[0:00] Well, boys and girls, if we could just read a verse, a verse that's in your Bible, before we think about it this morning. I want us to read a well-known verse, a verse that you'll all know probably off by heart.
[0:14] It's John chapter 3 and verse 16. You could probably tell me what it says without even looking, could you? Yeah. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
[0:35] Now, I took a few things with me this morning. I don't know if you can see them. Can you see them? I took a few things with me. As you know, I always like to take something with me every Sunday to show you.
[0:46] And the reason I take something with me is usually to help me keep my attention. My attention always drifts off when I'm talking about things. So I like to take something with me so that you can see it.
[0:57] And so you can see everything that I've taken with me this morning. What is it? What's here? Lego. So there's lots and lots of Lego. And that's because this morning it's a Lego-themed family service.
[1:10] So it's a Lego-themed family service. I'm sure you've all heard of Lego, haven't you? Yeah? You've all heard of Lego? Yeah. Do you all have Lego? Yeah. Do you all play with Lego? Yeah.
[1:20] The adults play with Lego too, don't they? Yeah. Do you like to play with Lego? Yeah. Yeah. It's great fun, isn't it? Have any of you seen the Lego movie? You ever seen the Lego movie?
[1:32] No? Yeah. It's a great film, isn't it? It's a great film. I think there's a second one as well. But you know, I love Lego. And I used to play with Lego when I was your age. And I still play with Lego.
[1:43] But don't tell anyone. Lego isn't just for kids. It's also for adults too. And some of you will know that before the coronavirus, that I used to go into the school on a Monday, didn't I?
[1:55] See you in the school on a Monday. What was on Monday afternoon in the school? Do you remember? Lego. Lego Club. Do you remember Lego Club? It was that long ago.
[2:06] Lego. But you know, can I whisper a little secret to you that nobody else here will know about, okay? I'll tell you a little secret. A little secret. The truth is, I was going to Lego Club. Not to help you build Lego.
[2:17] But just because I love playing with Lego. I love playing with Lego. It's great. But don't tell anyone that, okay? Nobody's to know. Don't tell anyone that the minister in Barber's likes Lego, okay? But you know, there's somewhere I've always wanted to go because of Lego.
[2:33] Can you guess where I'd like to go? Legoland. I'd love to go to Legoland. Would you like to go to Legoland? It'd be great to go to Legoland, wouldn't it? It'd be so cool to see all the buildings that are made of Lego.
[2:45] All the things there that you can play with that are all made of Lego. It'd be so cool. I'd love to go to Legoland. But you know, boys and girls, Lego always reminds me about the gospel.
[2:58] Lego always reminds me about the gospel. Because the gospel is the good news. That's what the word gospel means. It means good news. And the gospel is the good news that God sent his son, Jesus Christ, to come into this world, to die upon a cross, to save us from our sins.
[3:20] That's the gospel. John 3, 16 that we were reading there. That's the gospel. That God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him would not perish but have eternal life.
[3:34] So the gospel is what? It's good. What is it? Good. Good news. Are you with me? Are you all awake today? I know you're tired after being in school all week.
[3:47] But the gospel is what? Good. Good news. Okay. And this morning for a few minutes, I want us to think about the Lego gospel. Okay?
[3:58] The Lego gospel. Because Lego reminds us of four things about the gospel. Lego reminds us about four things. How many things? Four things about the gospel.
[4:11] Okay? Lego reminds us that God made us. Sin broke us. Jesus remakes us. And God keeps us. What is it?
[4:22] The Lego reminds us that God made us. Sin broke us. Jesus remakes us. And God keeps us. So you have to say it with me.
[4:33] God made us. Sin broke us. Jesus remakes us. And God keeps us. Okay? You'll remember that. Hopefully by the end of this, you'll remember those headings.
[4:47] Okay? So it's the Lego gospel. So first of all, Lego reminds us that God made us. Lego reminds us that God made us. Now, I think everyone here in church this morning and those who are probably watching at home, I think we've all played with Lego at some point in our lives, whether we want to admit it or not.
[5:05] And as I said, I played with Lego at a young age. When I was your age, I played with lots and lots of Lego. But, you know, we've all played with Lego because Lego has been around for a long, long time.
[5:18] You know, Lego was actually made just after the Second World War. Does anybody know when that was? The 1940s. So most people in here have probably played with Lego.
[5:31] It was made after the Second World War. The first brick was made in 1949. 1949. That's a long time ago, isn't it? And it was made by a Danish man, which means that he was from the country of Denmark.
[5:45] And the man who invented Lego was called Olly Kirk Christensen. Olly Kirk Christensen. And he invented Lego because he wanted children to have a good toy to play with.
[5:58] And a toy that would last a long, long time. And he made sure that Lego was such a high-quality toy that it could be passed on from one generation to the next.
[6:09] So you as children can pass it on to your children. That's what he wanted to happen. And that's what's happened even in my life. All the Lego that David Finley and Daniel play with when they go to their granny and Jenner's house in Melbost is all the Lego that I had when I was a child.
[6:27] And it was passed from one generation to the next. And that's because the man who invented Lego, he wanted this man, Olly Kirk Christensen. He would always say to his workers, he would always say to them, only the best is good enough.
[6:41] So he wanted the best toy. He wanted the best Lego. He said, only the best is good enough. And that was his motto. He said, only the best is good enough.
[6:53] But you know, boys and girls, do you know where the name Lego comes from? Any ideas? Nope. London, that's a good guess. Do you know why it's called Lego?
[7:05] No? No idea. But you play with this stuff all the time and you don't know why it's called Lego? You don't know. Well, the word Lego comes from two Danish words. So you're going to learn some Danish just now.
[7:18] Two words that come from Denmark. Leg got. Say that. Leg got. You say it. Leg got. And leg got in Danish means play well.
[7:31] Leg got. Play well. So there you go. You've learned some Danish today. Leg got. It means play well. Another interesting fact. The word Lego.
[7:42] Some people say that it was originally, it's from Latin, which means I put together, which is what you do with Lego. You put it together. But remember the words leg got.
[7:52] It means play well. That's why it's called Lego. Lego. Now, as you can see, I took lots of Lego with me this morning. Lots and lots of Lego. There's lots of Lego men and there's lots of Lego women and they're all over the place.
[8:04] I don't know if you can see all of them. There's a Spider-Man here. There's a police woman. A fireman. There's a goblin. Hobgoblin, if you like Spider-Man. There's, what are these called again?
[8:16] Stormtroopers. Yeah, they're stormtroopers. And there's a Santa guy there. There's lots of different Lego. But you know what I love most? I love these giant Lego heads. They're so cool, aren't they?
[8:28] You can store all the Lego inside them. And you know, the thing about Lego is, well, it's great. And there's lots and lots of different types of Lego, isn't there? You can get Lego City.
[8:38] You can get Lego Batman. You can get Lego Jurassic World. Lego Disney. Lego, I don't know, Lego Harry Potter. Lego Star Wars. Is there anything I missed out? Covered most of it, have I?
[8:52] Harry Potter ghosts? Okay. So you can get almost anything of Lego. And when you buy Lego from a shop, it comes in a box. Something like this, doesn't it?
[9:03] So when you buy Lego in a shop, it comes just like this, in a box. And I bought this Lego the other day in the toy shop in Stornaway. And although sometimes when you buy Lego, it comes in bigger boxes.
[9:15] Maybe you buy Lego and it comes in a huge box. But this is the Lego I bought the other day. And when you buy Lego, it comes in a box like this. And on the box, as you can see, there's a picture.
[9:26] There's a picture on the box. What's the picture of? A tractor. So it's a picture of a tractor. And that's what the Lego should look like, isn't it? That's what it should look like once you've built it.
[9:39] It should look like this. That's what the Lego should look like. It should look like a tractor. And you know I love tractors. Do you like tractors? I love tractors. But as I said, Lego reminds us that God made us.
[9:53] Lego reminds us that God made us. Because like this Lego, it was made in a factory. And Lego was molded and shaped perfectly. You see all these? They're all molded and shaped absolutely perfectly.
[10:05] So it was perfectly molded and made and shaped the way the designer intended it to be. And that should remind us that Lego should remind us that God made us.
[10:17] Lego should remind us that God made us. Because God is our what? Creator, isn't he? He's our designer. God is our designer. We were created by God.
[10:29] And like this Lego, we were molded and we were shaped exactly the way that God intended us to be. But as you know, boys and girls, we weren't made in a factory, were we?
[10:41] Were you made in a factory? No. Well, that's good. So we were all made by who? God. Yeah. God made us. And the Bible tells us that we were fearfully and wonderfully made.
[10:54] And God designed us. You know, God designed us that we would all have what? Two eyes, two? Two eyes to what? What do you do with your eyes? You see. Two eyes to see.
[11:04] One nose to? Smell. Two arms to? Wave to me. Just so I know you're awake. Wave. Yeah? Two legs to?
[11:15] Walk. Yeah? Some hair to? Keep you warm. Yeah? It might fall out when you're a wee bit older, but that's okay. God designed, he also designed us to have how many ears?
[11:27] Two ears and? Two ears and one mouth. Remember that. Two ears, one mouth. Means more listening, less speaking. We all need to remember that, don't we? More listening, less speaking.
[11:40] We all need to remember that. But you know, God has designed us perfectly. God is our designer. He is our creator. He created us and molded us and made us exactly the way he intended us to be.
[11:53] Because when God created Adam and Eve, he created them from the dust of the ground. We read that in the Bible. God designed them and he created them and he molded them and he shaped them from the dust of the ground.
[12:07] But when God made Adam and Eve, he made them what? He made them perfect, didn't he? Absolutely perfect. Which means that they were without what? What didn't they have?
[12:22] What is it? Sin. Yes, that's right. They were without sin. So they were perfect. They had perfect knowledge, perfect righteousness, perfect holiness.
[12:32] They were perfect because they had been created perfectly. They had been made in the image and the likeness of their creator and their designer, who was God.
[12:45] And that's what Lego should remind us. Lego should remind us that God made us. But as you know, boys and girls, as you know, when Adam and Eve were made, when they were made, they were made perfect.
[12:56] But they didn't stay perfect, did they? No. They didn't stay perfect. What happened? Does anybody know what happened? What?
[13:08] They sinned. How did they sin? They ate some fruit, did they? Did they listen to what God said? No, they didn't listen. So they disobeyed God.
[13:18] That's what we call that when we don't listen. We disobey. And sin came into the world and it affected what? Some things? No.
[13:30] Everything. Sin affected everything. And that's the thing about sin. It affects everything in our lives. It breaks everything. Sin breaks everything. And that's what Lego reminds us.
[13:43] Because Lego reminds us that God made us, but sin broke us. God made us. Say it with me. God made us, but sin broke us.
[13:54] God made us, but sin broke us. And that's what we see secondly. So say it. God made us. Sin broke us. God made us. Sin broke us. So when you go to the shop and you buy some Lego, maybe you'll do that in your summer holidays.
[14:08] Maybe mommy will take you to the shop and buy you some Lego. You see the picture on it, what it should look like. But when you open the box, so when you open the box, you take it out.
[14:22] Does it look like the box? Does it look like what it's meant to look like? No. What does it look like? It's a what? It looks like nothing.
[14:34] A bag of what? It's just a mess, isn't it? Bag of bits. Broken bits. And it needs to be remade, doesn't it? It needs to be remade. So it's all broken.
[14:45] It's all broken in tiny little bits. And you need to build it. But you know, that's what sin does. Sin breaks us. When Adam and Eve didn't listen to God and refused to obey God's commands, sin came into the world and it affected everything.
[15:02] And that's the thing about sin. It affects every area in our lives. It breaks everything. Sin breaks everything. Sin broke us. Because sin breaks our friendships with our friends, doesn't it?
[15:16] You know, that's why we fall out with our friends sometimes. Because of sin. Sin breaks our relationships with our family. You know, that's why we speak back to our parents when we shouldn't. And that's why we fall out with our brothers and sisters when we shouldn't.
[15:29] Does that happen in your house? Does it? Oh, that's very honest of you. So it does happen, does it? So sin causes us even to get angry. Sin causes us to do the things we shouldn't do, to think the things we shouldn't think, to say the things we shouldn't say.
[15:45] Sin breaks everything. And sin broke us. And as you know, boys and girls, we all sin. We all do things we shouldn't do. We all think things we shouldn't think. We all say things we shouldn't say.
[15:57] We all disobey God. But sin has broken us, not only in our relationship with God and our relationship with other people. Sin has also broken our bodies.
[16:08] Do you know that? Sin has broken our bodies. That's why people sadly get sick. They get sick because sin has broken us. That's why many people got sick during the pandemic.
[16:22] And they're still getting sick with the coronavirus. Because sin has broken us. Now, do you remember what the word coronavirus means? Crown poison.
[16:35] Yeah, you were listening then. We had a school assembly on Thursday and we were talking about the coronavirus. The word coronavirus means crown poison. And that's what sin is. Sin is a crown poison.
[16:47] And that's why so many people died, because of the coronavirus, because sin has broken us. Sin is a crown poison. And the Bible says that the wages of sin is death.
[16:59] You know, boys and girls, sin is very serious. It's very serious because sin affects every area in our lives, doesn't it? It breaks everything. Sin breaks everything.
[17:10] And sin broke us. Sin broke us. And you know, that's why our little friend, Katie Matheson, that's why she's in hospital right now.
[17:21] Because sin. She's unwell because sin has brought sickness into her life. Do you know that? But you know, thankfully, and we're so thankful that Katie is receiving treatment, aren't we?
[17:33] She's getting treatment in Glasgow to help her to get better. And we have to keep praying for Katie, don't we? To keep praying for Katie that she'll get better. And we have to pray for Katie's family as well.
[17:44] We need to pray for one another. And we have to pray for those who are sick, those who are suffering, and those who are sorrowing, because of the effects of sin. Because sin broke who?
[17:56] Us. Sin broke us. But the good news of the gospel is that Jesus came to remake us. And that's what the Bible reminds us. Because as we said, Lego reminds us that God, God made us, but sin, sin broke us, and Jesus remakes us.
[18:19] You say that with me. God made us, sin broke us, but Jesus remakes us, doesn't he? So, God made us, say it with me, God made us, sin broke us, but Jesus remakes us.
[18:34] And that's what we see thirdly. Jesus remakes us. So as we said, when we go to the shop, and we buy some Lego, and it comes in the box with this perfect picture of what it should look like, and then we open the box, and it doesn't look like that, because it looks all broken, and in bits, it's a bag of bits of Lego, and then it needs to be remade, doesn't it?
[18:57] It needs to be remade. And that's what we're saying about the gospel. The gospel is, or the Lego gospel, it reminds us that God made us, sin broke us, but Jesus remakes us.
[19:07] And we need Jesus to remake us, don't we? Do we need Jesus to remake us? Yeah. And I remember we said what the word gospel means. Do you remember?
[19:18] Good, good news. The gospel means good news. And it is good news, because even though God made us, and sin broke us, the good news is that Jesus came into the world to remake us.
[19:33] And this is the good news, that God loves us so much. This is something we all need to remember. Whether we're a child or an adult, God loves us, because he made us. We were created by him, that's why he loves us.
[19:47] And although sin has broken us, he loves us so much that he sent his son. His only son, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life.
[20:05] So Jesus came into this world, as we said, to die upon a cross. And it's something we should never forget. He came to die upon a cross, to redeem us, to rescue us, to restore us, and to remake us.
[20:19] Jesus came to forgive us our sins, to cleanse us from sin, to take away our sin, and to make us new. That's why the gospel is good news.
[20:30] The gospel is good news. It's great news. Because, you know, when we ask Jesus to come into our heart and to cleanse us from sin, we need to earnestly pray, don't we?
[20:42] We need to earnestly pray. We need to say, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. God, be merciful to me, a sinner. God, my life is like this bag of Lego. It's broken.
[20:53] And I need you to fix me. I need you to heal me. I need you to cleanse me. And so we need to be praying to the Lord, saying, take my heart, make it new.
[21:04] Help me, Lord, to live for you. Take my heart, make it new. Help me, Lord, to live for you. And when we pray those words, when we earnestly ask Jesus to save us from our sin, he promises to do it.
[21:20] Doesn't he? Because the Bible says, ask and you shall receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. And the good news is that Jesus, when he comes into your heart, he will begin that good work of remaking you.
[21:40] He will begin that good work of remaking you. But you know, there's something we also need to do. We also have to follow the teaching of Jesus. And in order to follow the teaching of Jesus, what do you think we need?
[21:53] Any ideas? Instructions. Yes, the boys at the Mans know exactly what their dad is going to say. Because they've seen him doing it. So we all need, what do we need?
[22:04] We all need instructions. Yeah. And so when you go into the Lego box, you find instructions. And the instructions, they tell you exactly how to put the tractor together, don't they?
[22:15] Yeah. You have to follow the instructions bit by bit and it'll help you put the Lego together. And, you know, in order to, in order for us to live our lives and follow Jesus, in order to be directed and to have help, we need to follow the instructions that the Bible gives to us, don't we?
[22:36] We have to follow the instructions of the Bible because the Bible, the amazing thing about the Bible, the Bible is our instruction manual of how to live our lives for Jesus.
[22:47] We need the Bible to direct us and to guide us and to instruct us on how to glorify God and to enjoy Him. We need instructions. And, you know, that's what the word Bible means.
[22:59] Now, I hope I don't knock over these, these Lego men here. But you see the word Bible there. See it? You read that. How do you spell Bible? B-I-B-L-E.
[23:13] The B-I-B-L-E. Basic instructions before leaving earth. That's what this is. Basic instructions before leaving earth.
[23:24] That's what Bible stands for. B for basic, I for instructions, B for before, L for leaving, and E for earth. Basic instructions before leaving earth.
[23:37] That's what this is. That's the instructions to guide us and direct us and show us how to glorify God. We need instructions. We need to be directed in order to glorify God.
[23:50] We need these instructions. And, you know, we need to follow these instructions in order to glorify God. And so this is the Lego gospel because the Lego, it reminds us.
[24:02] What does it remind us? God made us. Are you awake? Are you awake? God made us. Then what?
[24:14] Sin? Sin broke us. Jesus remakes us. Yes? And then God keeps us. You say it with me. So God made us.
[24:25] Sin broke us. Jesus remade us. But God keeps us. Doesn't he? God keeps us. So remember what we're doing. So when you go to the shop, which you're going to do in your summer holidays, you can have pennies, and you go to the shop, and you buy some Lego, and it should look like this.
[24:44] You can buy this one. It's a great one. You buy this, and it should look like that. It reminds us that God made us. But then when you go inside, there's a bag of broken Lego, which reminds us that sin broke us.
[24:56] It's all in bits. We need to be remade. But we also have to follow the instructions in order to be remade. But once we finished, once we finished making all the Lego, it should look a bit like this.
[25:11] So that's it. Finished. And I had a little help making this at home. Actually, I didn't touch it at all. Daniel made it all by himself. And it should be a reminder to us that when it's complete, we can keep it forever.
[25:27] Can't we? Because it's ours. We get to keep it. And as we said, this is the Lego gospel. God made us. Sin broke us. Jesus remakes us, and God keeps us.
[25:40] That's the Lego gospel. God made Adam and Eve perfectly. But when sin broke them, it broke the relationship with God, with other people, and even in their bodies.
[25:51] But the good news, the gospel, is that God so loved us that he gave us his only son, that whoever trusts in him, whoever confesses their sin, whoever comes to Jesus looking to him, they will be remade.
[26:07] And we have the Bible. They are our basic instructions before leaving earth. And the thing is, we will all leave earth, won't we? We'll all leave earth.
[26:18] We'll all leave this world someday. We'll all have to die at some point, won't we? Unless Jesus comes again. But when we do leave this world, when we die, we need to make sure that we're trusting in Jesus with all our heart.
[26:35] Because when we do trust in Jesus with all our heart, we will be taken home to be with Jesus in heaven. And it's there that God will keep us forever.
[26:47] God will keep us forever in his home. Because that's his promise. Jesus said to us, in my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you.
[26:58] I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
[27:10] That's God's promise to us. When we trust in Jesus, God will keep us, not only in this life, but he will also keep us for all eternity in heaven.
[27:23] So will you remember that? The gospel is what? What is the gospel? Good. Good news. Good news, good news.
[27:34] Christ died for me. That's it. And you know, this is what we've called the Lego gospel. What is it? God, God made us. Sin broke us.
[27:46] What is it? Sin broke us. Jesus remade us. And God keeps us. Right, one more time. God, God made us.
[27:59] Let me hear you. Made us. Sin broke us. Jesus remakes us. And God, God, God made us. So you are listening.
[28:10] Well, that's great. One more time. God made us. Sin broke us. Jesus remakes us.
[28:21] And God, God keeps us. Well, may the Lord bless you. And may the Lord keep you. And shine his face upon you.
[28:32] But we're going to close. We're going to clasp our hands. And we're going to close our eyes. And we'll say a prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we give thanks for the gospel.
[28:44] That the gospel is good news. Good news that God made us. And even though sin has broken us, and broken us in so many different ways, we give thanks that Jesus came into this world to remake us, to restore us, and to redeem us, and to make us more and more like himself.
[29:04] And we pray that by trusting in him with all our heart, that God would keep us, not only for time, but also for all eternity. Oh, we give thanks for the gospel, that it is a simple message.
[29:18] And we do pray that we would all grasp it, that the Spirit would so work in our lives, to see that this is good news. Good news that Jesus came into the world to seek and to save the lost.
[29:32] Go before us, we pray. Cleanse us, we ask. For we ask it in Jesus' name, and for his sake. Amen. Well, we're going to bring our service to a conclusion by singing in Psalm 40.
[29:47] And then after we sing this, we'll have the benediction, and the live stream will go off, and then you'll come down and sit in the elders' box. Now remember, what was it? You don't run.
[29:59] Don't run. Okay? Help one another to get down the stairs safely. Okay? And come and sit in the elders' box. And we'll do the prize giving. Okay? So we're going to sing Psalm 40.
[30:09] It's in the Scottish Psalter. It's on page 259. In the Blue Psalm book, Psalm 40, and we're singing from the beginning down to the verse marked 4.
[30:21] It's a psalm that reminds us that God is the one who takes us from a fearful pit. He's the one who deals with our brokenness. And he sets our feet upon the rock, which is Jesus.
[30:32] He restores us and remakes us. Psalm 40 from the beginning. I waited for the Lord my God and patiently did bear. At length to me he did incline my voice.
[30:44] and cry to hear. We'll stand to sing to God's praise. Psalm 40 from the beginning. I waited for the Lord my God.
[31:00] I waited for the Lord my God. And patiently did bear. And patiently did bear. And patiently did bear.
[31:11] At length to me he did incline my voice.
[31:25] He took me from a fearful pit. He took me from a fearful pit.
[31:43] And from the mighty clay. He took me from a fearful pit. And on a walk he set my feet.
[32:03] He took me from a fearful pit. He took me from a fearful pit. He took me from a fearful pit.
[32:15] He took me from a fearful pit. I waited for the Lord my God. I waited for the Lord my life. A golden magnified Many shall see it and shall fear And all the Lord remain O blessed is the man who struts Upon the Lord relies
[33:19] Respecting not the bright or such As the light of life The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ The love of God the Father And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit Be with you all, now and forevermore Amen