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image :: Unexpected Answer, René Magritte (1933, Belgian)

Preparation for Worship :: The God Who Answers

“Nothing counts more in the way we live than what we believe about God. A failure to get it right in our minds becomes a failure to get it right in our lives. A wrong idea of God translates into sloppiness and cowardice, fearful minds and sickly emotions. One of the wickedest things one person can do to others is to lie to them about God, to represent God as other or less than He is.” (Eugene Peterson)

“Rule us by your Word and Spirit in such a way that more and more we submit to You. Keep Your Church strong, and add to it. Destroy the devil’s work; destroy every force which revolts against You and every conspiracy against Your Word. Do this until Your Kingdom is so complete and perfect that in it You are All in all.” (The Heidelberg Catechism)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for February 1 include:

::  Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise (Walter C. Smith, 1867) CHART [bandcamp track=3601257253 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
::  Before the Throne of God Above (Charitie Lees Bancroft, 1863) CHART [bandcamp track=3844385493 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
::  Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
:: We Are Not Overcome (Heiskell & Wardell, 2013) CHART [bandcamp track=3830598251 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
:: Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending (Wesley, 1758 & Cennick,1752) CHART [bandcamp track=1316143512 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
:: Great Is Thy Faithfulness (Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923) CHART [bandcamp track=3717975761 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
:: Your Great Name (Natalie Grant, 2008) CHART

Call to Worship :: Psalm 118:1,6-7,14

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The Lord is with me; He is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies. The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.

New Testament Reading  ::  Revelation 1:5-7

To Him Who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood and made us a kingdom of priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him.

Sermon  ::  I Kings 18:17-46

¹⁷ When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?” ¹⁸ And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals. ¹⁹ Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

²⁰ So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. ²¹ And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. ²² Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. ²³ Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. ²⁴ And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” ²⁵ Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” ²⁶ And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. ²⁷ And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” ²⁸ And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. ²⁹ And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.

³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. ³¹ Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” ³² and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. ³³ And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” ³⁴ And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time. ³⁵ And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.

³⁶ And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. ³⁷ Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” ³⁸ Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. ³⁹ And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” ⁴⁰ And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.

⁴¹ And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” ⁴² So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. ⁴³ And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times. ⁴⁴ And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’” ⁴⁵ And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. ⁴⁶ And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

Prayer of Confession :: based on Exodus 20:1-17

O LORD, our God who brought His people out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery,
and by Christ delivered us from sin,
You have been faithful to keep all the promises of Your covenant.
But we, O LORD, have been a stiff-necked people who love unfaithfulness.
We have loved other gods before You and become their servants.
We have not worshiped You in spirit and in truth,
and so we have mocked Your glory in heaven.
We have used Your name in vain and profaned Your reputation on earth.
We have desecrated your Sabbath because we have not trusted You to give us rest.
We have not honored our fathers and mothers, and so we have proved ourselves rebels.
We have hated our neighbors and murdered them in our hearts.
We have made adulterers of ourselves in the lust of our eyes or in the deeds of our flesh.
We have stolen honor and wealth and privileges that are not ours.
We have lied and falsely accused for we loved gossip more than truth.
We have coveted blessings You wisely and righteously gave to others.
O LORD, have mercy on us for we have not kept Your law.

Words of Encouragement :: Hebrews 2:14-15

Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

::  Download the 1.25.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
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image :: The Yellow Curtain, Jean-Édouard Vuillard (1893, French)

Preparation for Worship :: Trouble & Providence

“God’s works of providence are, His most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all His creatures, and all their actions.” (Westminster Shorter Catechism)

“It is one thing to feel that God as our Maker supports us by His power, governs us by His providence, nourishes us by His goodness, and attends us with all sorts of blessings — and another thing to embrace the grace of reconciliation offered to us in Christ.” (John Calvin)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for January 25 include:

::  King of Saints (Joseph Hart, d.1768) CHART [bandcamp track=3854459982 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
::  Give Me Jesus (African-American Spiritual) CHART [bandcamp track=893825801 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
:: The House of God Forever/ Psalm 23 (Foreman, 2008) CHART [bandcamp track=2683274072 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
::  Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
:: I Need Thee Every Hour (Annie Hawks, 1872) CHART [bandcamp track=110765075 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
:: How Great Thou Art  (Carl Boberg, 1885) CHART  [bandcamp track=3696795088 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. Wealth and honor come from You; You are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give You thanks, and praise Your glorious name.

New Testament Reading  :: Hebrews 12:24,28-29

You have come to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

Sermon  ::  I Kings 18:1-19

After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.” ² So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. ³ And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, ⁴ and when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.) ⁵ And Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, and not lose some of the animals.” ⁶ So they divided the land between them to pass through it. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself.

⁷ And as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. And Obadiah recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?” ⁸ And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your lord, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’” ⁹ And he said, “How have I sinned, that you would give your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? ¹⁰ As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. And when they would say, ‘He is not here,’ he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you. ¹¹ And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here.”’ ¹² And as soon as I have gone from you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you I know not where. And so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth. ¹³ Has it not been told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the Lord’s prophets by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water? ¹⁴ And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here”’; and he will kill me.” ¹⁵ And Elijah said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.” ¹⁶ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah.

¹⁷ When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?” ¹⁸ And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals. ¹⁹ Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

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 and merciful Father, You created us for fellowship with Yourself and one another; But, we rebelled, and made enemies of our Maker and each other. We have despised Your providence, doubted Your love, and become a law unto ourselves. We believed that human wrath would work the righteousness of God, and so have taken matters into our own hands. We are thankful that Your mercy is higher than the heavens, wider than our wanderings, and deeper than all of our sins. Grant us repentance and faith in Jesus Christ that we may desire what is good, love all that You love, and gladly follow where You lead. Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: Daniel 9:9,18

The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against Him… We do not make requests of You because we are righteous, but because of Your great mercy.

::  Download the 1.18.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
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image :: Wake, Marc Vaux (1965, British)

Preparation for Worship :: See Your Son Lives

“A dead Christ I must do everything for; a living Christ does everything for me.” (Andrew Murray)

“He laid his right hand on me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades’.” (Revelation 1:17-18)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for January 18 include:

:: All Creatures of Our God and King (Francis of Assisi, 1225) CHART [bandcamp track=3110760989 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
::  Before the Throne of God Above (Charitie Lees Bancroft, 1863) CHART [bandcamp track=3844385493 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
::  None Other Lamb  (Christina Rossetti, b.1830)  CHART [bandcamp track=798046000 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
::  How Deep the Father’s Love for Us (Stuart Townend, 1995) CHART [bandcamp track=4111584936 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
::  Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
::  God is Love Let Heaven Adore Him (Timothy Rees, 1922) CHART [bandcamp track=381279901 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

Call to Worship :: Job 19:25-27; Psalm 124:8

I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that in the end He will stand on the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
I myself will see Him
with my own eyes—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!

Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

New Testament Reading  :: Luke 7:11-17

Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Sermon  ::  I Kings 17:17-24

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. ¹⁸ And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” ¹⁹ And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. ²⁰ And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” ²¹ Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” ²² And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. ²³ And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” ²⁴ And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

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, by the power of Your Spirit You raised Jesus from the grave and crowned Him Lord of all. We confess that we have not bowed before Him or acknowledged His rule in our lives. We have often persisted in ways that lead to death, and failed to give Him glory. Forgive us and raise us from sin, that we may be Your faithful people, obeying the commands of our Lord Jesus Christ, who rules the world and is Head of the Church, His Body. Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: John 5:24

Jesus said “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.”

::  Download the 1.11.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
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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.

::  Download the 1.4.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
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image ::  The Bread Basket, Salvador Dali (1926, Spanish)

Preparation for Worship on the Second Sunday after Christmas Day ::

“But faith must be taught correctly, namely, that by it you are so cemented to Christ that He and you are as one person, which cannot be separated but remains attached to Him forever and declares: ‘I am as Christ.’ And Christ, in turn, says: ‘I am as that sinner who is attached to Me, and I to him.’ And by faith we are joined together in one flesh and one bone.”  (Martin Luther, Works, 1535)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for January 4 include:

:: And Can It Be (Charles Wesley, 1738) CHART [bandcamp track=3382232877 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
:: Gloria Patri (2nd Century Hymn) CHART [bandcamp track=1874779665 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
:: I Need Thee Every Hour (Annie Hawks, 1872) CHART [bandcamp track=110765075 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
:: When I Survey The Wondrous Cross (Isaac Watts, 1707) CHART [bandcamp track=3207629541 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
:: Poor Sinner, Dejected With Fear (William Gadsby, 1838) CHART [bandcamp track=1797344181 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]

Call to Worship ::  Isaiah 60:1-3

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and His glory appears over you. Nations will come to Your light, and kings to the brightness of Your dawn.

Gospel Reading  ::  Luke 7:11-15

Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Sermon  :: I Kings 17:1-24

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. ¹⁸ And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” ¹⁹ And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. ²⁰ And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” ²¹ Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” ²² And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. ²³ And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” ²⁴ And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

Confession of Sin :: by John Wesley (1703-1791)

Forgive them all, O Lord; Our sins of omission and our sins of commission; The sins of our youth and the sins of our riper years; The sins of our souls and the sins of our bodies; Our secret and our more open sins; Our sins of ignorance and surprise, and our more deliberate and presumptuous sin; The sins we have done to please ourselves, and the sins we have done to please others; The sins we know and remember, and the sins we have forgotten; The sins we have striven to hide from others and the sins by which we have made others offend You; Forgive them, O Lord, forgive them all for His sake, Who died for our sins and rose for our justification, and now stands at Thy right hand to make intercession for us, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Words of Encouragement :: John 1:29

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

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image ::  The Flight into Egypt, Jean-François Millet (c.1864, French)

Preparation for Worship on the First Sunday After Christmas Day :: Where is He?

“Jesus, equal to the Father in the form of God, became like us in the form of a servant, and refashions us into the likeness of God. The only Son of God, having become the Son of Man makes many sons of men the sons of God.” (Augustine)

Call to Worship :: Isaiah 25:8-9

He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of His people He will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, that He might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for Him; let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”

Confession of Sin

Holy Lord, You have prepared Your salvation in the presence of all peoples. Yet, we confess that we have not followed the light of Your Word. We have not been consoled by Your presence, and have sought comforts of our own design. We have not sought Your will, or trusted Your Good News to be good. We have failed to rejoice at Your Son’s coming and refused His peace on earth. We have hoped for little from You, And the very thoughts of our hearts are revealed in the light of the glory of Your great mercy toward us. Forgive our unbelief, and renew us by Your Holy Spirit that we might eagerly worship You, that we may watch and wait and once more find the Gospel of our Savior, Jesus Christ, to be our greatest joy. Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: Galatians 4:4-7

When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Sermon  ::  Matthew 2:1-18

¹ Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, ² saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” ³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; ⁴ and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. ⁵ They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

⁶ “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

⁷ Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. ⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” ⁹ After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ¹¹ And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

¹³ Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” ¹⁴ And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt ¹⁵ and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

¹⁶ Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. ¹⁷ Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

¹⁸ “A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”