:: Download the 4.27.2014 Worship Study Guide & Sermon Notes
:: Download the 4.27.2014 Bulletin
:: Download the 4.27.2014 Parent Bulletin
:: Download the 4.27.2014 Sermon Audio
image :: At the Mirror, Edgar Degas (c.1886, French)
Preparation for Worship :: Imitators
“Christ is our pattern…He conforms us in grace here and in glory hereafter, in body and soul, to our glorious Savior.” (Richard Sibbes)
“Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!” (Isaiah 26:19)
Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs for April 27
:: King of Saints (Joseph Hart, 1712-1768; Gadsby #857) chart // audio
:: Love’s Redeeming Work (Charles Wesley, 1739) chart // audio
:: Arise (Ryan Long, 2010) chart // audio
:: Come Ye Sinners (Joseph Hart, 1759) chart // audio
:: Psalm 130 (Martin Luther, 1524) chart // audio
:: All The Way My Savior Leads Me (Fanny Crosby, 1875) chart // audio
Call to Worship :: Psalm 16:1-2,11
Keep me safe, my God, for in You I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing.” You make known to me the path of life. You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.
Old Testament Reading :: Isaiah 62:1-5,12
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you…And they shall be called The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord.
Sermon :: Ephesians 5:1-14
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.
3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
We Confess Our Sin Together
O Lord, we desperately need You and the forgiveness You offer. You have called us to be Your people and to live for Your glory. But we have sinned against You. We have not believed we are Your holy people. We have not trusted You as beloved children, marked by Your glory and purposes. We have lived as if only we mattered, and all of our passions are out of order. Mercifully forgive us all our sins for Jesus’ sake and renew us in Your redeeming love. Amen.
Words of Encouragement :: Titus 3:3-5
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 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.