:: Download the 3.26.2017 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
:: Download the 3.26.2017 Bulletin
:: Download the 3.26.2017 Sermon Audio
image :: Return of The Sun, Odd Nerdrum (1985, Norwegian)
Preparation for Worship on March 26 2017 :: Gospel Confidence & Glory
“Just as the moon and the stars, though they are themselves bright and spread their light over all the earth, yet vanish before the greater brightness of the sun, so the Law, however glorious in itself, has no glory in the face of the Gospel’s grandeur.” (John Calvin)
“I cannot from my idols part,
Nor love the Lord with all my heart,
Nor can myself deny;
I cannot pray, and feel Thee near,
Nor can I sing with heavenly cheer,
Unless the Lord be nigh.
Then let this mighty Jesus be,
An all-sufficient Help for me,
Creating power and will;
Thy grace sufficed saints of old;
It made them strong and made them bold,
And it suffices still.” (John Berridge)
Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for March 26 include ::
:: How Great Thou Art (Carl Boberg, 1885) CHART [bandcamp track=4153898077 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Dayspring (Charles Wesley, 1740) CHART [bandcamp track=3143786484 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: By Thy Mercy (James Cummins, 1839) CHART [bandcamp track=3255248990 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: None Other Lamb (Christina Rossetti, b.1830) CHART [bandcamp track=798046000 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: O Come to the Altar (Elevation Worship, 2016) CHART / AUDIO
:: Kyrie (Greene, 2017) CHART
Call to Worship :: Hebrews 12:18-24, 28-29
You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.” The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
Confession of Sin
Father in heaven, We confess that we have sinned against You in our thoughts, words and deeds. You have spoken definitively by Your Son: forgive us for living as if You never act, never hear, never speak. Forgive us for the counterfeit justice we pursue through our plotting, slander, gossip, self-sufficiency and self-righteous anger. Forgive us for living as if You do not care for us. Forgive us and cleanse us. Show us the Cross of Jesus Christ. Fill us with Your Spirit, that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your Name.
Words of Encouragement :: Romans 8:1-2,11
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies.
Old Testament Reading :: Exodus 34:29-35
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. Whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
Sermon :: II Corinthians 3:1-11
1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. 3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
7 Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory.10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.