Well, we're going to begin our worship by singing to God's praise.
We're going to sing in Psalm 34, verse 7 to 11, the Sing Psalms version.
I'm going to sing from verse 7 to 11.
The angel of the Lord surrounds and guards continually all those who fear and honour him.
He sets his people free.
And then verse 11, it reminds us of what we come together for today.
Come here, my children, gather round and listen to my word, and I will help you understand how you may fear the Lord.
So we're going to sing, we'll stand to sing verse 7 to 11 to God's praise.
The angel of the Lord surrounds and guards continually
All those who fear and honour him, he sets his people free.
Come, taste and see the Lord is good, who trusts in him, is blessed.
Oh, 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 lack any good.
Come here, my children, gather round and listen to my word,
And I will help you understand how you may fear the Lord.
I will join together in prayer just now.
Let us pray.
Our Father in heaven, as we gather in your name today,
We are thankful for this great privilege that we have,
That we are able to come and sing praise to you,
That we are able to come and hear you and your words speaking to us.
And as we read and as we sing and as we do all of these things,
May we know your peace and your blessing over us,
And your help and your strength in all that we do.
We do thank you for this time of family service after a holiday club week.
We thank you for all that was done during the week,
And we have so much to be thankful for,
For all who helped, for all who came along,
For all that was done.
But above all, Lord, that you were with us,
That you were in the midst of it all.
And we pray that you will bless us,
Young and old alike,
To know that joy that you are able to give.
To know that as we see so many athletes in these weeks,
Just now of the Olympics in Paris,
Striving for a gold medal,
But so many are left disappointed.
We thank you that when we come and follow you,
That you never leave us disappointed,
But that you give us that sense of real joy,
Your real presence with us,
And that we are encouraged to look to Jesus,
And follow you with all of our hearts.
And so we give you thanks, O Lord,
For all your goodness to us,
And we ask that as we go on,
Even in this week ahead,
That you will be with us in our homes,
And in our families,
In our communities.
Bless every family here,
Present,
And also tuning in online.
We give you thanks for each one,
And know that there are many going through different needs,
And different challenges at this time.
And so we pray for each one who needs you in different ways,
Times of sadness and sorrow,
Times of sickness,
Times of worry and anxiety.
We do pray, Lord,
For so many who go through these times just now,
And pray that your blessing,
Your peace might be upon them.
And so we ask, Lord,
That as we continue to worship you just now,
That you will guide us in your word,
Guide us in your truth,
Help it to be a light for our lives,
That we would see you and your glory,
The beauty of Jesus,
And that we would come and follow him,
With all of our hearts.
So look down upon us,
Bless us throughout this day,
Be with us,
As we gather for worship this evening as well.
Remember, Kenny I,
As he comes to preach to us,
Pull them and strengthen him in that,
And that throughout this day and in all our days,
We would know your goodness and mercy following us.
So hear our prayers,
And continue with us at this time,
Pardoning all our sin,
As we ask all in Jesus' precious name.
Amen.
I want us to read a few verses together.
Now if you're at the holiday club,
You'll recognize these verses.
It's in Luke chapter 6,
And we're reading at verse 46 to verse 49.
You'll find this on page 3,
Of the little leaflets you have.
I'm just going to read these few verses together.
Why do you call me Lord, Lord,
And not do what I tell you?
Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them,
I will show you what he is like.
He is like a man building a house,
Who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.
And when a flood arose,
The stream broke against that house,
And could not shake it,
Because it had been well built.
But the one who hears and does not do them,
Is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation.
When the stream broke against it,
Immediately it fell,
And the ruin of that house was great.
There we read of the wise and the foolish builder.
And we're going to come back to that in a wee moment.
But I want to say just a few words as a way of introduction just now.
And after this we're going to have a singing.
And if any of the younger ones who maybe want to go to the holiday twinnies,
That's the point that they can go out then.
But we hope that being a family service,
That the majority will be able to stay in.
So who was following the Olympics this week?
Were you tuning in?
Following what was happening?
I don't mean the one in Paris.
I mean the Champions Challenge Olympic Holiday Club
That was taking place here.
With everything that was happening in the hall next door.
We had a great week together.
Doing so many different things.
We had many different events.
We had many different athletes on show.
Some looking more athletic than others.
But a great variety.
And we had crafts and games.
We had medal hunts and drama.
But above all we had,
The central thing was Jesus.
And hearing all about Jesus.
What he has done for us.
And what he does for us.
And every day the different theme was based on Jesus.
And Jesus as a coach.
Jesus as a first aider.
There was a teammate.
There was a substitute.
And then on the Friday we had the champion.
So we're looking at Jesus in all of these different ways.
Now the Paris Olympics, they're still going on.
But in another week they'll come to a close.
And when the Olympics come to a close,
They have a big closing ceremony.
And so today is a little like a closing ceremony.
For our Olympics.
For our week of Olympics.
But I don't want us to be sad.
As things come to an end this week.
I want us to be happy.
Happy about all that we did and all that we heard.
And there was a story we heard on Friday.
About a man called Eric Liddell.
Now he won Olympic gold in Paris.
But it wasn't this week.
It was a hundred years ago.
Back in 1924.
I'm sure many people here are familiar with the film
Chariots of Fire.
Based on the story of Eric Liddell.
And the amazing thing about him was,
He was a Christian who honoured God.
He put God first in everything he did.
So the event he wanted to be in, he wasn't.
And yet he still won gold in the 400 metres.
And it's amazing that a hundred years later,
We're still talking about him.
And thinking about what he did.
How he stood up for his faith.
And I hope that's what it will be like for ourselves
As we come away from our holiday club.
That in years to come,
We will speak about all that we've learned and heard and seen this week.
And go on giving praise and glory to God.
And sharing about the good news of Jesus.
And today we're going to look at some of the highlights of the week.
We're going to look at some of the things,
The passages that we were looking at.
And some of the themes that we were thinking about.
But they're all based around our memory verse.
Now, look up to me just now for a minute.
Who remembers the memory verse?
Do you want to say it with me?
Shall we say it together?
So everybody can hear what we were learning.
Right, let's go.
If anyone would come after me.
He will deny himself.
Take up his cross.
And follow me.
Excellent.
23.
Brilliant.
All remembered.
And there's no words up on the screen anywhere to help you there.
So, well remembered.
That's the verse that was our memory verse for the week.
And as we were going through the week,
the word of God was always central to everything that we were doing.
So we think of the Olympics,
and they have the Olympic flame burning for the whole time
that the Olympics is going on.
That's the way it was for us with God's word.
It was like the word of God was the light in the midst of everything that we were doing.
And there's a psalm that tells us about that.
It's Psalm 119 and verse 105.
It says,
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a lamp to my path.
Do you remember what the craft was on Monday, anybody?
What did we do on Monday?
The torch, wasn't it?
The Olympic torch.
Well, look what I've got here.
Do you remember seeing this during the week?
Yeah?
Well, the rest of people here who weren't at the holiday club wouldn't have seen this.
This is an Olympic torch.
And on the top of it is where the fire goes.
So this is a real Olympic torch.
And we think of that, it's the fire that keeps burning.
And we want to think of Jesus as that fire, that light to the world that keeps burning.
We were singing one of the songs, and it was,
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning.
And that's what we were looking at during the week.
And we were so thankful that as Jesus was with us during the week,
He was keeping us going and keeping us looking to His word and encouraging us through it.
All around that sense of following Jesus, denying ourselves, and following Him.
And so we're going to look at three different things to help us understand what that means.
But before we do, we're going to sing.
We're going to think about three things.
Listen, look, and live.
That's the three things we're going to look at today.
But before we come to the first one, we're going to sing Psalm 145.
Again, let's sing Psalm's version, Psalm 145.
And we'll sing from verse 15 to 21.
And as I say, during this singing, if any of the younger ones would like to go out to tweenies,
you can do so during this singing.
All eyes are raised expectantly to you, and in due season you supply their food.
You open wide your hand to all that live and satisfy their needs with what is good.
We'll sing from verse 15 to 21 to God's praise.
All eyes are raised expectantly to you, and in due season you supply their food.
You open wide your hand to all that live and satisfy their needs with what is good.
The Lord is just and good in all his ways.
He shows his love to all that he has made.
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call in through to him for aid.
The hopes of those who fear him he fulfills.
He hears their cry, saves them from distress.
The Lord protects all those who love his name.
But slays all those who practice wickedness.
My lips will frame a psalm of thanks to God.
My mouth will speak forever in his praise.
Let every creature magnify the Lord.
And praise his holy name now and always.
Amen.
Well, I want us to think about our first part this morning together.
We're thinking of listening.
Listening on Monday, we're thinking about the coach and how we have to listen to the coach.
That's the first part of what we're looking at together today, the idea of listening.
And this is based on that reading that we had together in Luke chapter 6, the one who built
his house upon the rock and the one who built his house upon the sand, the ground without
foundation.
Now, a good number of years ago in Glasgow, there was a preacher who was preaching at Glasgow
Green.
Glasgow Green is a big park in Glasgow and it's quite near to the river there, the river Clyde.
And he was preaching about the gospel, about Jesus.
And after he'd finished preaching, there was a man in the crowd who stood up and wanted to speak.
And so they let him speak.
And what he started to say was that he didn't believe anything that the preacher had said.
He was saying, I don't believe in heaven.
I don't believe in judgment.
I don't believe in anything of these things.
It's not true.
And I don't believe in God, he said.
I've never seen him.
I can't believe in God.
And then he sat down.
And then another man got up.
And he started to speak.
And he started to speak in a funny way.
He said, I don't believe that there's a river near here.
I've never seen it.
I don't believe that it's there.
And he said, you tell me that there are trees and grass all around us here.
I don't believe it.
I've never seen them.
And he said, you see that there are people all around me here.
There's a large crowd.
I said, I don't believe it.
And he said, you maybe wonder how I can say these things or why I'm saying these things.
You must think that I'm daft.
But then he went on to say, you know why I can say these things?
It's because I'm blind.
I can't see anything with my eyes.
But he said, but I know God.
And I know that God is real.
And looking at the first man who had spoken, he said to him, you cannot see him because you're spiritually blind.
But he said, there is a God.
And you need him.
Who of these two men would you listen to?
There was one who was wise.
And there was one who was foolish.
Well, that's exactly what Jesus is speaking about here as he speaks about these two men.
One who built his house upon the rock and one who built his house upon the ground with no foundation.
He was speaking to a large crowd here.
And as he was speaking, he was speaking to them in this way that they were to listen to what he was saying.
But he was saying, you call me Lord, Lord, and yet you don't listen.
And this week when we were thinking of Jesus as the coach, we needed to listen to Jesus as the coach.
But these people were saying like, yes, coach, yes, coach.
But they weren't doing anything that they were being told.
And so he describes it in this way.
He uses the illustration of these two builders.
And the question behind it all is, are we listening to Jesus today?
Are we listening to what he says?
One of these builders was wise.
Where did he build his house?
What did he build it on?
Do you remember what we were thinking about during the week?
Where did the wise man build his house?
Upon the rock, wasn't it?
And where did the foolish man, silly Billy as we was called, where did he build his house?
On the sand.
So who was wise?
Who was foolish?
He was wise, wasn't he?
One built upon the rock.
He was wise.
Because as Jesus describes here, when the flood came, the only house that stood was the one that was built on the rock.
The one that was built on the sand just got washed away.
And the Bible often speaks about wise and foolish people.
In Psalm 14, for example, in verse 1, it says there,
The fool says in his heart, what?
There is no God.
Like that man at Glasgow Green who stood up to say that, I can't believe in God.
I've never seen him.
He's a fool.
That's what the Bible says.
The fool says in his heart, there is no God.
But the wise, we build our house upon the rock.
The rock, that is Jesus.
We listen to the coach.
And in Ephesians chapter 5, it says,
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time.
That's encouraging us to listen to Jesus, make the best use of the time.
So it's so important for us that as we come to worship God and to learn about him,
that we do that first and foremost, that we listen to what he is saying.
As Jesus says here,
You call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I tell you.
It's like listening to the coach and just going and doing your own thing.
It's foolish.
But let's be wise and listen to the coach.
Listen to Jesus.
Listen to what he's saying to us as he says,
Come and follow me.
Deny yourself.
Take up your cross and follow me.
So are we listening to the coach?
Are we listening to Jesus today?
That's the first thing that we're thinking about, that we were thinking about during the week.
Well, to help us further look at this, we want to think about what he does for us.
And we want to read again.
We're going to read our next reading, which is in Luke chapter 23.
And this is at verse 39 to verse 47.
There's so many different parts that we could read for what Jesus has done for us.
So many things that we thought about during the week.
But I think the best place to read about Jesus and what he has done for us
is to think about Jesus at the cross.
And so we're thinking of him here in verse 39.
Here Jesus has been put on the cross to die for his people.
And either side of them, there's two criminals who are also being put to death.
And in verse 39, it says,
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying,
Are you not the Christ?
Save yourself and us.
But the other rebuked him, saying,
Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds.
But this man has done nothing wrong.
And he said,
Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
And he said to him,
Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.
And we read on,
It was now about the sixth hour,
and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,
while the sun's light failed.
And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said,
Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.
And having said this, he breathed his last.
Now, when the centurion saw what had taken place,
he praised God, saying,
Certainly, this man was innocent.
Well, we want to think about Jesus now and what he has done for us.
And in this way, we're thinking about looking to Jesus.
We want to listen to him first of all,
but now we want to look and see what he has done for us.
When Jesus was in this world,
so many people saw him.
So many people saw him doing amazing things.
And during the week, we were thinking of some of them.
As we look through the Bible,
you see many different things that Jesus did for his people.
As we had the sporting theme this week,
we were thinking of people who get injured in sport,
and they need the first aider to come on and to help them.
And we saw a story of how Jesus healed a Roman centurion's servant
who was unwell.
Jesus did amazing things.
We heard how Jesus fed more than 5,000 people in one sitting.
And it was an amazing miracle that happened there.
And there are so many other accounts of what Jesus did for people
in different places, how he healed, how he helped,
how he did amazing things.
But what so often amazed people was the things that he said.
His teaching, his preaching.
People marveled at it.
They saw these words that he was saying.
They were thinking, this is astonishing.
This is amazing, the things that he is telling us.
And he was telling them about what he had come to do to help them.
We see us all as sinners as we are,
but he came to help us.
Our greatest injury is sin.
But he has come to help us.
And the most amazing place to look and see what Jesus has done for us
and how much he loved us is this place where we read of Jesus on the cross
as he died for our sins.
And so many people were looking on and seeing Jesus on the cross.
And on either side of him were these two criminals.
And one looked at him and mocked.
He was joking at Jesus, saying things like,
if you are the Christ, save yourself and us.
He didn't realize who he was.
He didn't understand who he was.
But the other looked and pleaded with him.
He saw that this man was innocent.
He's done nothing wrong.
And then he said these amazing words.
Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
Amazing words from that criminal.
Remember me.
And even more amazing is what Jesus said to him.
Truly I say to you today,
you will be with me in paradise.
In the midst of the darkness of the cross,
we are reminded of why Jesus came.
He came to save.
He is our substitute.
He went in our place.
What we couldn't do ourselves,
he did for us.
He died on the cross.
That for all who believe in him,
we might have life through him.
A little boy once came to his father
and jumped up on his knee and sat on his knee.
And he asked him a question.
He said to him,
Dad, is your soul insured?
Now, what's your soul, first of all?
Well, your soul is our life,
our very being.
It's something we can't see,
but it's what keeps us alive.
What God has given to us all,
the breath of life,
is like our soul.
It makes us understand and think
and live and breathe.
God has given us a soul.
And insurance is something you put in place
so that if anything happens,
you're not left without.
So if you crash your car,
for example,
you don't lose out if you're insured.
You get your money back
because it's insured.
And so this is what was troubling this little boy.
He came to his father and says,
Dad, is your soul insured?
And his father asked,
Where's this question come from?
Why do you ask that question?
And the boy said,
Well, I heard Uncle John speaking
and he was saying that you have your house insured,
that you have all your barns insured,
that you have your life insured,
but he was worried
that you didn't have your soul insured.
And he was afraid that you would lose it.
And the father was shocked
because he had a big house.
He had lots of land and barns.
He had all of these things.
He had insurance to look after his family
if anything happened to him.
But the one thing that was most needed
was his soul to be insured.
And it wasn't
because he didn't trust in Jesus.
And through that little boy asking that question,
he began to think about this.
What was important in life?
What was the most precious thing?
It wasn't his barns and his land and his house.
It was his soul.
And he began to realize,
Jesus is the only insurance I need.
And so he put his trust in Jesus.
And as we look at the cross,
we see how Jesus is our insurance,
how he is our guarantee,
how because he died on the cross,
he was our substitute there.
And if we put our trust in him,
our soul,
our life is safe
for now
and for eternity.
Another little story.
There was a little girl
who was very unwell.
And she had a very serious illness
that meant that she needed to get
a blood transfusion.
That's her own blood wasn't healthy,
so she needed other blood
put into her body.
But it couldn't just be any blood.
It needed to be a particular kind of blood.
It needed to be from someone
who had had this illness before
and who had recovered.
And it needed to be the same type of blood
as hers.
And she had a little brother.
A brother who had had the same illness
and who had the same blood as her.
And so the doctor came and sat with the little boy
and said,
your sister's not well
and we need your blood to help her.
And he asked,
will you give her your blood?
And the little boy nearly started crying.
He was sitting there
thinking about this question.
Will you give your sister your blood?
And then he said,
yes.
I'll give my sister my blood
if it'll make her better.
And so they were taken into the operating room
and they were both put on beds
beside each other.
And they looked at each other.
The little girl was weak and frail.
The boy was strong and healthy.
And the boy smiled at his sister.
And as the nurse then started to take blood
from the little boy,
his smile started to disappear.
And he started to look quite sad.
And after a little while,
when it was nearly done,
he asked the doctor a question.
He said,
Doctor,
when do I die?
And the doctor realized then
that he hadn't explained fully
what giving blood meant.
It was only to give blood
to help his sister.
Not that he would die.
But he thought
by giving his blood to his sister,
he would die himself.
And the amazing thing is,
he was willing to do it.
Because his sister
was so precious to him.
Well, the little boy
didn't die.
They both survived
and lived.
But when we look
at the cross,
when we think of Jesus
there on the cross,
he gave
his blood
for us.
He died
for us.
We needed
a substitute.
And he was the only one
who could come
in our place.
And he gave
his life
for us.
Isn't that amazing?
That he would do that
for you
and for me.
So there was
the sad bit.
When we think of
Jesus
dying
on the cross.
But
it doesn't
end there.
And we want
to just think about
one more thing.
And we want to read
again
together
in Luke
chapter 24.
The next
chapter along.
you find
this on
page 6
and 7.
We're reading
two different
parts
of it.
It's all
about the
story of
the two
on the road
to Emmaus.
An amazing
story.
But we'll just
read a part
of it.
So this is
after
Jesus
had been
put to
death.
It's the
third day.
And people
have started
talking about
Jesus.
That he
is risen.
But then
we come
alongside
these two
on the road
to Emmaus.
That very
day two
of them
were going
to a
village
named
Emmaus
about
seven
miles
from
Jerusalem.
And they
were talking
with each
other about
all these
things that
had happened.
While they
were talking
and discussing
together
Jesus himself
drew near
and went
with them.
But their
eyes were
kept from
recognizing him.
Then we
jump to
verse 28.
So they
drew near
to the
village to
which they
were going.
He acted
as if he
was going
further.
But they
urged him
strongly saying
stay with
us for
it is
toward evening
and the
day is
now far
spent.
So he
went in
to stay
with them.
When he
was at
the table
with them
he took
the bread
and blessed
and broke
it and gave
it to
them.
And their
eyes were
opened and
they recognized
him and he
vanished from
their sight.
They said
to each
other,
did not
our hearts
burn within
us while
he talked
to us on
the road,
while he
opened to
us the
scriptures?
And they
rose that
same hour
and returned
to Jerusalem.
And they
found the
eleven and
those who
were with
them gathered
together saying
the Lord
has risen
indeed and
he has
appeared to
Simon.
Then they
told what
had happened
on the road
and how
he was
known to
them in
the breaking
of bread.
An amazing
story of
how Jesus
came and
appeared to
these two
on the road
to Emmaus.
Now after
the cross,
after Jesus
died, his
body was
placed in
a tomb.
But on the
third day,
there was no
sign of
his body.
Those who
had followed
Jesus, they
were heart
broken.
Jesus died
on the
cross.
But that
wasn't the
end.
You see, they
hadn't listened
properly to
all that
Jesus had
said.
If they
had listened,
they would
have known
that he
died, we
would die,
but that on
the third
day, he
would rise
again.
What's the
biggest surprise
you've ever
had?
Maybe you
walk into a
room and you
see a
spider.
You get a
surprise, you're
frightened, you
get a shock.
It could be
a shock
result in
athletics or
football or
something like
that.
It leaves you
surprised.
Does anybody
remember this
from Friday?
Second place,
that's what I
got in a
two-man race.
Do you
remember who
beat me?
Anybody
remember who
beat me?
Kenny
I.
Embarrassing,
isn't it?
The right
shock, that.
Just the
two of us
in a race
and he
won.
I mean, my
goodness, come
on.
You get all
kinds of
surprises in
life.
But when we
think about
those who
followed Jesus,
those who
loved Jesus,
when they
thought that
he had died,
the greatest
surprise that
they got was
that Jesus
was alive.
They thought
he had died,
but he was
risen.
And so
they met
him in
different
places.
And it's
highlighted for
us in this
story of two
people traveling
on the road
from Jerusalem
to Emmaus.
They were
heartbroken.
They were
downcast.
They thought
their hope
had gone.
And they
start speaking
with a stranger
as it was
who came
alongside them,
telling him
everything that
had happened
in Jerusalem
and how it
was the third
day and how
they had hoped
that he had
come to save
his people.
And their
hope was
gone.
They were
just so
heartbroken.
But then
Jesus started
to speak to
them.
He started
to open up
the word
to them.
And he
showed them
everything about
the scriptures
in the Old
Testament that
was telling
them about
Jesus and
how he had
to come.
And what
happened to
them?
Instead of
being heartbroken,
they come to
the point where
their heart is
burning.
within them.
They're so
excited.
They're filled
with joy.
Jesus is
alive.
He is
risen.
And we
need to
tell others
about this.
It's an
amazing thing.
And so they
run back.
They run back
to tell their
friends,
we have seen
Jesus.
He is alive.
And they
say, we
know.
He's up
here to
Simon as
well.
And they
were rejoicing.
They were so
glad.
They'd
gone from
being almost
downcast,
beaten,
to being
upbeat and
full of
joy.
There's been
so many
amazing races
in the
Olympics this
week, so
many amazing
events.
Maybe you
saw this
week the
winner of
the men's
triathlon.
He was a
British man
called
Alec E.
And close
to the end
of the
race, he'd
done his
swim, he'd
done his
cycle, and
now he was
doing the
running part
of the race.
He was in
second place
and he was
starting.
He was
really struggling.
He was
finding it
hard going.
And instead
of thinking,
could he get
first, people
started to
wonder, would
he even get
second?
Because he
seemed to
be just
getting slower
and people
were catching
up with him.
But he
didn't give
up.
And he
was saying
afterwards, I
wanted to
cross the
finish line
knowing I'd
given a
hundred
percent.
So he
started to
push himself.
And then he
heard somebody
shouting in
the crowd at
the side, a
man called
Alan Brownlee.
Alan Brownlee,
when the Olympics
were in London
12 years ago,
he won the
gold in the
very same
event.
And he
heard this
man, he
saw this
man shouting
at him, and
he was saying,
keep going,
anything can
happen.
And if
you saw
the race,
you saw
how suddenly
he almost
just started
running faster
and faster.
He went
past the
man who
was in
first place
at that
point, and
he just
seemed to
get ahead
and ahead
and ahead.
And he
went on
to win
gold.
He was
encouraged.
He was
strengthened.
And that's
what God's
word does
for us.
It reminds
us that yes,
there is
sadness and
sorrow that
Jesus had to
die for
our sin.
But there
is also
great joy
that he
has risen.
And in
a book of
the Bible
called
Hebrews,
it says
this,
Hebrews
chapter 12,
verse 1,
therefore,
since we
are surrounded
by so
great a
cloud of
witnesses,
let us
lay aside
every weight
and sin
which clings
so closely
and let us
run with
endurance the
race that
is set
before us,
looking to
Jesus,
the founder
and perfecter
of our
faith,
who for
the joy
that was
set before
him endured
the cross,
despising the
shame,
and is
seated at
the right
hand of
the throne
of God.
Jesus
encouraged
these two
on the road
to Emmaus.
And we
are surrounded
by people
who encourage
us along
the way
in this
race.
And so
as we
think about
coming away
from our
Olympic week,
let us
encourage
one another.
Let us
see Jesus
as the
champion,
the one
we need
to believe
in with
all our
hearts.
Our memory
verse said,
if anyone
would come
after me,
let him
deny himself,
take up
his cross
daily,
and follow
me.
Wouldn't
be great
if all
of us
go away
from this
week
following
Jesus,
rejoicing,
not heartbroken,
but with
burning hearts,
rejoicing in
Jesus,
and telling
others about
Jesus,
so that the
day will
come when
Jesus will
reward us
all with
the gold
medal,
with the
crown,
for following
him with
all our
heart.
another of
our songs
that we
sang
reminded us
that we
are blessed.
I'm so
blessed,
the song
says,
when I
have you,
Lord.
So let's
come away,
let us
close our
ceremony
today,
let's close
with joy,
because
Jesus is
risen,
he is
our champion,
let us
listen to
him,
let us
look at
what he's
done for
us,
and let
us live
for him
every day.
Let us
pray.
Our
Father in
heaven,
we do give
you thanks
for all that
you have
done for
us,
and how
you speak
to us,
and help
us as we
go from
here today,
to live
for you
with all
our hearts,
as we look
for your
help and
your strength,
your encouragement
in all of
these things,
we ask in
your precious
name,
Amen.
We're going
to conclude
by singing
to God's
praise in
Psalm 146,
we're going
to sing from
verse 1 to
verse 6,
it's the
Scottish
Psalter
version,
I'll just
check with
the percent,
I've got two
different,
Scottish
Psalter,
you've got
music,
let's sing
Psalms,
so it's
the Scottish
Psalter on
one thing
and the
sing
Psalms on
the other,
I think
we'd better
go with
what the
presenter has,
so the
presenter has
sing
Psalms,
sorry for
that,
so we'll
sing,
it's Psalm
146,
the sing
Psalms,
I think
it's the
Scottish
Psalter that's
on the
booklet,
but it's
the sing
Psalms the
presenter has,
so we'll
use that,
praise the
Lord my
soul,
O praise
him,
I'll extol
him all
my days,
while I
live to
God my
Saviour from
my heart,
I will
sing praise,
we'll sing
these verses
to God's
praise,
praise the
Lord my
soul,
O praise
him,
I'll
extol
him all
my days,
while I
live to
God my
Saviour,
from my
heart I
will sing
praise,
do not
put your
trust in
princes,
mortal men
who cannot
save,
all their
plans will
come to
nothing,
when they
perish in
the grave,
blessed is
the one
who truly
looks for
help to
Jacob's
God,
blessed is
the one
who places
all his
hope upon
the Lord,
he who
made the
earth and
heaven,
and the
seas with
all their
store,
he who
keeps his
every promise,
through his
faithful
evermore.
After the
benediction,
I'll go to
the main
door,
I think the
children can
go out this
door to my
left here,
and hopefully
as many as
possible can
come through
next door for
a cup of tea
and to see
and hear a
little bit more
from the
children as
to what was
happening in
the holiday
club.
We'll close
just now 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 forever
more.
Amen.