:::  Download the 8.4.2013 Heart Prep Guide & Sermon Notes

:::  Download the 8.4.2013 Bulletin

:::  Download the 8.4.2013 WepcKids Parent Bulletin

:::  Listen to the 8.4.2013 Sermon

image  :: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Daniel O. Stolpe (2003)

Preparation for Worship  :::  Zechariah, Exceedingly Jealous

“Zechariah utters the word of the Lord, ‘I am jealous for Jerusalem’… Her jealous Husband shall roll away her shame; her reproach shall be forgotten; her glory shall be fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners, for he that is jealous of Himself is jealous for her fair fame.”  (Charles Spurgeon)

“The Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”  (Exodus 34:14)

:::  God Is Love, Let Heaven Adore Him (Timothy Rees, 1922) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2843828554 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=1]

:::  Abide With Me (Henry Francis Lyte,1847) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3307329660 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=4]

:::  Amazing Grace (John Newton, 1779) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2679071235 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=1]

:::  Dearly We’re Bought (Joseph Hart, 1712-68) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2189898526 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=1]

:::  God, Be Merciful to Me (Psalm 51; Psalter, 1912) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=637168784 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=3]

:::  Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder (John Newton 1774) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3957404521 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=11]

:::  My Lord I Did Not Choose You (Josiah Conder, 1836) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=4120016334 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=9]

Call to Worship ::: Deuteronomy 7:6-8

You are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set His love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you.

New Testament Reading  ::: John 17:9-11

I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are Yours. All mine are Yours, and Yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, which You have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.

Sermon  ::: Zechariah 1:1-17

¹ In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, ² “The Lord was very angry with your fathers. ³ Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. ⁴ Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. ⁵ Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? ⁶ But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? So they repented and said, ‘As the Lord of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.’”

⁷ On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, ⁸ “I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. ⁹ Then I said, ‘What are these, my lord?’ The angel who talked with me said to me, ‘I will show you what they are.’ ¹⁰ So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, ‘These are they whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.’ ¹¹ And they answered the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, ‘We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth remains at rest.’ ¹² Then the angel of the Lord said, ‘O Lord of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these seventy years?’ ¹³ And the Lord answered gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me. ¹⁴ So the angel who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. ¹⁵ And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster. ¹⁶ Therefore, thus says the Lord, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; my house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. ¹⁷ Cry out again, Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.’”

We Confess Our Sin Together

Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, You are faithful in all Your ways, not one word has failed of all Your promises. You are exceedingly jealous for Your Church, but we have not longed for You: We have cherished secret sins, we have sought comfort in created things, we have doubted and disdained Your sovereign choice. Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us, and forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

God Declares Our Forgiveness  :::  I Peter 3:3; II Corinthians 5:17

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. If anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come.

Benediction

:::  Download the 7.28.2013 Heart Prep Guide & Sermon Notes

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:::  Download the 7.28.2013 WepcKids Parent Bulletin

:::  Listen to the 7.28.2013 Sermon

image  :: Rebuilding The Apse, Marin Gherasim, (Romanian, 2007)

Preparation for Worship  ::: Haggai, Rebuild

“The restoration of the temple by the returning exiles still points to a more glorious future… the coming of the King who shall speak peace to the nations.” (Edmund Clowney)

“I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.” (Matthew 12:6)

“In Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in Him.” (Colossians 2:9-10)

:::  Come and Welcome (Thomas Haweis,1792) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3165625088 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=1]

:::  May God Keep You (Peter La Grand, 2009) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2872026018 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=13]

::: All Things New (Horatius Bonar, 1846) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2826557878 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=1]

::: All I Owe (Robert M. M’Cheyne, 1837, alt.) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=4120016334 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=6]

::: Rock of Ages (Augustus Toplady 1776)

Call to Worship ::: from Psalm 27

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? One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek, 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 seek Him in His temple. My heart says of You, “Seek His face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek.

Sermon  :::  Haggai 1-2

^1:1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: ² “Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” ³ Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, ⁴ “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? ⁵ Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. ⁶ You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.

⁷ “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. ⁸ Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. ⁹ You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. ¹⁰ Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. ¹¹ And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.”

¹² Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. ¹³ Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord’s message, “I am with you, declares the Lord.” ¹⁴ And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, ¹⁵ on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

^2:1 In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, ² “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, ³ ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? ⁴ Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, ⁵ according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. ⁶ For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. ⁷ And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. ⁸ The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. ⁹ The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’”

¹⁰ On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, ¹¹ “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Ask the priests about the law: ¹² ‘If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?’” The priests answered and said, “No.” ¹³ Then Haggai said, “If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?” The priests answered and said, “It does become unclean.” ¹⁴ Then Haggai answered and said, “So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the Lord, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean. ¹⁵ Now then, consider from this day onward. Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the Lord, ¹⁶ how did you fare? When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. ¹⁷ I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, yet you did not turn to me, declares the Lord. ¹⁸ Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid, consider: ¹⁹ Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on I will bless you.”

²⁰ The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, ²¹ “Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, ²² and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother. ²³ On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts.”

We Confess Our Sin Together

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.

New Testament Reading  :::  I Peter 2:4-6

As you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 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. 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.”

Benediction

:::  Download the 7.21.2013 Heart Prep Guide & Sermon Notes

:::  Download the 7.21.2013 Bulletin

:::  Download the 7.21.2013 WepcKids Parent Bulletin

:::  Listen to the 7.21.2013 Sermon

image  :: Autumn Song, Victor Borisov-Musatov (Russian, 1905)

Preparation for Worship  :::  Zephaniah, In Your Midst

Simultaneously He is “in the midst of the assembly” and in the heavenly Jerusalem ever interceding for us… From one perspective, He sings with us in the church; from another He intercedes for us in heaven. When the church gathers in worship, earth and heaven converge. When we sing we are not singing by ourselves. (Reggie Kidd)

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

:::  How Deep the Father’s Love For Us (Stuart Townend, 1995) [bandcamp track=3490451272  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]

:::  Arise! My Soul Arise! (Charles Wesley, 1742) [bandcamp track=1534263805  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]

 Call to Worship ::: Psalm 67

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine upon us, that Your ways may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise You, O God; may all the peoples praise You. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth. May the peoples praise You, O God; may all the peoples praise You. Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us. God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear Him.

Sermon  :::  Zephaniah 1:1-3; 3:8-20

^1:1 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

² “I will utterly sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
³ “I will sweep away man and beast;
I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
and the fish of the sea,
and the rubble with the wicked.
I will cut off mankind
from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.

^3:8 “Therefore wait for me,” declares the Lord,
“for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.
For my decision is to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
to pour out upon them my indignation,
all my burning anger;
for in the fire of my jealousy
all the earth shall be consumed.

⁹ “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples
to a pure speech,
that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord
and serve him with one accord.
¹⁰ From beyond the rivers of Cush
my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones,
shall bring my offering.

¹¹ “On that day you shall not be put to shame
because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;
for then I will remove from your midst
your proudly exultant ones,
and you shall no longer be haughty
in my holy mountain.
¹² But I will leave in your midst
a people humble and lowly.
They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord,
¹³     those who are left in Israel;
they shall do no injustice
and speak no lies,
nor shall there be found in their mouth
a deceitful tongue.
For they shall graze and lie down,
and none shall make them afraid.”

¹⁴ Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
¹⁵ The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;
he has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall never again fear evil.
¹⁶ On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Fear not, O Zion;
let not your hands grow weak.
¹⁷ The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
¹⁸ I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival,
so that you will no longer suffer reproach.
¹⁹ Behold, at that time I will deal
with all your oppressors.
And I will save the lame
and gather the outcast,
and I will change their shame into praise
and renown in all the earth.
²⁰ At that time I will bring you in,
at the time when I gather you together;
for I will make you renowned and praised
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes
before your eyes,” says the Lord.

We Confess Our Sin Together

Heavenly Father, we have not been content to wait for You, and have taken matters into our own hands.  We have practiced deceit against You, and injustice toward one another. Unbelief, fear and shame have overcome us, and we have sought a refuge elsewhere.

Deliver us, Good Lord.

We look now to the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.  Through Him alone we now come to You, asking You to give us grace to hear Your voice, trust in Your love, delight in Your Word, and lean on Your strength.

We long to see Your face.  Amen.

Words of Encouragement  :::  Zephaniah 3:14-15

Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil.

New Testament Reading  :::  Revelation 15:2-4

And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:

“Great and marvelous are your deeds,
Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
King of the nations.
Who will not fear you, Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Benediction