Transfiguration

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The Transfiguration, Raphael (1516-20)

image :  The Transfiguration, Raphael (1516-20)


Preparation for Worship

“Worship is a meeting at the center so that our lives are centered in God and not lived eccentrically. We worship so that we live in response to and from this center, the living God. Failure to worship consigns us to a life of spasms and jerks, at the mercy of every advertisement, every seduction, every siren. Without worship we live manipulated and manipulating lives. We move in either frightened panic or deluded lethargy as we are, in turn, alarmed by spectres and soothed by placebos. If there is no center, there is no circumference. People who do not worship are swept into a vast restlessness, epidemic in the world, with no steady direction and no sustaining purpose.”  —Eugene H. Peterson

“Look at Him… A friend of sinners!”  —Luke 7:34


Call to Worship  Psalm 99:1-3,9

The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble;
He sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake.
Great is the Lord in Zion; He is exalted over all the nations.
Let them praise Your great and awesome name— He is holy.

Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His holy mountain,
for the Lord our God is holy.

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (Joachim Neander, 1680) [bandcamp track=1956047333  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]

Old Testament Reading   Exodus 33:18-23

Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”

Behold Our God (Baird & Altrogge, 2011) [bandcamp track=4160179747  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]

We Confess Our Sin Together 

Holy God, when You call us to follow You with great boldness, we tremble at Your presence and cover our eyes. We are afraid of what we will see for Your greatness unveils our weakness, Your justice unveils our iniquity, and Your holiness unveils our stained hearts and minds. O Lord, hear our prayer.

Lord Jesus Christ, Giver of all grace,  forgive us our sins. Give us the strength to renounce that which hides You from us. Give us the wisdom to trust Your atoning sacrifice. We believe; help our unbelief, that we might know the freedom and power of Your Cross.

God Declares Our Forgiveness  from Colossians 2:13-15

When you were dead in your sins God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the Law that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the Cross.  And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the Cross.

Before the Throne of God Above (Bancroft, 1841-1923) [bandcamp track=4120787669  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]

Sermon   Mark 9:1-37

1 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.

And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. 11 And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 12 And he said to them, “Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13 But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”

14 And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 16 And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” 17 And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” 19 And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” 20 And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” 25 And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”

30 They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, 31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

33 And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. 35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

Uncreated One (Walt & Tomlin, 2006)  >>>audio>>>

Holy Holy Holy (Reginald Heber, 1826) [bandcamp track=2796283475  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]

We Will Glorify (Paris, 1982) [bandcamp track=2156561497  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]

Benediction

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