::  Download the 10.4.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 10.4.2015 Bulletin 
::  Download the 10.4.2015 Sermon Audio 

image :: The Liberation of St. Peter, in the Stanza D’Eliodoro, Raphael (1514, Italian)

Preparation for Worship :: The Outcome

“The final outcome of the future, foreshadowed in the Holy Scriptures, is not the merely spiritual existence of saved souls, but the restoration of the entire cosmos, when God will be all in all under the renewed heaven on the renewed earth.”  (Abraham Kuyper)

“If you put the sentiments of His benevolent heart into language, methinks He would say, ‘Since My death has been so fruitful of such a glorious posterity—I am well satisfied. I desire no other reward for all My agonies for them. If this end is but answered—I am fully satisfied by My hanging on the tree for them.’ See the strength of the love of Jesus!”  (Samuel Davies)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday October 4 include ::

:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Father Long Before Creation  (Chinese Hymn, c.1951) CHART [bandcamp track=165182312 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Give Me Jesus (African-American Spiritual) CHART [bandcamp track=893825801 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: O Help My Unbelief (Isaac Watts, 1707) CHART [bandcamp track=2458560238 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]:: ‘Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus (Louisa Stead, 1882) CHART [bandcamp track=3021677932 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

Call to Worship :: Psalm 98:1-3

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.

Old Testament Reading :: Isaiah 35:3-6, 9-10

Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
say to those with fearful hearts,
‘Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.’

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.

But only the redeemed will walk there,
and the ransomed of the Lord will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Prayer of Confession :: Thomas Cranmer (1549)

Almighty God, our Heavenly Father: in Your tender mercy You gave Your only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the Cross for our redemption; He made there a full atonement for the sins of the whole world, offering once for all His one sacrifice of Himself; We do not presume to come to Your table, merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in Your manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under Your table. But You are the same Lord, whose nature is always to have mercy. Lord, have mercy upon us; Christ, have mercy upon us;  Lord, have mercy upon us.

Words of Encouragement :: Romans 5:1-2

Since we have been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Sermon :: I Peter 1:2-9

² May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹ obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

::  Download the 9.27.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 9.27.2015 Bulletin 
::  Download the 9.27.2015 Sermon Audio

image :: Three Heads, Faith, Jacek Malczewski (c.1900, Polish)

Preparation for Worship :: Trials

“Even as we slog through the trials, persecutions, irritations, temptations, distractions, apathy, and just plain weariness of this world, the gospel points us to heaven where our King Jesus — the Lamb of God who was crucified in our place and raised gloriously from the dead — now sits interceding for us. Not only so, but it calls us forward to that final day when heaven will be filled with the roaring noise of millions upon millions of forgiven voices hailing him as crucified Savior and risen King.”  (Greg Gilbert)

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. Take heart; I have overcome the world.”  (John 16:33)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday September 27 include ::

:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Jesus, I Am Resting (Jean S. Pigott, 1876) CHART [bandcamp track=104008922 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Gather Them In (Peter La Grand 2009) CHART [bandcamp track=1336227612 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: On Jordan’s Stormy Banks (Samuel Stennett, 1787) CHART [bandcamp track=1174694383 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: All The Way My Savior Leads Me (Fanny Crosby, 1875) CHART 
>>> AUDIO

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

Call to Worship :: Psalm 144:1-2,5-6,9

Blessed be the Lord, my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle. He is my steadfast Love and my Fortress, my Stronghold and my Deliverer, my Shield and He in whom I take refuge. Bow Your heavens, O Lord, and come down! Touch the mountains so that they smoke! Flash forth the lightning and scatter them; send out Your arrows and rout them!  I will sing a new song to You, O God

Old Testament Reading :: Jeremiah 20:11-13

The Lord is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten. O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause. Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers.

Prayer of Confession

Holy God, we are guilty of rejecting Your commands, of doubting Your promises, of proud self-reliance, of neglect to rest in You. Daily we fail to love You and our neighbor as we ought. Praise You for providing the Savior in Jesus, who takes our sin and gives us His righteousness! Lord, continue the work of salvation in us: Conquer our weakness with Your strength, blot out our self-centeredness with Your glory. Meet us in our suffering and disappointments, refine us as You see fit. Keep us from returning to sin’s bondage, brighten our hearts with Your grace. Redirect our desires so that we delight deeply in You. Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: Romans 5:6,8

At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Sermon :: I Peter 1:2-9

² May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹ obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

::  Download the 9.20.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 9.20.2015 Bulletin 
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image :: Study for The Pilgrim of the Cross at the End of His Journey, Thomas Cole (1846, American)

Preparation for Worship :: Preservation & Perseverance

“We are not called to build the kingdom of glory, but to carry a cross in the kingdom of grace.” (Edmund Clowney)

“That doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints is, I believe, as thoroughly bound up with the standing or falling of the gospel as is the article of justification by faith. Give that up, and I see no gospel left.” (Charles Spurgeon)

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

:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]::  Before the Throne of God Above (Charitie Lees Bancroft, 1863) CHART [bandcamp track=3844385493 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]::  Gloria Patri (2^nd century hymn; Henry W. Greatorex, 1851)  CHART [bandcamp track=3887420126 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Gather Them In (Peter La Grand 2009) CHART [bandcamp track=1336227612 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: We Are Not Overcome (Heiskell & Wardell, 2013) CHART [bandcamp track=3830598251 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Great Is Thy Faithfulness (Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923) CHART [bandcamp track=3717975761 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

Call to Worship :: Psalm 116:5-9

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful.  The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, He saved me. Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

Old Testament Reading :: Jeremiah 32:37-40

Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.

Prayer of Confession

Pardon our sins, merciful Lord. We have been slow and superstitious in prayer, this sin leads to so many others. Keep us from withholding true worship from You, which Your glory is due, and which our hearts so urgently need. Wipe out our sins, known and unknown, felt and unfelt, remembered and forgotten. Grant us power to believe Your blood cleanses us from all sin, Your Spirit leads us in all prayer, Your grace overwhelms all evil, and Your Good News is our sole life and message, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: Hebrews 7:25

He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Sermon :: I Peter 1:2-9

² May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹ obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

::  Download the 9.13.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 9.13.2015 Bulletin 
::  Download the 9.13.2015 Sermon Audio

image :: John Donne Arriving in Heaven, Stanley Spencer (1911, British)

Preparation for Worship :: Inheritance

“Through the work of the Spirit, the heavenly Father gives you to Jesus and gives Jesus to you. You have Him.” (Sinclair Ferguson)

“The bride eyes not her garment,
But her dear Bridegroom’s face;
I will not gaze at glory
But on my King of grace.
Not at the crown He giveth
But on His piercèd hand;
The Lamb is all the glory
Of Immanuel’s land.” (Anne R. Cousin)

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

:: Be Thou My Vision  (8th Century Irish Hymn)  CHART [bandcamp track=3137703094 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]::  For All the Saints (William How, 1864) CHART [bandcamp track=3732410523 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]::  Gloria Patri (2nd Century Hymn) CHART [bandcamp track=1717027862 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: It Is Well (Horatio Spafford, 1873) CHART [bandcamp track=1579571203 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: All Must Be Well (Mary Bowley-Peters, 1847) CHART [bandcamp track=2424243148 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

Call to Worship :: from Psalm 105

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Tell of all His wondrous works! Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! He remembers His covenant forever, the word that He commanded, for a thousand generations, saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.” So He brought His people out with joy, His chosen ones with singing. And He gave them the lands of the nations. Praise the Lord!

Old Testament Reading :: I Kings 8:56-60

Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us, that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires, that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other.

Prayer of Confession

Our Father, You are our Creator, and we are the work of Your hands; You are our Shepherd, and we are Your flock; You are our Redeemer, and we are the people You have purchased; You are our God, and we are Your inheritance. Yet we have lived as a people cut off from the Lord who loved us: Hard, cynical, defensive, proud and skeptical. We confess that we have sinned against You in thought, word and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. Purify for Yourself a people for Your own possession who are zealous for doing good. That the whole earth may see that You are our God and Savior.  In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: Colossians 1:12-14

Give thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the Kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Sermon :: I Peter 1:2-9

² May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹ obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

::  Download the 9.6.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 9.6.2015 Bulletin 
::  Download the 9.6.2015 Sermon Audio 

image :: Hope, Toko Shinoda (2005, Japanese)

Preparation for Worship :: Living Hope

“How fair and lovely is the hope which the Lord gave to the dead when He laid down like them beside them. Rise up and come forth and sing praise to Him who has raised you from destruction.” (from the Syrian Orthodox Liturgy)

“You thought God was an architect. Now you know He’s something like a pipe bomb ready to blow.” (Jason Isbell, “24 Frames”)

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

:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: 10000 Reasons (Redman & Myrin, 2011) CHART [bandcamp track=2659759028 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: In Christ Alone (Getty & Townend, 2002)  CHART [bandcamp track=676321818 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: None Other Lamb  (Christina Rossetti, b.1830)  CHART [bandcamp track=798046000 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]:: My Heart is Steadfast / Psalm 108 (Ellie Holcomb, 2011) CHART  >>> AUDIO

Call to Worship :: Psalm 63:1-4

O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; My soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and Your glory. Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You. I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your name I will lift up my hands.

Old Testament Reading :: Jeremiah 17:12-14

A glorious throne set on high from the beginning
is the place of our sanctuary.
O Lord, the hope of Israel,
all who forsake You shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from You shall be written in the earth,
for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.

Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
save me, and I shall be saved,
for You are my praise.

Prayer of Confession :: Heidelberg Catechism, Q & A 3-8

How do you come to know your misery? The law of God tells me.

What does God’s law require of us? Christ teaches us this in summary in Matthew 22, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Can you live up to all this perfectly? No. I have a natural tendency to hate God and my neighbor.

Did God create people so wicked and perverse? No. God created them good and in His own image, that is, in true righteousness and holiness, so that they might truly know God their Creator, love Him with all their heart, and live with Him in eternal happiness for His praise and glory.

Then where does this corrupt human nature come from? From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in Paradise. This fall has so poisoned our nature that we are born sinners–corrupt from conception on.

But are we so corrupt that we are totally unable to do any good and inclined toward all evil? Yes, unless we are born again, by the Spirit of God.

Words of Encouragement :: John 5:24

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

Sermon :: I Peter 1:2-9

² May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹ obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.