We begin singing to God's praise in Psalm 125, Psalm 125.
And this is from the Scottish Psalter, Psalm 125 in the Scottish Psalter.
They in the Lord that firmly trust shall be like Zion Hill,
which at no time can be removed but standeth ever still.
As round about Jerusalem the mountains stand always.
The Lord his folk doth compass so from henceforth and foray.
For ill men's rod upon the lot of just men shall not lie,
lest righteous men stretch forth their hands unto iniquity.
Do thou to all those that be good thy goodness, Lord, impart.
And do thou good to those that are upright within their heart.
But as for such as turn aside after their crooked way,
God shall lead forth with wicked men on Israel.
Peace shall stay.
We'll sing the whole Psalm 125,
They in the Lord that firmly trust.
In the Lord that firmly trust shall be like Zion Hill,
Which heart of God can be removed,
But standeth ever still.
And round about Jerusalem the mountains stand always.
The Lord his folk doth come us all,
From men's work and foray.
For ill men's rod upon the lot,
All trust men shall not lie,
Lest righteous men stretch forth their hands unto iniquity.
Good love to all those that be good,
My goodness, Lord, impart.
And do thou good to those that are upright,
And do thou good to those that are upright within their heart.
But as for such as turn aside after their crooked way,
God shall lead forth with wicked men,
All Israel peace shall stay.
Let us pray.
O Lord, we bow before you today,
Giving thanks that we have this day
Where we're able to come aside from all the other things of life,
And where we're able to think about you.
We give thanks, Lord, for the fact that you speak to us in your word,
And help us, Lord, to hear what you say to us.
Because you've given us this book, the Bible,
Which is the greatest book in the world.
And help us, Lord, to be reading it,
And help us, Lord, to understand it.
Because so often we can't understand without your help.
So we pray that you will help us in that.
We pray to bless us all here today,
From every age, from the very youngest to the oldest.
And we give thanks, Lord, that we can bring all our needs,
And all our worries, and everything that is down on us,
On our minds, and you're able to lift us up.
And we pray that we might hear you,
And that you will indeed speak loudly into our heart.
We pray to take away all the things that so often
Take away our mind from the truth.
And help us, Lord, to understand and to believe in you.
Pray your blessing, especially just now upon the young people.
We give thanks for them.
And we pray that they may all grow up to know you,
To love you, and to follow you.
Watch over us then, we pray,
And take away from us our sin.
In Jesus' name we ask it. Amen.
Amen.
I'm just going to say a wee word to the young folk.
I'm sure you know that crossing the road
Can be a very dangerous thing.
Because cars come very quickly.
And sometimes cars come and we didn't really see them.
So it's very, very important that we take a lot of care
When we cross the road.
There's what is known as the Green Cross Code.
I remember they used to put a lot of time talking about it.
And the Green Cross Code tells you to do four things.
Four things about crossing the road.
You're to think.
You're to stop.
You're to look.
And you're to listen.
First of all, you think,
Where's the best place to cross the road?
Well, you wouldn't cross the road at a busy junction
When there's cars coming up and down and across.
That would be silly.
So you think, where's the best place,
The safest place to cross?
So first of all, you think.
And then when you get to the place where you're going to cross,
You stop.
And then after you stop, you look and you listen.
It's not enough to listen.
Because just by listening,
There might be somebody coming on a bicycle very fast.
Or there might be an electric car.
And you wouldn't hear.
So yes, you've got to listen.
But you've also got to look.
And we're told that we're to look right.
We're to look left.
We're to look right again.
And if there's nothing coming, then we cross.
But you know, we should use the green cross code
With regard to God as well.
We should stop and look and listen and think.
I'm putting it in a different way.
Because the first thing we should do is stop.
Because we live very busy lives.
And even in the holidays, it's busy.
Because you're always doing different things.
And God wants us to stop at times.
That's one of the things He's done by giving us today.
God's day.
The Lord's day.
Sunday.
It's a day for us to stop.
And it's a day for us to think.
It's a day for us to listen to what God is saying to us.
Because God speaks to us in His Word.
And He tells us so many wonderful things.
And every day we have to look at the Bible and listen to what God is saying.
And we have to look.
We have to look to Jesus.
Because that's what the Bible says.
Look to me and be saved.
Look to Jesus and be saved.
You know, if you look up at night.
And you go out at night and it's dark.
And it's an open sky.
And you're somewhere where there maybe aren't too many streetlights.
When you look up at first, you'll see, maybe you'll see a few really bright stars.
And then you'll begin to see lots of other stars.
And the longer you look, you will see more and more.
And then you'll see, oh, there's hundreds of stars.
And then you'll see, there's thousands of stars.
Well, we know that there's even more than thousands.
There's millions and probably billions, billions of stars.
And even people with the best telescope in the world can't work out all the stars that are there.
But you know, the Bible tells us that one of the men who wrote the Psalms, helped by God to say what to put down.
He said, when I look up to the heavens, to the sky, which your own fingers framed, and to the moon and to the stars, which were by your ordained you, Lord, put these things there.
And you know, the Bible also tells us that God counts the number of stars.
And he names them one by one.
So, by looking, we see the wonder of God.
So, every day we should be in the way of thinking about God, stopping to think, stopping to look, because we see so much of God everywhere.
And every day listening to what God says to us.
So, you remember that green cross code.
Yes, for crossing the road, very important.
But also, every day with regard to God, stop, look, listen, think.
We're now going to say the Lord's Prayer.
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day your daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever.
Amen.
We're going to sing again from Psalm 32.
And this is from Sing Psalm, Psalm 32.
The tune is Arlington.
Psalm 32, and we sing verses 1 to 7.
The tune is Arlington.
How blessed the one who has received forgiveness for his sin,
whose sins are covered from God's face, whose debt is cancelled in God's grace.
There's no deceit in him.
When I kept silent, all my bones with groaning were worn out.
Beneath your hand I felt entrapped.
Both day and night my strength was sapped, as in a summer drought.
Then I laid bare my sin to you, the guilt that lay within.
I said, O Lord, I have transgressed, and you forgave when I confessed.
You pardoned all my sin.
So let the godly pray to you while you are to be found.
Surely when waves are sweeping past and mighty waters rising fast,
you'll keep them safe and sound.
To the end of verse 7, 5 stands as Psalm 32 to the tune Arlington.
O bless the one who has received.
For illness, for his sin.
Whose sins are covered from God's face.
Whose debt is cancelled in God's grace.
There's no deceit in him
When I can't silence all my bones
With rolling wherefore not
Bring your hand, thy belt and track
Both day and night, my strength was up
As in a summer drought
Then I made clear my sin to you
The guilt that lay within
I said, O Lord, I have lost grace
And you forgive when I confess
You pardon all my sin
So let the glory bring to you
While you are to be found
Surely when waves are sweeping past
And mighty waters rising fast
You'll keep them safe and sound
You are my hiding place, O Lord
My true security
You give me safe and troubled days
You circle me with joyful bliss
When you have set me free
Let's turn now to read God's word
And we read it in Matthew's Gospel
Matthew chapter 24
And we'll read to the end of verse 31
Jesus left the temple and was going away
When his disciples came to point out to him
The buildings of the temple
But he answered them
You see all these
Do you not?
Truly I say to you
There will not be left here
One stone upon another
That will not be thrown down
As he sat on the Mount of Olives
The disciples came to him privately
Saying, Tell us
When will these things be?
And what will be the sign
Of your coming
And of the close of the age?
Jesus answered them
See that no one leads you astray
For many will come in my name
Saying, I am the Christ
And they will lead many astray
And you will hear of wars
And rumors of wars
See that you are not alarmed
For this must take place
But the end is not yet
For nation will rise against nation
And kingdom against kingdom
And there will be famines
And earthquakes in various places
All these are but the beginning
Of the birth pains
Then they will deliver you up
To tribulation
And put you to death
And you will be hated
By all nations
For my name's sake
And then many will fall away
And betray one another
And hate one another
And many false prophets
Will arise
And lead many astray
And because lawlessness
Will be increased
The love of many
Will grow cold
But the one who endures
To the end
Will be saved
And this gospel
Of the kingdom
Will be proclaimed
Throughout the whole world
As a testimony
To all nations
And then the end
Will come
So when you see
The abomination
Of desolation
Spoken of
By the prophet Daniel
Standing in the holy place
Let the reader understand
Then let those
Who are in Judea
Flee to the mountains
Let the one
Who is on the housetop
Not go down
To take what is in his house
And let the one
Who is in the field
Not turn back
To take his cloak
And I'll ask for women
Who are pregnant
And for those
Who are nursing infants
In those days
Pray that your flight
May not be in winter
Or on a Sabbath
But then there will be
Great tribulation
Such as has not been
From the beginning
Of the world
Until now
No one ever will be
And if those days
Had not been cut short
No human being
Would be saved
But for the sake
Of the elect
Those days
Will be cut short
Then if anyone
Says to you
Look here
Is a Christ
Or there he is
Do not believe
For false prophets
False Christs
And false prophets
Will arise
And perform
Great signs
And wonders
So as to lead
If possible
Even the elect
To lead astray
See I have told you
Beforehand
So if they say to you
Look
He is in the wilderness
Do not go out
If they say
Look
He is in the inner rooms
Do not believe it
For as the lightning
Comes from the east
And shines as far
As the west
So will be the coming
Of the son of man
Wherever the corpse is
There the vultures
Will gather
Immediately
After the tribulation
Of those days
When the sun
Will be darkened
And the moon
Will not give its light
And the stars
Will fall from heaven
And the powers
Of the heavens
Will be shaken
Then will appear
In heaven
The sign
Of the son of man
And then all the tribes
Of the earth
Will mourn
And they will see
The son of man
Coming on the clouds
Of heaven
With power
And great glory
And he will send
Out his angels
With a loud trumpet call
And they will gather
His elect
From the four winds
From one end
Of heaven
To the other
Amen
And may God
Bless to us
This reading
Of his holy word
Let us again
Bow in prayer
Amen
O Lord
As we bow
In your presence
And as we've
Come under your word
We've sung it
And read it
We pray that
This word
Of yours
May indeed
Lodge deep
Within our heart
We know that
Your word
Is transforming
And it changes lives
And we pray
That our lives
Might be changed
More and more
By it
Those who
Still don't know you
That your word
Will today
Change their lives
So that they
Will come to
Follow you
And those who
Already are following you
We still need
That our lives
Will be changed
And renewed
Day by day
We give thanks
O Lord
That you are the God
Of heaven
And of earth
The God
Who ultimately
Controls all things
And we see
Even as we read there
That we are living
In times
Where nation
Is rising
Against nation
And kingdom
Against kingdom
We are seeing
The earthquakes
And the famines
All round
And these are things
That you spoke
About 2000 years ago
Which would be
Just as it were
At the very beginning
Of the end
Help us then
Lord
To live
In the light
Of your coming again
Help us Lord
To have an expectancy
And help us
To have a vision
Beyond the here
And now
So that there might
Be more of heaven
In our lives
Than of earth
And that we might
Seek to follow you
With all our heart
Forgive us Lord
For when we're lukewarm
Forgive us Lord
For when we don't
Follow you
In the right way
Forgive us O Lord
For when we say
And do
And think things
Which are so
Contrary to your word
Forgive us Lord
For how complacent
We so often become
In the society
That we live in
And where we become
Used to
The way things are
Help us Lord
To always see
That your word
Is the standard
By which we ought
To live
Because it is
According to your word
That we will glorify you
And we're told
That that is
The chief purpose
Of our being here
We pray then
That you will bless
Every single one
Of us here today
As we come
With all our own
Individuality
With all our own
Needs and worries
Concerns
With our hopes
And aspirations
With our longings
And we pray
That we might be
Always going to you
With everything
We're told in your word
That in everything
By prayer
And supplication
With thanksgiving
Let your requests
Be made known
To God
There's nothing
Too big
Or nothing
Too small
To bring to you
And so we pray
For the faith
That every day
We will do that
And that we will
Look for the answer
So often we pray
But we don't see
The answer
Because we're not looking
Because sometimes
Your answers
Are different
To the way
That we expect
And so we pray
That we might have
Spiritual eyes
To see
Help us to see
You in everything
And to see
That you are
In everything
Help us always
To remember
That it's in you
That we live
And move
And have our being
And so we pray
That you'll be near to us
And that you'll open
Our hearts
To your word
That your spirit
Will be present with us
That we'll be conscious
That the Lord is here
We know from your word
That you are
But make us
Aware of it
That we may
Have a sense
A felt sense
Of your presence
Pray to bless
Every home
And every family
We pray for those
Who are in need
For those who are
Going through
Really difficult times
And hard times
Lord we pray
For those who are
Ill and seriously ill
Lord today
We remember Francis
And all the family
She's very very
Seriously ill
We commit her
To your care
At this time
And we do so
With all who are
Going through
That momentous time
Where they are
Facing the
Going to death's
Dark veil
Oh Lord we pray
That as a shepherd
Who has led
In the green pastures
And by the still water
That you will be
Where you have promised
To be
In death's
Dark veil
With your rod
And with your staff
To support
And to comfort
We pray Lord
For those who mourn
Those whose hearts
Are heavy and sore
Death changes
So much in life
And so we pray
For every broken heart
Today
Whether the
Death has been
Of recent times
Or long ago
That it's
Life is never
The same
When loved ones
Are taken
And so we pray
For your comfort
And your help
And your strength
And your grace
When it is most needed
We pray to bless
Us as a congregation
Bless all the work
That is done here
We give thanks
For every willing heart
And willing hand
That is engaged
In the work
We give thanks
Oh Lord
That nothing is done
For you
But you take note of it
Help us to do
By faith
Help us to do
In love
Help us Lord
To go forward
Looking to you
At all times
Pray Lord
To bless us
And we pray
For our young people
And we give thanks
For school holidays
And we pray
For Sunday school teachers
And we pray
For our school teachers
And we pray
That you will help them
We pray Lord
For our nation
And we pray
For wisdom
To be given
To our leaders
And even although
They might not look
To you
We still ask
That the wisdom
From above
Will be given to them
So that they will
Direct us
And lead us
In the right way
And it is our duty
We are commanded
In scripture
To pray for kings
And those in authority
Over us
And so we do
We pray for King Charles
We pray
For our prime minister
And first minister
And we pray
For all our governments
And we pray
For our council
And we ask Lord
To grant wisdom
And direction
And we pray
More and more
That the ways
Of your word
Might be the ways
That are lived
In our land
We pray for all
The nations
Of this world
And remember
In particular
The Middle East
It seems like
A boiling point
Just now
And we look
In horror
At the things
That have happened
Oh Lord
Our God
We pray
That you might
Indeed bring peace
We ask Lord
That you will
Indeed intervene
That you will
Show your hand
We remember Lord
That you are
The God of heaven
And of earth
And we pray
That you will
Indeed intervene
And we still
Remember Ukraine
And all the troubled
Areas of this world
All throughout this world
There's conflict
And hatred
And violence
And bloodshed
Some of it
We know about
How little we do know
But it's taking place
Day by day
Oh Lord
Comfort
And build up
And we pray
That the nations
May turn to you
We read there
That all the nations
Of the world
Will yet hear of you
And in many ways
We pray to hasten
That day
Because that's the only hope
For this world
And so we ask
That you will bless us
And be near to us
And grant us your grace
Be with James
In the seminary
Be with Calum Murdo
And family
And holiday just now
Watch over
Each and every one
Grant us your grace
In all that we do
And cleanse us
From our every sin
In Jesus name
We ask it
Amen
We'll continue singing now
In Psalm 31
Psalm 31
And it's at verse 19
This is in sing psalms
Psalm 31
And sing psalms
Verses 19
To the end
Five stanzas
Your goodness
Your goodness Lord
Is very great
Prepared for those
Who fear your name
You show your goodness
Openly to all
To all who
Your protection claim
Your presence
Hides and shelters them
From those who plot
To take their life
And in your tent
You keep them safe
From evil tongues
That stir up strife
The Lord be praised
Because he showed
The wonders
Of his love
To me
When in a city
I was trapped
Surrounded
By the enemy
Psalm 31
Verses 19
To 24
The tune is
We're home
We sing to God's praise
Your goodness Lord
Is very great
Your goodness Lord
Is very great
Prepared for those
Who fear your name
To show your goodness
Openly
To open your protection claim
Your blessings
And in your tent
You keep them safe
From evil tongues
That stir up strife
And in your tent
You keep them safe
From evil tongues
That stir up strife
The Lord be praised
Because he showed
The wonder of his love to me
When in the city
I was trapped
Surrounded by the enemy
In my alarm
I rashly said
That I was hidden
From your eyes
But when I called
To you for help
In case you listen
To my cries
Oh love the Lord
All you his saints
The faithful will be kept by God
But he will give
The proud
There to be strong
Take heart
Oh bend the Lord
Let's turn again
For a little
To the chapter
That we read
In Matthew's gospel
Chapter 24
Looking again
At verse 12
And because lawlessness
Will be increased
The love of many
Will grow cold
But the one who endures
To the end
Will be saved
And this gospel
Of the kingdom
Will be proclaimed
Throughout the whole world
As a testimony
To all nations
And then the end
Will come
Now as we know
The future
Has always fascinated
People
And every generation
Is trying to predict
When the end will be
People of course
Don't know
Every generation
Tries to make predictions
Scientists will tell us
That the way
That things are going
That the world
Cannot keep going
They might even
Make predictions
As to when
It is likely to end
Leaders of various sects
And cults
Have from time to time
Issued statements
Saying that the world
Will end
At such and such a time
Even Christians
At various periods
Have made predictions
As to when the world
Will end
But they don't know
Nobody knows
And if anybody
Ever gives this prediction
You know with a certainty
That they don't know
Because the Bible
Makes it very clear
Jesus tells us this
But concerning that day
And hour
No one knows
He says
Not even the angels
In heaven know
But Jesus warns us
To be ready
Because he's going to come
At a time
When nobody expects
That's what he says
Therefore
You also must be ready
For the Son of Man
Is coming
At an hour
That you don't expect
And that's an all
Important question
That we'd have to ask
Ourselves today
Because we do not know
When the Son of Man
Will return
And if we were told
Today that he was
To return
How would you feel?
How would you react?
What would your
Take on it be?
Are you ready
For the Son of Man
To return?
And of course
We know the only way
To be ready
For the Son of Man
To return
Is by coming
To know him
As our friend
As our Lord
As our saviour
Because if we are
Safe in him
Then we have nothing
To worry about
But if we're without
Jesus
Then it's in a bad
Place we are
And to reject Jesus
Really is
The most
Stupid thing
That any person
Can do
Because
To turn our back
On Jesus
Is to turn our back
On the most
Wonderful invitation
That has ever
Been given to anybody
There's been
Never a greater
Display of love
In this world
Than God's
Love to us
In sending
His Son
The Lord Jesus
Christ
To save us
From our sins
Because you see
By nature
We don't love him
By nature
We don't care
About God
We're not interested
In God
We don't have
Many thoughts
About God
Maybe sometimes
When people
Are in trouble
They might
All of a sudden
They might
Say oh
I need to pray
There's a sense
Of crying out
To God
For help
But that's it
It's just a passing
In that particular
Moment
And then God
Is forgotten again
People
By and large
Don't think about God
And they're not
Too bothered
About God
But God's love
Is so great to us
That he's given us
This book
And he's given us
This spirit
To show us
How things are
Because
We would never
Work it out
Ourselves
We wouldn't know
How much
We need
To get right
With God
Because we have
Within ourselves
What's called
Self-righteousness
Where we think
We're okay
And that's the problem
With so many people
That's why
There's so much
Animosity
Towards the Bible
Because people say
There's nothing in there
That's of any good
That's just telling people
That they're bad
And they don't want
To hear about it
But it's
God in his mercy
Has given us
This
Because we couldn't
Work it out ourselves
We wouldn't know
Were it not that God
Shows us in his word
And shows us by his spirit
How things really are
And that not only
Has he shown us
How things are
But he has shown us
In his word
He's given us
A remedy
A cure
For the problem
And he's saying to us
You are distant from me
You are away from me
You don't care about me
And as things stand
You're under
My wrath and condemnation
Now we don't know that
Apart from God's word
But God is saying
I provided for you
I provided a saviour
I provided my son
In order that you can
Come back to me
Return to me
And to be
At one with me
And so we should be
So thankful
For this great provision
That the Lord has made
Now Jesus
In this passage
Is beginning
By highlighting
Many of the things
That are going to happen
Before the end comes
And as we read through it
It's obvious
That we are living
In the times
The first times
That Jesus describes
Where nation is fighting
Against nation
And kingdom
Against kingdom
And there's famines
In different places
And there's earthquakes
We're seeing it all the time
Every year
In our news bulletins
These things
Of famines
And earthquakes
And wars
We're seeing it
And it's becoming
Because of how easily
News is transmitted today
We're being
What's happening
These things are being
Brought into our homes
So we can see it
And we see also
That not only that
But many false prophets
And false religions
And then you find
That they're coming
To the point
Of hating one another
And betraying one another
And so there's
This terrible catalogue
Of sin and suffering
And it's a picture
Of a world out of control
But you know
The one thing
That we're so thankful for
Is that the Lord
Is in control
And part of this control
Is that
Jesus is telling us
Two thousand years ago
About what it's going
To be like
And it's happening
Because the Lord knows
The end from the beginning
But because
Of this incredible
Force of lawlessness
And we're living in such days
Where there's a
Complete lawlessness
Towards God
It's talking about lawlessness
Towards God here
Because of this lawlessness
We read that
The love of many
Will grow cold
And of course
It's speaking here
About to the Christian
Because Jesus goes on
In the very next verse
To say that
Those who keep going
Those who persevere
Keep going to the end
These are the ones
Who will be saved
Who will discover
What salvation really is
Now as we know
That the love of God
Which we have in our heart
Begins with God
We love him
Because he first loved us
That's the order of things
We wouldn't love him
Unless he first loved us
And by nature
As we said
We're going in the opposite direction
We want away from God
Adam showed that
At the very beginning
He ran
And that's how we've run
Ever since
We're running away
But God in his mercy
Called Adam
And he's calling us as well
And that's the beauty of it
And we're drawn to him
When his love touches our heart
When we hear his call
In the gospel
When we're drawn to him
It changes everything
We begin to think about him
In a way we never thought
About him before
But we don't just think
In a kind of empty way
We find that there's a
A drawing within our heart
We begin to
We begin to think about him
That's how love works
If you love somebody
You think about that person often
And so it is
With a Christian
When the Lord begins to work
Within our heart
We begin to think about him
A lot
And there's a complete change
Takes place in our life
Because
The overwhelming power
Of God's love
Changes
Our thinking
Our mind
Our will
Our affections
Our emotions
Our heart
Everything
Goes out to him
And that's why
Sometimes when
People are converted
Particularly people
Who maybe
Aren't too much
Of a church background
And their friends
Can't understand
What's happened
Because all of a sudden
This person
Has changed
Still the same person
Still doing the same work
Still involved
In the same things
But they can't understand
That there's a
It's because
There's a new
New desires
New affection
A new love
Has been born
In their heart
Which changes
The way they think
It changes the direction
In which they're going
And that's
That's this
This great love
That takes place here
It's an all compelling love
But we see here
That it tells us
That because of this lawlessness
That the love of many
Will wax cold
But this love of God
Displays itself
In our life
By loving God
And how do we love God?
Well in many ways
It is shown through
Our love for all
That belongs to God
For instance
We love his day
And we're thankful
For this day
It's this day
That God has given us
He's given us
The six other days
To fulfill everything
And on this day
He says
We term it
The Lord's day
New Testament mentions it
As the Lord's day
The day that
Jesus rose from the dead
And it's this day
Where we're able
To give our mind
As we were saying
To the young folk
To stop
And to think
And to look
And to listen
That's one of the great things
About today
We're able to think
About the Lord
We're able to stop
We're given this time
To draw aside
And so
The Christian is someone
Who loves the Lord's day
And we love the Lord's word
Because the Bible
Becomes so precious to us
You know when you were
First converted
You couldn't get over
When you would read it
You would say
I feel the Lord
Speaking to me
You would find
That the situation
That you were in
In that day
That the Lord
Was just there
And he was directing you
He was showing you
From his word
And you were
You were saying
Wow
This is amazing
And so
As the Bible says
His word is more precious
Than gold
And you know
When you're in trouble
Or in difficulties
Or in sorrow
Or in pain
Or whatever
God's word
Is so important to you
Because often
You will find
Something there
And you say
Oh you know
That really lifted me
That spoke to me
That gave me hope
That I didn't have before
Again we love God's house
Psalmist said
I joyed
Went to the house of God
Go up
They said to me
Because God's house
Is a refuge to our soul
You'll find Asaph
Remember in Psalm 73
Asaph was going through
All kinds of problems
He was envying the godless
He was seeing how
People were getting on
He was a believer
And he was saying
I've done all the right things
And nothing is working
In my life
And he said
It's been a waste of time
Then he went to God's house
And when he went there
The Lord spoke to him
Because you see
God is present here today
The Lord promises that
And that's one of the great things
That when he went there
And he began to speak to the Lord
And the Lord to speak to him
His vision was changed
His problems in his mind
Were restored
He saw God was in control
He saw at the end
That he was the one
Who had everything
Whom have I in the heavens
I but thee O Lord alone
And in the earth
Whom I desire
Besides thee there is none
And also when we
Become Christians
We have our love
To the church family
They are our brothers
And our sisters
It's one of the evidences
Of grace is
We're told that
We know that we've passed
From death to life
Because we love the brothers
We love the sisters
And there's this
Sense of identity
Sense of belonging
That they're all one
We're all one together
In Christ Jesus
But sadly
Our verse tells us
That many
The love of many
Will grow cold
And why?
Because of the lawlessness
And because lawlessness
Will be increased
And that's where the whole ways
Of society
Are today
Lawless against God
And you know
The sad thing is
That not only is society
Within the individuality
Lawless
But even
Even our governments
Are putting lawlessness
In place
For us to
Keep lawlessness
Against God
It's quite extraordinary
But you know
When we
When we get
We get
It's part of human nature
We begin to get used
To anything
And however things are
And things that
Maybe a while back
Would say
Oh no no
We begin to become
Complacent
And used to it
And we begin to
Say oh well
It's alright
It's this
It's that
Well in God's sight
It's lawlessness
And it's
It's affecting
The whole being
And it influences us
It affects
Our soul
Our mind
Our thinking
Everything
We get sucked in by it
And because of the
Deceitfulness of sin
Within and around us
It often has an impact
Upon our souls
And that's why it's saying here
That the love
Of many
Will grow cold
And an evidence
Of that love
Becoming cold
Is we see it
In the very things
That we mentioned
With regard to our love
For God
We become cold
To his day
Day doesn't mean
That much to us anymore
It was a day
We really appreciated
The Lord's day
Today it doesn't mean
Maybe it doesn't mean
That much
It's the same with the word
We call God's word
The daily bread
There was a time
We would never miss
Having our fill
Of the daily bread
But when our hearts
Grow cold
It might be days
Before we pick up
His word again
It doesn't have
The central place
In our lives
That it used to
We take it
And we leave it
We maybe just
Skip through it
Somebody says
What were you reading today
You'd have to
I haven't a clue
It's had no impression
No impact
Because our hearts
Are getting colder
And it's the same
With God's house
There was a day
We loved going there
And now maybe
Maybe we struggle
Maybe it's more
Out of a sense
Of duty
Than desire
Same with the church
Family
You see the way
Of the world
When the way
Of the world
Touches the church
The church begins
To think like the world
What does the church
What does love
Want to do
You think of a family
Love protects
Love covers
Love wants to do
The best for
But so often now
In the church
There's a devouring
There's no
There isn't the protection
There isn't
There's
You know we live
In a world today
Where people want
To expose everything
And there's this
Just this
There's always
This glare
Of everything
Is out there
And it's a cruel world
And we must guard
Against that
Sort of spirit
Within the church
Because the church
Is a family
Church of love
Family of love
So we've got to guard
Against the ways
Of the world
Beginning to
Impact us
Because the more
We resemble
The world
The less
We resemble
The Lord
But then we see
Despite
All the lawlessness
And despite
The love
Growing cold
It tells us
The one who endures
To the end
Will be saved
And that's a great thing
Because you know
The wonderful thing
Is that
Once we're safe
In Christ
We're safe
That's what Jesus said
I will give them
Eternal life
And they shall never
Perish
Neither shall anyone
Pluck them out of my hand
Father
Son
And spirit
Are involved
In your salvation
Involved in saving you
Looking after you
In this world
And taking you home
It's all part of the work
Part of their great work
And although
We may stray
And our hearts
Grow cold
And maybe
For some
Or all of us
Today we have to say
You know
I'm not where I used to be
I have to confess
That maybe
Maybe you're having
To say that
Yeah
That's me
Sadly
God's house
God's word
Doesn't mean the same
To me
God's people
Don't mean the same
To me
God's day
Doesn't mean the same
To me
Well if so
We need to repent
That's what Jesus said
To the church
In Laodicea
You've got to repent
He said it quite often
To the churches
But you know
The wonderful thing is
That
The Christian
Will keep going
Despite the falls
Despite
And let's remember
That we live in a world
That's powerful
That sucks us
In
But you know
When you go to the Bible
There are exceptional saints
Like Daniel
And you look at him
He was greatly loved
Beloved of the Lord
He was an exceptional man
But there were a lot of other
Exceptional men
And they fell
That's one of the beauties
And the honesty of the Bible
And you look at your lots
Righteous lot
The New Testament calls it
Look at David
What was the term
That was used to him
A man after God's own heart
What a declaration
What a unique believer
David was
And yet
We see David succumbed
To temptation
And then not only
Did he succumb to temptation
But he tried to cover his tracks
In the most awful way
By murder
A saint of God
You look at Peter
There was nobody
Who voiced his love
For Jesus more
Oh
He said
So other people
Will do this and that
Count on me Lord
And yet a little later
You're seeing Peter
With oaths
And with curses
Denying that he ever knew
Anything about Jesus
You see
We're weak
We're frail
But you know
God's love is so great
He doesn't let us go
Despite that
He's still holding on to us
That's the beauty of it
Because he's saving us
Saving us from ourselves
But it isn't just a matter of
Being saved as it were
In this world
In the sense that our soul
Is saved from the Lord Jesus Christ
Because
When Jesus says here
We'll be saved
He's talking about the full salvation
Our salvation has begun
The moment
We've come to trust in Jesus Christ
But that's not the end of it
Our souls
Will pass
Into glory
The moment
We die
That's what will happen
For every single one
Who trusts in Jesus
And at that moment
We will discover
What salvation is
In an ever greater measure
We will see
What it involved
And we will see the
Towards the end results
Of the wonder
Of the glory
That has been prepared
For us
But that's not the end
Because we have to leave
Our bodies behind
And our bodies
Which are so important to us
And in our Christian life
Have been such a part
Of our Christian work
Hands that served
Tongues that sang
And confessed
Feet that carried us
Our bodies
And so often
We see this
Oh it's awful
Have to put the body
But it's not the end
Because the body
Will just
As Jesus rose from the dead
So shall we
And our bodies
Will be fitted
They will be made
Right
Same body
Not somebody else's
Or not other
Components
But our own body
Will rise
And reunite
With our soul
Being made
Suited and fitted
For the glorious
Environment
That we will be in
Forever
And only then
Will we fully discover
What being saved
Actually means
Because that is
What Jesus is talking about
Those who endure
To the end
Will be saved
That is the full
Salvation
That awaits
And the wonder
Of this gospel
Is that it isn't
Confined
Just to one
We spot
Before the end
Comes
The gospel
Will reach
All nations
And then the end
Will come
And now
What a wonderful
Prospect that is
Are you today
Safe in Jesus
Because there's
Nowhere else
It's a cruel
World out there
But there's
A safety
A security
A warmth
A peace
In Jesus
And there's
Nothing that the
Lord would
Love more
Than you to
Ask him
Right now
Lord
Come into
My heart
Be
My saviour
Let us pray
Lord our God
We pray
Today to bless
Us
As we read
Your word
We see
Difficulties
But we see
Blessings
We give
Thanks for
Your word
And we pray
That we might
Listen to it
Well
And that we
Might act
Wisely on it
By your grace
We pray to
Watch over
Each and every
One of us
Bless the cup
Of tea
In the hall
After
Take us all
Home safely
We pray
Do us good
And take
And take away
Every sin
In Jesus
Name
Amen
We're going to
Conclude singing
In Psalm 80
The 80th
Psalm from
The Scottish
Psalter
Psalm number
80
From the
Scottish
Psalter
It's on page
334
Verse 17
The last three
Verses
Oh let thy
Hand be still
Upon the man
Of thy right
Hand
The son of man
Whom for thyself
Thou madest
Strong to stand
So henceforth
We will not
Go back
Nor turn
From thee
At all
Oh do thou
Quicken us
And we upon
Thy name
Will call
Turn us
Again
Lord God
Of hosts
And upon us
Vowt safe
To make thy
Countenance
To shine
And so
We shall
Be saved
The tune
Is heaven
Psalm 80
The last three
Verses
Oh let thy
Hand be still
Upon
The man
Of thy
Right hand
O son
Of man
Whom for
Thyself
Thou may
Just
Night
Of
Thou
Ruby
And son
Thou
As
Thou
To
Thou
Are
Mar Ving
Thou
Abend
A
khác
History
HAM
Fo
bel
We
Thou
B
Thou
S
Thou
upon thy name will fall.
Darn us and aim for Prodobos,
and upon us our shame,
to make thy fountain hearts to shine,
and so we shall be saved.
Go to the front door.
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.
Amen.