:: Download the 8.6.2017 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
:: Download the 8.6.2017 Bulletin
:: Download the 8.6.2017 Sermon Audio
image :: The Mirror, William Merritt Chase (c.1883, American)
Preparation for Worship on August 6 2017 :: Examine Yourselves
“I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun
My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;
But swear by Thyself, that at my death Thy Son
Shall shine as He shines now, and heretofore;
And, having done that, Thou hast done;
I fear no more.”
John Donne, from “A Hymn to God the Father”
Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for August 6 include ::
:: And Can It Be (Charles Wesley, 1738) CHART [bandcamp track=648892035 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: God, Be Merciful to Me (Psalm 51; 1912 Scottish Psalter) CHART [bandcamp track=4073696194 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: I Need Thee Every Hour (Annie Hawks, 1872) CHART [bandcamp track=110765075 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Give Me Jesus (African-American Spiritual) CHART [bandcamp track=893825801 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Be Still My Soul (Kathrina von Schlegel, 1855) CHART [bandcamp track=1833020652 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
Call to Worship :: Revelation 15:3-4; 1:5-7
Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear You, O Lord, and bring glory to Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed. To Him Who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood and made us a kingdom of priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him.
Confession of Sin :: Psalm 139:1-2,7,23-24
You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
You perceive my thoughts from afar.
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Where can I flee from Your presence?
Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Words of Encouragement :: Heidelberg Catechism 1 (1563)
Christian, what is your only comfort in life and in death? That I am not my own, but belong – body and soul, in life and in death – to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven: in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to Him, Christ, by His Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me whole-heartedly willing and ready from now on to live for Him.
Old Testament Reading :: Lamentations 3:22-27,40-41
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in Him.”
The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
to the soul who seeks Him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
It is good for a man that he bear
the yoke in his youth…
Let us test and examine our ways,
and return to the Lord!
Let us lift up our hearts and hands
to God in heaven.
Sermon :: II Corinthians 13:5-10
5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 6 I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. 7 But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. 10 For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.