Ardoch Parish Church
Sunday 1st November 2020
Welcome to our Service of Worship
Hymn: For all the Saints
For all the saints, who from their labours rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed
Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia
Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia
O blest Communion, fellowship divine
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine.
Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine
Alleluia, Alleluia
And when the strife is fierce and warfare long
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song
And hearts are brave again and arms are strong
Alleluia, Alleluia
From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
Singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost
Alleluia, Alleluia
The Creed
Signed in Makaton by Betty George
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
born of the virgin Mary.
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to hell.
The third day he rose again.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Reading
Our reader this morning is Irene Robertson and she is reading from
Psalm 119 v 89 -106
Hymn: The Word is a lamp unto my feet
Sung by Amy Grant
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
When I feel afraid, Think I’ve lost my way, Still you’re there right beside me.
And nothing will I fear As long as you are near.
Please be near me to the end. Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I will not forget Your love for me and yet My heart forever is wandering. Jesus be my guide, And hold me to your side, I will love you to the end. Nothing will I fear as long as you are near.
Please be near me to the end. Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path, And a light unto my path. You’re the light unto my path.
I am sure that probably all of you have used a compass in the past. A compass is used to find the right direction to get you to where you want to go. The compass has four main directions, they are North, South, East and West. The needle of the compass always points North. If the needle sometimes pointed North and at other times it pointed to the South, East, or West, you would never be able to use the compass to find your way. You would wander around, hopelessly lost. The compass must always point in the right direction if we are going to use it to guide us. So what about life, what about our day to day routines which we follow. Where can we look for help and direction in our own particular situation.
When we are trying to find our way through the journey of life we need to remember that God has given us a spiritual compass to guide our path. That guide is the Bible, God’s Holy Word. The truth that we find in the Bible never changes. It will always point us in the same direction. It will always point us to Jesus. We will never be lost if we follow its directions.
It is however so easy just to depend on ourselves, to think that we have all the answers, to think that we know best.
Some people use their feelings to help them to decide what they should do. That’s no good. Our feelings change from day to day and they cannot be trusted. Besides that, just because we feel good about something doesn’t mean that it is the right thing to do.
We often base our decisions on bad advice. Sometimes we decide to do something just because everyone else is doing it. It’s popular or we may be bullied into doing something we would rather not. That is no good either. Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean that it is the right thing to do, does it? Tomorrow everyone might be doing something else. Sometimes we just want to take the easy route and go in the direction that looks the least bother to us.
There is only one thing that we can trust to always point us in the right direction, and that is God’s word which we find in the Bible. It will always point to Jesus and Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by me.”
Father, we thank you for giving us the Bible to be our guide through life. Help us to remember that we can always depend on the Bible to point us in the right direction.
Amen
Hymn: Glorious things of Thee are spoken
Played and sung by Scottish Hymns Band