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Preparation for Worship :: Refuge & Strength

“The Church, living under the authority of Scripture, is not a snowman in grave danger of melting away because of the burning rays of a hot secular sun that is beating down upon it. Rather, it is the flock of God, saved by the Divine Shepherd who safely leads His sheep through angry waters to quiet inlets where the sheep can drink and be renewed to go in and out as they live their lives and fulfill their ministries having received amazing grace sufficient to overcome ‘many dangers, toils and snares.’ May it so be with us, today.” (Kenneth Bailey)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday August 7 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]:: We Will Feast In the House of Zion (Sandra McCracken, 2015) CHART [bandcamp track=3987551429 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Love’s Redeeming Work Is Done (Charles Wesley, 1739) CHART [bandcamp track=135949962 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Great Is Thy Faithfulness (Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923) CHART [bandcamp track=3717975761 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Psalm 46 (Tyler & Jennifer Somers, 2010) CHART [bandcamp track=1393067256 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=0687f5 size=short]:: Oh to Be Loved by Jesus (Thad Cockrell, 2009) CHART >>> AUDIO

Call to Worship :: Mark 4:35-41

When evening had come, Jesus said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took Him with them in the boat, just as He was. And other boats were with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And He awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

Confession of Sin

Heavenly Father, You have called us to be Your followers and have made us one family. Yet we have not lived as one, and have not loved You with our whole person. Ambition has driven us, and we have chosen not to care for others when it is inconvenient. Pride has gripped us, and we have promoted ourselves rather than worship You. Fear has reigned in us, and we have tried to control You and manipulate others. O Lord, forgive us for our many sins through the sacrifice of Christ. Subdue everything in us that is contrary to Your purposes. By Your Spirit, make us a church that is eager to do Your will and to walk in Your ways. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: Romans 8:1-2

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Sermon :: Psalm 46

¹God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

²Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

³Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

⁴There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

⁵God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

⁶The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.

⁷The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

⁸Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth.

⁹He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.

¹⁰Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

¹¹The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

July 31 2016 Worship Recap :: My Help and My Deliverer

:: Download the 7.31.2016 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
:: Download the 7.31.2016 Bulletin
:: Download the 7.31.2016 Sermon Audio

image :: Found, “Mullokian (Dimlite Remix)” Album Cover, Getty Images (2007)

Preparation for Worship :: My Help & My Deliverer

“If Christ ‘tasted death for all men’ (Hebrews 2:9) and became the archetypal Sufferer, then the expressions of all who ever suffered in the world are, from the very nature of things, related to His. All the sufferings of the righteous, and …in Psalm 40:15, all the sufferings of the guilty, too—‘ my sins have taken such hold upon me that I am not able to look up.’ This, too, is for us the voice of Christ, for we have been taught that He who was without sin became sin for our sakes (II Corinthians 5:21), plumbed the depth of the worst suffering which comes to evil men who at last know their own evil.” (C.S. Lewis)

“He endured most grievous torments in His soul and most painful sufferings in His body; He was crucified, died, and was buried; He remained under the power of death, yet His body did not undergo decay; and He arose from the dead on the third day with the same body in which He had suffered.” (Westminster Confession of Faith, 8.4)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday July 31 include ::

:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]]:: Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing (Robert Robinson, 1758) CHART [bandcamp track=4015998502 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: We Will Feast In the House of Zion (Sandra McCracken, 2015) CHART [bandcamp track=3987551429 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Rock of Ages (Augustus Toplady, 1776) CHART [bandcamp track=1565825434 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: My Hope is Built on Nothing Less (Edward Mote, 1834) CHART [bandcamp track=1565832897 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

:: Wait For The Lord / Psalm 27:14 (Jacques Berthier, 1991) CHART >>> AUDIO

Call to Worship :: Psalm 103:1-5

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits— Who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion; who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Confession of Sin :: based on Psalm 40

Gracious Lord, we confess that we have dishonored You in our thoughts, words and deeds. We have grown impatient, and doubted Your salvation. Depending on our own strength, we stumble. Glorying in our own righteousness, we reject You. Turning our faces from You, we desire the things of this world to satisfy us. We are surrounded by troubles without number. Our sins have overtaken us, and our hearts fail within us. We pray now, Lord, for You to forgive us, for we are poor and needy. Be pleased to save us, Lord; come quickly, to help us in the name of Jesus Christ, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: II Corinthians 5:21

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Sermon :: Psalm 40

¹I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

²He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

³And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.

⁴Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

⁵Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

⁶Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.

⁷Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,

⁸I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.

⁹I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest.

¹⁰I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.

¹¹Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.

¹²For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.

¹³Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me: O Lord, make haste to help me.

¹⁴Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil.

¹⁵Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha.

¹⁶Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified.

¹⁷But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.

Small Group Leader Training

Interested in starting a small group? Or currently leading one?

If you are a Small Group Leader, or are interested in becoming one, then you must come to one of the two Small Group Leader Classes. A FREE GIFT will be handed out to all Small Group Leaders at the training. You don’t want to miss it!

Dates (pick one)

Monday, July 10th

Monday, July 31st

Time

7:30pm to 9:00pm

Where

WEPC Room 35

RSVP which date you can come to

Karen Howe

July 24 2016 Worship Recap :: Covered

:: Download the 7.24.2016 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
:: Download the 7.24.2016 Bulletin
:: Download the 7.24.2016 Sermon Audio

image :: Father’s Robe God, Albrecht Dürer (16th cent., German)

Preparation for Worship :: Covered

“How can your sins be remitted unless the very One against whom one has sinned grants the pardon?” (Irenaeus, 2^nd century)

“Madrid is full of boys named Paco, which is diminutive of the name Francisco, and there is a Madrid joke about a father who came to Madrid and inserted an advertisement in the personal columns of El Liberal which said: PACO, MEET ME AT THE HOTEL MONTANA. NOON TUESDAY. ALL IS FORGIVEN. PAPA. A squadron of Guardia Civil had to be called out to disperse the 800 young men who answered the advertisement.” (Ernest Hemingway, “The Capital of the World”)

“One of the strange facts of the universe is that God will never tolerate sin, but He will forgive it. And when we are forgiven, when God forgives and cleanses, it is as if our dark and moldy house has just had all its windows flung open to the cold June breeze. Corners are swept, old grease is scoured away, stairs and sashes are properly repaired. The terrible truth of self-deception is exposed to the Light of the World. And we begin to come clean in ways that are full of pain and full of wonder.” (Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday July 24 include ::

:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: ‘Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus (Louisa Stead, 1882) CHART [bandcamp track=3021677932 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Thy Mercy, My God, Is the Theme of my Song (John Stocker, 1776) CHART [bandcamp track=2834013035 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Come Ye Sinners (Joseph Hart, 1759) CHART [bandcamp track=1984899776 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

:: God Who Saves (Aaron Senseman, 2001) CHART

:: Here I Am To Worship (Tim Hughes, 2002) CHART >>> AUDIO

Call to Worship :: Zephaniah 3:14,17

Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! 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.

Confession of Sin :: Psalm 32:1, 5

Blessed is one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sin is covered. I acknowledged my sin to You, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Words of Encouragement :: Isaiah 53:5-6

He was pierced for our transgressions;
He was crushed for our iniquities;
upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with His wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on Him
the iniquity of us all.

Sermon :: Psalm 32

¹Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

²Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

³When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.

⁴For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.

⁵I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

⁶For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.

⁷Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.

⁸I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

⁹Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.

¹⁰Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about.

¹¹Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

July 17 2016 Worship Recap :: Goodness and Mercy

:: Download the 7.17.2016 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
:: Download the 7.17.2016 Bulletin
:: Download the 7.17.2016 Sermon Audio

image :: Clover, Tateishi Harumi (20th century, Japanese)

Preparation for Worship :: Goodness & Mercy

“When he saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36)

“The Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their Shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:17)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday July 17 include ::

:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short] :: The House of God Forever/ Psalm 23 (Jon Foreman, 2008) CHART [bandcamp track=2683274072 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Arise, My Soul, Arise (Charles Wesley, 1742) CHART [bandcamp track=2410790195 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Blessed Be Your Name CHART [bandcamp track=1903757000 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

:: Kindness (Giglio, Reeves, Tomlin, 2000) CHART // AUDIO

Call to Worship :: Ezekiel 34:25,30-31

“I will make with them a covenant of peace…They shall know that I am the Lord their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people, declares the Lord God. And you are My sheep, human sheep of My pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.”

Confession of Sin :: from The Book of Common Prayer

Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from Your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against Your holy laws. We have left undone what we ought to have done, and we have done what we ought not to have done, and there is no health in us. Yet, good Lord, have mercy on us: restore those who repent, according to Your promises declared to us in Jesus Christ our Lord. And grant, merciful Father, for His sake, that we may live a godly, righteous, and obedient life, to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: John 10:7,10-11

Jesus said…“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Sermon :: Psalm 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

²He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

³He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

⁴Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

⁵Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

July 10 2016 Worship Recap :: My Shepherd

:: Download the 7.10.2016 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
:: Download the 7.10.2016 Bulletin
:: Download the 7.10.2016 Sermon Audio

image :: Shepherd and Sheep, Henri-Edmond Cross (d. 1910, French)

Preparation for Worship :: My Shepherd

“Depth and strength underlie the simplicity of Psalm 23. Its peace is not escape; its contentment is not complacency: there is readiness to face deep darkness and imminent attack, and the climax reveals a love which points us towards no material goal but to the Lord Himself.” (Derek Kidner)

“It is not that He is closer in the valley, but that in the valley we realize how close He has always been.” (Dale Ralph Davis)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday July 10 include ::

:: Jesus! What a Friend for Sinners (John Wilbur Chapman, 1910) CHART [bandcamp track=3015739201 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: The House of God Forever/ Psalm 23 (Jon Foreman, 2008) CHART [bandcamp track=2683274072 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Abide With Me (Henry Francis Lyte, 1847) CHART [bandcamp track=1465399194 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: I Need Thee Every Hour (Annie Hawks, 1872) CHART [bandcamp track=110765075 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Jesus, Lover of My Soul (Charles Wesley, 1740) CHART [bandcamp track=1026515912 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

Call to Worship :: Psalm 95:6-7

Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.