::  Download the 12.6.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 12.6.2015 Bulletin 
::  Download the 12.6.2015 Sermon Audio

image :: Annunciation, Paolo Veronese (1558, Italian)

Preparation for Worship :: God is Faithful

“Christ calls us brethren and is one of us. How should we be encouraged when we have such a Mediator! ‘Tis one of us that is to plead for us, one that God from love to us has received into His own person from among us.”  (Jonathan Edwards)

“God travels wonderful ways with human beings, but He does not comply with the views and opinions of people. God does not go the way that people want to prescribe for Him…Only the humble believe him and rejoice that God is so free and so marvelous that he does wonders where people despair, that He takes what is little and lowly and makes it marvelous. And that is the wonder of all wonders, that God loves the lowly…. God is not ashamed of the lowliness of human beings. God marches right in.”  (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday December 6 include ::

:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Gloria (Luke 2:14) CHART [bandcamp track=3705156614 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Come Thou Long Expected Jesus (Charles Wesley, 1744) CHART [bandcamp track=1664620326 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: O Come, O Come Emmanuel (Latin antiphons, 12^th century) CHART [bandcamp track=134275884 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: What Child Is This (W. Chatterton Dix, c.1865) CHART [bandcamp track=3999560521 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: None Other Lamb  (Christina Rossetti, b.1830)  CHART [bandcamp track=798046000 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: In Christ Alone (Getty & Townend, 2002) CHART [bandcamp track=676321818 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: O Come All Ye Faithful (attr. John Francis Wade, 1743) CHART [bandcamp track=1923573538 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Our Lord, Come (I Corinthians 16:22; Revelation 22:20) CHART

Call to Worship on the Second Sunday of Advent :: Luke 21:28

Stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.

Old Testament Reading :: Isaiah 64:1-4

Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before You! As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make Your name known to Your enemies and cause the nations to quake before You! For when You did awesome things that we did not expect, You came down, and the mountains trembled before You. Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.

Prayer of Confession :: Book of Common Prayer

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent, for the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in Your will, and walk in Your ways, to the glory of Your Name. Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: Hebrews 9:28

Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.

Sermon :: Acts 3:22-26

²² ”Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. ²³ And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ ²⁴ And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. ²⁵ You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ ²⁶ God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

::  Download the 11.29.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 11.29.2015 Bulletin 
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image :: The Annunciation, Rajna Nikolić (Serbian)

Preparation for Worship :: For You, From You

“The only Son of God, having become the Son of Man makes many sons of men the sons of God.”  (Augustine)

“He saved us from alongside us.”  (Donald Macleod)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday November 29 include ::

:: Creator of The Stars of Night (7^th Century Latin Hymn) CHART [bandcamp track=2507463581 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending (Charles Wesley, 1758) CHART [bandcamp track=1316143512 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Love Came Down at Christmas (Christina Rossetti, 1885) CHART [bandcamp track=3311510953 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Let Us Love And Sing And Wonder (John Newton, 1774) CHART [bandcamp track=3505470677 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven (Henry Francis Lyte, 1834) CHART [bandcamp track=170691948 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]::  Come Thou Long Expected Jesus (Charles Wesley, 1744) CHART [bandcamp track=366056780 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Our Lord, Come (I Corinthians 16:22; Revelation 22:20) CHART

Call to Worship on the First Sunday of Advent :: Romans 13:11

The hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.

Old Testament Reading :: Micah 5:2-5

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”  Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites.  He will stand and in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.  And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.  And he will be our peace.

Prayer of Confession :: Book of Common Prayer

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent, for the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in Your will, and walk in Your ways, to the glory of Your Name. Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: Zephaniah 3:14-15

Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel!  Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!  The LORD has taken away the judgments against you, He has turned away your enemies.  The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more.

Sermon :: Acts 3:22-26

²² ”Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. ²³ And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ ²⁴ And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. ²⁵ You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ ²⁶ God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

::  Download the 11.22.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 11.22.2015 Bulletin 
::  Download the 11.22.2015 Sermon Audio 

image :: The Fallen Jockey, Edgar Degas (c.1896, French)

Preparation for Worship :: Stumbling Stone

“We need a divine operation upon the heart and mind to make us willing to receive into our inmost soul this distasteful Gospel of the grace of God…. Hide not the offence of the Cross, lest you make it of none effect. “ (Charles Spurgeon)

“They did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone.” (Romans 9:32)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday November 22 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]:: All Things New (Horatius Bonar, 1846) CHART [bandcamp track=503053927 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds (John Newton, 1774) CHART [bandcamp track=3647467981 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: My Hope is Built on Nothing Less (Edward Mote, 1834) CHART [bandcamp track=1070234810 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Amazing Grace (John Newton, 1779) CHART [bandcamp track=2203479634 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

Call to Worship :: Psalm 18:1-3

I love You, O Lord, my Strength. The Lord is my Rock and my Fortress and my Deliverer; My God, my Rock, in whom I take refuge, my Shield, and the Horn of my salvation, my Stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.

Old Testament Reading :: Isaiah 8:11-15

For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”

Prayer of Confession

Gracious Lord, we confess that we have sinned against You in our thoughts, words and deeds. Depending on our own strength, we stumble. Glorying in our own righteousness, we mock You. Turning our faces from You, we desire the things of this world to satisfy us. We repent of our self-pity and pride, our cowardice and sloth, our anger and envy. We pray now, Lord, for You to forgive us; Let us hear Your voice saying: “His blood is your peace, His death is your freedom, His Spirit is your power.” We pray these things in the name of Your most precious Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: Romans 5:6,8

At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Sermon :: I Peter 2:4-8 

⁴ As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, ⁵ you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For it stands in Scripture:

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

⁷ So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,

“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”

⁸ and

“A stone of stumbling,
and a rock of offense.”

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

::  Download the 11.15.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 11.15.2015 Bulletin 
::  Download the 11.15.2015 Sermon Audio 

image :: Flowers in Stone, Paul Klee (1939, Swiss)

Preparation for Worship :: Living Stones

“God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man. It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and better but like turning a horse into a winged creature.”  (C.S. Lewis)

“If you are a Christian, the story that tells you who you are is not the story of your parents, ancestors, ethnic group, or social class. It is instead, the story of the Bible– the promise to Abraham, the deliverance from slavery to Egypt and sin, the gift of land to landless Israelites, and life to dead sinners. This story of promise, deliverance, and gift is your family history, the story that defines you.”  (Graham Tomlin)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday November 15 include ::

:: Rock of Ages (Augustus Toplady, 1776) [bandcamp track=1565825434 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: In Christ Alone (Getty & Townend, 2002)  CHART [bandcamp track=676321818 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]

:: Lord I Need You (Matt Maher, 2013) CHART  >>> AUDIO

:: Oh to Be Loved by Jesus (Thad Cockrell, 2009)  CHART >>> AUDIO 

Call to Worship :: Psalm 118:19-24

Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Gospel Reading :: Matthew 21:33-46

“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country.  When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit.  And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them.  Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’  And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.  When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”  They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.  And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them.  And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

Prayer of Confession

Almighty Father, we are gathered before You, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, whose chosen dwelling place is with the broken and contrite. We confess that we have sinned against You in thought and word and deed; we have not loved You with all our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. You call us to worship You in spirit and in truth, but we often worship only what we wish You to be. We are quick to ask You to bless what we do, rather than seeking to do what You bless. We have sought concessions, when we required guidance. We have used Your gifts for private ambition, instead of for Your mission and glory. We use worship to shape You, rather than seeking to be formed into the likeness of the One we worship.

Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us; Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us; Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world, grant us Your peace.

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 2:4-8 

⁴ As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, ⁵ you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For it stands in Scripture:

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

⁷ So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,

“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”

⁸ and

“A stone of stumbling,
and a rock of offense.”

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

::  Download the 11.8.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 11.8.2015 Bulletin 
::  Download the 11.8.2015 Sermon Audio 

image :: Woman with Baby, Gerard Sekoto (1946, South African)

Preparation for Worship :: Good

“Jesus is a fountain containing all good, and flowing with streams of richest, choicest blessings. Nothing can be needed — but Jesus has it… Why then should we live smarting under the wounds of sin, or groaning beneath its load?…Let us go to Jesus. His immortal fullness contains all we can need, and he bids us come and take freely.”  (James Smith)

“God wills our good, and our good is to love Him…and to love Him we must know Him: and if we know Him, we shall in fact fall on our faces.”  (C.S. Lewis, “Divine Goodness”)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday November 8 include ::

:: All Hail the Power of Jesus Name (Edward Perronet, 1780) CHART [bandcamp track=1047855256 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Give Me Jesus (African-American Spiritual) CHART [bandcamp track=893825801 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Every Ditch, Every Valley (Peter LaGrand, 2008) CHART [bandcamp track=3354859726 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: O The Deep, Deep Love of Jesus (Samuel Trevor Francis, c.1890) CHART [bandcamp track=828526162 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: What A Friend We Have In Jesus (Joseph Medlicott Scriven, 1855) CHART 

Call to Worship :: Psalm 34:1-3,8-10

I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together!  Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Old Testament Reading :: Deuteronomy 8:1-3

“The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

Prayer of Confession

Jesus said, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

Lord, forgive our distant, doubting hearts.  At times we seek Your blessing, but have no love for You.  We are like those who witnessed Jesus’ miracles of healing and heard His proclamation, yet somehow spurned belief.  We too have seen and enjoyed wonders, yet have hardened our hearts.  We confess that our dull unbelief tempts others and offends You.  Heavenly Father, forgive us our sin.  Renew us in Your Spirit that with open hearts we may turn to Jesus for rest, and long for Your Kingdom’s coming.  Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: Micah 7:18-19

Who is a God like our God, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love.  He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot.  He will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.

Sermon :: I Peter 2:1-3

¹ So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.² Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— ³ if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.