking about
these things
as you sit
in your
house,
when you
walk in
the way,
when you
lie down,
when you
rise.
You shall
bind these
words as
signs on
your hand.
There shall
be as
frontlets
between
your eyes.
You shall
write them
in your
doorposts
and in
your gates.
And all
of this
is so
that it
may go
well
with them.
Practice
these things.
That is
what we
are to
do as
a people
as well.
We are
given
these
instructions
as how
we are
to live
for God,
to practice,
to teach,
to talk,
to bind,
to write.
to be
a living
and a
learning
community
together,
a people
who know
God
and love
God,
and show
that in
our practice
in how
we live.
Today it's
encouraging
that the
Sunday school
starts and
to see so
many coming,
but this
isn't just a
message of
how to
parent and
to teach
our children.
This
isn't
Moses giving
instruction
here.
This is how
you deal
with your
young ones
and that's
all.
It's a
whole
community
of God's
people
living
together
as one,
worshipping
together
as one.
Everything
that we
do,
we do
for the
glory
of God.
So may
it be
that we
seek to
do it
all together
for His
glory.
What's
your
greatest
accomplishment
in life?
As you
look back
over your
life,
what's
your
greatest
accomplishment?
It's a
question that
the former
President of
the United
States,
George Bush
Senior,
was asked
once.
And he
had done
many things
in his
life.
There are
many things
that he
could have
maybe said,
well this
is the
greatest
accomplishment
I see
in my
life.
He had
been a
Navy
pilot in
the Second
World War.
He had
been a
vice
president
to
Ronald
Reagan
for eight
years.
He was
president
himself.
He could
have spoken
of his
time as
the head
of the
CIA.
He could
have
mentioned
so many
different
things that
he had
done in
his life.
But you
know what
he answered
when he
was asked
that question,
what is
your
greatest
accomplishment
in life?
He said,
my greatest
accomplishment
is that my
children still
come to
see me.
He had
done all
these things
in his
life,
but it
hadn't
affected the
fact that
his children
could still
come to
speak to
him.
That means
making
time.
And for
ourselves,
what would
be our
greatest
accomplishment?
We can
maybe achieve
so much
in life,
but our
greatest
accomplishment
would surely
be that
we have
time for
our
children,
time for
our
families,
time for
ourselves as
a community
of God's
people,
time for
each other,
but above
all,
time for
God.
That we
don't become
so busy
and so
rushed in
life,
that we
start to
listen to
all the
voices that
are speaking
around us,
that this
is what we
need,
but that we
would listen
to God,
listen to
what he
is saying,
to do as
he commands,
to love
him with
all our
hearts,
and to
live in
fellowship
for him
with one
another,
young,
old,
middle-aged,
that we
would be the
community of
God that
he would
want us
to be,
and to
reflect his
love to
those around
us.
So may
God help
us to be
the community
that he
longs for
his people
to be,
a listening
community,
a loving
community,
and a
living
community
for him.
Let us
pray.
Our
Father in
heaven,
we do
pray that
in our
weaknesses
and in
our
temptations
to listen
to all
the wrong
voices
around us,
that you
will help
us in
our hearts
to love
you and
to listen
to you
and to
live for
you with
all our
being.
Lord,
teach us
your ways
and show
us your
paths,
we pray,
for we
ask it
all in
your
precious
name.
Amen.
We're
going to
conclude by
singing to
God's
praise in
Psalm 133.
Let's
sing
Psalms
version.
Psalm 133,
the sing
Psalms
version on
page 175.
It's
maybe a
familiar
Psalm 2
as it
speaks of
the blessing
that there
is in
unity and
the blessing
that we
seek from
God.
How
excellent a
thing it
is,
how pleasant
and how
good,
when
brothers
dwell in
unity and
live as
brothers
should.
we'll
sing the
whole
of the
Psalm
to
God's
praise and
we stand
to sing.
How
excellent
a
thing
it
is,
how
pleasant
and
how
good,
when
brothers
dwell in
unity and
live as
brothers
should.
For it is
like the
precious
heart,
for
the
heart,
the
hero's
head,
that
running
over
down
his
fear,
upon
his
color
spread,
like
care,
most
view,
upon
the
hill,
hold
high
on
it
he
stands,
the
Lord
bestows
his
blessing
there,
the
light
of
life
that
never
ends.
If you
allow me a
moment to go to the main door after the benediction, we'll close with the benediction.
Now may grace, mercy and peace from God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest upon and abide with you all now and forevermore. Amen.
Thank you.