Treasure Hunt - Route, Rescuer and Riches

We're going to begin our service. We're going to sing to God's praise in Psalm 107.

And we're going to sing from verse 23.

Our singings today tie in with the theme that we had during the holiday club this week.

And our first singing is Psalm 107. It tells us about those who went to sea in ships,

and they found themselves in great danger. And when they were in danger, what did they do?

They cried out to the Lord for help, and He rescued them. And that's very much the theme

that we had in the holiday club this week. So we're going to sing this Psalm, Psalm 107,

Psalms 107:23

verse 23. Who go to sea in ships, and in great waters trading be within the deep these men God's

works and his great wonders see. We'll sing down to verse 30, and we're going to stand to sing.

Let's sing.

Let's sing.

How long to tell the price

They mount to heaven and to the dead

They do go down again

Their souls of fate have held away

Where trouble I will gain

They will have shot the life of God

At their words shall they be

Their day to mourn their trouble cry

To them from streets are free

The stormless chains into the calm

At its command and will

So that the winds which raced before

Now wide and under

Then hard they path because

Are fresh and wide yet now they be

So to the heaven be them brings

Which they desire to see

We're going to come to God in prayer now

Let us bow our heads in a word of prayer

Our Father in heaven as we come to unite our hearts

In prayer as we come to lift up our praise to you this day

We thank you that you are a God who has promised

That you are always near as we worship you

As we praise your name

As we offer up our prayers

Your ear is open towards us

You hear our every word

And you delight when your people come

To give you all the praise

And we thank you that your name is worthy of it

We are reminded in the psalm that we just sung

That we so often find ourselves in difficulty

And in this life we are not far away from troubles

They are all around us

But we thank you that you are there to be called upon

That you are the one who is able to change the storm

Into a calm

And we thank you for that great promise that we have in your word

That we have one who is able to help

One who is able to save

The rescuer who is Jesus Christ our Lord

And so we pray today that we will be able to worship you with all our hearts

To give you thanks for all your blessings

And that even as we look back over this week

And especially as we give thanks for the holiday club that took place

We thank you for the time we enjoyed together

For all the children and parents and families who were joined together there

For all who helped with it in so many different ways

We thank you for your presence with us

For your peace and blessing over us

And we ask for that to continue with us today and always

That we would know that you are with us

And that that is your promise

That you are always with us

So may you bless us and help us day by day

That we would be by faith people who can trust in you

And always lean upon you for help

In every experience we have

We know today that there are those who are going through

Personal times of difficulty

We know that there are people who are sad

Because of the loss of loved ones

There are people who are unwell

Both at home and in hospitals

Maybe even in our own families

We know of those who are unwell

We want to pray for each and every one

That you will draw near with your comfort

With your peace

And your healing hand

Where that is in your will

We thank you for your word

We thank you that it is a light

And a beacon of hope

In this world in which we live

And we pray that you will bless your word

As we share from it together today

Blessed in all the messages we heard

During this past week

Blessed in all the services that take place

Throughout the week and today

And not just here

But everywhere your word is proclaimed

We thank you that it is a great light

Shining into our world

And we pray that you will help people

To see the way to life

And that life that is found in Jesus Christ

The one who is the treasure

Above everything else that we should desire

In this world

So may you lead us to him

And help us to look to him

And fix our eyes on him today

Bless us later as we will enjoy tea and coffee together

With all the young ones

As they will sing and share with us

And we do pray your blessing

On each and every one of them

And their families

And all of us together

May we know your peace and blessing with us

And we ask it all

With the forgiveness of our sins

In Jesus' precious name

Amen

As I was saying before

We really did enjoy

A great week together

At the holiday club this week

And it's great to see so many

Children and also parents

Who are along this week here today

And today's service is really based

On the things that we were looking at

During this past week

We were looking at the passage

That we were looking at

In the memory verse

That we learned especially

Which you'll all remember

And hopefully you'll be able to share

With us later on as well

It was a really good week together

Where we were singing songs

We had games

There were crafts each day

Different things going on each day

But above all

We were learning about a great story

The story that we find in the Bible

And it really is the greatest story ever told

It's a story that's been told

For thousands of years now

And being passed on

From generation to generation

So that older people

Are telling younger people

About this great story

A story of a saviour

Who is Christ the Lord

And this week as we've been learning about it

We've been learning about it

Not just to keep it to ourselves

But so we may go out

And share it with others as well

And today together

We're going to share

A little bit more

About this story

And it's the story of

A treasure hunt

And that's really what we were looking at

This past week

We were all in the holiday club

On a treasure hunt

And a treasure hunt

If you've ever done one

Takes you along different directions

Sometimes you're going the right way

Sometimes you're going the wrong way

Sometimes you find a clue

And you understand it

Sometimes the clue doesn't make any sense

And you have to ask for help

But as we were looking at

The treasure hunt this week

We were learning about

A man called Paul

And before he became Paul

He had another name

He was called Saul

And the thing that made a great difference

In his life

Was when he met Jesus

His life was totally changed

Totally transformed

When he found the greatest treasure of all

He met with Jesus

And he put his faith in Jesus

He trusted Jesus with all of his heart

And in doing so

His life was transformed

As we heard this week

And we're going to look at that

In a little while

But above all

We learned this week

About Jesus

And who he is

And how he's described

In the Bible to us

One of the ways

We saw him describe

Was as a great light

As a lighthouse

A lighthouse

That shines brightly

Into this world

Now what's the job

Of a lighthouse?

Why are there lighthouses

Dotted all over the country

And indeed all over the world?

Well they're there

To help people

To make sure that people

Who are maybe going the wrong way

Going off track

Going off course

Are brought back

Onto the right path

Onto the right route

And that is what

Jesus did for Paul

That's what Jesus has done

For thousands and thousands

And hundreds and thousands

And millions of people

Down through all the years

He's shown his light

Into this world

To show us

Where we're going wrong

And to bring us back

Onto the right track

God's love

For us

Is an amazing thing

That he gave us

Jesus

To be this lighthouse

And when Paul

Came to know

Jesus for himself

He became a light

For Jesus too

And that is our prayer

After this week

And as we go forward

That each one of us

Would be a lighthouse

That each one of us

Would shine

The light of Jesus

By telling others

About this wonderful

Savior

This Jesus

Who Paul knew

And who we can know

And to see the treasure

That is salvation

In Jesus

And come

And tell others

About it

Have any of you

Ever visited a lighthouse

Maybe if you've been

To a lighthouse

You can put your hand up

And I'll see who's been

Anybody visit a lighthouse

Yeah there's a few hands

Going up

I know

Some of the schools

Around here

They take you on a trip

To see the lighthouse

Out at Arnish

And I'm sure

It's a great place

To see

Because it gives you

A better understanding

Of what a lighthouse does

And today's actually

National Lighthouse Day

And it's just a reminder

To us

Of how important

These things are

And if you've been

To a lighthouse

You maybe

See how it works

It sends its light

Out in the darkness

And people can see it

For miles

And miles

But today's

Lighthouses

Are mostly electric

But back in the day

Before electric

People used to have

To look after

Lighthouses

By using

An oil lamp

And the lamp

Had to be lit

When it became dark

And the oil

Had to be

Kept topped up

So there was

Always a light

Shining out

And one time

There was

A group of people

Going to visit

A lighthouse

A group of young people

Going to visit

One of these

Lighthouses

And each lighthouse

Had a lighthouse keeper

They were there

To look after them

When this group

Was visiting the lighthouse

One of the young people

Asked the lighthouse keeper

Do you not get scared

Here at night

When it's dark

And windy

And wild outside

Well the lighthouse keeper's

Answer was very revealing

He said

No

We don't think

Of ourselves

Here at all

We are safe

Where we are

We are here

Because we want

Others

To be safe

Too

A lighthouse

Is there

To guide ships

To safety

Just like we were

Singing about

In that psalm

Psalm 107

The Lord is there

To be a lighthouse

To us

To show us

The way to safety

And as Christians

We ourselves

Know that we are

Safe in Jesus

So we are to show

Others

The way

To Jesus

And that's what

Paul's life

Became too

Not living

First and foremost

For himself

But living

For Jesus

And today

We're going to

Look at the Bible

And see our own lives

A bit like

Going on a treasure hunt

Just like we were

Doing this past week

We're going on

A treasure hunt

We see there are

Exciting things

They're scary things

We need to know

Where we are going

And how to get there

And we see that we need help

Along the way

If we want to find

This treasure

So we're going to think of

Three little things today

The root

The rescue

And the riches

And as we come

To look at these things

We're going to read

Together

In the passage

That we were looking at

In the holiday club

This week

And you find it

On the back

Of your notice sheets

If you don't have

A Bible in front of you

The words are on the back

Of the notice sheet

We're going to read

From Philippians

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

Chapter 3

And from verse 7

Down to verse 16

Philippians chapter 3

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

And at verse 7

Remember this is Paul

Writing to the church

At a place called

Philippi

And teaching them

About the wonders

Of Jesus

And he says here

But whatever gain

I had

I counted as loss

For the sake of Christ

Indeed

I count everything

As loss

Because of the

Surpassing worth

Of knowing Christ

Jesus my Lord

For his sake

I have suffered

The loss

Of all things

And count them

As rubbish

In order that

I may gain Christ

And be found

In him

Not having a righteousness

Of my own

That comes from the law

But that which comes

Through faith

In Christ

The righteousness

From God

That depends

On faith

That I may know him

And the power

Of his resurrection

And may share

His sufferings

Becoming like him

In his death

That by any means

Possible

I may attain

The resurrection

From the dead

Not that I have

Already obtained this

Or am already

Perfect

But I press on

To make it my own

Because Christ Jesus

Made me his own

Brothers

I do not consider

That I have made it my own

But one thing I do

Forgetting what lies behind

And straining forward

To what lies ahead

I press on

Toward the goal

For the prize

Of the upward call

Of God

In Christ Jesus

Let those of us

Who are mature

Think this way

And if in anything

You think otherwise

God will reveal

That also to you

Only let us

Hold through

To what

We have attained

That's God's

Word to us

And may he

Bless it

To us

Well as we think

Of these words

That we read

And as we were

Thinking of

At the holiday club

This week

The first thing

We want to think

About today

Is the route

The route

And what do we

Mean by the route

Well if you're

Going on a

Treasure hunt

You follow a route

You follow a path

And you go along

Maybe a path

That leads you

In different directions

And this week

We had something

To help us

Along the way

Hanging on the wall

Through in the hall

And up on the screen

During the week

We saw something

That was helping us

Find our way

Along this treasure hunt

Anybody remember

What that was

It was up on the wall

And it showed us

Different things

It was a map

A map

And a map

We use

Because it helps us

Find our way

It's important

If we're going

Somewhere

Or we're looking

For a particular place

We have something

To help us

Along the way

Otherwise

What happens

What happens

If we're not sure

Where we're going

Or we don't have

A map to show us

The way

We end up

Lost

We end up

Lost

Maybe if you've

Been away on holiday

Over the summer

You've ended up

Lost

Somewhere along the way

You've gone

Somewhere new

And you weren't sure

What direction to go

To get there

And you've ended up

Lost somewhere

Along the way

Well as we were doing

The holiday club

This week

We were following

A map

That was taking us

In different directions

And our lives

Are just like that

Our lives are like

Going on a treasure hunt

Going on a journey

And Paul

Is a great example

To us

Of this

Before

He met Jesus

He thought

The life

He was living

Was good

There in the reading

We had

He says

In verse 12

He says

Not that I've already

Obtained this

Or I'm already

Perfect

Is anybody here

Perfect

Could you put it up

Your hand

And think

Yes

I'm perfect

Well if you'd asked

Paul before

He met Jesus

He might have said

Yeah

I'm perfect

Everything that I am doing

Is good

And right

And he thought

Everything that he was doing

He was doing

For God

But actually

He was

Way off track

He wasn't following

The right map

He was doing

Bad things

And especially

Against Christians

He was

Doing bad things

He was

Thought he was

On the right route

But he was

Actually

Lost

And how do we

Know this

How do we know

This

Is what he was

Well it's because

He tells us

Himself

And it's

Actually the verse

That we learned

This week

The memory verse

This week

Was verse 8

Of Philippians 3

And I'm going to

Say it just now

The way we learned

It at the holiday club

And I'm sure

If you're at the holiday club

You'll be able

To join in

The verse said this

Nothing is as wonderful

As knowing Christ Jesus

My Lord

I have given up

Everything else

And counted all

As rubbish

All I want

Is Christ

That verse

Tells us

That Paul

That Paul

That Paul knew

Later on

After he'd met

Jesus

That he had

Actually been

Lost

But then he's

Telling us

That he gave up

Everything that he

Thought was right

And good

So that he could

Know Jesus Christ

All I want

Is Christ

So what had

He given up

Well Paul had

Many good things

In his life

He had status

He had power

He had control

Over many people

In fact people

Were very often

Scared of Paul

Because of the kind

Of man he was

But it was of

No use

To him

There was

No lasting

Treasure

There

There was nothing

That was going to

Do him any good

In the long term

He was attracted

To the things

Of this world

Things that are

Just temporary

Things that

Don't last

He was a little

Bit like a sheep

A sheep that

Had gone astray

He had wandered

Off

Gone down the

Wrong path

Thinking

The grass over

There looks so

Much better

It looks so much

Greener

I'm going to

Go over there

And have that

But what he

Found was

It wasn't

As good as he

Thought it might

Be

Does anybody

Here have sheep

And like looking

After sheep

There's not too

Many maybe

One or two

If you like

Looking after sheep

You realise

It's not always

Easy

Looking after sheep

Is hard work

And one of the

Greatest things

That's hard about

Them is

They're so awkward

They're so

Stubborn

They never go

Where you want

Them to go

They'll always go

Where they want

To go themselves

And do their

Own thing

And the other

Thing is that

The Bible

Actually describes

Us

In that way

In the Old

Testament

In a book

Called Isaiah

Isaiah says

These words

All we

Like sheep

Have gone

Astray

We've turned

Each to

Our own

Way

That's the way

We're described

In the Bible

And in looking

For treasure

In our own

Life

And as we were

Seeing this

Week

Looking at the

Map

We see

All the

Different

Directions

We can

Go

Sometimes

We don't

Listen to

What God

Is saying

And we

Go off

On the

Wrong track

We end

Up

Lost

And how

Are we

Lost

Today

How can

We'll be

Lost

If we

Know exactly

Where we

Are

Here we

Are in

The church

In Stornoway

We've come

From our

House

To come

To church

Today

We've not

Got lost

Along the

Way

And after

Church

We'll go

Back home

And we

Know the

Way to

Go home

We won't

Get lost

Maybe on

The way

Going back

Home

But at the

Same time

If we don't

Have Jesus

Today

We can

Say that

We're

Lost

Paul

Thought

And many

People before

And after

Him thought

That everything

Was good

And everything

Was right

That he

Knew where

He was

Going

But we

Learn

Such an

Important

Lesson

From Paul

That when

He says

You know

I'd

Gone on

The wrong

Route

I'd

Followed

The wrong

Path

I'd

Gone

The wrong

Way

And he

Says

Everything

That I

Thought

Was good

Was actually

Rubbish

So what

Do we

Do

With

Rubbish

We throw

It away

We throw

It in

The bin

Because we

Realize

It's not

The treasure

That we

Need at

All

It's not

What's going

To help

Us

In this

World

We need

To find

A greater

Treasure

We have

To find

Our way

Back

On to

The right

Path

On the

Right

Route

When we

Are lost

We need

Help

And that's

The way

We're looking

At in

The holiday

Club

Too

A rescuer

Who came

To save

And that's

What we're

Going to

Look at

In a

Wee

Minute

But before

We do

We're going

To sing

Again to

God's

Praise

In psalm

22

And this

Is in the

Sing psalms

Version

Psalm 22

On page

27

Of the

Psalm

Books

Psalm

22

On page

27

We're going

To sing

From verse

27

Down to

The end

Of the

Psalm

And this

Psalm again

Just reminds

Us of what

We were

Looking at

In the

Holiday

Club

This week

It reminds

Us about

Telling

People

About the

Good news

Of Jesus

Especially in

Verse 30

Posterity

Will serve

The Lord

And generations

Still to

Come

Will tell

A people

Yet unborn

The righteous

Acts

That he

Has done

Verse 27

It says

The whole

Earth

Will remember

Him

And turn

Towards

The Lord

Their God

All peoples

Will bow

Down to

Him

And nations

Of the

World

Abra

We'll sing

And stand

To sing

Verse 27

To 31

To the tune

Rocking

The whole

Earth

Will

Remember

Him

And turn

To

The Lord

Their God

All

People's

Will

Love

Down

To him

The nations

Of the

World

Have

Rocked

Dominion

To

The Lord

Belongs

And

Over

Nations

He

Is

King

The

Rich

Of

All

The

Earth

Will

Feast

And

Worship

With

An

Off

The

All

Those

Whose

Hester

Be

His

God

Will

Humbly

Heal

Before

His

Storm

They

Can

More

Tear

Than

Shelf

To

Life

Or

Depend

On

Him

Alone

For

Stead

He

Will

Serve

The

Lord

And

Generations

Still

Still

To

Come

Will

Tell

The

People

Yet

Unborn

The

Righteous

Heart

That

He

Has

Done

The

Second

Thing

We're

Thinking

About

Now

Is

The

Rescuer

And

As

We

Think

Of

Verse

Eight

In

Philippians

And

The

Thing

That

Made

The

Greatest

Difference

In

The

Life

Of

Paul

Was

To

Know

The

Lord

Jesus

Indeed

He

Says

I

Count

Everything

Has

Lost

Because

Of

The

Surpassing

Worth

Of

Knowing

Christ

Jesus

My

Lord

It

Was

He

Came

To

Know

The

Lord

Jesus

As

His

Saviour

But

The

Interesting

Thing

About

Paul

Is

That

He

Didn't

Actually

Realize

The

Danger

That

He

Was

In

He

Was

Living

His

Life

Doing

Everything

That

He

Was

Doing

Every

Day

Going

About

His

Business

Thinking

Everything

Was

Fine

All

Was

Well

He

Was

Carrying

On

As

Normal

But

As

He

Looks

At

His

Life

Now

And

As

We

Look

At

His

Life

We

See

That

He

Was

Actually

Running

Away

From

God

And

When

We're

Living

Our

Lives

Without

Jesus

When

We've

Got

No

Thought

Of

Jesus

We

Might

Think

Yes

Everything

That

We're

Doing

Is

Good

I'm

Doing

Right

I'm

Not

Doing

Anything

Wrong

But

We

Don't

Have

God

In

Our

Lives

We're

Actually

Running

Away

From

Him

And

We

Don't

Even

Realize

The

Danger

That

We're

In

America

A number

Of

Years

Ago

There

Was

A

Car

That

Was

Stolen

In

California

And

The

Police

Were

Desperately

Searching

For

This

Car

And

The

Driver

But

Not

Because

He'd

Stolen

The

Car

And

They

Wanted

To

Arrest

Them

For

Stealing

The

Car

It

Was

For

Another

Reason

The

Driver

Was

Actually

In

That

Danger

That

He

Didn't

Realize

And

They

Started

Putting

Out

As well

As

Searching

For

And

They

Started

Putting

Out

Announcements

On

The

Radio

In

The

Hope

That

The

Driver

Might

Be

Listening

To

One

Of

The

Radio

Stations

And

That

He

Would

Be

Able

To

Hear

The

Danger

That

He

Was

In

You

See

When

The

Police

Not

To

Say

You

Have

To

Catch

The

Thief

But

You

Have

To

Warn

Him

Of

The

Danger

That

He

In

Because

On

The

Front

Seat

Of

The

Car

Beside

The

Driver

Seat

Was

A

Packet

Of

Biscuits

And

Maybe

The

Thief

Would

Be

Tempted

To

Have

One

Of

These

Biscuits

But

They

Weren't

Ordinary

Biscuits

You

See

The

Driver

Of

The

Car

Had

Laced

Them

With

Poison

He

Was

Going

To

Use

Them

To

Catch

Rats

And

The

Driver's

Greatest

Concern

The

Owner

Of

The

Car

His

Greatest

Concern

Now

Was

Not

To

Get

His

Car

Back

But

That

The

Thief

Who

Had

Stolen

It

Wouldn't

Eat

One

Of

These

Biscuits

Because

He

Knew

It

Would

Kill

Him

So

There

Was

This

Desperate

Search

To

Catch

This

Thief

To

Save

His

Life

The

Thief

Didn't

Realize

The

Danger

That

He

Was

In

And

It's

A

Reminder

To

Ourselves

Today

That

So

Often

When

We

Run

Away

From

God

Even

When

We

Think

We're

Doing

The

Right

Things

We

Feel

It's

Almost

Just

We

Want

To

Get

Away

From

God

We

Don't

Want

Anything

To

Do

With

God

Because

We

See

God

As

Someone

Who's

Just

Hard

On

Us

Or

Maybe

Will

Punish

Us

But

What

We're

Actually

Doing

Is

Running

Away

From

A

Savior

One

Who

Wants

To

Bless

His

People

One

Who

Wants

To

Save

His

People

And

As

We're

Looking

At

The

Story

Of

Paul

We

See

That

God

Sent

His

Son

Jesus

To

Him

Even

Though

He

Didn't

Realize

The

Danger

That

He

Was

In

Even

Though

He

Didn't

Realize

That

He

Was

On

The

Wrong

Path

God

Sent

His

Son

Jesus

To

Meet

Him

On

The

Road

In

That

Bright

Shining

Light

That

Blinded

Him

Jesus

Was

The

Light

That

Came

To

Paul

And

Jesus

Is

The

Light

Of

The

World

In

Which

We

Live

In

Today

He

Shines

His

Light

Into

This

World

Through

His

Word

Who

Was

This

Jesus

Who

Is

This

Jesus

Who

Is

This

Light

Well

In

The

Previous

Chapter

To

Chapter

3

In

Chapter

2

Of

Philippians

We

Read

A

Little

Of

Who

This

Jesus

Is

And

It

Says

Have

This

Mind

Among

You

At

Verse

5

Which

Is

Yours

In

Christ

Jesus

Who

Though

He

Was

In

The

Form

Of

God

Did

Not

Count

Equality

With

God

A

Thing

To

Be

Grasped

But

Made

himself

Nothing

Taking

The

Form

Of

A

Servant

And

Then

It

Goes

On

To

He

Humbled

Death

Even

Death

On

The

Cross

Who

Is

This

Jesus

Who

Is

This

Rescuer

He's

The

Son

Of

God

But

He

Didn't

Count

As it

Says

There

Equality

With

God

Something

That

Needed

To

Be

Held

On

To

He

Had

This

Great

Power

And

Authority

There

But

He

Came

Into

This

World

He

Came

Into

This

World

As

A

Man

He

Lived

Among

Us

As

Ordinary

people

But

More

Than

That

He

Gave

His

Life

For

His

People