[0:00] Well, just for a wee while, we're going to look at a verse from Song of Solomon, and the wee passage that we read there, Song of Solomon, chapter 2.
[0:11] Any guesses as to what verse we're going to look at? Four. See, it's printed on your card that you got.
[0:23] Song of Solomon, chapter 2, verse 4. What it says there, he brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.
[0:40] Well, boys and girls, are you all awake? Show me that you're awake. Do I know that you're awake? Oh, you are awake, yeah? This is what we do in the school sometimes, just to know the school kids are awake, yeah?
[0:53] You're all awake. Are you all well? Yes. Yes? Are you all talking to me? Yes? Some of you are, okay. Did you all have a good week in school? Or scholare?
[1:05] Yes? Yeah? Because it's your last week. That was your last week. You've only got how many days left in school? Two days. Two days. That's all, isn't it? So you have Monday and then, Tuesday and then it's?
[1:20] Then it's the holidays. So you're excited for the holidays? Delighted, are you? Delighted, because you have seven. Seven weeks off. Oh, man. It's a long time.
[1:32] It's a long time, parents. Yep. Anyway, what are you going to be doing with all that time? What are you going to be doing? I'm sure some of you might be going away. Are you going away? Staying at home?
[1:43] Going to Granny and Jenner somewhere? Maybe eating lots of sweets? Staying up late? Watching movies? Yeah? Sounds about right? Is that what you'll be doing? Yeah? Well, whatever you do this summer, I hope you have a good summer.
[1:57] Hope you behave yourself. And that you have a lovely holiday. Because after the summer holidays, as you know, after the summer holidays, you'll all be moving up a class, won't you? You'll be going up a class.
[2:08] So some of you will be starting school. Some of you will be going into P... What P? P1. Hands up who's going into P1. Ross, are you going into P1?
[2:19] Good man. And Archie, are you going into P1 too? Great. And hands up who's going into P2? You're going into P2, are you? Good man, Cameron. Okay. Who's going into P3?
[2:31] Wow. Okay, P4. Who's going into P4? Are you going into P4, Kenneth John? Good man. Okay. Who's going into P5? Wow, Anna and Finlay.
[2:43] Who's going into P6? David. Okay. Who else is going into P6? Anybody else? Oh, Jonathan, here you are. Swap seats for your dad so I can see you. Who's going into P7?
[2:55] Kara's going into P7. Oh, and Ross too. And is anybody going into the Nicholson? Who's leaving? Nobody? No? Some are already in the Nicholson.
[3:06] Wow. You know, it's amazing. You're all growing up. And what were we learning in the school on Friday? We're all growing up, but who stays the same? God. And God...
[3:16] Here's testing your memory. What was the memory verse we learned? Jesus Christ is the... Yes. Well done.
[3:28] You remember that from Friday. Well done. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So you're all growing up. You're all getting so big. But as we come to the end of another school year, we're so thankful to the Lord, aren't we?
[3:40] So thankful to the Lord for His goodness to us. And we're thankful also for our Sunday school teachers, aren't we? Yes. What should we say? Yes. Yes. Very thankful for Margaret Joan and for Sarah and for all that they've taught you over the past year.
[3:56] And it's been a difficult couple of years, hasn't it, with COVID and the pandemic? But we're sort of coming out of those things now, and it's going back to a bit of normality. But we're so thankful that you come to Sunday school, and you go to creche each week, and you learn about God and the Bible in church.
[4:15] Now, as you know, usually what happens on a Sunday morning, boys and girls, what usually happens is you go out to the hall or to the creche, and, well, you go to your Sunday school classes, or you go and play in the creche for a wee while.
[4:28] And we miss you when you go out. Do you know that? We miss you. All the adults miss you. But today you're staying in, and we have the pleasure of you staying in with us for this family service.
[4:38] And after the service, as I said, there'll be prizes for all the boys and girls in creche and in Sunday school. But now let's talk about what's in the church today. What's in the pulpit?
[4:49] Can you see anything? Flags. There's lots and lots of flags. Now, I'm sure you've seen some of these flags before, have you? Some of them. Have you seen some of the flags before?
[5:01] You've seen Scotland one? Okay, good. I will test you in a moment. I'm going to test you in a moment to see if you can name some of the flags. I'll give you a wee clue. Your bookmarker might help you, so keep that handy.
[5:14] But I want to say, first of all, that a flag is a banner. So a flag is a banner. Because banners, as you know, they make a proclamation.
[5:25] A banner gives us a message. It tells us something. And all these flags that you can see, all these flags here and here and here and down on the elders box, they all give to us, they all present to us and remind us about something.
[5:42] They tell us about different countries. And they represent different countries. And all these flags, they all have a meaning. And we'll look at some of the meanings of some of these flags.
[5:54] But remember, always remember that a flag is a banner. That's so important. A flag is a, what is it? A banner. Okay. So now I want to test you. Okay, this is an important test.
[6:08] I want to test your knowledge of all these flags. You think you'll be able to do it? Yes? No problem. Have you counted how many flags there are? Or different flags there are? Any guesses?
[6:23] 24. There's 24 here. But there's one flag that's not on here that's somewhere else. The British one. Okay. So that's 25 flags. 25 different flags. Okay. And hopefully you'll be able to use your bookmarker.
[6:36] You all got one, yes? Good. And we'll go through the flags. Okay. So let's go through them. Okay. You tell me which one that one is. That's what? Turkey.
[6:48] What's the next one? Are you sure? Okay. Just checking. The next one? Wales. Now I didn't take a card with me, so I'm taking your word for it.
[7:00] Okay. The next one? Switzerland. Next one? Denmark. Okay. Finland. Finland. This one? What is it?
[7:13] Israel. Are you sure? Yes. 100%. Good. Russia. Russia. Tell me.
[7:24] Netherlands. I'm going by you. Are they right? Netherlands. Are they right? Ukraine. Ukraine. Ukraine. No.
[7:39] Look. Use your card. Austria. Austria. Well done, Cameron. Which? Macedonia. What's that?
[7:51] Can you see that one? Croatia. Yeah, we'll move on swiftly. What? Scotland. Scotland. Right.
[8:04] Right. Anybody else here apart from those three at the back? What's that one?
[8:15] Poland. Yeah, what's that one? Slow. Is that what it is? Yeah. What's that one? Hungary.
[8:25] France. France. Are you sure that one's France now? France. Yes. Yes. Yes. So what one was that? France. Thank you. Yeah, you got that one right. This one? Germany.
[8:37] Germany. And the last one? Portugal. Portugal. Portugal. Portugal. Well done. Okay. And there's one more flag. Which one is this one? The United Kingdom. United Kingdom of Great Britain.
[8:49] Now, can you tell me, well done by the way, forgetting them. Can you tell me how many countries are part of the United Kingdom? Now, we did this a few weeks ago, so you better remember.
[9:04] Nope. Four. Four. Okay. What are they called? Wales is one. Yep. Wales. Scotland. Yeah.
[9:15] England. Yeah. Give you a clue. Give you a clue. Where's she from? Northern Ireland.
[9:26] Yes. Where Ivan's from? Northern Ireland. Okay. So there's four countries that are in the United Kingdom. Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, Wales. And it's a United Kingdom. And that's the message of the flag.
[9:38] That we live in a United Kingdom. And that's what the flag proclaims. It proclaims, and the banner tells us, this banner tells us that we are part of a United Kingdom.
[9:49] So Great Britain is a United Kingdom. Now, do you remember a few weeks ago, just a few weeks ago, boys and girls, there was lots of flags like this one, wasn't there?
[10:00] Do you remember that? There was lots and lots of British flags or United Kingdom flags. And why was that? The Queen's Jubilee. Yeah, that's right.
[10:11] The Queen's Jubilee. So, and what about the Queen's Jubilee? Which one was it? The platinum Jubilee. So how many years had the Queen been on the throne for?
[10:24] Seventy years. That's a long time, isn't it? Were you around then? Were you around then, Archie? No, were you not? You weren't around 70 years ago?
[10:34] No? It's a very, very long time. So the Queen has been on the throne for 70 years. But as you know, boys and girls, the Bible teaches us and encourages us that we are to what for our Queen?
[10:47] We're to pray for our Queen. Yeah, we're to pray for our Queen and the country that she serves, the United Kingdom. But we're also to pray for the Queen's family.
[10:59] We're to pray for those who are next in line to the throne. Who's next in line to the throne? Prince Charles. Yeah.
[11:11] And then who's after that? Yeah. And then who's after that? No. George.
[11:22] Yeah. So we're also to pray for the Queen's family. We're to pray for the Queen. We're also to pray for the Queen's government. So all these people who are members of Parliament or members of the Scottish Parliament.
[11:35] So we're to pray for the Prime Minister. Who's the Prime Minister? Boris Johnson. Okay. We're also to pray for the First Minister. Who's the First Minister?
[11:48] Nicola Sturgeon. Yeah. And as we said, Scotland is part of the United Kingdom. But Scotland also has its own flag, just like England has its own flag too, and they're mixed together.
[12:01] So this is the Scottish flag. Is Ivan still there? This might land up in your head. Okay. Okay. So if Ivan disappears, it's okay for a wee minute. He will still be there at the end.
[12:15] But as you know, Scotland has its own flag. And do you know what this flag is called? Any ideas? No. United Kingdom?
[12:27] No. It's part of the United Kingdom? No. So this flag is known as, first of all, the Banner of Scotland, or the Saltire, or it has a really special name, the St. Andrew's Cross.
[12:40] The St. Andrew's Cross. And it's called the St. Andrew's Cross after the Apostle Andrew. So there was an apostle called Andrew.
[12:51] Now, we don't know much about Andrew. Andrew was an apostle of Jesus, but he was also a brother. He was a brother of Peter. And, you know, the amazing thing about Andrew is that Andrew introduced Peter to Jesus.
[13:08] Andrew introduced Peter to Jesus. And, you know, that's so important to remember, isn't it? Boys and girls, it's so important to introduce people to Jesus.
[13:19] To introduce our friends and our family and our, when we get older, maybe our work colleagues as well, we're to introduce them to Jesus. Because there's no one more important and there's no one more special in the world than Jesus.
[13:35] But, you know, the Scotland flag is known as the St. Andrew's Cross because Andrew the Apostle loved Jesus. He loved Jesus. And he loved Jesus so much that, well, men and women, or especially bad men, they told Andrew that Jesus wasn't real.
[13:54] Do you know that? They told Andrew Jesus is not real. And do you think he believed them? No. No. But they wanted Andrew to deny Jesus and say that Jesus isn't real.
[14:04] And do you think he did that? No. And because he didn't deny Jesus and love Jesus and follow Jesus, do you know what happened to him?
[14:15] Andrew was put to death because he loved Jesus and he refused to deny Jesus. And he was crucified on a cross.
[14:27] Crucified on a cross. Not the cross we usually see that depicts the cross of Jesus, but a cross like this cross. Like an X shape. Okay?
[14:38] Okay? That's why it's called the St. Andrew's Cross. Because it's said that Andrew the Apostle was crucified on a cross this shape.
[14:50] So always remember Andrew the Apostle who followed Jesus and loved Jesus. But, you know, there's another flag. The flags are amazing, aren't they? They tell us something.
[15:01] And they're so important. They're banners. So there's another flag that we've become familiar with over the past few months. Do you know which flag that would be? This one, yeah.
[15:12] And I think if you were to go down to Barth House, and if you were to see there, you'd see that these three flags. This one, this one, and this one. They're all flying on the flagpoles.
[15:24] I think they're still like that. They were the last time I saw it anyway. So what's this flag? What's this one? Britain. Britain. And this one? Ukraine.
[15:34] Ukraine. So this is the Ukraine flag. Okay? So we've heard of this flag, haven't we? We've seen this flag. We've seen lots of these flags flying about. And we've seen, we've heard lots about Ukraine over the past number of months.
[15:47] Why have we heard a lot about Ukraine? There's a war going on, isn't there? Which is very, very sad, isn't it? Very, very sad. Because there's lots of boys and girls your own age.
[16:00] Your own age. That's the sad thing. And their mums and dads. And their grannies and shenners. And they've had to run away from their home. They've had to flee their homes and their families. And leave their friends and their family and their relatives.
[16:12] And even leave their community. And their country. Leave their country because their homes and their houses are being bombed. And their schools and their hospitals are being bombed.
[16:25] And people have been hurt. And we all know about it. We've all been remembering them in prayer. And lots of people have been killed as well. It's awful what's happening in Ukraine. But you know, boys and girls, we need to remember to keep praying for Ukraine, don't we?
[16:40] Yes? We need to keep praying for Ukraine. We can't forget them because the war is still going on. And we need to pray for peace. We need to pray for help and for healing.
[16:51] We need to pray that God would be a refuge and a strength to the people of Ukraine in their time of trouble. But did you know, and I didn't realize this until only last week.
[17:06] You know, we've become so familiar with this flag. What's this flag? This is the Ukraine flag. What I didn't realize was that this flag has a message. A message. And it proclaims a message to us.
[17:18] That the Ukraine flag is a banner. A banner that proclaims that Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe. Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe.
[17:32] What is it? It's the breadbasket of Europe. And do you know why it's called the breadbasket of Europe? Any ideas? No? Close, close, close.
[17:51] So it's called the breadbasket of Europe. Because a large percentage of wheat and corn and barley and maize and sunflower oil.
[18:03] All these things that are used to make cereals and bread. A lot of it is grown and harvested in the Ukraine. Which means that a lot of food comes from Ukraine.
[18:16] And that's why Ukraine is known as the breadbasket of Europe. And the Ukraine flag, it's blue on the top. Blue on the top. Why do you think it's blue on the top?
[18:27] Any ideas? What's blue? The sky is blue. Well, when it's clear. When it's a lovely day, the sky is blue. And what do you think the yellow is for then? The?
[18:39] No, not the sun. The corn. Well done, Anna. The corn. So the fields are yellow with corn. So the blue is for the sky.
[18:50] And the yellow is for the cornfields in Ukraine. And it's a flag. It proclaims to us a message. What's the message? That Ukraine is the bread of the breadbasket of Europe.
[19:06] And so we've seen all these flags. These amazing flags, right? So we've seen, what's this one? This one? This one? And there are lots of other flags.
[19:16] We've done Turkey and Switzerland and Belgium and what's this one? Oh. Not Australia. Austria.
[19:27] Austria. Austria. Well done. So we've seen all these different flags. All these flags of different countries, right? But there are also lots of other flags, isn't there? I don't have all the flags of the world here. But every flag, it represents the country.
[19:41] A different country. A different place. Each flag is a banner. A banner that proclaims to us a message. It tells us about that country.
[19:52] And you know, boys and girls, you know, it reminds me of the children's hymn which we often sing in school. We were singing it on Friday. Okay. Do you remember the children's hymn?
[20:06] He's got the whole world in his hands. Do you remember how it goes? He's got the whole world in his hands.
[20:17] He's got the whole world in his hands. How does it go, Anna? He's got the whole world in his hands. He's got the whole world in his hands.
[20:28] I know it's amazing. These flags, all these flags here, they should remind us that God has the whole world in his hands. God has the whole world. He has all these countries in his hands. But he has all the countries that we don't have flags for. He has countries like Canada and the USA, Australia, Jamaica, Kenya, Peru, Brazil, Japan. Name me a country. Mexico. Any other ones? Australia, yeah.
[21:07] Bahamas. We all know where you want to go. Any other countries? Africa, yeah. Well, that's a huge continent. But it's got lots of countries in it. But the point is, who has the whole world in his hands?
[21:23] God has the whole world in his hands. But more than that, the Bible says that God so loved the world. He loves this whole world that he has in his hands. He loves the whole world that he holds in his hands. And that's what this Bible verse is reminding us this morning. It says there in verse four, God's banner is a banner of love. God's banner is a banner of love. And this is what I want to show you. I've got a little banner here. Show you. This is my banner. God's banner is a banner of, what does it say? Love. Oh, there's another heart there. God's banner is a banner of love. Because God loves the whole world that he holds in his, he loves the whole world that he holds in his hands. And God's flag, this, you could say that this is God's flag for us. It's a flag of love. God has declared to us and demonstrated to us his love. God's message for us is a banner of love. Because this verse says in verse four, and it's on your card, what does it say? His banner over us is love. His banner over us is love. Can you say that? Say it. His banner over us is love. Yeah. And that's why we have this banner, this banner of love. It says that God has this banner of love for us. He's declaring his love for us. And he has demonstrated his love for us. Now, where do you think, where do you think God has declared his love and demonstrated his love for us? Where? One place in this world.
[23:19] Well, he does do that, yes. He does do it in our heart. But there's one country in the world and one place in the world where God demonstrated his love for us. No. I'll give you a clue, the cross. So, where was the cross? Cross of Calvary, which was in the country of Israel, in the city or outside the city of Jerusalem. God demonstrated and declared his love for us. So, the cross is the place where God speaks about and shows us his love. That God, what is the word? God loves sinners.
[23:58] God loves you. And this is something we need to remember. God loves us. God loves you. And he calls us to trust in his Son, Jesus Christ. He calls you to come and love him because he first loved you.
[24:17] That's the amazing thing. God calls you to love him because he first loved you. And boys and girls, do you know the wonder about God's love? God's love is such that he is willing and he is wanting to forgive your sin. We all have sin in our heart. We've all done wrong. We've all sinned and come short of the glory of God. But God wants and God is willing to forgive your sin. God wants and he is willing to make you his, his own child. God wants and he is willing to save you. This is the amazing thing about who God is. And all you have to do is, what's the word? Trust in him. Well done, Rachel.
[25:03] All you have to do is ask. Because the Bible says, we have to ask earnestly, wholeheartedly, trusting in him. And the Bible says, ask and you shall receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be open to you. God is what? God is love. And God has so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. And God has declared and demonstrated his love towards us. Because God loves sinners.
[25:34] He loves sinners like you and like me. And on the cross, Jesus dealt with sin. He defeated Satan. He destroyed death. Jesus won the victory. Jesus won the victory. And you know, boys and girls, in ancient times, so you know ancient times, yeah? Or the olden times, as Finley would call it, which in his mind isn't actually hundreds of years ago. It's when I was his age. That's the olden times.
[26:03] But the olden, olden times, in the olden, olden times, a king would raise a banner. So he would raise a banner over his enemy. The king would raise a banner. He would lift a flag and tell everyone that his army had won the victory. They had been victorious and won the battle.
[26:22] And what color do you think the banner was? Sorry? Oh, good guess. Straight away. Yeah, the color was red. That's the color of the banner that, in the olden times, Finley, that's the color that they would raise. They would raise a red flag to declare that they had won victory. And you know, that's what we're reminded about Jesus. Because Jesus, he is our king. He's the king of kings. He's the Lord of lords. And he's won the greatest victory. A victory over sin, over Satan, and over death. And because of that victory on the cross, Jesus has raised what color a flag. A red flag. He has raised a red banner. And he's raised a red banner because the Bible tells us that the red blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. The red blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
[27:23] And Jesus says to us that his banner over us, his banner over us is, his banner over us is love. And so, boys and girls, I hope you'll remember this, that Jesus loves sinners. Jesus loves this congregation. Jesus loves you. Jesus loves you. And on the cross, Jesus defeated sin. He destroyed Satan. He defeated death. He won the victory. And I hope and pray, boys and girls, I hope and pray that you'll look to Jesus as banner. I hope and pray that we'll all look to Jesus as banner. We're to look to the cross of Calvary, to where the blood of Jesus was shed for us, that cleanses us from all sin.
[28:11] So, Jesus has raised his banner. He's raised a banner of victory. He's telling us that he's won. And the banner over us is love. His banner over us is love. So, say it with me. His banner over us, or over me, is, his banner over me, is love. Okay? So, we remember that verse. His banner over me is love. Okay? So, well done for listening. You're very good at listening. You're very patient with me.
[28:40] So, we're going to say the Lord's Prayer in conclusion. Okay? So, we're going to clasp our hands. We'll close our eyes. And we'll say the Lord's Prayer. Our Father, which 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 forever. Amen.
[29:18] Well, well done, boys and girls, for listening. What's the Bible verse? His banner over me is? Banner over me is love. Okay? So, we're going to bring our service to a conclusion. We're going to sing in Psalm 96, in the Sing Psalms version. Psalm 96, 96a. It's on page 127. 96a. Page 127.
[29:46] They're doing so well. Psalm 96a. Page 127. We're singing from verse 7 down to the verse marked 10.
[30:04] But it says, So, we'll sing from verse 7 to 10. We'll stand to sing, if you're able, to God's praise.
[30:18] All nations to the Lord ascribe, The glory of God's name on you.
[30:36] Glory and strength of strive to God, And praise His name on you.
[30:52] Enter His name on you. Enter His courts with joy and bring an offering with you.
[31:07] Worship the Lord in holy fear. All the earth before Him bow.
[31:24] Tell every land the Lord is king, Establishes the earth, And cannot move.
[31:43] The Lord will judge the peoples in His truth.
[31:57] 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.