:: Download the 1.12.2014 Worship Study Guide & Sermon Notes
:: Download the 1.12.2014 Bulletin
:: Download the 1.12.2014 Parents Bulletin
:: Listen to the 1.12.2014 Sermon Audio
image :: Root Dance, Endre Balint (1952, Hungarian)
Preparation for Worship :: Know the Love of Christ
“A man may love another as his own soul, yet perhaps that love of his cannot help him. He may thereby pity him in prison, but not relieve him; bemoan him in misery, but not help him; suffer with him in trouble, but not ease him. We cannot love grace into a child, nor mercy into a friend; we cannot love them into heaven, though it may be the greatest desire of our soul. … But now the love of Christ, being the love of God, is effectual and fruitful in producing all the good things which He wills unto His beloved. He loves life, grace, and holiness into us; He loves us also into covenant, loves us into heaven.” (John Owen)
Songs, Hymns and Spiritual Songs
:: The Love of Christ is Rich and Free (Gadsby, 1814) history // chart // audio
:: Upon a Life I Did Not Live (Bonar, 1881) history // chart // audio
:: What Wondrous Love is This (American Folk Hymn, c.1811) history // chart // audio
:: O Come and Mourn With Me Awhile (Faber, 1849) history // chart // audio
:: We Exalt Thee (Sanchez, 1977) history // chart
Call to Worship :: from Psalm 118
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good and His love endures forever. Let those who fear the LORD say “His love endures forever.” The Lord is our Strength and our Song; He has become our Salvation. I will give you thanks, for You answered me; You have become my Salvation. The LORD is God, and He has made His light shine upon us. You are our God, and we will give You thanks: You are our God, and we will exalt You.
Old Testament Reading :: Lamentation 3:19-24
Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
the wormwood and the gall!
My soul continually remembers it
and is bowed down within me.
But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in Him.”
Sermon :: Ephesians 3:14-21
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
We Confess Our Sin Together :: based on I Corinthians 13
Love is patient. (Am I willing to endure trying people?)
Love is kind. (Am I thinking or acting uncharitably toward anyone?)
Love is not possessive. (Am I manipulative? Do I use people?)
Love is not boastful or proud. (Do I love to be the center of attention?)
Love is courteous. (Am I considerate, thoughtful, warm?)
Love is not selfish. (Am I fixed on my needs and rights?)
Love is not irritable or bitter. (Am I forgiving? Do I keep a record of wrongs?)
Love delights in truth and righteousness. (Am I eager to trust and follow Jesus?)
Words of Encouragement :: I John 4:9-10
This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.