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Choices have Consequences · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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We're going to begin our worship now by singing to God's praise in Psalm 93.
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It's the Sing Psalms version. You'll find it on page 123 of the Psalm book, Psalm 93.
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We're going to sing from verse 1 to 5, the whole Psalm.
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The Lord is King, His throne endures, majestic in His height.
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The Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength and might.
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The world is founded, firm and sure, removed it cannot be.
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Your throne is strong and you are God from all eternity.
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We'll stand to sing to God's praise the whole of this Psalm.
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The Lord is King, His throne endures, majestic in His height.
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The Lord is full in majesty and armed with strength and might.
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The world is founded, firm and sure, removed it cannot be.
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Your throne is strong and you are God from all eternity.
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The seas, O Lord, have lifted up, He lifted up their voice.
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The seeds have lifted up their weight, and made a mighty noise.
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The Lord, in throne of highest strong, more powerful is He.
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And thunder all the oceans' waves are breakers of the sea.
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Your royal statues, hearts and firm, unchanging is Your Word.
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And holiness adores Your hearts for endless days, O Lord.
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Well, we've come to God in prayer now.
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We'll just bow our heads in a word of prayer.
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Lord, our God, our Father in heaven, as we unite our hearts together in prayer at this time,
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we thank You that You are a God who has not turned His back away from His people,
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but indeed who we have the assurance through Your Word that You look down upon us
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and that You seek to meet with us this day as we come,
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to offer up our prayers and our praise to You.
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As we join together to hear Your Word and to come to seek understanding from it,
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we thank You that we have every promise in Your Word to lean upon,
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as well as every warning that Your Word gives us as well,
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that we are to be a people who listen.
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And so we thank You that we can come and meet with You anew today
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and seek Your blessing on all that we do.
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We thank You for this, Your day, a day that has been set aside for this very purpose.
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There is a day that in the week that is different to all the others,
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a day that we are to honour and to obey Your commands in,
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to rest from our work, but also to come and to praise and worship You
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according to Your Word and to Your truth.
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So we ask Your help, Lord, as we come to do that,
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that from the youngest to the oldest here,
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our hearts will be enlarged by You and touched by You,
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and that we will know that You have met with us through Your Holy Spirit
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that promise that He is always near to us.
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That we do thank You for each other and for all who are here today.
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We thank You for the young children, Lord, and we pray for them.
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Giving thanks again for the holiday club and for all that was done in that week.
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Giving thanks for the creche and the tweenies
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and Sunday schools will resume in the next few weeks as well.
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We do pray for children and leaders alike to know Your blessing
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and Your peace upon them.
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We remember them, our young people, especially in this coming week
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as they go back to school.
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We pray for teachers and staff as they return.
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We pray that they will feel refreshed after their holidays
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and be ready for a new term.
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And that children will come back, Lord,
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helped by You and encouraged by You.
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Whether it's starting P1 for the first time,
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whether it's moving up a class or going into a new school,
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whatever the situation may be, Lord,
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we ask that You will be with each and every one of them
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to lead them, to guide them, and to encourage them
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every step of the way.
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We thank You for every home and family.
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And we know, Lord, that there are many different needs around us.
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There are many who are ill at this time.
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Many are in hospital and homes.
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Many who are mourning and grieving in our midst.
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And we do pray for Your comfort to be upon each and every one
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as they have need.
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May You draw near to us in that way.
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May Your Word be blessed to us here throughout this day.
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And whatever is preached and proclaimed today,
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may You be in the midst of it all to bless Your people near and far
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throughout our land, throughout our nation,
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throughout nations of the world.
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We pray that You will send Your Word out with power to convict,
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to convert, and to bring people close to You
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and to know especially the love of Jesus
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and to put their trust in Him.
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May You guide us all in His name.
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Lead us, O Lord, into Your Word.
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And in all that we do today and in all the days ahead,
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may we seek to walk closely with You.
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And all we ask, we ask for the forgiveness of our sins.
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In Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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I'm going to say a few words to the young ones.
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Some of you will be going out in a wee minute.
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Others will be staying in the service.
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It's good to see you here today.
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Sometimes we might have conversations with each other,
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other young people, or maybe with your parents,
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or people you meet in school.
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And sometimes we can have little silly conversations sometimes
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and maybe try and think about things that might be very different,
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things outside the norm for us.
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And one of the things I was thinking about this week
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and I read this week was somebody asking a question.
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And the question was this.
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If you were to be an animal,
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what animal would you want to be?
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You can think about that for a wee minute.
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If you were to be an animal,
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what kind of animal would you want to be?
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And there's maybe all kinds of answers that will come to your mind.
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Maybe if you've got a dog at home,
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you'd want to be a dog.
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So you can just chase a ball all day
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or just run around and then go for a wee sleep
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and eat your food
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and go for walks and do things like that.
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Or maybe you've got a cat at home
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and you see the cat.
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The cat just wants to be the boss in the house
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and to have everybody do other things for it.
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Maybe you'd want to be a cat
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or maybe you want to be something more exotic.
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Maybe you want to be a giraffe.
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To be really tall and to be able to reach up high.
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Or to be a lion or a tiger.
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Somebody that's an animal that's feared by people
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and other animals as well.
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So we can always think about maybe
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different kinds of animals we would want to be.
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But I wonder if any of you would want to be a sheep.
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Anybody put your hands up if you'd want to be a sheep.
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I doubt if there's many hands going up.
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Well, there's one.
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One hand's going up wanting to be a sheep.
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Because I don't know if you want to be a sheep.
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Anybody wants to be a sheep.
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Because sometimes you look at sheep and you think,
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my goodness, they seem to be just quite stupid sometimes,
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don't they?
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They always get themselves stuck in a fence
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or stuck in a bog
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or going off in the wrong direction.
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And yet the interesting thing is,
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when you think about a sheep,
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the Bible often describes us as sheep.
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And it's one of the best used illustrations by Jesus
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and by others in the Bible to describe people
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to be like sheep.
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But how are we like sheep?
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Well, there's a few different ways.
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Sheep aren't very smart.
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Sometimes, like I was saying,
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they maybe go into a tight space.
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And instead of trying to just turn around and go back out,
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they try and keep going and force themselves through.
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They're stubborn.
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And so are we.
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We can be stubborn sometimes as well.
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And sheep, they'll often follow other sheep.
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It doesn't matter where they're going
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or what they're doing.
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Even when they're going into a dangerous place,
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they'll follow other sheep.
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And so we can be like that as well too.
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We can just follow other people.
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It doesn't matter where they're going
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or what they're doing.
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We just keep following them.
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But fortunately, sheep have a shepherd to look after them.
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And if a shepherd is good and he loves his sheep,
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he'll always make sure that his sheep are taken care of.
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And that's the way we are as well.
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We have a shepherd,
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a good shepherd who looks after us.
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So even when we go off in the wrong direction
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or we get stuck or do something wrong,
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we have a shepherd that looks after us.
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And that shepherd is the Lord Jesus Christ.
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He's the one we find described in the word
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as the good shepherd.
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In a psalm we know so well, Psalm 23,
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that psalm reminds us that the Lord is our shepherd.
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And that's the shepherd we want to know.
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So when you think about being like other animals,
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what kind of animal you would like to be,
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maybe think about the sheep and how we are like sheep.
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We can do the wrong things.
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We can go the wrong way.
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But we have a good shepherd,
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the Lord Jesus Christ,
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who came to bring us back on the right path
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and to go the right way,
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to help us and to save us.
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May God bless these thoughts to us.
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Well, we're going to say the Lord's Prayer together now.
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You'll have it on your sheets.
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We'll repeat the Lord's Prayer together.
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Let's say the Lord's Prayer.
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Our Father, which art in heaven,
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hallowed be thy name.
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Thy kingdom come.
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Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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Give us this day our daily bread
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and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
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And lead us not into temptation,
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but deliver us from evil.
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For thine is the kingdom,
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the power and the glory forever.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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We're going to sing together again to God's praise
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now in Psalm 121
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in the Scottish Psalter version.
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You find it on page 416 of the Psalm books.
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Psalm 121.
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Again, we're going to sing the whole of this Psalm.
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I to the hills will lift mine eyes.
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From whence doth come my need?
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My safety cometh from the Lord,
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who heaven and earth hath made.
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We'll stand to sing the whole of this Psalm
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to God's praise.
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I to the hills will lift mine eyes.
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I to the hills will lift mine eyes.
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From whence doth come my need?
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My safety cometh from the Lord,
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who heaven and earth hath made.
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Thy foot, thy foot, thy foot, thy will.
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His slumber that he keeps.
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Behold, he that keeps Israel.
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His slumber that he keeps.
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He slumber's not, nor sleeps.
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The Lord he keeps.
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The Lord thy shade.
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On thy right hand thou stay.
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The moon by night,
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He shall not smite,
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Nor yet the sun by day.
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The Lord shall keep thy soul.
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He shall preserve thee from all else.
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in thy Emmanuel things.
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We're going to turn now to read God's Word in the Bible.
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We're going to read in the Gospel of Mark, reading in chapter 6.
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And this is on page 1014, if you have the church Bibles.
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Mark chapter 6.
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We're going to take up our reading at verse 7.
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Mark chapter 6, reading at verse 7 down to verse 29.
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Let's hear God's Word.
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And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two,
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and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.
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He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff,
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no bread, no bag, no money in their belts,
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but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.
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And he said to them,
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Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there.
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And if any place will not receive you,
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and they will not listen to you,
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when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet
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as a testimony against them.
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So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent.
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And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
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King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known.
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Some said, John the Baptist has been raised from the dead.
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That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.
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But others said, He is Elijah.
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And others said, He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.
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But when Herod heard of it, he said,
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John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.
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For it was Herod who had sent and seized John,
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and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias,
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his brother Philip's wife,
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because he had married her.
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For John had been saying to Herod,
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it is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.
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And Herodias had a grudge against him,
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and wanted to put him to death,
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but she could not.
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For Herod feared John,
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knowing that he was a righteous and holy man,
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and he kept him safe.
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When he heard him,
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he was greatly perplexed,
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and yet he heard him gladly.
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But an opportunity came when Herod,
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on his birthday,
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gave a banquet for his nobles,
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and military commanders,
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and the leading men of Galilee.
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But when Herodias' daughter came in and danced,
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and she pleased Herod and his guests.
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And the king said to the girl,
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Ask me for whatever you wish,
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and I will give it to you.
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And he vowed to her,
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whatever you ask me,
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I will give you up to half my kingdom.
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And she went out and said to her mother,
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For what should I ask?
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And she said,
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The head of John the Baptist.
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And she came in immediately with haste to the king,
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and asked, saying,
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I want you to give me at once
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the head of John the Baptist on a platter.
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And the king was exceedingly sorry,
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but because of his oaths and his guests,
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he did not want to break his word to her.
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And immediately the king sent an executioner
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with orders to bring John's head.
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He went and beheaded him in the prison,
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and brought his head on a platter,
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and gave it to the girl,
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and the girl gave it to her mother.
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When his disciples heard of it,
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they came and took his body,
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and laid it in a tomb.
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And so on, and may God bless
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that reading from his word.
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And before we come back to look at
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some of that passage,
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we're going to again sing to God's praise
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in Psalm 32.
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In the Scottish Psalter version,
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it's on page 244 of the Psalm book.
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Psalm 32.
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And at verse 7.
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There art my hiding place,
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thou shalt from trouble keep me free.
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Thou with songs of deliverance
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about shalt compass me.
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I will instruct thee,
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and they teach the way
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that thou shalt go.
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And with mine eye upon thee set,
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I will direction show.
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We're going to sing from verse 7
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to the end of the Psalm,
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verse 11,
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to God's praise.
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And again we stand to sing.
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The Lord my hiding place,
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thou shalt from trouble keep me free.
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Thou with songs of deliverance,
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a bird shall compass me.
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I will instruct thee and be teach,
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the way that thou shalt go.
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And with mine eye upon thee set,
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I will direction show.
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Then be not like the horse or mule,
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which could not understand,
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whose mouth lest they come near to thee,
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a bridal must command.
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And to the man that wicked is,
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his sorrows shall abound.
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But him that trusted in the Lord,
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mercy shall compass round.
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Ye righteous in the Lord be glad,
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in him that upright,
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in him he rejoice.
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O he that upright,
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in heart,
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for joy lift up your voice.
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O he that holy is.
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But before we turn back to look at the Gospel of Mark,
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we'll bow our heads again in a word of prayer.
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Let us pray.
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Lord our God as we continue in our worship as we seek your help as we turn to your word we
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we thank you that it is a living word a word that ministers to our hearts and to our souls
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and may you bring it alive in our own hearts today to bring that joy of salvation into our
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hearts whether it's to know it once again or to know it for the first time that we would find
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in your word the beauty of Christ and the love of Jesus shown to us the one who came who into this
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world who you sent into this world for the salvation of our souls the one who gave his life as a ransom
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for many so we thank you that your word instructs and teaches us and we pray that it will do that for
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us anew today we continue to remember Lord all that goes on around us we know the many needs that
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surround us and even in this past week the many things that have maybe shocked us in a sense we
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know that in life there are many troubles and yet Jesus says to be of good courage for he has overcome
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the world and so we pray that we will remember that and that others will be able to to take hold of that
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message and even to share that message of hope found in Christ as Lord we prayed for congregations near
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and far but in this past week our minds have been filled with events close to home for us in the
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island of sky with a tragedy that unfolded there and we do remember all the families grieving at this
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time and concerned for loved ones the many who are troubled in their hearts and in their spirits
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we pray Lord for your comfort for your peace to be upon a people there and for those who minister
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into that situation we pray for you to give words of wisdom of help to know what to say and how to say it
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we can feel like helpless comforters at times but we thank you that as we lean upon you and trust in you
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you assure us of giving words that we need as and when required so Lord may you minister into that
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situation as well as the many needful situations around us too we thank you that you are a God whose
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eyes are always upon the whole of your creation that even as the psalm that we sang together at the
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beginning psalm 121 it reminds us that in our troubles in our days of wondering where we are to look to for
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help that we can lift our eyes to the Lord so may you help us even now to lift our eyes to you and to
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see that you are a God who is near and near to help guide us then into your word now as we come to it
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help us that we will hear from it and recognize our own need in it too to choose wisely and to follow the
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paths of life as found in Christ so Lord hear our prayers and continue with us now we ask we ask in
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Jesus precious name amen we can turn back to our reading in the gospel of Mark chapter 6 and we're
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going to look in particular at this event surrounding the life of King Herod and all that took place in
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verse 14 down to verse 29 King Herod had met with John the Baptist many times he'd heard John the Baptist
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speaking to him about the gospel the good news of Jesus and as we read there in verse 20
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Herod feared God John knowing that he was a righteous and holy man and he kept him safe when he heard him
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he was greatly perplexed and yet he heard him gladly so John the Baptist was someone who had ministered to
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King Herod a great privilege to be able to minister to him but King Herod was in conflict in his own life
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which way he would go which way he would choose and that's the theme of our service this morning
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the choices we make and the consequences that they have we're going to look in particular at the choices
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that King Herod made and how we can learn lessons for ourselves because our lives are full of choices
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every single day we make choices some with great significance others less so but all of them
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combining into our life and the way we are living and the direction that we are going in
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we chose today whether we would come to church or not we might choose later what we will eat or what
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we won't eat our life is always full of choice but the most important choices we make and should or
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should make are based on what we find before us today in the Word of God and in the instruction
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that the Word of God gives us the Gospel of Mark as you read through it you find the ministry of Jesus
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going through different towns and villages meeting with different people all the time and all the time
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people being presented with a choice are they going to listen or are they going to shun this teaching are
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they going to follow Jesus or are they going to keep going in their own paths their own direction
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the beginning of this chapter as Jesus comes in to Nazareth his own hometown he's ministering there
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and the people are presented with the Gospel and yet so many of them just turn their back on it
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and here we are gathered together under God's Word once again I'm sure most of us maybe majority of
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us have been here on many occasions hearing the Word of God and the question is still do we accept it
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do we believe it or do we ignore it what are we going to do today with the Gospel that we hear what have
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you done with the Gospel you've heard in the past what choice have you made with it well in these verses
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before us today we hear how John the Baptist the one who was the forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ the
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one who who went to prepare the way for him who was telling others that greater than him was coming after him
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we read of him here and we see how his life came to an abrupt end how King Herod had it had him
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beheaded and this was the result his death was result of the choices made by this man King Herod
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he chose whether to have John killed or whether to spare his life and as you read there in verse 20
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for a long time he had spared his life he had kept him safe but he found himself now in a very
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difficult position where he was under pressure and what choice would he make in the midst of this
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pressure the scripture is full the whole of the Bible is full of seeing people making choices
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from the very beginning when you go back to the book of Genesis you find Adam and Eve presented with
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choice in the midst of the garden would they obey the voice of God who had told them what they could
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and what they couldn't do or would they listen to the tempter who had come into their midst and told
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them not to listen to God but to make their own choices to do their own thing you see there they
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chose wrongly and sin came into the world and all the consequences that that brought now we recognize
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as we're talking about choices that we're always seeing God as sovereign and overruling in all our choices
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but we also see our own responsibilities God's sovereignty and man's responsibility is always
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before us but as you read through the scripture you see we're always presented with the choices
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that we are to make but here in this passage King Herod after the events of the beheading of John the
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Baptist has now heard something that's leaving him troubled he's hearing all about the work of Jesus
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and he's hearing some who are saying John the Baptist has been raised from the dead and this leaves him
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troubled John the Baptist has come back it's causing him a great fear and this passage before us as well as
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speaking into the present situation of herod brings us into the past and the choices that he made and I
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want us to think of these choices together those in the past seeing the choices he made seeing the
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consequences of it and the pressure he was under and then bringing it into the present where King Herod is
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now reflecting on his life and the choices that he has made and thinking of the consequences of it
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so first of all we think of the choices that King Herod made and the choices that we make ourselves
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somebody once said our outlook on life is not best expressed in words it is expressed in the choices
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we make in the long run we shape our lives and we shape ourselves the process never ends until we die
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and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility
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our lives are shaped by the choices that we make as well as the Lord's sovereign will in our life
33:58
and as we read in this passage we see that Herod he didn't just make one choice that impacted his life
34:06
he made a series of choices at different points in his life that affected his whole life
34:13
and when you look at the many wrong choices that he made here you look at verse 17 and there we're giving
34:23
an insight into the choices that he's made in the past and the wrong choices that he's made in the past
34:30
we read in verse 17 that Herod had had John seized and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias
34:40
his brother Philip's wife
34:42
he was under pressure from his wife his wife didn't like John the Baptist and what he was saying about their
34:51
marriage and it being wrong and he was under pressure so he had him arrested and sort of
34:56
try to just push him away to the side but at the same time trying to keep him safe he didn't have to do
35:05
this he didn't have to put him in prison but it was the wrong thing to do it was the wrong choice
35:13
and the basis of this is on another wrong choice he made in his life he had married Herodias his brother's
35:23
wife he had made an unwise choice there it wasn't the right thing to do but he had a choice in it
35:31
and it was this choice that was really at the heart of everything that was going wrong in his life
35:37
he was enjoying hearing John the Baptist at one point perplexed and yet heard him gladly as it
35:45
says in verse 20 but now with Herodias in the midst of it she was trouble for him
35:51
and that's the reality of life for Herod here he's in the midst of the mixture of all the different
36:00
choices he's made in life and being pulled in different directions and so often it's the case
36:06
for ourselves too the choices that we've made maybe in the past are continually affecting our lives
36:14
some are good choices some are wise choices and have helped us go on the right way others we maybe
36:22
look back and think they were the wrong choices I've made they've had a maybe a lasting impact on my life
36:29
in a bad way but what we see as we look at Herodias and as we look at our own lives no matter the wrong
36:36
choices we've made there is always opportunity to come back and find the right path you think of people
36:47
who are in prison they're there because very often they've made a wrong choice taking a wrong decision
36:56
and there are consequences to these choices they find themselves now entrapped in prison
37:03
but the reality is prison isn't always walls and bars and locked gates we often find ourselves in prison
37:13
in this world because of the choices we have made we're not put locked away but we feel imprisoned in
37:20
our lives we feel like we're compressed in our lives under pressure in our lives because of the choices
37:26
that we've made but the scripture is there to help us and to guide us out of the sense of being in prison
37:35
to the freedom that is found in Christ and for Herod this was something that he'd been hearing about
37:44
again and again again as verse 20 just shows to us there is this enjoyment he had of meeting with John the Baptist
37:52
of hearing about the works of Christ he heard him gladly but pulled away in a different direction because of the wrong
38:04
choices that he made he feared when he was hearing about Christ but at the end of the day
38:12
he chose to ignore him and not to accept him the greatest choice in life he got wrong
38:20
and what about for ourselves today how are we choosing with this gospel how are we choosing with this Christ
38:30
who we hear about so often are we choosing to follow to trust to believe with all our heart
38:37
or are we turning away Joshua in the old testament that says these great words as he's surrounded by
38:46
people who are choosing many other different gods in life he says to them choose this day whom you will
38:53
serve but he says as for me and my house we will serve the Lord Joshua chose wisely but for so many
39:05
things it's an unwise choice we come to we reject or we turn away from the Lord
39:13
Dwight L Moody the great evangelist of many years ago he tells a story of a young Christian man who went
39:20
to university in England and he was studying there studying diligently but he was surrounded by people
39:26
who didn't believe in God and would often debate with him about how God is not real or we don't need the
39:33
Lord Jesus in our lives and this one day he was discussing debating with another student
39:39
discussing faith in the Bible and they were batting back and forth this Christian student he felt he
39:48
wasn't as well educated as eloquent in his language as this other student who was seemed to be more
39:54
advanced in his knowledge than him and he wasn't getting anywhere no matter what he said in this debate
40:01
he wasn't getting anywhere he was always getting an answer back that seemed to just push him further and
40:07
further away and in the end he said look I'm not as eloquent as you I'm not as good as debating as you
40:14
but he said what if I could prove to you beyond a shadow of a doubt that Christ is who he claims to be
40:25
would you be willing to acknowledge him as Lord and as your Lord to prove without a shadow of a doubt that Christ is real
40:38
and who he claims to be would you believe immediately the student he was debating with said no certainly not
40:47
it didn't matter what he would say what he would show of the reality of Christ this man was unwilling to believe
40:58
and you see that's often the problem with the knowledge of God it's not that the the facts aren't there
41:06
it's not that God cannot be known it's that the natural desire of our heart is to reject and to push God
41:15
away our natural choice in life is to shun God to push him further and further away
41:26
Herod is an example to us of that of choosing wrongly in his past he has made all these wrong choices
41:37
and all they have done is pushed God further and further away
41:42
but we're thankful that the scripture is full of others who remind us and show us that we can come
41:50
to Christ no matter the choices that we've made in the past and find with him one who is willing to
41:56
forgive to heal and to help just think of the gospel of Mark itself it's full of accounts of Jesus meeting
42:04
people who have made so many wrong decisions and yet they come empty-handed with nothing left they come to
42:12
Christ and they come to Christ and they find in him one who gives him everything that they need
42:17
the opposite is true of King Herod he came with maybe everything he needed but he left with nothing
42:25
because he rejected Christ Herod chose unwisely and so many times in his life
42:33
how will you choose today how have you been choosing to live your life how will you choose
42:41
to live your life as you go on our choices are always before us the second thing we see of Herod though
42:51
is he's surrounded by people who are putting pressure on him and this is something we can often feel
42:57
in our own lives to today the sense of peer pressure you can maybe say well it wasn't all Herod's fault
43:05
everything that happened here and the consequences it brought it wasn't all Herod's fault you could
43:12
blame it maybe on his wife or his wife's daughter you can say well it was their fault just in the same way
43:20
as you go back to Adam and Eve where the blame is seemed to be passed Adam blames his wife Eve blames
43:29
the serpent the buck is passed we can always try and pass the blame off to somebody else
43:35
so was Herod here was he just in a situation where it was somebody else's fault peer pressure was to blame
43:44
for the choices that we made that he made no he made the choice he chose everything that we see before us
43:57
here he made that final choice and he had to live with the consequences of it we all make our own choices
44:08
we can always try and blame others for the choices that we have made but at the end of the day the
44:15
choices are in our own hands Herod's wife Herodias had put pressure on him she had been almost constantly
44:23
putting pressure on him so so Herod had put John the Baptist in prison to try and get her off his case
44:29
but it wouldn't go away and she was still wanting more she wanted John the Baptist put to death
44:37
he was saying the relationship was wrong he wanted to keep his wife happy and he was in the midst
44:46
of this pressure what do I do who do I try and please and in our own lives we can come under pressure
44:55
from other people as well we will often have that sense of who are we going to please
45:00
it could be a husband or a wife it could be children or parents it could be our bosses at work
45:07
it can be our friends so often in our life there is this pressure coming upon us from all different
45:14
directions we have an abundance of peer pressure and it can keep us from doing what is right with God
45:23
and this is something we have to be so careful about the most important thing for us to do is not as our
45:32
friends want us to do the pressures to do the wrong things in life or to go to the wrong places
45:40
but the the pressure we should feel most is to do what is right with God to do what is right
45:48
in following the Lord Jesus and his commands something that Herod had heard so much about
45:54
and was gladly hearing and yet perplexed with and now just pushing away in verse 26 we are given a
46:04
great insight into the choice that Herod made in the pressure he was under when you read in verse 26 it
46:11
says the king was exceedingly sorry he'd found himself in this situation where he had to choose
46:18
under pressure what am I going to do am I going to please my wife or lose face with the important
46:25
people around me here these people had come to his birthday party who he'd tried to impress and he'd said
46:32
to Herodias his daughter I will give you anything you ask for up to half my kingdom she asked for John
46:40
the Baptist's head on a platter now what's he going to do he's torn in different directions he's feeling
46:48
this pressure he's greatly distressed he's torn in different directions he knew what he did was wrong
46:58
the choice he made was wrong but because of the important people around him he decided losing face with
47:06
them it was more important not losing face with them was more important than having John the Baptist beheaded
47:14
do you feel that kind of pressure today when it comes to the things of God when it comes to following
47:24
the Lord Jesus peer pressure starts from a very young age and in many ways it can sometimes seem
47:32
just harmless things going along with what others are doing having the same things that other people have
47:40
it'll follow us into our teenage years into our working life into our old age there's always a sense of
47:49
pressure the danger is that we let that pressure control every decision we make and especially when it comes
48:00
to the things of God to feel a sense of pressure that you're going to be different if you become a
48:07
Christian that your life is going to lack all joy if you become a Christian that you're going to have
48:13
nothing if you become a Christian that is going to affect the choices you have in the workplace or even the work
48:19
you're able to take to live for Christ brings with its other pressures but it brings the promise that he is with us
48:29
and he will honor us to be a Christian today is being in the minority in so many places
48:36
but does that make it wrong no because God is always calling us to himself
48:44
Herod didn't follow the advice of John he didn't listen to the gospel that John proclaimed to him because if he
48:54
had he would have been in the minority would have cost him in the short term he would have lost face with so many
49:01
but the greatest loss was in the long term and he lost or the danger was of losing his soul
49:11
and that is the pressure that we are under today ourselves we're torn maybe between doing what is right
49:19
with God giving our life to the Lord Jesus and keeping others who are close to us happy not losing face
49:26
with others
49:27
that's the decisions that we're always faced with
49:32
in the midst of it we are to choose wisely
49:38
maybe today you're finding yourself
49:41
you doubt if God is real
49:44
you doubt if it's going to make a difference
49:47
in your life
49:49
maybe today you're angry with God
49:53
because of something that's come into your life
49:55
into your experience
49:56
you're finding yourself in a rage against God
50:00
well sometimes these are not the right moments
50:05
to choose to reject God
50:07
but instead to come and ask questions about God
50:11
to ask
50:13
can he be real
50:14
is he real
50:15
can he help me
50:16
to put yourself in the right place with the right people
50:20
who are able to guide you
50:21
on the right path
50:23
sometimes when we're at our lowest
50:26
or our darkest point
50:28
God can come in the midst
50:30
but at other points like you see with Herod here
50:32
and the pressure he is under
50:33
he pushes God away
50:36
a man told a story about his father
50:40
his father who was struggling
50:42
to keep the house warm during winter
50:45
and they had run out of firewood
50:48
and they were struggling
50:50
and he was wondering what will I do
50:51
but he knew there was this tree out in the garden
50:54
and in his eyes the tree was dead
50:56
it had died in the winter
50:57
no leaves, nothing
50:59
and the coal just made the branches so brittle
51:03
that if you could just snap them
51:05
with your hand
51:06
in his eyes
51:07
the tree was dead
51:10
and so he decided to cut it down
51:13
and he used it as firewood
51:16
but come the spring
51:18
to his dismay
51:20
he realized that the stump that was there
51:23
was now sprouting new shoots
51:25
there had still been life
51:27
and the tree, a tree that had provided
51:29
so much fruit for them
51:31
in the summer months
51:32
was now gone
51:32
because of a rash decision that he'd made
51:35
thinking there's no life
51:36
in this tree
51:38
and it would take years
51:40
for that tree
51:41
to come back to bearing
51:43
as much fruit as it had once done
51:45
and he said to his son
51:47
don't forget this lesson
51:49
never cut down a tree
51:53
in the winter time
51:54
never make a rash decision
51:57
in the low times in your life
51:59
never make these kinds of decisions
52:02
in your worst mood
52:03
wait
52:05
be patient
52:06
the storm will pass
52:08
he said
52:08
and the spring
52:09
will come
52:11
in our own low points in life
52:14
or when we're angry with God
52:16
that's not the time
52:17
to just push him away
52:19
it's a time
52:22
to draw near to him
52:23
even more
52:24
to realize
52:25
the life
52:27
that is in him
52:27
to surround yourself
52:29
with people
52:30
who are able to guide you
52:32
and to help you
52:32
to show you the way to Christ
52:34
the life that is found in him
52:36
that he is
52:38
the one who is able to save
52:40
we are surrounded
52:43
by those who will tell us otherwise
52:46
there's peer pressure
52:48
all around us
52:48
and Herod
52:49
had all these people
52:50
around him
52:51
he didn't want to lose face with
52:53
but they became more important
52:56
than his own life
52:57
and his own soul
52:58
so for ourselves today
53:01
make sure we see
53:03
the precious nature
53:04
of our soul
53:05
and above all
53:06
the beauty of Christ
53:08
who is able to save our soul
53:10
and to choose wisely
53:13
and the final thing
53:16
just briefly we see
53:17
with Herod here
53:18
is the consequences
53:20
of all these choices
53:22
we come back to
53:24
looking at Herod now
53:26
in his present situation
53:27
he's reflecting on the decisions
53:29
he's made in the past
53:30
but here he is
53:31
in his present situation
53:33
and before
53:35
we see that in verse 14
53:38
to verse 16
53:40
and what he's hearing about Jesus
53:42
there in verse 14
53:44
is that he has been doing
53:45
amazing works
53:47
King Herod heard of it
53:49
for Jesus' name
53:50
had become known
53:51
some said
53:52
John the Baptist
53:54
has been raised from the dead
53:55
and this is what strikes fear
53:57
into him
53:58
and the reaction
53:59
to this news
54:00
of Jesus being
54:02
John the Baptist
54:03
raised from the dead
54:04
strikes fear
54:06
into him
54:07
his conscience
54:09
is still affected
54:11
even though there's
54:12
some time past
54:13
since John the Baptist
54:14
was put to death
54:15
it hasn't left his mind
54:17
and this just brings
54:19
that fear
54:20
back to him
54:21
he thinks he's going
54:22
to come face to face
54:23
with the one
54:25
he had put to death
54:26
the one
54:27
he now thinks
54:28
is raised from the dead
54:29
and this is a time
54:31
for reflection
54:32
for him
54:33
but it's a reminder
54:35
to us too
54:36
that we hear
54:39
of one who is
54:41
raised from the dead
54:42
one who we will come
54:45
face to face with
54:47
one who we must
54:49
appear
54:50
before
54:51
not John the Baptist
54:54
raised from the dead
54:55
but the Lord Jesus Christ
54:58
the one who was put to death
55:01
because of our sin
55:02
but the one
55:04
who we are reminded
55:05
in scripture
55:05
on the third day
55:06
rose again
55:07
who has ascended
55:09
to the father
55:09
who is coming back
55:11
to take his people
55:13
to be with him
55:13
the one
55:15
who we must
55:16
all appear
55:17
before
55:18
in a sense
55:19
of judgment
55:20
Herod
55:22
King Herod
55:23
was afraid
55:23
of meeting
55:24
John the Baptist
55:25
raised from the dead
55:26
what's your thought
55:29
of meeting
55:29
with the Lord Jesus Christ
55:31
raised from the dead
55:32
does that put you
55:34
fear
55:35
into your heart
55:36
or does it fill you
55:38
with a sense
55:39
of joy
55:40
if you don't believe
55:44
if you don't trust him
55:45
it will be fear
55:47
but if you believe
55:48
with all your heart
55:49
that he is Lord
55:50
and God of all
55:52
it will fill your heart
55:54
with joy
55:55
to know
55:55
that you will see him
55:57
C.S. Lewis
55:59
in his book
55:59
Mere Christianity
56:00
says this
56:01
when the author
56:03
walks onto the stage
56:05
the play
56:07
is over
56:08
God is going
56:10
to invade
56:11
all right
56:11
but what is the good
56:13
of saying
56:14
you are on his side
56:15
then
56:15
when you see
56:16
the whole
56:17
natural universe
56:18
melting away
56:19
like a dream
56:20
and something else
56:21
comes crashing in
56:23
this time
56:25
it will be God
56:26
without disguise
56:28
something so overwhelming
56:30
that will strike
56:31
either irresistible love
56:32
or irresistible horror
56:34
into every creature
56:36
it will be too late
56:38
then
56:38
to choose your side
56:40
that will not be
56:42
the time
56:43
for choosing
56:43
it will be the time
56:46
when you discover
56:47
which side
56:48
we have
56:48
we really have chosen
56:50
whether we realized
56:52
it before or not
56:53
now
56:55
he says
56:55
today
56:56
this moment
56:58
is our chance
57:00
to choose
57:02
the right
57:02
side
57:03
we are presented
57:06
with choices
57:07
all the time
57:09
and we are to
57:11
choose
57:12
wisely
57:13
what does it mean
57:15
to choose
57:17
wisely
57:18
well it was a message
57:20
that struck fear
57:21
into Herod
57:23
that this Jesus
57:25
had come
57:26
and if you look at
57:27
verse 12
57:28
it says
57:28
his disciples
57:30
went out
57:30
and proclaimed
57:31
that people
57:32
should repent
57:33
this is what it means
57:37
to choose wisely
57:38
this is the opportunity
57:39
that Herod himself
57:41
had
57:41
and passed by
57:42
and it's your choice
57:44
today
57:44
no matter
57:46
the choices
57:47
you've made
57:48
in the past
57:49
and maybe
57:50
we've all made
57:50
many wrong choices
57:52
and they've led us
57:53
into many wrong places
57:55
today
57:57
we have the opportunity
57:59
to choose wisely
58:00
to choose Christ
58:02
and to serve him
58:04
and to follow him
58:06
and to know
58:07
that that choice
58:08
is the greatest choice
58:10
of all
58:11
to know
58:12
him
58:13
who is our shepherd
58:15
who is
58:16
our Lord
58:18
to say with Joshua
58:20
but as for me
58:21
and my house
58:22
we
58:24
will serve
58:25
the Lord
58:26
choose
58:27
this day
58:28
whom you will serve
58:30
that is a choice
58:32
before us
58:33
the choice
58:34
before Herod
58:35
the choice
58:36
we all face
58:37
may we all
58:39
choose
58:39
wisely
58:40
and follow
58:42
Christ
58:43
as Lord
58:43
let us pray
58:45
our Father
58:48
in heaven
58:49
your word
58:49
reminds us
58:50
of the need
58:51
of the choices
58:53
that we make
58:54
in life
58:54
our greatest need
58:56
of all
58:56
is to know
58:57
Christ
58:57
as Lord
58:58
and we pray
58:59
that your word
59:00
and your spirit
59:01
will guide us
59:02
in making that
59:03
wise choice
59:04
this day
59:05
for we know
59:06
that the time
59:07
is short
59:08
and that now
59:09
even today
59:10
is the time
59:11
to choose
59:12
the right side
59:13
and so Lord
59:14
we help
59:14
we pray
59:15
for your help
59:16
your guidance
59:17
your instruction
59:18
to take away
59:19
the often
59:20
pressures we feel
59:21
and to know
59:22
the love of Christ
59:23
that's greater than all
59:24
so may you bless us
59:26
and help us
59:27
to that end
59:28
as we ask it all
59:29
in his precious name
59:30
Amen
59:31
we're going to conclude
59:39
by singing
59:40
to God's praise
59:41
in Psalm 85
59:43
sorry
59:44
Psalm 65
59:44
in the Sing
59:46
Psalms version
59:47
page 82
59:50
of the Psalm books
59:51
Psalm 65
59:55
we're going to sing
59:56
verses 1
59:57
to verse 5
59:58
in Zion praise
1:00:01
awaits you Lord
1:00:02
to you our vows
1:00:03
will pay
1:00:03
to you all people
1:00:05
will come near
1:00:06
you hear us
1:00:07
when we pray
1:00:08
we'll sing from
1:00:09
verse 1 to 5
1:00:10
to God's praise
1:00:11
and we stand
1:00:12
to sing
1:00:13
in Zion praise
1:00:20
awaits you Lord
1:00:23
to you our vows
1:00:28
will pay
1:00:30
to you all people
1:00:34
will come near
1:00:38
you hear us
1:00:41
when we pray
1:00:44
when we were
1:00:49
overwhelmed
1:00:51
by sins
1:00:54
and guilt
1:00:56
upon us
1:00:59
lay
1:01:00
you pardoned
1:01:04
all our trespasses
1:01:08
and washed
1:01:11
our guilt
1:01:13
away
1:01:14
how blessed
1:01:19
are those
1:01:21
you choose
1:01:23
and bring
1:01:24
within
1:01:26
your
1:01:28
courts
1:01:29
of grace
1:01:31
we're
1:01:33
filled
1:01:34
with
1:01:35
blessings
1:01:36
in your
1:01:38
house
1:01:40
in your
1:01:42
most holy
1:01:44
place
1:01:47
with
1:01:49
awesome
1:01:50
deeds
1:01:51
of righteousness
1:01:54
you
1:01:57
answered
1:01:58
us
1:01:59
O God
1:02:02
our
1:02:04
Savior
1:02:05
full
1:02:06
of
1:02:08
far
1:02:09
the
1:02:10
sea
1:02:11
and
1:02:12
all
1:02:13
the
1:02:14
earth
1:02:15
abroad
1:02:17
after the
1:02:20
benediction
1:02:21
I'll go to the
1:02:22
door to my
1:02:22
left here
1:02:23
we'll close with
1:02:24
the benediction
1:02:24
now may grace
1:02:26
mercy and peace
1:02:28
from God
1:02:28
Father
1:02:29
Son
1:02:30
and Holy
1:02:30
Spirit
1:02:31
rest upon
1:02:32
and abide
1:02:33
with us all
1:02:34
now and
1:02:34
forevermore
1:02:36
Amen
1:02:36
thank you
1:03:06
thank you