:: Download the 1.11.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
:: Download the 1.11.2015 Bulletin
:: Download the 1.11.2015 Parent Bulletin
:: Download the 1.11.2015 Sermon Audio
image :: Pigeons, John Sloan (1910, American)
Preparation for Worship :: As the Lord Lives
“Let us not mock God with metaphor, analogy, sidestepping, transcendence; Making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the faded credulity of earlier ages: Let us walk through the door. Let us not seek to make it less monstrous, for our own convenience.” (John Updike, on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ)
“See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god beside Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of My hand.” (Deuteronomy 32:39)
Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for January 11 include:
:: Praise to the Lord the Almighty (Joachim Neander, 1680) CHART [bandcamp track=2701349241 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
:: Help My Unbelief (John Newton, 1791) CHART [bandcamp track=4060469677 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
:: Give Me Jesus (African-American Spiritual) CHART [bandcamp track=893825801 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
:: Rejoice the Lord is King (Charles Wesley, 1744) CHART
:: Let The Glory of the Lord Endure Forever (Chrysler, 1979) CHART
Call to Worship :: Psalm 73:25-26
Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
New Testament Reading :: James 5:13-18
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
Sermon :: I Kings 17:1-17
1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 2 And the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 7 And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” 13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” 15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.
17 After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.
Prayer of Confession
Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:14-15)
Almighty God, though You guide and protect us as our Shepherd, we flee from You. Though You rule heaven and earth as King, we give our all to our tiny kingdom. Though You comfort us as our Shepherd, we console ourselves with our sins. Though Your Cross has made peace, we foolishly war against You and one another. Though You declare “New creation!” we just prefer the old. Heavenly Father, have mercy upon us. Lord Jesus Christ, deliver us from our sins. Holy Spirit, renew us after the image of our Creator. Amen.
Words of Encouragement :: Romans 8:15-17
The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.