:: Download the 8.14.2016 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
:: Download the 8.14.2016 Bulletin
:: Download the 8.14.2016 Sermon Audio
image :: Modern City No 1, Hilly van Eerten (2010, Dutch)
Preparation for Worship :: Except the Lord Build the House
“This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build Me a house to dwell in?” (II Samuel 7:5)
“One of the most telling features of [Psalm 127] is that it singles out three of our most universal preoccupations—building, security, raising a family—and makes us ask what they all amount to and to whom we owe them.” (Derek Kidner)
Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday August 14 include ::
:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Be Thou My Vision (8th Century Irish Hymn) CHART [bandcamp track=1801427840 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds CHART (John Newton, 1774) [bandcamp track=3647467981 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: I Need Thee Every Hour (Annie Hawks, 1872) CHART [bandcamp track=110765075 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: It Is Well (Horatio Spafford, 1873) CHART [bandcamp track=1579571203 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Better Is One Day In Your Courts (Matt Redman,2005) CHART // AUDIO
Call to Worship :: Psalm 118:19-24
Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. I thank You that You have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Confession of Sin
Almighty Father, we are gathered before You, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, whose chosen dwelling place is with the broken and contrite. We confess that we have sinned against You in thought and word and deed; we have not loved You with all our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. You call us to worship You in spirit and in truth, but we often worship only what we wish You to be. We are quick to ask You to bless what we do, rather than seeking to do what You bless. We have sought concessions, when we required guidance. We have used Your gifts for private ambition, instead of for Your mission and glory. We use worship to shape You, rather than seeking to be formed into the likeness of the One we worship. Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us; Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us; Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world, grant us Your peace.
Words of Encouragement :: Colossians 1:12-14
Give thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the Kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Sermon :: Psalm 127
1 Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.