:: Download the 11.20.2016 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
:: Download the 11.20.2016 Bulletin
:: Download the 11.20.2016 Sermon Audio
image :: Ruth and Naomi, He Qi (2001, Chinese)
Preparation for Worship on Nov 20 :: Bitter
“Lament is a cry of belief in a good God, a God who has His ear to our hearts…Complaint is the bitter howl of unbelief.” (Ann Voskamp)
“Self-love so blinds us that we make the smallest faults in the world to be akin to heinous and unpardonable sins. We have this evil so deeply rooted in our hearts that if we are told of our duty, it only half moves us…. What, then, can break down all hardness in us, what can mortify all our excessive passions, what can correct all our cruelty, bring low all our pride and loftiness and sweeten all our bitterness? What God has done towards us. He has so loved the world that He has given up His only Son to death for us.” (John Calvin)
Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday November 20 include ::
:: Here, O My Lord (Horatius Bonar, 1855) CHART [bandcamp track=232759179 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: From Depths of Woe (Psalm 130) (Martin Luther, 1524) CHART [bandcamp track=762862813 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Jesus I am Resting Resting (Jean Sophia Pigott, 1876) CHART [bandcamp track=104008922 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: I Cry Out (Musseau, 1990) CHART
Call to Worship :: Isaiah 55:2-3
Listen diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to Me; hear, that your soul may live.
Confession of Sin
Almighty God, to know You is the fulfillment of our deepest longings and the satisfaction of our most ardent desires. To live in the light of Your salvation is our highest call and purpose. Yet foolishly we have sought our life and pleasures elsewhere. We have put the seeking of idols above seeking You, and they have left us empty and ashamed. Bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and malice have gripped us. We have failed to love You with our whole heart, soul, and mind. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have forsaken Your Kingdom for our own. Forgive us our sins for the sake of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. And grant that we might serve You in newness of life. Amen.
Words of Encouragement :: John 7:37-38
Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
New Testament Reading :: Hebrews 13:5-6
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
Sermon :: Ruth 1:19-22
19 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.