::  Download the 11.1.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 11.1.2015 Bulletin 
::  Download the 11.1.2015 Sermon Audio

image :: Sower, Vincent van Gogh (1888, Dutch)

Preparation for Worship :: Imperishable

So brief a life, and then an endless life
Or endless death;
So brief a life, then endless peace or
strife:
Whoso considereth
How man but like a flower
Or shoot of grass
Blooms an hour,
Well may sigh “Alas!”

Yet saints are singing in a happy hope
Forecasting pleasure,
Bright eyes of faith enlarging all their
scope;
Saints love beyond Time’s measure:
Where love is, there is bliss
That will not pass;
Where love is,
Dies away “Alas!” (Christina Rossetti)                   

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.” (John 6:63)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday November 1 include ::

:: Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing (Robert Robinson, 1758) CHART [bandcamp track=4015998502 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Streams of Living Water Flow (Thomas Kelly, 1768-1855) CHART [bandcamp track=2488897534 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 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]:: Jesus I Come (William Sleeper, 1887) CHART [bandcamp track=1190898373 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Thy Mercy, My God, Is the Theme of my Song (John Stocker, 1776) CHART [bandcamp track=2834013035 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

::  In Need (Ross King, 1996) CHART

Call to Worship :: Isaiah 55:10-12

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; The mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Old Testament Reading :: Isaiah 40:1-8

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.

A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.

Prayer of Confession

Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, forgive us.  Instead of being separated from the world, we coddle our secret sins.  Instead of hearing Your Word, we are shaped by every other voice, belief, and perspective.  Instead of eagerly following You in Your mission to the world, we choose sheltered and self-focused lives.  Lord Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on us.  Our only hope is in Your finished work.  You lived the life we should have lived.  You died the death we should have died: in our place, as our substitute, to make atonement for our sins.

Words of Encouragement :: John 5:19,24

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”

Sermon :: I Peter 1:13-25

¹³ Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, ¹⁵ but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” ¹⁷ And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,¹⁸ knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. ²⁰ He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you ²¹ who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

²² Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, ²³ since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; ²⁴ for

“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
²⁵ but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

::  Download the 10.25.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 10.25.2015 Bulletin 
::  Download the 10.25.2015 Sermon Audio

image :: Light and Colour (Goethe’s Theory) – The Morning after the Deluge – Moses Writing the Book of Genesis, William Turner (c.1843, British)

Preparation for Worship :: Holy

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about anyone is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. Were we to extract from anyone a complete answer to the question: ‘What comes into your mind when you think about God?’ we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man.” (A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday October 25 include ::

:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Holy, Holy, Holy (Reginald Heber,1826) CHART [bandcamp track=3071271614 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Gloria Patri (2^nd century hymn; Henry W. Greatorex, 1851) CHART [bandcamp track=3887420126 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Arise O God and Shine (William Hurn, 1815) CHART [bandcamp track=2605083989 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Behold Our God (Baird & Altrogge, 2011) CHART [bandcamp track=4160179747 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]::  All Things New (Horatius Bonar, 1846) CHART [bandcamp track=503053927 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

Call to Worship :: Revelation 15:3-4

Great and amazing are Your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship You. For Your righteous acts have been revealed.

Old Testament Reading :: Leviticus 20:22-26

“You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my rules and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them. But I have said to you, ‘You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples. You shall therefore separate the clean beast from the unclean, and the unclean bird from the clean. You shall not make yourselves detestable by beast or by bird or by anything with which the ground crawls, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean. You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.”

Prayer of Confession :: from The Valley of Vision

Eternal Father, You are good beyond all thought, but I am wretched, miserable, blind. My lips are ready to confess, but my heart is slow to feel, and my ways reluctant to amend. I bring my soul to You; break it, wound it, bend it, mold it. Grant that through the tears of repentance I may see more clearly the brightness and glories of the saving Cross.

Words of Encouragement :: Psalm 130:3-4

If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.

Sermon :: I Peter 1:13-25

¹³ Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, ¹⁵ but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” ¹⁷ And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,¹⁸ knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. ²⁰ He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you ²¹ who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

²² Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, ²³ since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; ²⁴ for

“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
²⁵ but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

::  Download the 10.18.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 10.18.2015 Bulletin 
::  Download the 10.18.2015 Sermon Audio 

image :: Love-Hope, Yiannis Moralis (1934, Greek)

Preparation for Worship :: Set Your Hope

“Hope holds to Christ the mind’s own mirror out
To take His lovely likeness more and more…
Her glass is blest but she as good as blind
Holds till hand aches and wonders what is there.”  (Gerard Manley Hopkins)

“The only hope… To be redeemed from fire by fire.”  (T.S. Eliot)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday October 11 include ::

:: Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing (Robert Robinson, 1758) CHART [bandcamp track=4015998502 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Holy, Holy, Holy (Reginald Heber,1826) CHART [bandcamp track=3071271614 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]::  Jesus Whispers (Joseph Hart, 1759) CHART [bandcamp track=1346965301 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Approach My Soul The Mercy Seat (John Newton, 1779) CHART
>>AUDIO

:: There’s A Wideness in God’s Mercy (Frederick Faber, 1862) CHART

:: God Is So Good (Traditional African) CHART

Call to Worship :: Psalm 77:11-15

I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember Your wonders of old. I will ponder all Your work, and meditate on Your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your might among the peoples. With Your mighty arm You redeemed Your people.

Old Testament Reading :: Isaiah 6:1-7

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Prayer of Confession

Most merciful God, whose Son, Jesus Christ, was tempted in every way, yet was without sin, we confess before You our own sinfulness. We have hungered after that which does not satisfy; We have compromised with evil; We have doubted Your power to protect us; We have been obsessed with creating a life of constant pleasure; We have been indifferent to the treasure of heaven; We have neglected Your wise and gracious Law. Forgive our lack of faith; have mercy on our weakness. Restore in us such trust and love that we may walk in Your ways and delight in doing Your will. Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: I Peter 2:9-10

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Sermon :: I Peter 1:13-25

¹³ Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, ¹⁵ but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” ¹⁷ And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,¹⁸ knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. ²⁰ He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you ²¹ who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

²² Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, ²³ since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; ²⁴ for

“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
²⁵ but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

::  Download the 10.11.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 10.11.2015 Bulletin 
::  Download the 10.11.2015 Sermon Audio

image :: In The Dust Cloud, Jacek Malczewski (1894, Polish)

Preparation for Worship :: This Salvation

“The innocent angels…look wistfully at the experience of redemption that we know through the Gospel. In other words, there is something greater about being fallen and raised again than merely being innocent. There’s something more beautiful about redemption than innocence. There’s something more attractive about grace to the undeserving than reward for the meritorious. There’s something more amazing about restoring peace to a shattered world than maintaining peace in pristine conditions.” (Trevin Wax)

“We have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.” (I Corinthians 4:9)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday October 11 include ::

:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: All Creatures of Our God and King (Francis of Assisi, 1225) CHART [bandcamp track=3110760989 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]:: And Can It Be (Charles Wesley, 1738) CHART [bandcamp track=648892035 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: 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 98:1-4

Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things! His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him. The Lord has made known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!

Old Testament Reading :: Isaiah 52:7-10

How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice;
together they sing for joy;
for eye to eye they see
the return of the Lord to Zion.
Break forth together into singing,
you waste places of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people;
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.

Prayer of Confession

Lord Jesus Christ, by Your steadfast love and atoning sacrifice, You took our place and proved Yourself to be the Friend of sinners. You were punished that we might be pardoned, and broken that we would be made whole. In Your resurrection You demonstrated Your power over death, and secured our future– triumphant, redeemed, and blessed eternally. While we await Your return, we confess that we have been faithless and anxious in heart. In our restlessness we have sought peace for our souls in a salvation of our own making. Apart from You, we find ourselves dangerously proud, alone and worn. Forgive us, Savior! Renew our faith and restore to us the true rest You alone offer us. Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: John 1:29

Behold, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world!

Sermon :: I Peter 1:10-12

¹⁰ Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, ¹¹ inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. ¹² It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

::  Download the 10.4.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 10.4.2015 Bulletin 
::  Download the 10.4.2015 Sermon Audio 

image :: The Liberation of St. Peter, in the Stanza D’Eliodoro, Raphael (1514, Italian)

Preparation for Worship :: The Outcome

“The final outcome of the future, foreshadowed in the Holy Scriptures, is not the merely spiritual existence of saved souls, but the restoration of the entire cosmos, when God will be all in all under the renewed heaven on the renewed earth.”  (Abraham Kuyper)

“If you put the sentiments of His benevolent heart into language, methinks He would say, ‘Since My death has been so fruitful of such a glorious posterity—I am well satisfied. I desire no other reward for all My agonies for them. If this end is but answered—I am fully satisfied by My hanging on the tree for them.’ See the strength of the love of Jesus!”  (Samuel Davies)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday October 4 include ::

:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Father Long Before Creation  (Chinese Hymn, c.1951) CHART [bandcamp track=165182312 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Give Me Jesus (African-American Spiritual) CHART [bandcamp track=893825801 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: O Help My Unbelief (Isaac Watts, 1707) CHART [bandcamp track=2458560238 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: In the Name of the Father (Henry Allon, c.1850) CHART [bandcamp track=1335283037 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]

Call to Worship :: Psalm 98:1-3

Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for He has done marvelous things! His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him. The LORD has made known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel.  All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Old Testament Reading :: Isaiah 35:3-6, 9-10

Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
say to those with fearful hearts,
‘Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.’

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.

But only the redeemed will walk there,
and the ransomed of the Lord will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Prayer of Confession :: Thomas Cranmer (1549)

Almighty God, our Heavenly Father: in Your tender mercy You gave Your only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the Cross for our redemption; He made there a full atonement for the sins of the whole world, offering once for all His one sacrifice of Himself; We do not presume to come to Your table, merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in Your manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under Your table. But You are the same Lord, whose nature is always to have mercy. Lord, have mercy upon us; Christ, have mercy upon us;  Lord, have mercy upon us.

Words of Encouragement :: Romans 5:1-2

Since we have been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Sermon :: I Peter 1:2-9

² May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹ obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

::  Download the 9.27.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 9.27.2015 Bulletin 
::  Download the 9.27.2015 Sermon Audio

image :: Three Heads, Faith, Jacek Malczewski (c.1900, Polish)

Preparation for Worship :: Trials

“Even as we slog through the trials, persecutions, irritations, temptations, distractions, apathy, and just plain weariness of this world, the gospel points us to heaven where our King Jesus — the Lamb of God who was crucified in our place and raised gloriously from the dead — now sits interceding for us. Not only so, but it calls us forward to that final day when heaven will be filled with the roaring noise of millions upon millions of forgiven voices hailing him as crucified Savior and risen King.”  (Greg Gilbert)

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. Take heart; I have overcome the world.”  (John 16:33)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday September 27 include ::

:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Jesus, I Am Resting (Jean S. Pigott, 1876) CHART [bandcamp track=104008922 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Gather Them In (Peter La Grand 2009) CHART [bandcamp track=1336227612 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: On Jordan’s Stormy Banks (Samuel Stennett, 1787) CHART [bandcamp track=1174694383 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: All The Way My Savior Leads Me (Fanny Crosby, 1875) CHART 
>>> AUDIO

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

Call to Worship :: Psalm 144:1-2,5-6,9

Blessed be the Lord, my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle. He is my steadfast Love and my Fortress, my Stronghold and my Deliverer, my Shield and He in whom I take refuge. Bow Your heavens, O Lord, and come down! Touch the mountains so that they smoke! Flash forth the lightning and scatter them; send out Your arrows and rout them!  I will sing a new song to You, O God

Old Testament Reading :: Jeremiah 20:11-13

The Lord is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten. O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause. Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers.

Prayer of Confession

Holy God, we are guilty of rejecting Your commands, of doubting Your promises, of proud self-reliance, of neglect to rest in You. Daily we fail to love You and our neighbor as we ought. Praise You for providing the Savior in Jesus, who takes our sin and gives us His righteousness! Lord, continue the work of salvation in us: Conquer our weakness with Your strength, blot out our self-centeredness with Your glory. Meet us in our suffering and disappointments, refine us as You see fit. Keep us from returning to sin’s bondage, brighten our hearts with Your grace. Redirect our desires so that we delight deeply in You. 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 1:2-9

² May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹ obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.