::  Download the 11.20.2016 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 11.20.2016 Bulletin
::  Download the 11.20.2016 Sermon Audio 

image :: Ruth and Naomi, He Qi (2001, Chinese)

Preparation for Worship on Nov 20 :: Bitter

“Lament is a cry of belief in a good God, a God who has His ear to our hearts…Complaint is the bitter howl of unbelief.” (Ann Voskamp)

“Self-love so blinds us that we make the smallest faults in the world to be akin to heinous and unpardonable sins. We have this evil so deeply rooted in our hearts that if we are told of our duty, it only half moves us…. What, then, can break down all hardness in us, what can mortify all our excessive passions, what can correct all our cruelty, bring low all our pride and loftiness and sweeten all our bitterness? What God has done towards us.  He has so loved the world that He has given up His only Son to death for us.” (John Calvin)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday November 20 include ::

:: Here, O My Lord (Horatius Bonar, 1855) CHART [bandcamp track=232759179 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: From Depths of Woe (Psalm 130) (Martin Luther, 1524) CHART [bandcamp track=762862813 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Jesus I am Resting Resting (Jean Sophia Pigott, 1876) CHART [bandcamp track=104008922 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: I Cry Out (Musseau, 1990) CHART

Call to Worship :: Isaiah 55:2-3

Listen diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to Me; hear, that your soul may live.

Confession of Sin

Almighty God, to know You is the fulfillment of our deepest longings and the satisfaction of our most ardent desires. To live in the light of Your salvation is our highest call and purpose. Yet foolishly we have sought our life and pleasures elsewhere. We have put the seeking of idols above seeking You, and they have left us empty and ashamed. Bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and malice have gripped us.  We have failed to love You with our whole heart, soul, and mind. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have forsaken Your Kingdom for our own. Forgive us our sins for the sake of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. And grant that we might serve You in newness of life. Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: John 7:37-38

Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”

New Testament Reading :: Hebrews 13:5-6

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

Sermon :: Ruth 1:19-22

¹⁹ So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” ²⁰ She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. ²¹ I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” ²² So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

::  Download the 11.13.2016 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 11.13.2016 Bulletin
::  Download the 11.13.2016 Sermon Audio

image :: Naomi entreating Ruth and Orpah to return to the land of Moab, William Blake (1795, English)

Preparation for Worship on Nov 13 :: Where You…I Will

“If the common faith and hope is the theological bond of the Christian community, love is its practical bond. If faith and hope are what give the community its identity as God’s ‘chosen people’, love is the visible outworking of that identity.” (J. Ramsey Michaels)

“Our sorrows are all, like ourselves, mortal.  There are no immortal sorrows for immortal souls.  They come, but blessed by God, they also go. Like birds of the air, they fly over our heads. But they cannot make their abode in our souls We suffer today, but we shall rejoice tomorrow.” (Charles Spurgeon)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday November 13 include ::

:: Jesus! What a Friend for Sinners (John Wilbur Chapman, 1910) CHART [bandcamp track=3015739201 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Gloria Patri (2nd Century Hymn) CHART [bandcamp track=3887420126 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short] :: Heal Us, Emmanuel (William Cowper, 1799) CHART [bandcamp track=1545458693 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Abide With Me (Henry Francis Lyte, 1847) CHART [bandcamp track=1465399194 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Jesus, Lover of My Soul (Charles Wesley, 1740) CHART [bandcamp track=1085610574 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Kindness (Giglio, Reeves, Tomlin, 2000) CHART  //  AUDIO

Call to Worship :: Leviticus 26:12-13

I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people. I am the Lord your God.

Confession of Sin

Almighty and merciful Father, You have called us to be Your people and have made us one body. Yet we have not lived like we are one. We confess that we have not loved one another as we ought. Selfish ambition has gripped us, and we have failed to look out for others’ interests above our own.  We confess that we have been ruled by pride, and we have separated from our brothers and sisters in Christ. We have not treated one another as those in whom Christ dwells. We confess that our anger and  fear has kept us from loving our enemies. Forgive us for these offenses against You, and go on to subdue everything in us that is contrary to Your purposes. By the power of your Spirit make us a community that shows forth Your courage, mercy and loving-kindness. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: Titus 2:13,14 

We wait for the blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for us to redeem us.

New Testament Reading :: II Timothy 2:8-13

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.

Sermon :: Ruth 1:6-18

⁶ Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. ⁷ So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. ⁸ But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. ⁹ The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. ¹⁰ And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” ¹¹ But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? ¹² Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, ¹³ would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.” ¹⁴ Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

¹⁵ And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” ¹⁶ But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. ¹⁷ Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” ¹⁸ And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.

::  Download the 11.6.2016 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 11.6.2016 Bulletin
::  Download the 11.6.2016 Sermon Audio

image :: Artwork Inspired by The Refugees, Abdel Wahab M. Nour (2015, Sudanese)

Preparation for Worship on Nov 6 :: Days Without

“[The providence of God] gives us unspeakable comfort since it teaches us that nothing can happen to us by chance but only by the arrangement of our gracious heavenly Father. He watches over us with fatherly care, keeping all creatures under His control, so that not one of the hairs on our heads (for they are all numbered) nor even a little bird can fall to the ground without the will of our Father.” (The Belgic Confession (1561), from Article 13, “The Doctrine of God’s Providence”)

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

:: Praise to the Lord the Almighty (Joachim Neander, 1680) CHART [bandcamp track=3835971872 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Give Me Jesus (African-American Spiritual) CHART [bandcamp track=893825801 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]:: We Will Feast In the House of Zion (Sandra McCracken, 2015) CHART [bandcamp track=3987551429 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Psalm 147, Praise the Lord, O Zion (Wendell Kimbrough, 2015) CHART [bandcamp track=2951980805 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Blessed Be Your Name (Matt Redman, 2005) CHART [bandcamp track=1903757000 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

Call to Worship :: Psalm 104:27-31

All look to You to give them their food at the proper time. When You give it to them, they gather it up; when You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good things. When You hide Your face, they are terrified; when You take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When You send your Spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth. May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in His works.

Confession of Sin

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)

Almighty God, our Creator and Redeemer. You love Your Church and You have saved us by Your grace. You have clothed us in the righteousness of Your Son. You are the eternal and faithful God. Yet we confess that we daily attempt to hide from You. We have willfully sinned against You and our neighbor. Failing to see and trust You, we have forgotten You. Forgive and deliver us, good Lord. Renew Your people by Your grace, that our lives and lips might sing Your praise. To the glory of Your Name. Amen

Words of Encouragement :: II Corinthian 8:9

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich.

Gospel Reading :: Luke 12:22-34

Jesus said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.  Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!  And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.  Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Sermon :: Ruth 1:1-5

¹ In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. ² The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. ³ But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. ⁴ These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, ⁵ and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

::  Download the 10.30.2016 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 10.30.2016 Bulletin
::  Download the 10.30.2016 Sermon Audio

image :: Evening In Normandy, Alexi Zaitsev  (2014, Russian)

Preparation for Worship on Oct 30 :: Can I Know God Personally?

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life.” (John 10:27-28)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday October 30 include ::

:: O Love That Will Not Let Me Go (George Matheson, 1882) CHART [bandcamp track=3803477124 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Be Thou My Vision (8th Century Irish Hymn) CHART [bandcamp track=1801427840 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Be Still My Soul (Kathrina von Schlegel, 1855) CHART [bandcamp track=1833020652 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee (Henry Van Dyke, 1907) CHART [bandcamp track=3453657294 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, 200

Call to Worship :: Psalm 100:1-3

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

Confession of Sin :: Psalm 139:1-3, 23-24

O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways….Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Words of Encouragement :: Jeremiah 31:33-34

This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Gospel Reading :: John 17:1,22,25-26

Jesus lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said…“The glory that You have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and You in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent me and loved them even as You loved me…. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know You, I know You, and these know that You have sent me. I made known to them Your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which You have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Sermon :: Psalm 139. To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

¹ O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
² You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
³ You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴ Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
⁵ You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.

⁷ Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
¹² even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.

¹³ For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.

¹⁹ Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
²⁰ They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain.
²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
²² I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
²⁴ And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!

::  Download the 10.23.2016 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 10.23.2016 Bulletin 
::  Download the 10.23.2016 Sermon Audio

image :: Alsace, or Reading Monk, Odilon Redon (c.1914, French)

Preparation for Worship on Oct 23 :: Is The Bible Reliable?

“What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” Luke 10:26

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday October 23 include ::

:: Father Long Before Creation (Chinese Hymn, c.1951) CHART [bandcamp track=165182312 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: 10,000 Reasons (Redman & Myrin, 2011) CHART [bandcamp track=2659759028 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: My Heart is Steadfast / Psalm 108 (Ellie Holcomb, 2011) CHART  >>> AUDIO

:: Blessed Assurance (Fanny Crosby, 1873) CHART

Call to Worship :: Hebrews 1:1-3

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power.

Confession of Sin

Father in heaven, We confess that we have sinned against You in our thoughts, words and deeds. You have spoken definitively by Your Son: forgive us for living as if You never act, never hear, never speak. Forgive us for the vigilante justice we pursue through our plotting, slander, gossip, self-righteous anger and passive aggression. Forgive us for living as if You do not care for us. Forgive us and cleanse us. Fill us with Your Spirit, that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways. To the glory of Your Name.  Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: Romans 8:1-2

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Old Testament Reading :: Psalm 98:1-3

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 His salvation known and revealed His righteousness to the nations. He has remembered His love and His faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Sermon :: Luke 24:13-35,44-48

¹³ That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁴ and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. ¹⁵ While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. ¹⁶ But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. ¹⁷ And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸ Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” ¹⁹ And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, ²⁰ and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. ²¹ But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. ²² Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, ²³ and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.²⁴ Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” ²⁵ And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

²⁸ So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, ²⁹ but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰ When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. ³¹ And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. ³² They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”³³ And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,³⁴ saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”³⁵ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread…

⁴⁴ Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶ and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, ⁴⁷ and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things.

::  Download the 10.16.2016 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 10.16.2016 Bulletin 
::  Download the 10.16.2016 Sermon Audio

image :: The Supper at Emmaus, Rembrandt van Rijn (1628, Dutch)

Preparation for Worship on Oct 16 :: Is Jesus Really God?

“Jesus asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’” (Mark 8:29)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday October 16 include ::

:: Jesus I Come (William Sleeper, 1887) CHART [bandcamp track=1190898373 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

::  In Need (Ross King, 1996) CHART

:: All For Jesus (Mary D. James, 1889; Louisa Stead, 1882) CHART // AUDIO 

:: Rejoice The Lord Is King (Charles Wesley, 1744) CHART // AUDIO

Call to Worship :: from Psalm 105

Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name. Make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; Tell of all His wonderful acts. Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Confession of Sin

O most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who pardons all who truly repent and turn to You, we humbly confess our sins. We have not loved You with a pure and fervent heart. Neither have we loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not done justly, nor loved mercy, nor walked humbly with You, our God. Have mercy upon us, O Lord, according to Your loving-kindness. According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out our iniquity. Create in us a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within us. Cast us not away from Your presence and take not Your Holy Spirit from us. Restore to us the joy of our salvation and uphold us with Your Spirit. Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: Colossians 2:9, 13

In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. When you were dead in your sins…God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins.

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.

Sermon :: John 11:38-57

³⁸ Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹ So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³ When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” ⁴⁴ The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

⁴⁵ Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, ⁴⁶ but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷ So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. ⁴⁸ If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” ⁴⁹ But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. ⁵⁰ Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” ⁵¹ He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, ⁵² and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. ⁵³ So from that day on theymade plans to put him to death.

⁵⁴ Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

⁵⁵ Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves.⁵⁶ They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?” ⁵⁷ Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.