:: Download the 4.6.2014 Worship Study Guide & Sermon Notes
:: Download the 4.6.2014 Bulletin
:: Download the 4.6.2014 Parent Bulletin
:: Download the 4.6.2014 Sermon Audio
image :: Work, Henri Martin (1914, France)
Preparation for Worship and Communion :: As God
“Don’t lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.” (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
“Now the whole offer which Christianity makes is this: that we can, if we let God have His way, come to share in the life of Christ… we shall love the Father as He does and the Holy Ghost will arise in us. He came to this world and became a man in order to spread to other men the kind of life He has — by what I call ‘good infection.’ Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else.” (C.S. Lewis)
Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs for April 6
:: Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (Robert Robinson, 1758) chart // audio
:: Rock of Ages (Augustus Toplady, 1776) chart // audio
:: The Gospel Is Good News Indeed (William Gadsby. b.1773) chart // audio
:: All I Owe (Robert Murray McCheyne, 1837) chart // audio
:: Before the Throne of God (Charitie Lees Bancroft, 1863) chart // audio
:: Jesus, Lover of My Soul (Charles Wesley, 1740) chart // audio
Call to Worship :: Isaiah 44:21-23
Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are My servant; I formed you; you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me. I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to Me, for I have redeemed you. Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it; shout, O depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and will be glorified in Israel.
Declaration of Faith :: The Apostles’ Creed, 2nd Century
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Old Testament Reading :: Song of Solomon 8:6-7
Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.
Sermon :: Ephesians 4:29-5:2
4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
We Confess Our Sin Together
Almighty and merciful Father, You live in Your people by Your Holy Spirit and have sealed us for the day of redemption. Yet we have not lived like we are one with You and Your people. Bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and malice have gripped us. We have not loved one another as You have loved us. We have been slow to forgive as You have forgiven us. We have not honored one another as those in whom Christ dwells. Forgive us for our offenses against You, and go on to subdue everything in us that is contrary to Your purposes. By the power of your Spirit make us a tenderhearted church, longing to be transformed into Your likeness, eager to live for Your glory. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Words of Encouragement :: Titus 3:4-7
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Benediction