Thank you, Callum. It's good to be back with you again on the Lord's Day.
We'll begin our time of worship and before we sing, we'll read some words from Isaiah chapter 55.
Isaiah chapter 55. And at the beginning of the chapter, we hear that gospel call.
Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And he who has no money, come buy and eat.
Come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which
is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me and eat what
is good and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear and come to me. Hear that your soul may live.
Let's worship God and sing to his praise. We sing from Psalm 51, the traditional version of the Psalm,
page 281 in the books. Psalm 51. And we sing from verse 7 through to verse 13.
Do thy with hyssop sprinkle me, I shall be cleansed so. Ye wash thou me, and then I shall be whiter than the snow.
And as we think about that prayer that's answered in Christ, we remember today the cost at which the
cleansing for our souls came. And we rejoice in the salvation that is gifted to us as we come to Jesus.
So, Psalm 51, verses 7 to 13. And we'll stand to sing to God's praise.
Psalm 52, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing,
Thank you.
Let's unite our hearts in prayer once more. Let's pray.
Let's pray.
presence of God. We thank you for the call that we so often turn to in the psalm that says,
be still and know that I am God and I am with you. So we pray, Lord, that we would know that
sense of your presence with us this morning as we come together in worship, as we gather together
around the Lord's table. We thank you that we do so as sinners who are turning unto thee,
we come as sinners who recognize that we cannot save ourselves, but there is a Savior in Christ.
And Father, we thank you for sending your Son, the Lord Jesus, into this world,
for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. Lord Jesus, we thank you for coming into this
world to live for us that perfect, sinless life that none of us have or could ever live. We thank you
for the righteousness that is so amazingly seen as we look to Jesus and as we read of Jesus in the
Gospels. And even as we see the character and the wonder of Christ prophesied in the Old Testament,
we see a perfect, sinless, spotless life. We see pure righteousness.
Jesus is the image of the invisible God. And we thank you that our calling is to fix our eyes upon him.
So enable us to do that, we pray, Holy Spirit, we ask that you would help us.
We confess that we are so easily distracted. Our minds are so cluttered with many of the things of
this world. And we pray that you would help us, Holy Spirit, to lift our eyes from ground level to the
hills and to the one who made the hills, the God of heaven and earth. And we pray that this day,
we would be once more amazed by the grace of Jesus, God's riches poured out upon us at Christ's expense.
As we draw near to the cross, once more we ask, Lord, that we would see the wonder of the verse that tells us
that he who knew no sin became sin for us, so that we, through him, may become the righteousness of God.
And what a wondrous thought that is. Give us faith, we pray, that we may grasp it more fully,
that as we confess our sin, that as we confess our sin, it is transferred to Jesus, who made an end on it,
on the cross. And as we believe in him, we become righteous in and through him, the great exchange.
Help us, Lord, to see, to believe, to grasp, and to worship you with great joy,
as we see all that you have done for us in Christ. So help us, Lord, we pray,
as we seek to worship you. We thank you for those who are coming to the table for the first time
this morning. We pray for Delina and the Gaelic, as we pray for Rory John and all who gather there,
that they would know your presence and help, as we pray for that also here.
And we pray also for Martin. And we ask, Lord, that you would bless him. We thank you that,
as a young man, he has professed that his faith is in Jesus. And we ask, Lord, that you would help him,
not only as he sits at the table today, but as he rises from the table, as he goes back to school,
as he's amongst his friends. We ask that he and each one of us who profess Christ would be salt
and light, wherever you put us. So hear our prayers. Guide us and lead us in worship. Take away
our sin, we pray. We have confessed it in the psalm, as we have taken upon our lips that psalm of
repentance. And as again, Lord, we confess our sin in the quietness of our own hearts. We pray that you
would cleanse us in the blood of Christ, that you would give us the assurance of the pardon that is
ours in Jesus. And that you would give us the joy of knowing peace with God and the promise of
resurrection life. Even as we rise from the table, we do so remembering that we do this only until Jesus
comes. And this day, and every Lord's day we are given, we are reminded of the fact that our Savior
lives and one day will return. And we pray that we would be found ready. Hear our prayers go before
us, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.
It's good to see and hear one or two boys and girls here. I'm scanning the church to see where I can see
them, but I think you've all been elevated to the upper levels. The chances of you speaking to me
from over there are quite slim. Unless Ali Moli's son's here, and he'll certainly speak to me from
whatever angle he might be. So I thought I would just show you something today. And boys and girls,
you might need your binoculars. But can you tell me, what's this? It's on my hand. I take it off.
What's that? Can you see it? Anyone brave enough to shout out?
He must not be in the service, is he? It's a ring, for those of you who can't see. And it's a ring
that is on a, I've only got one piece of jewelry in my whole body. It's the only piece of jewelry I've
ever worn in my life. And it's a ring, and I wear it on this finger. And when I'm wearing a ring on this
finger, like everyone else who wears a ring on this finger, it tells you something. What does it tell
you? Well, it tells you that I'm married. So back in Harris, my wife, Mary, is over there. And I've
got three girls, Anna and Grace and Lois. But this ring is something that, it tells you that I'm married.
Now, boys and girls, if I take this ring off my finger, and I put it now in my pocket, does
that mean that I'm not married anymore? Well, no. I'm still married. It's not the ring that
makes me married. It's just a sign. It's a sign that tells other people that I'm married,
and it's a sign, you could say, that helps me to remember. If I would never dare forget.
But it helps me to remember on Valentine's Day that I'm married, and I better go out and
buy a card and chocolates or whatever. So the ring is not the thing that makes me married.
It's a sign, and it's a reminder of the fact that I'm married. And boys and girls, the thing
that you see today that's different from most Sundays is that there is a table down at the
front here. And on the table, there's bread and there's wine. And the bread reminds us of
the body of Jesus. He gave himself for us. And the wine reminds us of the blood of Jesus.
It takes us to the cross, where we remember that Jesus, he bled and he died to take our sin away.
And when we eat the bread, and when we drink the wine, we're saying that we're Christians.
See, everybody who takes the bread and takes the wine today, they are saying as they take it,
I'm a Christian.
Now, is it the eating of the bread and the drinking of the wine that makes them Christians? No, it's not.
These things are just signs. And they point us to Jesus. And when we come and we sit at the table,
as this is called, and we take the bread and we take the wine, we're saying, Lord Jesus, I trust in you.
We're saying that to Jesus. But we're saying to the people around who are watching,
I'm not ashamed to say that I'm trusting Jesus. I'm a sinner who is trusting Jesus as my Savior.
One last thing before you go away to Sunday school. What do you think Mary would say if I went home
or if I moved to a new place on the mainland? And I said, I'll tell you what, Mary, I do love you,
but I'm going to take the wedding ring off. And I think from now on, we should keep our marriage a secret.
Even though I love you, I tell you what, I don't want anybody to know about you.
And I don't want anyone to know that we love each other and that we're married. Will that be okay?
What do you think she would say? I think she would say a whole lot.
I don't think she would be very pleased if I was going to say, I'm not brave enough.
I'm a bit ashamed to say that I'm married to you. That's not okay.
If we love each other, we wear the ring.
And we tell people that we're married.
And if we are trusting Jesus,
if we love Jesus,
if he's taken our sin away,
if we are his people,
it's not okay to not come to the table.
We must hear what Jesus says.
And he says, do this
to remember me.
Do this.
Take the bread, take the wine,
sit at the table
to tell people that you love me
and that you're trusting me.
And so that's what we do
as we come to the table today.
So let's pray again just for a moment.
Lord Jesus, we thank you that you love us.
We thank you that we can trust you.
We thank you that you went to the cross
to take our sin away.
And that the bread reminds us of your body
that you gave for us.
And the wine reminds us of the blood
that was shed to take away our sin.
We ask, Lord, that every one of us
would be trusting you.
That our sins would be washed away.
And we pray that if there's anybody here
who is trusting you,
but isn't yet telling anybody
that they're trusting you,
we pray that even today
that would change
and that they would want to come
and tell people
that they are Christians.
Be with the boys and girls.
Help them as they go to Sunday school.
Open their minds and their hearts
that they would remember their creator
and that they would trust Jesus
as their saviour
in the days of their youth.
Bless them, we pray.
And we ask all this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
We're going to sing again
to God's praise.
And we'll sing this time
from the Sing Psalms version
of Psalm 23.
Psalm 23.
And that is on page 28
of the book.
And notice what we're saying
in that psalm.
We're saying,
we're saying the Lord
is my shepherd.
Not just that he's the shepherd,
but we're saying the Lord
is my shepherd.
And so we'll sing
this psalm.
Psalm 23,
the whole psalm
to God's praise.
Amen.
έ έ έ
By wandering steps he brings back to his way,
in straight paths of righteousness making me stay,
unless he has done his great name to display.
Though I walk with death's honey where darkness is near,
because you are with me no evil I fear,
your wrath and your suffering be comfort and cheer.
And the sight of my enemies at table you spread,
the oil of rejoicing you pour on my head,
my cup overflows and ungracious regret.
O jury, 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.
If you could turn with me now please to Matthew chapter 11,
page 984 on the Bible here.
Matthew chapter 11 and just a short reading,
as we had last night also from verse 25 to the end of the chapter.
At that time Jesus declared,
I thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding
and revealed them to little children.
Yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father,
and no one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son,
and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy,
and my burden is light.
Amen.
May God bless that reading of his word to us.
We'll sing again now to God's praise from Psalm 62.
Sing Psalm 62, page number 80 in the book.
We sing from verse 5 to verse 12 of the psalm.
Find rest, my soul, in God alone.
In him my hope is ever sure.
My safety fortress, sheltering rock.
In him alone I am secure.
Down to the end of the psalm.
Psalm 62, verses 5 to 12.
To God's praise.
Amen.
If you could turn back please to the passage that we read in Matthew 11.
Amen.
Our Heavenly Father we thank you that we find rest in God alone.
We thank you that our hope is in Christ.
Amen.
And so we ask Lord that as we come back to the word as we hear again this invitation, this call that comes from Jesus to come to him.
We ask Lord that we would find rest, that we would know the sure and certain hope that comes from being found in him.
Amen.
So help us Lord we pray as we meditate upon your word and what we pray for ourselves here.
We pray for Rory John as he leads in the Gaelic.
We pray for the children again as they go to their Sunday school class.
We pray for many denominations around us in this town who gather around your word as we do at this time.
And we ask Lord that whatever Christ crucified is preached that you would be working, that Jesus would be lifted up and that many would be drawn to him.
So help us we pray in Jesus name.
Amen.
We pray for the έ voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy voy
and vibrations in our phone that's calling us to respond to all manner of things that come across our way.
There are many calls that we receive from many different places and people.
But what I'd like to do this morning in the time that we have is return to the verses that we have been in over the course of the weekend
and the verses that we looked at yesterday evening.
And in these verses, we hear the call of God upon us, the words of Jesus, the words of God the Son.
And he says,
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
And I really want to just limit our thoughts this morning to verse 28.
And think about this call, this verse, under four headings.
We hear, first of all, in this verse, a universal call or an inclusive call.
An all-inclusive call, you could say.
That's the first thing that we'll think about.
The second point that's connected to the first point is that this is a call.
It's a call to, it's a call for sinners to respond.
It's a universal, inclusive call, point one.
It's a call for sinners.
And these two points fit together because we're all sinners.
So it's for all of us.
The third point is it's a call to come to Christ.
We're given clear direction on who we are to come to, how we are to respond.
We come directly to Christ.
And the final thing that we see in this verse is that it's a call to rest.
It's a call to receive rest.
So four very simple points that speak to us about the wonder of the gospel message,
which is deep enough for every theological professor that ever lived to delve down into
and never get to the bottom of.
And yet it's simple enough for the youngest amongst us here to be able to take hold of
and respond to.
It's a call for the very young as it is a call for those who are up in years and who may be
mature in the faith.
So first point in the message this morning is this is a universal call or it's an inclusive
call.
Sometimes people criticize Christianity for being exclusive.
There's nothing exclusive about the call that we have heard.
This is a universal.
It's a wide.
It's an all inclusive call.
This is a call for everyone.
Everyone who has been given ears to hear is being called through this verse.
Jesus says, come to me all who are weary, who labor and are heavy laden.
Not just the respectable.
Not just the clean living.
Not just those who can trace a family heritage of church connections.
This is a call for all.
Sometimes we get offers through the post or on an email and it's something that grabs us.
You know, maybe we see an offer for a free holiday or 20% off new trainers or whatever it is that
interests you, that grabs you.
It catches your eye and you think, I need that.
I want that.
And so we start to respond to this call that's come into our inbox.
But we get five minutes into the application process and we realize, actually, it's not for us.
The 20% off the new trainers is only for students.
Or the free holiday is only for the over 70s or the over 60s or whatever.
There's exclusions.
There's qualifications.
And as we scrutinize the text, we see that we don't qualify for this holiday or this offer.
But when we read these verses, we see that there's no such exclusions.
There's no deceptive small print that's hidden away in the back of this chapter.
This is a universal call.
It's an inclusive call.
James Montgomery Boyce, the commentator, says,
Jesus' words are for people of all ages.
I see people of all ages here.
All nationalities.
And I expect there's people from many different places here.
All temperaments.
I don't know you well, but I expect there's different tempers in the room.
And Jesus calls them.
He calls us, says boys, exactly as they are.
And the call is a call to come.
As the hymn writer wrote in that old hymn,
Just as I am without one plea,
But that thy blood was shed for me,
And that thou bidst me come to thee,
O Lamb of God.
I come.
That's the call.
It's a call to all.
It's a call to come and to become as we are.
And Jesus only knows exactly how we are and who we are.
We can put on a face and we can deceive others about who we are.
We can sometimes project an image that's better than we actually are.
We usually try and work that way, don't we?
We put on our best face.
So it's at home that see exactly who we are.
And yet Jesus sees more clearly exactly who we are
Because he scans our thoughts.
He knows our hearts.
And yet, even though he knows us intimately,
Even though he has known us since the womb,
Even though he knows all our days,
Past, present, and into the future,
But we can't see.
And yet still he calls us.
Exactly as we are today.
He calls us to come.
It's a universal call.
It's for everybody.
It's an inclusive, wide call.
Think about the verse that we so often quote from John 16.
For God so loved the world.
Not one little region.
It's a big, wide word.
The world.
For God so loved the world
That he gave us one and only Son
That whoever.
It's wide.
It's universal.
It's inclusive.
That whoever.
Believes in him.
Would not perish.
But have eternal life.
I'm always conscious that when we come to the Lord's house,
And especially around the table,
The devil is very active.
There's probably been battles in the house
Before you left this morning.
We are conscious of attacks and battles
When we're coming towards the table.
And the devil will love to
Crash into our minds and say,
What are you doing here today?
Yes, them.
I can see them.
They should have a place.
But what about you?
What are you doing here today?
With all the things you said this week
And the things you didn't say.
And the thoughts that went through your mind.
What are you doing here?
What makes you think that you can become a Christian?
What makes you think that the Lord's table is for you?
Surely you are excluded.
Surely the Lord is not calling you.
That's the assaults that we hear crashing in
As God is working.
The devil is seeking to counter.
And yet through this verse,
There is that loving, reassuring correction from Jesus.
And he's saying all who have ears to hear
Are called to come.
None are excluded.
It's a universal call.
The second point is it's a call for sinners.
Jesus invites all.
In the NIV it says,
All who are weary and burdened
We are called to come.
And it's sin
That causes you and I
To feel weary in our souls
And burdened.
So Jesus is calling sinners.
And we know that because
The language experts tell us
That in the Greek
The words used
Are not speaking about
Physical burdens
And the
Physical weaknesses
And the stresses
Of a difficult life.
That's not the meaning
That's captured in these words.
The words that are used
In this verse
Are words that
Referred chiefly to the burden
We feel
At the sense of our sin.
It's a spiritual burden.
It's a spiritual weight.
The AV and the ESV
Which we've read
Speak of those who labor
And are heavy laden.
Those who are tired
From laboring
In our own good works
Rather than receiving
The grace of Christ.
It's possible
For us to work
Furiously
At religion
And try to do
All these religious things
All these good works
As a means
By which we can try
And persuade God
To accept us.
And if that's the way
We're living
Then we are very quickly
Weary
And burdened.
It's a labor.
To all those who labor
All those who are heavy laden
All those who are weighed down
By the sin
That plagues us
Jesus is speaking to us
And the call
Is a universal
It's an inclusive call
Because sin is universal
Sin is
All inclusive
There's no one in this room
No one in this church
Who isn't a sinner
No matter how young
Or how old
How many times you've sat
In the chairs
How good our lives
May look on the outside
How much of the Bible
We may be able to recite
How high a mark
We got in the catechism exams
All of us are sinners.
I was traveling from Edinburgh
Through to Glasgow
The week before last
As I was coming out
Of a meeting
And I was fighting
Against the clock
Trying to catch a train
And so I went charging
Along through the station
And through the
The platform
The announcement
Was sounding
And I jumped onto
The first carriage
That was on the train
That was taking us
From Edinburgh
Through to Glasgow
I sat down
Relieved to be in my seat
And once I sat down
I thought
This is nice
Because the carriage
Seemed to have a bit more space
Than the ones I was usually in
And the seats
Were a bit more comfortable
And it was just
A nice atmosphere
And I thought
This is much nicer
Than I remembered
And then I
I looked around
And I noticed
I was in first class
And I wanted to stay in there
But I could see the conductor
Just a few carriages along
And I knew
That my ticket said
Not first class
But economy
And that's what was important
It wasn't what I felt
I could have sat there
With my arms folded
Saying I should be in here
But I had no
I had no right to be in there
My ticket said economy
My ticket said
You've got a cheap seat
And so I had to accept that
And move
And as much as
Some may not like
This truth
The Bible says
That you and I
Are sinners
That's what our ticket says
Romans 3.23 says
All have sinned
In verse 10 and 11
Of the same chapter
It says
There's no one righteous
Not even one
And that might sound like
Bad news
And it is bad news
But it's bad news
That drives us
To the good news
And the good news
Is that Jesus came
To seek and save
The lost
He came for sinners
He didn't come for
Those who claim
To be spiritually healthy
He came for those
Who know
That we are
Spiritually sick
He came for those
Who agree
With him
That we are sinners
He came for those
Who know
That we need him
To be our saviour
John Newton
Who wrote the hymn
Amazing Grace
Towards the end
Of his life
He was
Struggling with
His memory
And
He couldn't remember
Very much
He couldn't even remember
And recognise
Those
Who were his closest
Friends
And
The record goes
That one of his
Closest friends
Came to visit him
Towards the end
Of his life
And
John Newton
He didn't recognise him
He couldn't remember him
And his friends said
Well
What do you remember
If you don't remember me
You know
What do you remember
And Newton said
I'm quoting
My memory
Is nearly gone
But I remember
Two things
That I am a great sinner
And that Christ
Is a great saviour
And his mind
May have been failing
But still
He had that vision
And that faith
Of a little child
The faith
That enables
Us to enter
The kingdom of God
By recognising
That the call
Of God
Is for sinners
Like us
Sinners
Who need a saviour
In Christ
And as we take
Our place
At the Lord's table
That is what
We confess
Not that we are
Righteous
None of us
Can swagger in
To a church
With our chests
Puffed out
And take our place
As those who think
That we are good enough
That we are righteous
We come with our heads down
We come in humility
We come with reverence
Recognising
That
We are not worthy
But we are trusting
In Jesus
The only one
Who was
And is
Worthy
This is a table
For sinners
Saved
By grace
It's a
A universal
And inclusive call
It's a call
For sinners
The third point
Is it's a call
To come
To Christ
And just the simplicity
Of this
Is just so
Encouraging
Certainly for a simple
Mind like mine
This is a call
To come
To Christ
Where will we find
Help
Where will we find
Salvation
Where will we find
Grace that
Saves and sustain us
In Christ
No other place
All of us
I expect
Will have been
In the situation
Where we're
Looking for help
We're looking for
Assistance
We're in a state
Of need
And we reach out
To a place
Where we think
We're going to get help
And the help
Doesn't come
So maybe
We're struggling
With our health
And we pick up
The phone
And we make a phone call
And we're looking
For help
And we get
Passed from one
Person to the next
To the next
And we're no
Farther forward
Fifteen minutes later
Or you phone
With a problem
With your broadband
And you get
You tell your story
To the person
At the end of the phone
And they say
Well hold the line
I'm going to transfer
You to this other
Department
You tell them
Your story
And they say
Actually it's not us
We'll transfer you
To another department
And you get passed
From place to place
To place to place
And you get no help
In this verse
Jesus is calling
Those of us
Who are weary
And burdened
Those who are laboring
And who are heavy laden
And we are being called
To come directly
To Christ
So let me ask
That simple
Direct question
Have you come
To Jesus yet?
I remember
When I was a
Just a young boy
Growing up in
Stornway actually
And when I was
Aged eight
I came under
A real heavy
Conviction of sin
I did something
Maybe I'll talk
About it tonight
If I've got a voice left
I did something
And when I did it
The second I did it
I knew I'd done
The wrong thing
I sinned
And from that point
On
God
Worked in my life
To show me
That I had a sin
Problem
And I knew that
Even at age eight
I knew about sin
I knew about salvation
I knew about heaven
I knew about hell
And I knew at that
Young age
That I
I was lost
And I knew that
If I died that night
I wasn't going to be
With Jesus
And it
Scared me
And this weight
Of sin
Was pressing down
On me
And when I was
Playing football
Or busy with my
Pals
I would kind of
Be distracted
But when I was
On my own again
I just felt that
That conviction of sin
Pressing down
And I knew what to do
About it
I knew that I had
To come to Jesus
I knew I had to
Ask for forgiveness
I knew I had to
Ask him to come
Into my life
But for two years
The two saddest years
Of my life
Aged eight to ten
I didn't come
To him
I was slow
To come to him
And for these
Two years
I was so
Restless
And so sad
In my
Heart
So have you
Whether you're
Aged eight
Or whether you're
Aged eighty
Have you come
To Jesus
That's the calling
See when sin
Presses in on us
If we don't
Come to Jesus
We're going to
Go somewhere else
And we'll never
Get rest
Any other place
Some people
When they
They start to feel
Restless
And when they
Come under
Conviction of sin
They'll take
To drink
Or drugs
Let's try
And forget
This
Let's try
And get a
Buzz that will
Just distract us
From this
And there's all
Manner of ruin
And disruption
When we're
Head in that
Direction
Some people
When they come
Under conviction
When they come
Under conviction
Of sin
And when there's
That restlessness
They bury themselves
In work
Some try hard
To be better
People
Think they can
Fix themselves
But still
The burden
Is there
The weight
Is there
And that
Weariness
That burden
That sense
Of being
Heavy laden
It remains
Pressing down
In on us
Until we
Come to
Christ
Himself
And so
He says
To us
Today
All of us
Come to
Me
That was
The call
That was
First heard
In Matthew
Chapter 4
As Jesus
Speaks to
Peter and
Andrew
He says
Come to
Me
Follow
Me
And that's
The abiding
Call for all
Of us
It's a word
For all of
Us
Every morning
We wake
Jesus
Is saying
Come to
Me
Abide in
Me
Walk
Close with
Me
Enjoy
The rest
That only
I can
Give
And to
Call to
Come to
Christ
Everything
We need
Is
Finding
Christ
Think
About
The
Sayings
In
John's
Gospel
That speak
To us
About how
Jesus
He
He gives
Us
Everything
That we
Need
John 6
Jesus
Says
I am
The bread
Of life
John
Chapter 8
And 9
Jesus
Says
I am
The light
Of the
World
John
Chapter
10
Jesus
Says
I am
The door
I am
The good
Shepherd
John 11
I am
The resurrection
And the
Life
John 14
I am
The way
And the
Truth
And the
Life
John 15
I am
The true
Vine
In Christ
Alone
We find
Help
In Christ
Alone
We find
Salvation
In Christ
Alone
We are
Forgiven
So we
Are called
To come
To Christ
And to
Remain
In Christ
And that's
What we
Profess
As we
Take our
Place at
The Lord's
Table
We profess
That we
Have come
To Jesus
For grace
We profess
That we
Are with
Him
A call
That's
Universal
That's
Wide
That's
Inclusive
A call
For sinners
A call
To come
To Christ
And finally
A call
To rest
Jesus
Says
Come to
Me
All who
Labor
And are
Heavy
Laden
And I
Will give
You
Rest
And in
Just a
Few
Moments
We'll
Come to
The Lord's
Table
We'll
Partake
Some of
Us of
The Lord's
Supper
It's a
Meal that
Was
Instituted
For us
In order
That we
Will be
Reminded
Of all
That Jesus
Did for
Us
On the
Cross
At
Calvary
And the
Cross
Can be
A hard
Place
For you
And I
To look
Because
There we
See
Our
Lord
There we
See the
One
Who was
Without
Sin
Taking
Our
Sin
Upon
Himself
One
Hymn
Writer
Wrote
It
Was
My
Sin
That
Held
Him
There
Until
It
Was
Accomplished
His
Dying
Breath
Has
Brought
Me
Life
I
Know
That
It
Is
Finished
And so
The cross
It's a
Hard
Place
In
Some
Ways
For us
To
Look
Because
There we
See
Our
Savior
Suffering
For us
We can
Read the
Account
Callum
Read
From
Luke 23
This
Morning
In
The
Home
We
Have
That
Short
Account
Of
Jesus
Suffering
On
The cross
The
Nails
Driven
Into
His
Hands
And
Feet
The
Sword
That
Peace
Pierced
His
Side
The
Gasping
For
Breath
The
Suffocation
The
Physical
Suffering
That
He
Endured
The
Acute
Pain
That
He
Endured
As
He
Hung
On
The
Cross
But
That
Was
Not
The
Worst
Of
It
Because
When
Jesus
Suffered
Physical
Pain
He
Said
Nothing
But
When
His
Father
Turned
His
Face
Away
From
Him
When
His
Father
Could
Not
Look
Upon
Him
Because
He
Was
Carrying
My
Sin
And
Yours
Jesus
In
That
Moment
The
God
Man
Who
Had
Always
Known
The
Rest
Of
Being
In
His
Father's
Presence
In
That
Moment
As
He
Hung
On
The
Cross
As
His
Father
Turns
His
Face
Away
Jesus
He
Lost
That
Sense
Of
Rest
And
As
He
Did
He
Cried
Out
My
God
My
God
Why
Have
You
Forsaken
!
Me!
And
The
Answer
Is
Because
Of
You!
And
Because
Of
Me!
It
Was
For
Your
Sake
And
Mine!
Jesus
On
The
Cross
He
Lost
His
Rest
So
That
We
Could
Receive
It
So
That
We
Could
Receive
The
Rest
The
Assurance
Of
Sins
Forgiven
And
Peace
With
God
And
Eternal
Life
And
That
Is
True
Rest
A
Million
Pounds
In
The
Bank
Is
Not
Rest
A
Permanent
Job
For
Life
Is
Not
Rest
Marrying
The
Girl
Or
Boy
That
You
Dreamed
Of
That's
Not
Rest
For
Our
Soul
Eternal
Rest
Is
Found
Only
When
We
Respond
In
Faith
To
Christ's
Call
To
Come
To
Him
And
Every
Time
We
Come
To
The
Table
We
Taste
Afresh
Something
Of
The
Rest
That
Is
Promised
To
All
Who
Come
To
Jesus
Come
To
Me
All
Who
Labor
And
Are
Heavy
Laden
And
I
Will
Give
You
Rest
A
Universal
Call
A
Call
To
Sinners
A
Call
To
Christ
And
A
Call
To
Rest
So
Let
Us
Be
Encouraged
As
We
Hear
The
Call
Of
Jesus
To
Come
To
Him
And
To
Come
Back
To
Him
If
We're
Drifting
And
To
Take
Our
Place
As
His
People
At
His
Table
Let's
Pray
Heavenly
Father
We
Thank you
Once more
For the
Gospel
Call
And
We
Pray
That
You
Would
Give
Each
One
Of
Us
Amen
Ears
To
Hear
And
Eyes
To
See
And
Hearts
That
Will
Respond
To
The
Call
Of
Jesus
We
Pray
For
Any
Who
May
Be
Sitting
Here
This
Morning
And
Who
Are
Under
Attack
who wonder and stress
as to whether they should even be at the table.
We pray, Lord, that you would help them.
When Satan tempts me to despair
and tells me of the guilt within,
upward I look and see him,
Jesus there,
who made an end to all my sin
because the sinless Saviour died.
My guilty soul is counted free
for God the just is satisfied
to look on him
and pardon me.
Give to us, Lord, we pray,
that sense of the security
of being in Christ
and the grace,
the lavish grace
that is promised to us in Jesus.
We pray for any who are here this morning
and who are outside of the table,
Lord, that you would strive with them
from the youngest here to the oldest
and we thank you, Lord,
that you called the children
to come to you.
And when there were those
who tried to push the children back,
they were rebuked.
And so we pray for the young ones here
that they would hear the voice of Jesus
and that they too would come
and find that rest that the world cannot give
that is found only in Jesus.
So be at work, Lord, we pray
and bless us,
minister to us
as we come to the table
that we would know
the taste of the grace of Jesus once more.
And we ask this in Jesus' name
and for his sake.
Amen.
Just as we come to the table
very briefly,
I want to think about where we look,
where we look as we come to the table.
And we're to look two ways.
We're to look, first of all, at self.
In just a moment,
we're going to read the words of Warrant.
And in the passage
where the Lord's Supper is instituted,
there is a verse that says,
let a person,
let a man, woman, boy, girl,
as they prepare to come,
let a person examine himself.
We're very good at examining other people
and saying,
I'm surprised to see they were there.
That's not your job or mine.
Let a person examine himself.
And as you and I examine self,
we see sin.
If we've got any clarity,
any sense of who we are,
as we examine self,
we see sin.
Sin that we are repenting of day by day,
but still we see sin.
Is that a reason to stay away from the table?
Well, no, it's a reason to come.
It's God, the Holy Spirit,
who convicts us,
who shows us our sin.
The table is for sinners.
Remember the story,
you'll have been told the story a thousand times.
Rabbi Duncan,
the minister,
the Old Testament professor,
was preaching in a church one day,
and he saw a woman he recognized
as one of the Lord's people,
who was broken by her sin.
As the elements were being passed around,
they came to her,
and she passed them on,
and dissolved into tears.
And what does he do?
He gets down from the place
that he was standing,
and he takes the elements,
and he goes to her,
and he says,
Tack it, woman.
It's for sinners.
So as we come,
we look at self.
We examine self,
and we see sin,
and we repent of sin.
But as Murray McShane says,
and this takes us to the second place
that we look,
the place that we fix our eyes.
We look at self,
but then we fix our eyes on Jesus.
Robert Murray McShane said,
for every look you take at self,
take ten looks at Jesus.
So if you want a text
to go forward with,
you can take Isaiah chapter 45
and verse 22,
which says,
Look unto me,
and be ye saved.
And that's the text
that we go forward on.
Satan says to us,
Look at the state of you.
Look at the state of you
and your sin.
But the Lord says to us,
Look at the sufficiency
of your Savior.
So looking to Jesus
and trusting in Jesus,
saved by the blood of Jesus,
with our faith in him,
we come.
to warrant the passage
from 1 Corinthians chapter 11
and verse 23.
The Apostle Paul said,
For I received from the Lord
that which I also delivered to you,
that the Lord Jesus
on the same night
in which he was betrayed
took bread.
And when he had given thanks,
he broke it and said,
Take, eat.
This is my body
which is broken for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.
In the same manner,
he also took the cup
after supper,
saying,
This cup is the new covenant
in my blood.
Do this as often
as you drink it
in remembrance of me.
For as often
as you eat this bread
and drink this cup,
you proclaim the Lord's death
until he comes.
Therefore,
whoever eats this bread
or drinks this cup
of the Lord
in an unworthy manner
will be guilty
of the body
and blood of the Lord.
But let a man
examine himself
and so let him
eat of the bread
and drink of the cup.
For he who eats
and drinks
in an unworthy manner
eats and drinks
judgment to himself,
not discerning
the Lord's body.
So following
the example
of Jesus,
let's now
pray
and give thanks
for this meal
that is prepared
for us.
Our Heavenly Father,
we thank you
for your word
that we have read.
We thank you
for this sacrament
that we are guided
and instructed in
as we come together
as your people.
We thank you
that although
these elements
before us
are just ordinary things
in terms of
their makeup
and the way
that we receive them,
we recognize
that they point us
to the body
of the Lord Jesus.
So we ask,
Lord,
that we would discern
the body
and the blood
of Christ,
that we would
remember him
in all that we do
at this time.
We thank you
for the mystery
and the wonder
of the verse
that says,
he who knew
no sin
became sin
so that we
might become
righteous
in and through him.
We thank you
that as John the Baptist
saw Jesus,
he said,
Behold,
the Lamb of God
who takes away
the sin
of the world.
We thank you
for the perfect sacrifice
that was
found in Christ
for the body
that was given
and the blood
that was shed
that makes atonement
for our sin.
To help us,
we pray,
as we take
the bread,
as we take
the wine,
to remember
the Lord Jesus.
Take away from our minds
every distraction
and bring us
once more
to the cross
that we may
survey it
and that we
may once more
be touched
by the magnitude
of the love
of God.
This is love.
Not that we
love God,
but that he
loved us
and gave us
son to be
the atoning
sacrifice,
the propitiation
for our sin.
Give us eyes
to see it,
we pray.
enable us
to mourn
and repent
of the sin
that so easily
entangles us
and yet
enable us
to rejoice
in the salvation
that is secured
in and through
the sufficient
work,
the finished
work
of Jesus.
So meet with us,
Lord,
we pray.
Bless us,
we ask
in Jesus'
name.
Amen.
So the Lord
Jesus,
on the night
in which he
was betrayed,
took bread
and when he
had blessed
it and
given thanks,
he broke
it and
said,
this is my
body which
is for you.
Do this
in remembrance
of me.
And in the same
way,
he took the
cup
and said,
this cup
is the new
covenant
in my blood.
Do this
as often
as you drink
it
in remembrance
of me.
A very short
verse
as we
prepare to
rise from
the table.
Psalm 130
and verse 7,
second half
of verse 7,
it says,
plenteous redemption,
plenteous redemption
is ever
found
with him.
with Jesus
from all
our iniquities.
We are
forgiven.
but I want
to underline
that plenteous
redemption
is ever
found
with him.
And that's
a word
not just
for those
of us
who are
at the
table,
that's a
word
that is
extended
to those
who haven't
this morning
sat at
the Lord's
table.
I remember
taking a
service
in the,
it was in
the APC
church actually
in Stornley
must have
been 15
years ago.
And on
a Sunday
morning we
had preached
and we'd
had the
sacrament.
As far as
I could
see,
the elder
was assisting
me.
At that
time there
was no
minister there.
The elder
who was
assisting me
would stand
with me
and after
everyone I
could see
he wanted
to be
servant,
he served.
The elder
stepped
forward and
he took
the jug
of wine
and he
filled the
cup back
up and
he said
nothing to
me and
he hadn't
discussed
it with me.
And I
looked at
him and he
looked at
me and I
looked at
him and he
looked at
me and I
wondered if
this was his
way of saying
you've forgotten
somebody and I
was scanning
around the
congregation to
see if there
was somebody
I'd forgotten
but nothing
was said.
And so I
prayed and
we had the
final praise
and blessed
the benediction.
As soon as
the service
was finished
I went to
the elder
and I
said did
I forget
someone?
And he
said I
don't think
so.
And I
said well
why after
everybody was
served did
you fill the
cup back
up?
And he
said because
I want
everyone to
be able to
see that
there's more
left.
And you
can see
this morning
that there
is more
left.
Plenteous
redemption
is ever
found with
him.
And the
call continues
to be
extended
come to
me.
Be with
me
says
Jesus.
There is
more grace
there is
more
left.
Come
to him
each one
of us.
Let's
pray.
Our
heavenly
father we
thank you
for it.
We thank
you once
more that
you've
allowed us
to be
gathered
around the
table of
the Lord
Jesus.
We thank you
that once
more we
have been
able to
remember the
Lord's
death in
place
securing our
salvation.
We thank you
that Jesus
is our
redeemer.
And we
pray that as
we rise from
the table
we would do
so with
joy.
The joy of
your salvation
of us
restored to
us.
We pray that
we would
rise from the
table
strengthened
and ready to
go back into
the world
to be
soft and
be light.
And we
pray Lord
that as we
go from
this place
we would
go encouraged
in the
gospel.
We think
even of the
encouragement
that is
given to
those who
are given.
Every time
we gather
around this
table we
are aware
of those
that we
sit with
but we
are also
conscious
of those
who once
sat with
us and
we have
gone from
time into
eternity.
And yet
we thank
you that
we have
the promise
in Christ
that all
who are
believing in
him, all
who are
with him
have eternal
life.
So we
pray for
any whose
hearts are
sore, any
who may
have that
sense of
loss, so
missing
those who
are absent
who are
once with
them.
We pray
for your
comfort to
be given
to them.
And we
pray for
those who
have sat
through another
communion season
and who
have not
yet come.
If there
are any
who have
heard the
voice of
Jesus saying
come unto
me and
rest, we
pray that
they would
not hesitate
but that
they and
we day
by day
would come
to the
Lord Jesus
and find
the rest
that is
found only
in him.
Hear our
prayers,
part us
with your
blessing we
pray and
we pray
these things
in Jesus
name.
Amen.
We'll
sing to
conclude
the
verses
from
Psalm
72
Psalm
72
you'll
find on
page
T14
and we
sing from
verses 17
to verse 19
of the
psalm.
His name
forever
shall
endure,
last like
the son
of
Shal.
Men
shall be
blessed
in him
and
blessed
all nations
shall
him
call.
We'll
stand to
sing to
God's
praise.
His name
forever
shall
endure
last night
the son
it
shall
and
shall
be
blessed
in him
and
blessed
all nations
shall
him
call.
Now
blessed
be
the Lord
our God
the
Lord
of
Israel
voy
!
voy
!
voy
!
voy
!
voy
!
voy
!
voy
!
voy
!
voy
!
voy
!
voy
eternity
the whole
earth
is
glorified
and
in
solitude
and
may the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all
now and forevermore
Amen