25 verses 1 to 6 from the Scottish Psalter.
O come, let us sing to the Lord. Come, let us everyone a joyful noise make to the rock of our salvation.
Let us before his presence come with praise and thankful voice.
Let us sing psalms to him with grace and make a joyful noise.
For God, a great God and great King, above all gods he is,
depths of the earth are in his hand, the strength of hills is his.
To him the spacious sea belongs, for he the same did make.
The dry land also from his hands its form at first did take.
O come and let us worship him, let us bow down with all.
And on our knees before the Lord, our maker, let us fall.
Verses 1 to 6, Psalm 95. O come, let us sing to the Lord.
O come, let us sing to the Lord. Come, let us everyone.
And on our knees before the Lord, our maker, let us sing to the Lord.
itions across the Lord, our maker, let us sing to the Wu's Awée.
for His presence
God
with great
and thankful
voice.
Let us
take down
to Him
with grace
and make
a joyful
noise.
For God
our
great
God
and great
King
how
all
God
He is
Heaps
of the
earth
are in
His hand
the strength
of
wilt
this
is
to
Him
that
spacious
need
d task
to
king
and
uth
The dry land also from His hands
is for the worshiping.
O come and let us worship Him,
let us burn out with all.
And honor He before the Lord,
our maker, let us call.
Let us bow in prayer.
Lord, as we gather before you this evening,
we pray for grace that we may worship you in a right way.
We give thanks for this opportunity of offering praise
and thanksgiving to you.
Indeed, we have been created to praise.
Glory is the world of eternal praise.
And when you put a new song in our mouth here,
it is the beginning of that praise
that will go on forever and ever.
And so we pray, O Lord,
that our hearts might be stirred up
to offer that praise to you.
We give thanks for the song
that we just sang just now.
We give thanks, Lord,
for the way we sang it,
the heartiness of it.
And that is how it should always be
when we seek to praise and magnify our Lord,
because you are worthy of all praise and honor and glory.
We pray that it might be an integral part of our lives,
day in, day out,
because there is always a reason to praise thee,
even when things might be difficult in our own lives
and when we might be facing heartache
and pain and sorrow and difficulties.
while these things in and of themselves are hard
and there is nothing praiseworthy in these things,
you are always worthy of praise.
And so we pray that whatever our situation,
we may lift up our hearts to you
and that we might acknowledge you
as God of heaven and earth
and that we might praise you with all our heart
and that we will give this sense of adoration
and commitment that we belong to you.
We give thanks for all your wonderful promises
that are in the word
and we pray that we might have this spirit of thanksgiving
about us at all times,
that we might remember that you have been gracious to us
and that you have dealt with us
not according to our deserving.
You have dealt with us by your steadfast love
you have dealt with us in ways
that are often beyond our understanding
or comprehension.
But we give thanks, Lord, for your patience with us
because there are so many times
it would have been right for you to cast us off
but you've stuck with us.
Your love is unchanging
because you are unchanging in your nature.
And so we give thanks tonight
for that unchanging love
and we give thanks, Lord,
for the way that you draw us to yourself,
that you give us a heart for yourself.
We have to confess, Lord,
there was a day when we didn't have that
and even if there was a sense of
maybe of ascribing something to you,
we didn't understand,
we weren't aware,
we were too caught up with ourselves
but when you set your love upon us
that changed
and we began to see things in a different way.
And so we give thanks, Lord,
for delivering us from a fearful pit and mighty clay
and setting our feet upon a rock,
establishing our way
and putting a new song in our mouth.
And we pray that we will continue to sing
that new song every day and every night
and that you'll help us as we journey
through this world.
Bless this congregation, we pray.
Bless our homes, our families
and all whom we love.
We pray to bless all who serve you.
We pray for all the office bearers.
We pray for all those who work
in so many ways behind the scene.
We pray, Lord, for our church officers.
We pray for cleaners.
We pray, Lord, for those who work
with the young people.
Lord, we give thanks for them.
We remember the 55 plus fellowship as well.
We remember, oh Lord,
all our young people
as they grow up in a very challenging
and a very difficult day.
We pray, Lord, to protect them
and to keep them.
Grant wisdom to parents
and wisdom to leaders
who are teaching them in the right way.
What a wonderful opportunity that is given.
And we pray that the seed that is sown
in the early days of their life
may indeed bear fruit
that you will keep them
from the evil that abounds in this world,
the temptations which are many,
and that you will watch over them.
Lord, our God, we pray for those
who love you and serve you
in places of influence and prominence
throughout our communities
and indeed throughout our land.
We give thanks, Lord,
for every voice that is raised
on your behalf
and for every testimony that is born
speaking of you.
We give thanks, Lord,
for the wonderful way
that the gospel is spread
and so often we don't hear about it.
Every so often we get little glimpses
that even in this country of ours
when so often we see it
as simply as in darkness.
Yet so often there are pockets here
and there are pockets there
and where maybe the media
doesn't in any way reflect
maybe how many actually
are seeking you
and how many have a desire
or a heart for you.
Oh, Lord, grant us your grace
as we wait upon you.
Help us, Lord,
to grow more like you day by day.
Forgive us for what we are
in and of ourselves.
Forgive us, Lord,
for the sympathy that we have with sin.
Forgive us, Lord,
for maybe how unkind
we can be to one another
by our actions
and by our words.
Lord, we pray that
we may have a heart
for one another,
that the love of Jesus Christ
may be evident in our lives,
that we may care for one another.
So often it's said of Jesus
that he was moved with compassion.
We pray that we might have
something of our Savior's compassion
in this world that we live in
where it is difficult.
Lord, we pray
as we face challenges
with financial restraints
and with the cost of living crisis,
we ask, Lord,
that you will help
and that you will grant wisdom
to those who lead us,
those in authority over us.
We are commanded to pray
for kings
and for those in authority over us.
It is our duty
and so we pray for our king,
for the royal family.
We pray for those who lead us
in Westminster,
in Holyrood,
and locally here in the council.
Lord, grant them wisdom from above
and even for those
who don't look to you,
we pray that you will move them
in the right way
because the king's heart
is in the hand of the Lord
and he will move it
in whichever way he pleases
because it is yours to do
according to your will
with the armies of heaven
and with the inhabitants of the earth.
It is up to you, Lord,
to raise one up
and to cast another down.
You are the God
who can change the times
and the seasons.
Help us, Lord,
to have an insight
and a sense of who you are
in our life.
May our focus
always be upon you.
And so we give thanks then
for this evening
as we seek to
individually
and personally
and collectively
give thanks to you
for all that you do for us.
You do so much.
We have so much
to be thankful for.
We give thanks
for the community
that we live in,
the community
that we were brought up in.
We give thanks, Lord,
for,
although it's not as it was,
there is still
gospel influence here.
We give thanks
and we pray
that it might always be so.
We pray to encourage
the ministers here.
We pray for
Mr. McKeever
and Mr. Smith, Lord.
We pray to bless them
and wives and families, Lord.
We commit to your care
and keeping.
We give thanks, Lord,
for bringing
Calamurdu here
and Joan.
Lord, we pray
that you'll bless them.
Watch over us now,
we pray,
and as you brought them here,
we pray for the
congregation of North U.S.
O Lord,
we ask that
it might please you
to direct them
in a way
where you will lead
a pastor to them
because
their loss
is great,
whereas
as so often happens
when one moves,
then,
although we are
pleased,
it leaves
our congregation
empty.
So we pray for them.
Watch over us,
we pray,
and do us good,
cleansing us
from our every sin
in Jesus' name.
Amen.
We're going to sing again.
Is it 23 or 139?
139.
I couldn't remember.
We're going to sing
in Psalm 139A
and sing Psalms.
Psalm 139A
verses 13 to 16.
Psalm 139A
and sing Psalms.
And we're going to sing
from verse 13
to verse 16.
For you, O Lord,
created me,
you wove me
on your loom,
my inmost being
you have formed
within my mother's womb.
because I'm wonderfully made
with all your praise
I'll tell.
Your workmanship
is marvelous
and this I know
full well.
When in the secret place
my frame
was made
before my birth,
you saw my body
yet unformed
within the depths
of earth.
And all the days
that I should live
which you ordained
for me
were written
in your book,
O Lord,
before they came
to be.
Verses 13 to 16
of Psalm 139A
that's on page 181.
For you, O Lord,
created me.
Amen.
For you, O Lord,
created me,
you wove me
on your loom.
I am, O Lord,
in you,
that part
within my brotherhood.
Because I'm wonderfully
with all your praise
I tell.
Your workmanship
is marvelous
and this I know
Thank you, COVID-19.
To solve my body evermore
Within the depths of earth
And all the days that I should live
With you are made for me
Were written in your book, O Lord
Before they came to me
We're going to read now in the book of Psalms
Two Psalms, first of all in Psalm 145
And then in Psalm 100
First of all in the book of Psalms
In Psalm 145
I will extol you, my God and King
And bless your name forever and ever
Every day I will bless you
And praise your name forever and ever
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised
And his greatness is unsearchable
One generation shall commend your works to another
And shall declare your mighty acts
On the glorious splendor of your majesty
And on your wondrous works
I will meditate
They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds
And I will declare your greatness
They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
And shall sing aloud of your righteousness
The Lord is gracious and merciful
Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love
The Lord is good to all
And his mercy is over all that he has made
All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord
And all your saints shall bless you
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
And tell of your power
To make known to the children of man
Your mighty deeds
And the glorious splendor of your kingdom
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom
And your dominion endures throughout all generations
The Lord is faithful in all his words
And kind in all his works
The Lord upholds all who are falling
And raises up all who are bowed down
The eyes of all look to you
And you give them their food in due season
You open your hand
And you satisfy the desire of every living thing
The Lord is righteous in all his ways
And kind in all his works
The Lord is near to all who call on him
To all who call on him in truth
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him
He also hears their cry and saves them
The Lord preserves all who love him
But the wicked he will destroy
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord
And let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever
Then we turn to Psalm 100
And we're going to look at this Psalm after we sing
Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise to the Lord
All the earth
Serve the Lord with gladness
Come into his presence with singing
Know that the Lord, he is God
It is he who made us
And we are his
We are his people
And the sheep of his pasture
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
And his courts with praise
Give thanks to him
Bless his name
For the Lord is good
His steadfast love endures forever
And his faithfulness to all generations
Amen and may God bless to us
These readings of his holy word
We're going to sing again in Psalm 23
This is in Sing Psalm
Psalm 23
The whole psalm
Page 28 in the psalm book
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd
No want shall I know
He makes me 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 way
In straight paths of righteousness
Making me stay
And this he has done
His great name to display
Though I walk in death's valley
Where darkness is near
Because you are with me
No evil I'll fear
Your rod and your staff
Bring me comfort and cheer
In the sight of my enemies
A table you spread
The oil of rejoicing
You pour on my head
My cup overflows
And I'm graciously fed
So surely your covenant
Mercy and grace
Will follow me closely
In all of my ways
I will dwell
In the house of the Lord
All my days
The whole psalm
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd
No want shall I know
He makes me lie down
Where the green pastures grow
He leads me to rest
Where the calm waters flow
He leads me to rest
Where the calm waters flow
By wandering steps
He brings back to his way
In shape of righteousness
Making me stay
And this he has done
His great name to display
And this he has done
His great name to display
Though I walk in Dex Valley
Where darkness is near
Because you are with me
No evil and fear
Your rod and your staff
Bring me comfort and cheer
Your rod and your staff
Bring me comfort and cheer
In the sight of my enemies
The table you spread
The oil of rejoicing
Here pour on my hands
My cup overflows
And I'm graciously fed
My cup overflows
And I'm graciously fed
So surely your covenant
And mercy and grace
Will follow me closely
In all of my ways
I will dwell in the house
Of the Lord Almighty
I will dwell in the house
Of the Lord Almighty
Let's turn again to our second reading
Psalm 100
Just reflect for a little
On this psalm
Just read at the beginning
I won't read the whole psalm again
Make a joyful noise
To the Lord all the earth
Serve the Lord with gladness
Come into his presence
With singing
And so on
Now we know that
Thanksgiving
Is an essential part of life
People who don't give thanks
Just even in a general way
Just in life in itself
Are by and large
I would say fairly unhappy people
Because giving thanks
Is something that really is spontaneous
From a heart
That appreciates
And a heart
That responds
To life in general
So if you find somebody
Who is incapable
Or rarely gives thanks
You say to yourself
Well there's something wrong
With this person
It would almost look like
This person is fairly unhappy
And certainly for a Christian
Not to be giving thanks
Is almost a contradiction
Because it's part and partial
Of our Christian life
And you cannot read the scriptures
You can't
Particularly you can't
Go through the Psalms
Without being made aware
Of thanksgiving
And praise
Really being at the very heart
It's at the very heart
Of the Psalter
And so it would be very difficult
For a Christian
To be somebody
Who is not a person
Who is given to praise
And given to thanksgiving
Of course our time of thanksgiving
Is a very important part
Of our Christian calendar
It has been for years and years
We used to call it
The harvest thanksgiving
And rightly so
Because I suppose
Back in the day
Most people were involved
At one level or another
With
Even if it was only
A few
Crops
And of
Whether it was
Hay
Or barley
Or whatever
But most people
Had something
Or planted something
Or grew something
And so the harvest
Thanksgiving
Was a very
Very important part
Because there was
An acknowledging
That God is the God
Of the seasons
God said that
There would always be
Seed time
And harvest time
And so
It is important
That we
Do give God
The thanks
That is due to his name
Because we know
That he is ultimately
The God of the seasons
So
Thanksgiving
And it is right
That we always have
This period of
Thanksgiving
Every year
Now this psalm
As we see
Psalm 100
Is a psalm
That is bursting
With praise
And thanksgiving
And in a sense
It is almost fitting
That it is
Psalm 100
Because
100 in a sense
Is a standout number
Whenever you get
100
It is always something
That stops you
Whether it is
Like for instance
In cricket
And they talk about
Somebody getting
A century of runs
And they
They count out
How many centuries
He made
Or
We
When somebody reaches
100 years of age
It is a landmark time
And there is
Well it was
Up until very recently
A card
With a message
Came from the queen
Now it is
It is the king
So
100 is always recognised
When you go through
The bible
You will often see
100 as a
Very special number
And it is only fitting
That Psalm 100
Is this psalm
That is just
Filled
It is bursting
With praise
And thanksgiving
To God
And we find
The title
If you have it
It is an ESV
You have it
It says at the top of it
His steadfast love
Endures forever
And what a wonderful
Thought that is
God's steadfast love
Endures forever
And even if there was
No other statement
Made
Other than
The title that we have
Over that
That would be
A reason itself
For praise
And thanksgiving
Tonight
But then we see
Below that
It says
A psalm
For giving thanks
So that is what
What this
Particular psalm
Is here tonight
And it begins
By showing us
Ways of being
Thankful to the Lord
It says
Make a joyful noise
To the Lord
Serve the Lord
With gladness
And come into
His presence
With singing
So to make
A joyful noise
In a sense
This is making
A public confession
It is
It's almost like
A royal fanfare
It's a declaration
Before God
That he is God
Of heaven and earth
And that he is
Worthy of honour
And praise
And glory
In fact
You'll often find
In the Psalms
There's a
A cry
A call
For us
To
Worship God
Making a noise
Now the singing
Tonight
Was really
Beautiful
And
So it should be
Because
It's God
We're praising
And I know
That everybody
Hasn't been blessed
With the best voice
Some people
Have been blessed
With great voices
Other people
Haven't
I know some people
And they long
To get to glory
One man in particular
Very much used
By the Lord
Was the late
Kenny MacDonald
And he couldn't
Sing at all
And he would say
You know this
I can't wait
To get to glory
Where I'll be able
To express
To praise God
Because
It's something
I can't do here
I haven't
Just don't have
A singing voice
So
But we can still
Do it with our heart
And we do
Praise God
With our heart
As well
Even if we can
But
So often
In the Bible
It talks about
Giving
Visible
And audible
Expression
To God
For instance
In Psalm 47
It says
Clap your hands
All peoples
Shout to God
With loud songs
Now
I know our
Culture is different
I'm sure we would
Get a shock
If we started
Actually
Doing that
Just now
And making these
Shouts
And clap
But the idea
We find
So often
In scripture
Is that
God is somebody
Who is worthy
Of praise
And honour
And when you
Look round
In this world
And you see
So many people
Who are calling
Out their rights
And people
Who are shouting
About this
And shouting
About that
They do shout
They do make
A noise
And so often
The church
Is just
It's almost
Like a wee
Whisper
You look at
Football matches
And the singing
And terracing
And the shouting
And yet
And so often
When we
Maybe come
To worship God
Might only be
A whisper
Or
A poor
Sound
Now
Don't get me wrong
I'm not saying
That's how
It is here
But it can be
And as I say
I thank the Lord
Tonight
For the
The lovely
The lovely singing
So it's important
Make a joy
Joyful noise
To the
To the Lord
All the earth
And then
It says in verse 2
Serve the Lord
With gladness
And you know
This is the most
Incredible privilege
That you and I
Have been given
Because all of us
In here tonight
If you love the Lord
You are in service
To the Lord
And the Lord
Will always give you
Something to do
And sometimes
We need a little bit
Of pushing into
That service
But we should all
Be involved
In serving the Lord
And here he is
The creator
Of heaven
And earth
And he has us
As his servants
Here in this world
Because you think about it
The Lord didn't send
The Lord doesn't send
Angels down from heaven
To preach
Or to lead the singing
Or to open churches
Or to do the Sunday school
Or to teach people
Or to witness
Or to help
Or to be missionaries
It's not angels
He sent
It's us
Uses us
And so
We've always got to
Remember that
The witnessing
The telling
Of people
Telling people
About Jesus Christ
It's our responsibility
It's our duty
It's our
Work
To serve
And so
We're told here
That we are to
Serve the Lord
With
What does it say
Serve the Lord
With gladness
And so
When we come in
To service with the Lord
When we come to serve
When we come to
Worship the Lord
We need to have
Gladness in our heart
And I think
There's quite a responsibility
Upon us
Because
Sometimes we can
Come into church
Going through all kinds
Of do
We can come in with
And we do
With all our issues
With all our baggage
With all that's been going on
Throughout the day
Or throughout the week
And that's important as well
That we come with these things
And bring them before the Lord
But there comes a specific time
When our focus
Is upon the Lord
And we must put aside
All these other things
And focus upon Him
And give Him
This worship
And this service
That is due to His name
But
Whatever we're doing
For the Lord
Make sure that we do
Our service
With gladness
Because the Lord
Sees our attitude
He sees how we serve
He sees the spirit
That we have
In our service
He sees whether we do it
Willingly
Or grudgingly
Whether we do it gladly
Or whether it's just
A burden to us
You know
If
If you're out for a meal
And
The waiter or waitress
Is sort of
Really grumpy
And kind of
Throwing the food at you
I don't mean
Like throwing the food
But throwing the plates down
And
It's like
Everything is a
It's a burden
And you just
You can see
This person
Just does not want
To be here
And their whole
Demeanor
And everything about it
Is just
In fact
It
Spoils the meal
Because the actual
Service that you can
That you can get
Can either be
An uplifting experience
Or else
It can put you down
And how much more
With regard to
Our service
To the king of glory
Because
We're serving
Every single Christian
All of you
You're serving the lord
Wherever he has put you
And whether it's
In a big thing
Or in a little thing
You're still serving
So you make sure
That your service
Is done
With
Gladness
Because that's what
That is
That's what is
Required of it
Of us
That our heart
Is in it
And that we are
To come
Into his presence
With singing
And again
This involves
Like our whole being
Where we're giving
We're giving to the lord
A sense of
Our adoration
To him
Of we're paying
As it were
Like homage to him
And as we go back
To verse 1
Where it says
Make a joyful noise
To the lord
We're saying
All people
We know how it goes
In the psalm
In the metrics
All people
That on earth
To dwell
Sing to the lord
With cheerful voice
It's like
It's like the whole world
Is
They're making a claim
On
Who god is
And so
We have to
Give
Voice
In our praise
And then verse 3
It says
Know
That the lord
He is god
Yes we give thanks
And we do so joyfully
But we also do it
Intelligently
In other words
We know
Who we're
Singing to
We know who we're
Praising
We know who we're
Giving thanks to
We're not doing this
Kind of blindly
We know
Who this god is
And tonight
We give him thanks
For who he is
In himself
For his glory
His majesty
His authority
His dominion
His rule
His government
We give thanks
To god
For all that
He is in himself
And all that
He's done for us
For answering
Our prayers
For his grace
For his mercy
For his pardon
His forgiveness
His peace
His love
His joy
Just so much
That he gives us
And so
When we
When we come
Worshiping the lord
That's what it says
We know the lord
We know who
We're worshipping
Many
Don't worship god
Because they don't know
I'm sure many people
Wonder why are they
Going
Why are they going
To church during the week
What's it all about
Well if they knew god
They would join us
But it's because
They don't know
Who god is
They've never come
To grasp
Who he is
If they did
If they had the same
Understanding
And knowledge
Of who god is
Then it would be different
They would
They would join
With us
And that's what
What we do
We worship
A god we know
Remember how
Paul in Athens
He came across
People who are
Worshipping the
Unknown god
None of us
Tonight
Are worshipping
The unknown god
We know
Who we worship
And then it says
Know that the lord
He is god
It is he who
Made us
And we
Are his
Now Isaiah
Terms that
We are the work
Of his hands
And when you think
About it
The awesome
Skill
And the intricate
Minuteness
That went into
The creation
Of us
When you think
That from the dust
To the ground
That god took
And he made
He formed
When you think
Of the
Skeletal structure
That we are
And we think
Of all the
The
The different
Whether it's
The respiratory
System
Or the pulmonary
System
Or the reproductive
System
Or the nervous
System
And all the joints
And all the tendons
And all the muscles
And this awesome
Brain
Who just
Just beyond
Any mind
The comprehension
To comprehend
Just what it is
And it's from the
Dust to the ground
When you think
Of the wisdom
And the planning
And the power
That went in
To the creation
And then
In the creating
Of the woman
From the man
Taking the rib
And built
And fashioned
And shaped
And brought together
And that's
That's what
It's telling us
Here
Know that the
Lord he is God
It is he
Who has made us
And we are his
And it's little
Wonder that the
Psalmist
Was saying
We are fearfully
And wonderfully
Made
But as we know
Tragically
Despite the wonder
Of what God did
It wasn't enough
Remember how
Adam and Eve
What God
Did for them
What God
Made them
What God
Provided for them
It still wasn't
Enough
They wanted more
And it's still
The same today
And we know
The result
Of where
Everything
Beautiful
That was made
Was smashed
Not only did God
Make us
Brilliantly
Physically
And mentally
But he also
Morally
And spiritually
And knowledge
Righteousness
And holiness
And bang
The fall
Shattered
Everything
Not only
Ourselves
But the
Whole
Creation
The whole
Creation
Is groaning
Everything
That's why
There's tsunamis
And earthquakes
And floods
And droughts
And everything
The fall
Impacted
Everything
Altogether
But you
God
Didn't give
Up on us
God
Came after
Us
And right
From the
Very dawn
Of history
We find
God's
Promises
Running
Right
Through the
Word
Because God
Had a purpose
In all that
He did
And his love
His patience
His foreknowledge
He worked
It all
And so we
Are his
Twice over
We were his
First of all
In the
Original creation
And then we
Are his again
Through Jesus
Christ
Because Jesus
Is termed
The redeemer
And a redeemer's
Work is to buy
Back
What once
Belonged
That's what
Jesus has done
He has bought
Us
Back
To God
Bought us
And brought us
Paid the price
And brought us
Back to God
So we
Are his
So here's
A great cause
For thanksgiving
Here's this love
That
Absolutely
Refused
To give up
So we
Are his
It is
He who made us
And we are his
We are his people
And the sheep
Of his pasture
You know
It's one of the
Great themes
Of the Bible
Is that
We are
God's sheep
Right through
The Old Testament
God was termed
Israel's shepherd
In the New Testament
Jesus is termed
The good shepherd
The great shepherd
And the chief shepherd
And he is the shepherd
Who cares
And tends
And looks after
And provides
The shepherd
Who has never lost
A sheep
Or a lamb
Ever
And so
We are
His people
Now
I think maybe
We've said this before
But in
In the parts
Where we
Belong
With the parts
Where we live
So often
Maybe with more
And more
People moving in
From
Out with
But it used to be such
That when you would
Meet somebody
Maybe for the first time
People would ask
Who are your people?
So that question
Has been asked
Of you
Throughout your life
At some time
Who are your people?
When somebody's trying
To work out who you are
Now who are your people?
And rightly or wrongly
When they maybe work out
Who your people are
They make a judgment
Of an assessment
Of who you are
Whether it's a right assessment
Or a wrong assessment
But your people
Come into play
As they look
At you
And
We can apply that
Spiritually as well
Because
We are God's people
We belong
To God
And you know
How
The characteristics
And mannerisms
Run through families
You see it in people
Quite often
We say
Oh it's in their people
Whether it might be a wit
It might be
People who are really clever
Traits of character
Oh it's in the people
We often say that
Well we apply that
Spiritually
And it should be true
Of every Christian
It's in the people
What's in the people?
Christ likeness
We should be
Ressembling Jesus
More and more
Every year
Because
He is
Our saviour
He is
Our shepherd
He is at work
Within us
He's moulding us
And he's shaping us
And he's changing us
Every day
Every week
Every month
Every year
So that we
Become more
And more
Like him
And
That's
What the Lord
Is doing
And although
This is a wonderful thing
It says
We are his people
You know
God has made everything
In this world
We're told that
That everything that was made
Was made by him
But out of
Everything in the whole
Wide world
And everyone
In the whole wide world
There is only one
Group
That he's
Has a special
Claim upon
And that's you and me
His people
Out of everything in the world
He doesn't say that about
Anything else
His people
Are his portion
Nothing else
The end of the day
Nothing else counts
This is all
That counts
That's not a reason
For pride
It's not a reason
For taking any
Glory to ourselves
In fact
It's the very opposite
That should be
The most humbling thing
And yet
Which should
Fire us up
With a great sense
Of thanksgiving
And awe
And wonder
That the God
Of heaven and earth
Has set his love
Upon you and me
Out of all the people
Of the world
And you
Are his special
People
His special
Portion
And he takes glory
To his own name
In you
It's a humbling
It's quite an extraordinary thing
And then
It says here
We are his people
And the sheep
Of his pasture
The sheep
Of his pasture
And that's what
We sang there
In Psalm 23
That
How we lie down
In green pastures
You and I know
That there are
Certain times
The sheep
Will not lie down
Sheep won't lie down
If they're scared
If they're afraid
Sheep won't lie down
If they're hungry
You can't get a hungry
Sheep to lie down
Do you know
If you want to see
This picture of contentment
That Psalm 23
Paints for us
And it's such a beautiful
Picture of the sheep
By the still water
And the green pasture
It's a picture
Of absolute contentment
That only
Well watered
Well fed sheep
Will give you
And that's
What it's talking about here
It's his pasture
He has provided
For us
This pasture land
And where is it?
Well it's here
His word
It's here
Where we come together
That's why God's house
Is a special place
Because God
Meets with us
And he gives us
Of his food
And
Remember this
The world
Has not one
Thing
For your soul
Nothing
Zero
You will never get
Anything in this world
That will
Nourish
Or fill
Your soul
There's things in this world
Which might be good
For the body
And such like
And good for the mind
But there's nothing
For the soul
It is through
The word
Through the feeding
Through the teaching
Through the work
Of God's spirit
Touching our hearts
And so
He's given us
This lavish feeding
And if we're struggling
If we're empty
If we're hungry
The fault is not
With a shepherd
It's not with a pasture
Because a beautiful
Pasture land
It's rich
It's luscious
There's everything
You could want
In it
So we're hungry
Then there's something
Wrong with us
Not with a shepherd
Not with the pasture land
It can only be with us
So we need to ask
The Lord
Lord help me
Help me to appreciate
The feeding
You've given
Help me to
Enjoy it
Help me to be
Nourished by it
Help me to be
Strengthened by it
Help me to be
Built up by it
Thank him for this
And then finally
Just in a word
We see the invitation
That is given
Enter his gates
With thanksgiving
And his courts
With praise
You know
It's quite wonderful
When you see
Enter his gates
With thanksgiving
And his courts
With praise
It would bring you
Back into the Old Testament
And to the temple
And to the courts
That are there
And to God's house
And you know
One of the wonderful
Things is
That when we
Think back
There was one
Special place
Within the temple
Which was
The most holy place
Or the holy of holies
It was the one place
Nobody could get to
Apart from the high priest
Once a year
But remember
When Jesus
Cried out
It is finished
The veil of the temple
Was torn in two
And now there is
Immediate access
Into his presence
And that's where
We're invited
Ushered in
Through
Through the door
Through into
The presence
Of the king
And that's a wonder
Wonder and glory
Of it
Give thanks to him
Bless his name
For the lord is good
His steadfast love
Endures forever
Isn't that wonderful
See that word
Steadfast
It means that it
Cannot be moved
It is absolutely
It's a rock
Of fixedness
And that's who
God's love
Is to you
And also notice
It also finishes
By saying
His faithfulness
To all
Generations
It's not great
All generations
And you look back
And you look at
The faithfulness
Of God
To Noah
And to Abraham
And to Isaac
And to Jacob
And to Joseph
And to Moses
And to David
And to Daniel
To John
And to Paul
And so on
Right down to you
Throughout the generations
And he will continue
His faithfulness
Will continue
Throughout all generations
So tonight
May we seek
To praise the lord
And give him thanks
Because sometimes
You know
We get used to it
Don't we
There are times
We get used
To what we have
We've lost
The sense of wonder
That we should have
Remember how it first was
When you
First came
To see the lord
To appreciate
What he had done
When you first
Took a wee taste
In the pasture land
When you first
Laid hold upon
The fact that
You were his
That he had made you
The wonder of it
The newness of it
But sometimes
The years cause
That to fade
They shouldn't
It shouldn't
It should be the reverse
We should in fact
Be praising him
More and more
And more
For what he has done
For us
Let us pray
Lord our God
We give thanks
For our time together
Where we were able
To think about
Why we should be
Praising and thanking you
And there is no end
For our reason
To praise and thank
It's what we will be doing
Throughout an endless eternity
It is
Indeed what we see
That
The
The saints
In glory
Are praising the lamb
Worthy as a lamb
To receive honour
And glory
And praise
And as we journey
Through this world
We pray
And the closer we get
To the land
Of eternal praise
We pray
That praise
Might become
More and more
Part
Of what we are about
Bless us
And we pray
Bless us Lord
Those who mourn
Those who are sad
And despite the fact
That we do think
Tonight
Of praise
And thanksgiving
We do know Lord
That while you require
This of us
You are the God
Who understands
Our weaknesses
You are the God
Who is able to
Bind up the broken hearted
And so we give thanks
Lord
Even for that
Do us good then
And take us to our home
Safely
And cleanse us
From our every sin
In Jesus name
We ask it
Amen
We are going to conclude
Singing in Psalm
72
Psalm 72
There are so many
Psalms that we could have
Sung in conclusion
Could have sung this Psalm
Itself
Psalm 100
But of course
This is one that
We are all so familiar with
It is a Psalm
That is absolutely
Bursting
Full of praise
His name forever
From verse 17
The last three verses
Of Psalm 72
Page 314
In the Scottish Psalter
His name forever
Shall endure
Last like the sun
It shall
Men shall be blessed
In him
And blessed
All nations
Shall him call
Now blessed be
The Lord our God
The God of Israel
For he alone
Doth wondrous works
In glory
That excel
And blessed be
His glorious name
To all eternity
The whole earth
Let his glory fill
Amen
So let it be
17 to the end
Psalm 72
His name forever
Amen
His name forever
Shall endure
Past like the sun
It shall
Men shall be blessed
In heaven
And then
All nations
Shall him call
Now blessed be
The Lord our God
The God of Israel
For he alone
The wondrous works
In glory
The Lord our God
And blessed be
His glorious name
And blessed be
His glorious name
To all eternity
The Lord our God
And blessed be
The Lord our God
And blessed be
The Lord our God
And blessed be
The Lord our God
And blessed be
Amen
So let it be
Now may the grace, mercy, and peace
Of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Rest and abide upon each one of you
Now and forevermore
Amen
Trailed
Amen
Thank you.