::  Download the 2.21.2016 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
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image :: At The Park, Maurice Prendergast (c.1897, American)

Preparation for Worship :: Called to Bless

“The truth that makes us free is always ticking away like a time bomb in the basement of everybody’s church. And that truth isn’t a bunch of ideas. It’s Jesus. Sooner or later, if we just sit still and listen, he’ll blow the lid off any prison we’ve built.” (Robert Farrar Capon)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday February 21 include ::

:: Father Long Before Creation (Chinese Hymn, c.1951) CHART [bandcamp track=165182312 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short] :: May the Mind of Christ My Savior (Kate B. Wilkinson, 1925) CHART [bandcamp track=383595627 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short] :: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

:: Better Is One Day In Your Courts (Matt Redman,2005) CHART //  AUDIO

:: Kindness  (Giglio, Reeves, Tomlin, 2000) CHART  //  AUDIO

:: How Great Is Our God  (Tomlin, Reeves & Cash, 2004) CHART // AUDIOHow Great Is Our God::  How Great Is Our God  (Tomlin, Reeves & Cash, 2004

Call to Worship ::  Psalm 72:18-19

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel. He alone does wondrous things. Blessed be His glorious name forever. May the whole earth be filled with His glory!  Amen and Amen!

Praying the Psalms :: Psalm 84; Psalm 3:3 (refrain)

But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.
O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob!
Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed!
For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Prayer of Confession :: based on Matthew 5:1-12

Lord Jesus, You offered us all Your blessings when You proclaimed: “Blessed are the poor in spirit”— but we have been rich in pride. “Blessed are those who mourn”— but we have not known much sorrow for our sin. “Blessed are the meek”— but we are a stubborn people. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”— but we are filled to the full with created things. “Blessed are the merciful”— but we are harsh and impatient. “Blessed are the pure in heart”— but our hearts love all the wrong things. “Blessed are the peacemakers”— but we have not sought reconciliation. “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness”— but our lives do not challenge the world. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me”— but we have hardly made it known that we are Yours. Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.

Words of Encouragement :: Romans 4:7-8

Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.

Sermon :: I Peter 3:8-12

⁸ Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. ⁹ Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. ¹⁰ For

“Whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit;
¹¹ let him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.
¹² For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

::  Download the 2.14.2016 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
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image :: The Couple, Amedeo Modigliani (c. 1915, Italian)

Preparation for Worship :: Beauty & Honor

“If you want to get warm you must stand near the fire; if you want to be wet you must get into the water. If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, or even into, the thing that has them. They are not a sort of prize which God could, if he chose, just hand out to anyone. They are a great fountain of energy and beauty spurting up at the very center of reality.”  C.S. Lewis

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday February 14 include ::

:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing (Robert Robinson, 1758) CHART [bandcamp track=4015998502 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Magnificat (Luke 1:46-49) CHART [bandcamp track=3475501751 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]::  Jesus Lover of My Soul (Charles Wesley, 1740) CHART [bandcamp track=1026515912 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

Call to Worship :: from I Chronicles 29

Praise be to You, O Lord, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor. For everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; You are exalted as head over all.

Praying the Psalms :: Psalm 27; Psalms 80:3 (refrain)

Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.
For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.
And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me!
You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, do I seek.” Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!
For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in.
Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they breathe out violence.
I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

Prayer of Confession

Most merciful Father, we have sinned against and are guilty before You. Forgive us the sins of our tongues: For deception and untruthfulness in our dealings with others; for resentment, coldness, impatience, and tempers out of control. Forgive us for the sins of our eyes: For impurity in our glances and imagination; for pining after more beauty, comfort, status, and wealth than You have given us. Forgive us the sins of our hearts: For hard-heartedness toward You and our neighbors; for pride, self-absorption, self-pity; and above all for rebelling against Your Lordship and doubting Your love. Now, Holy Father, kill our envy, remove our pride, melt our hearts. Give us grace to be holy, kind, gentle, pure, to labor for You and not for ourselves, to be transformed into Your likeness, to live wholly for Your glory. In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen. Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.

Words of Encouragement :: II Corinthians 5:21

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Sermon :: I Peter 3:1-7

Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, ² when they see your respectful and pure conduct. ³ Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— ⁴ but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. ⁵ For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, ⁶ as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. ⁷ Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

::  Download the 2.7.2016 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
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image :: Marriage Certificate, Currier and Ives (1869, American)

Preparation for Worship :: Likewise, Wives

“The reason that marriage is so painful and yet wonderful is because it is a reflection of the Gospel, which is painful and wonderful at once. The Gospel is—we are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared to believe, and at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope. This is the only kind of relationship that will really transform us. Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws. Truth without love is harshness; it gives us information but in such a way that we cannot really hear it. God’s saving love in Christ, however, is marked by both radical truthfulness about who we are and yet also radical, unconditional commitment to us. The merciful commitment strengthens us to see the truth about ourselves and repent. The conviction and repentance moves us to cling to and rest in God’s mercy and grace.” (Tim Keller)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday February 7 include ::

:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Arise, My Soul, Arise (Charles Wesley, 1742) CHART [bandcamp track=2410790195 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: How Deep the Father’s Love for Us (Stuart Townend, 1995) CHART [bandcamp track=4169581556 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: In the Name of God the Father (Henry Allon, 1850) CHART [bandcamp track=1335283037 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: The Church’s One Foundation (Samuel Stone, 1866) CHART [bandcamp track=4187815592 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: On Jordan’s Stormy Banks (Samuel Stennett, 1787) CHART [bandcamp track=1174694383 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

Call to Worship :: Revelation 19:6-7,9

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready.”  And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

Old Testament Reading :: Genesis 2:20-25

The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.  And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Prayer of Confession

Good and gracious God, we lay our sins before You, confessing the times when we have not lived in light of Your commandments and promises. You purchased us to be a people who are open-hearted, God-trusting, neighbor-loving, risk-taking, life-giving. Forgive us for our sins against You and our neighbor. We have been tight-fisted, God-doubting, neighbor-scorning, risk-avoiding, life-taking. Because Jesus lived, died, was raised, and ascended into heaven, we confess our sins with the great confidence that You will forgive, accept, and renew us. Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: Isaiah 43:25

I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

Sermon :: I Peter 3:1-7

1 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, ² when they see your respectful and pure conduct. ³ Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— ⁴ but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. ⁵ For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, ⁶ as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. ⁷ Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

::  Download the 1.31.2016 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
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image :: Christ Carrying the Cross, Titian (Italian, 1507)

Preparation for Worship :: Wounds

“The Son of God suffered unto the death, not that men might not suffer, but that their suffering might be like His.” (George MacDonald)

“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:10-11)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday January 31 include ::

:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Give Me Jesus (African-American Spiritual) CHART [bandcamp track=893825801 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]::  Jesus, I my Cross Have Taken (Henry Lyte, 1825) CHART [bandcamp track=1380076138 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Approach My Soul The Mercy Seat (John Newton, 1779) CHART
>>AUDIO

:: Rejoice the Lord is King (Charles Wesley, 1744)  CHART

Call to Worship :: Psalm 124:8

“Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Let us worship Him.

Prayer of Confession :: Isaiah 53:3-11

For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.  

Words of Encouragement :: II Corinthians 5:21

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Sermon :: I Peter 2:18-25

¹⁸ Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. ¹⁹ For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. ²⁰ For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. ²¹ For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. ²² He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. ²³ When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴ He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵ For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

::  Download the 1.24.2016 Sermon Audio 

::  Download the 1.17.2016 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
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image :: Sunflower Seeds, Ai Weiwei (2010, Chinese)

Preparation for Worship :: Subject for the Lord’s Sake

“Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fibre of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ, and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.” (C.S. Lewis) 

“Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:7-8)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday January 17 include ::

:: Be Thou My Vision  (8th Century Irish Hymn)  CHART [bandcamp track=3137703094 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: ‘Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus (Louisa Stead, 1882) CHART [bandcamp track=3021677932 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: 10000 Reasons (Redman & Myrin, 2011) CHART [bandcamp track=2659759028 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Behold Our God (Baird & Altrogge, 2011) CHART [bandcamp track=4160179747 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

Call to Worship :: Psalm 113:1-6

Praise the Lord; Praise the Lord, you His servants; praise the name of the Lord. Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore. From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised. The Lord is exalted over all the nations, His glory above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?

Gospel Reading :: Mark 12:13-17

And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?”  But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”  And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.”  Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.

Prayer of Confession :: from the Book of Common Prayer

Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from Your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done; and there is no health in us. But You, O Lord, have mercy upon us. And grant, O most merciful Father, for Jesus’ sake, that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous and joyful life, to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.         

Words of Encouragement :: Hebrews 12:2

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Sermon :: I Peter 2:13-17

¹³ Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, ¹⁴ or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. ¹⁵ For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. ¹⁶ Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. ¹⁷ Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.