The Lord our God, the Lord is One

Prayer with Worship Leaders (10:45)

Light Reflective Music

Bible Enters (Organ)

Light the Candle

Welcome / Intimation (Rev. Bosch)

I greet you in the Name of God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe - in the care of Christ Jesus. May it be that we receive mercy, peace and love.

Intimations, Funerals, Baptisms (remember to share this before Sunday Worship)

21st July, Presbytery, Dalkeith, 10:00

Prayer Corner

Testomony (Try to identify someone.)

Call to Worship: (Psalm 62)

Minister: We wait for the Lord!

All: From Him comes our salvation.

Minister: The Lord is our foundation.

All:  From Him we receive stability.

Let us worship God!

Hymn: CH 540 - I heard the voice of Jesus

Declaration:

Blessed be the name of the Lord now and evermore. From the rising of the sun to its setting, the Lord’s name be praised. Let us pray:

Prayer of Approach and Confession (Rev. Bosch)

The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

We gather to worship You with awe.

Help us love You with all our heart.

Stir our soul and might to serve You.

Place Your commands deep in our hearts.

Guide us to teach them to our children.

Let us speak of them in our homes.

May we honor You in all our ways.

Bind Your truth as a sign on us.

Write Your words on our hearts and homes.

You bring us to a land of promise.

You give us blessings we did not earn.

We confess we often forget Your goodness.

Forgive us for straying from Your path.

Cleanse us with Your mercy and grace.

Restore us to walk in Your truth.

Guard us lest we forget Your deliverance.

Remind us of Your freedom from slavery.

Keep us faithful to Your holy will.

Fill us with Your Spirit to worship You.

In Jesus’ name, who taught us to pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Hymn: Across the Lands

(Children enter.)

Children’s Address: Growing up… / London Journey… (“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”)

Hymn: SoF 514 - Such Love

(Children exit.)

Reading: Deuteronomy 6: 1-12

The Greatest Commandment “Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the LORD your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, 2 that you may fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. 4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. 10 “And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, 12 then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Sermon: (Rev. Bosch)

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

This Biblical quote helps us to understanding ourselves as believers and God. This instruction is so important that even Jesus highlights the importance. We can read in Luke 10 how Jesus acknowledge a answer. He sayed: “You have answered correctly; do this (love the Lord), and you will live.” Jesus said this after the lawyer asked Him how to inherit eternal life. The layer himself anwerd to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind is to inherit eternal life.

Loving the Lord with all your heart means to align every part of life to that purpose. Everthing that we do should suggest that God is loved by us. Part of such an alignment is to cherish the commandment of God and to tell about the Lord our God. The telling about the Lord our God specifically happens in the family. The reason then for having children with your husband or wife is to have the opportunity to tell about “The Lord our God”. We have children so that we may share and teach about the Lord our God, that Lord who is one.

In our own home we tell Bible stories every evening to Lorelei and Lucien. We do this so that they may hear and experience the Lord. Ultimitly so that they may to one day love the Lord with their whole heart, soul and might. Telling stories of the Lord is a easy way of helping children and ourselves to understand the commandments of God.

I find it heart warming that Lorelei is at a stage were she reminds me of the love of the Lord. She has often told me “Daddy, remember Jesus is in your heart.”

The reading even talks of having physical signs reminding believer of the Lord our God. The physical signs should be placed on the body and around the house. These signs then become reminders of the Lord our God. As Christians it is not in our tradition to have such sign, but how many times have I seen cross’ in peoples homes.

A physical cross’ is a signs to remind us of the Lord who is in our hearts.

The part that I want us to pay attent to are the following verse: “take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”

The reading tells us to remember but it also a prewarning not to forget. I presume when life is difficult we do not tend to forget God. We cling to Him when the seas are rough. Yet, our reading highlights the importance of clinging to God espessially when all is well. Can we stay faithful to God when we do not really need him?

The words “take care” could be understood as a warning or a motivation not to forget the LORD our God, the one LORD. In other words, do everything in your might not to forget the Lord! Have signs in your home. Have healthy spiritual habbits. Have spiritual partners. I can continue…

To love God is an instruction. The word tells us to do so. Loving the Lord is then not determind by feelings or circumstances, but rather a consious decition. It is a decition that anchors us in the ways of God’s words. Large part of this is to dissipline oneself aiming at the cross and aligning oneselve accordingly.

Every year during Remembrance Day we say during the Act of Remembrance: "They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. We will remember them." We say this so that we remember the many soldiers who died in WW2.

The reason the Minister at my Home church repeated this commandment every Sunday was also so that we do not forget.

We should not forget to love God. We should do everything in our ability to remember the Lord our God.

Practicly speaking our reading gives the following examples to help us remember. The are:

teach them to your children - tell the stories of the Bible

talk of them - share you experience of God with others

have physical reminders

All these reminders are to help align us for the purpose of loving God. Loving God does not happen know and then but rather it is a instruction to obey everyday.

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

Amen

Hymn: CH 180 - Give Thanks

Prayer for Others (Get someone to lead):

Heavenly Father,

We come before you with heavy hearts, interceding for a world in need of your mercy and grace.

We lift up those suffering under the weight of global conflicts, their lives disrupted by violence and unrest.

Bring comfort to families displaced by war, providing them shelter, safety, and hope for a peaceful future.

Sustain those facing hunger and poverty, meeting their needs through your provision and compassionate hands.

Guide world leaders with wisdom to pursue justice, unity, and lasting peace in their decisions.

Heal communities fractured by division, prejudice, and hate, fostering reconciliation and understanding.

Protect the vulnerable—children, the elderly, and the marginalized—from disease, despair, and neglect.

Ignite hope in hearts overwhelmed by fear, reminding them of your unchanging love and presence.

Grant insight and courage to those working to address global challenges, from inequality to environmental strain.

May your Spirit move across nations, inspiring acts of kindness, generosity, and solidarity.

We thank you for your boundless compassion, which sustains the world through every trial.

Guide us all to be instruments of your peace, reflecting your love in a hurting world.

Amen.

Offering (The person at door duty brings the plate to the table.)

Prayer of Thanks

Hymn: CH 132 - Immortal Invisible

Rethink and Blessing (Rev. Bosch)

Go and do not forget to love the Lord with your whole heart.

In the presence of the Holy Spirit, may the peace of God, 

which is beyond all understanding, 

guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. Amen

Sing/Play Amen (Organ)

Bible Exits (Organ)

Prayer Corner