::: Download the 9.1.2013 Worship Study Guide & Sermon Notes
::: Download the 9.1.2013 Bulletin
::: Download the 9.1.2013 WepcKids Parent Bulletin
::: Listen to the 9.1.2013 Sermon
image :: Villagers and Saints, Stanley Spencer (1933, British)
:: All I Owe (Robert M. M’Cheyne, 1837, alt) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=4120016334 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=6]
:: For All The Saints (William How, 1864) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3957404521 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=14]
:: Depth of Mercy (Charles Wesley, 1740)
:: May God Keep You (Peter La Grand, 2009) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2872026018 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=13]
:: Upon a Life I Did Not Live (Horatius Bonar, 1881) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2800896556 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=4]
:: All Creatures of Our God and King (Francis of Assisi, 1225) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3593495658 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=10]
Preparation for Worship & Communion ::: To The Saints
“I often wished I could see a saint. I pictured him as living in the wilderness, abstaining from meat and drink and living on roots and herbs and cold water. This weird conception of those awesome saints I had gained out of the books of the scholastics and church fathers. But we know now from the Scriptures who the true saints are. Not those who live a single life, or make a fetish of days, meats, clothes, and such things. The true saints are those who believe that they are justified by the death of Christ. Whenever Paul writes to the Christians here and there he calls them the holy children and heirs of God. All who believe in Christ, whether male or female, bond or free, are saints; not in view of their own works, but in view of the merits of God which they appropriate by faith. Their holiness is a gift and not their own personal achievement.” (Martin Luther, 1535)
Call to Worship ::: Psalm 30:4-5
Sing praises to the Lord, O you His saints,
and give thanks to His holy name.
For His anger is but for a moment,
and His favor is for a lifetime.
Old Testament Reading ::: Psalm 4:1-3
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies?
But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for Himself;
the Lord hears when I call to Him.
Sermon ::: Ephesians 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus.
We Confess Our Sin Together ::: based on Exodus 20:1-17
O LORD, our God, You redeemed Your people out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. By Christ, You have delivered us from sin and set us apart as Your saints. You have been faithful to keep every promise of Your covenant.
But we, O LORD, have been a stiff-necked people who love unfaithfulness. We have loved other gods before You and become their servants. We have not worshipped You in spirit and in truth, and so we have mocked Your glory in heaven. We have used Your name in vain and profaned Your reputation on earth. We have desecrated Your Sabbath because we have not trusted You to give us rest. We have not honored our fathers and mothers, and so we have proved ourselves rebels. We have hated our neighbors and murdered them in our hearts. We have made adulterers of ourselves in the lust of our eyes and in the deeds of our flesh. We have stolen honor and wealth and privileges that are not ours. We have lied and falsely accused, for we love gossip more than truth. We have coveted blessings You wisely and righteously gave to others. O LORD, have mercy on us for we have not kept Your law.
God Declares Our Forgiveness ::: Heidelberg Catechism, 1 (1563)
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.