::  Download the 11.15.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 11.15.2015 Bulletin 
::  Download the 11.15.2015 Sermon Audio 

image :: Flowers in Stone, Paul Klee (1939, Swiss)

Preparation for Worship :: Living Stones

“God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man. It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and better but like turning a horse into a winged creature.”  (C.S. Lewis)

“If you are a Christian, the story that tells you who you are is not the story of your parents, ancestors, ethnic group, or social class. It is instead, the story of the Bible– the promise to Abraham, the deliverance from slavery to Egypt and sin, the gift of land to landless Israelites, and life to dead sinners. This story of promise, deliverance, and gift is your family history, the story that defines you.”  (Graham Tomlin)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday November 15 include ::

:: Rock of Ages (Augustus Toplady, 1776) [bandcamp track=1565825434 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: In Christ Alone (Getty & Townend, 2002)  CHART [bandcamp track=676321818 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: 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]

:: Lord I Need You (Matt Maher, 2013) CHART  >>> AUDIO

:: Oh to Be Loved by Jesus (Thad Cockrell, 2009)  CHART >>> AUDIO 

Call to Worship :: Psalm 118:19-24

Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Gospel Reading :: Matthew 21:33-46

“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country.  When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit.  And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them.  Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’  And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.  When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”  They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.  And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them.  And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

Prayer of Confession

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.

Sermon :: I Peter 2:4-8 

⁴ As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, ⁵ 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. ⁶ 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.”

⁷ So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,

“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”

⁸ and

“A stone of stumbling,
and a rock of offense.”

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

::  Download the 11.8.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 11.8.2015 Bulletin 
::  Download the 11.8.2015 Sermon Audio 

image :: Woman with Baby, Gerard Sekoto (1946, South African)

Preparation for Worship :: Good

“Jesus is a fountain containing all good, and flowing with streams of richest, choicest blessings. Nothing can be needed — but Jesus has it… Why then should we live smarting under the wounds of sin, or groaning beneath its load?…Let us go to Jesus. His immortal fullness contains all we can need, and he bids us come and take freely.”  (James Smith)

“God wills our good, and our good is to love Him…and to love Him we must know Him: and if we know Him, we shall in fact fall on our faces.”  (C.S. Lewis, “Divine Goodness”)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday November 8 include ::

:: All Hail the Power of Jesus Name (Edward Perronet, 1780) CHART [bandcamp track=1047855256 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Give Me Jesus (African-American Spiritual) CHART [bandcamp track=893825801 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Every Ditch, Every Valley (Peter LaGrand, 2008) CHART [bandcamp track=3354859726 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: O The Deep, Deep Love of Jesus (Samuel Trevor Francis, c.1890) CHART [bandcamp track=828526162 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: What A Friend We Have In Jesus (Joseph Medlicott Scriven, 1855) CHART 

Call to Worship :: Psalm 34:1-3,8-10

I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together!  Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Old Testament Reading :: Deuteronomy 8:1-3

“The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

Prayer of Confession

Jesus said, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

Lord, forgive our distant, doubting hearts.  At times we seek Your blessing, but have no love for You.  We are like those who witnessed Jesus’ miracles of healing and heard His proclamation, yet somehow spurned belief.  We too have seen and enjoyed wonders, yet have hardened our hearts.  We confess that our dull unbelief tempts others and offends You.  Heavenly Father, forgive us our sin.  Renew us in Your Spirit that with open hearts we may turn to Jesus for rest, and long for Your Kingdom’s coming.  Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: Micah 7:18-19

Who is a God like our God, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love.  He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot.  He will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.

Sermon :: I Peter 2:1-3

¹ So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.² Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— ³ if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

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

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

Preparation for Worship :: Imperishable

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

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

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

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

:: Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing (Robert Robinson, 1758) CHART [bandcamp track=4015998502 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Streams of Living Water Flow (Thomas Kelly, 1768-1855) CHART [bandcamp track=2488897534 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: How Deep the Father’s Love for Us (Stuart Townend, 1995) CHART [bandcamp track=4169581556 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Jesus I Come (William Sleeper, 1887) CHART [bandcamp track=1190898373 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Thy Mercy, My God, Is the Theme of my Song (John Stocker, 1776) CHART [bandcamp track=2834013035 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

::  In Need (Ross King, 1996) CHART

Call to Worship :: Isaiah 55:10-12

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

Old Testament Reading :: Isaiah 40:1-8

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

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

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

Prayer of Confession

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

Words of Encouragement :: John 5:19,24

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

Sermon :: I Peter 1:13-25

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

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

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

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

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

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

Preparation for Worship :: Holy

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

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

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

Call to Worship :: Revelation 15:3-4

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

Old Testament Reading :: Leviticus 20:22-26

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

Prayer of Confession :: from The Valley of Vision

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

Words of Encouragement :: Psalm 130:3-4

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

Sermon :: I Peter 1:13-25

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

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

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

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

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

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

Preparation for Worship :: Set Your Hope

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

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

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

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

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

:: God Is So Good (Traditional African) CHART

Call to Worship :: Psalm 77:11-15

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

Old Testament Reading :: Isaiah 6:1-7

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

Prayer of Confession

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

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

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

Sermon :: I Peter 1:13-25

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

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

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

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

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

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

Preparation for Worship :: This Salvation

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

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

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

:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: All Creatures of Our God and King (Francis of Assisi, 1225) CHART [bandcamp track=3110760989 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: How Deep the Father’s Love for Us (Stuart Townend, 1995) CHART [bandcamp track=4169581556 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: And Can It Be (Charles Wesley, 1738) CHART [bandcamp track=648892035 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: How Great Is Our God  (Tomlin, Reeves & Cash, 2004) CHART
>>>AUDIOHow Great Is Our God::  How Great Is Our God  (Tomlin, Reeves & Cash, 2004

Call to Worship :: Psalm 98:1-4

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

Old Testament Reading :: Isaiah 52:7-10

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

Prayer of Confession

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

Words of Encouragement :: John 1:29

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

Sermon :: I Peter 1:10-12

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