Friday, October 3 (4:30-6:30 pm). You are invited to enjoy games, prizes, moon bounce, face painting, crafts, and a cookout with our neighbors. Outdoor movie to follow. Bring your blankets and chairs. Volunteers & Donations needed. Contact Heather Jarvis.
Common Good RVA Conference
October 3-4. Explore how we can work for the common good of Richmond in our everyday lives. Visit commongoodrva.com for details.
Inquirers’ Weekend
November 14-15. For those interested in learning more about the church, membership, or the Gospel. Contact Karen Howe.
image :: Crying Girl, Roy Lichtenstein (1964, American)
Preparation for Worship :: No More
“To be human is to be conformed to Jesus crucified; God’s purpose for humanity is made clear in the Cross.” (Rowan Williams)
“Our bodies shared the ruin into which sin brought our race. Mortality and corruption took possession of them. They became subject to pain, and weariness, and disease—in every organ and limb. The one drop of poison coming from Adam’s sin has spread itself out and pervaded every part of us. Our flesh, from the cradle to the tomb, is feeble, broken, ready to faint—the cause and the inlet of a thousand sorrows. All this shall yet be reversed. Former things shall pass away. This head shall ache no more; these hands and feet shall be weary no more; this flesh shall throb with anguish no more. ‘God Himself shall wipe away all tears from these eyes; and there shall be no more death; neither, sorrow, nor crying, for the former things are passed away’… He who once hung upon the Cross, but now sits upon the throne, says, ‘Behold, I make all things new’.” (Horatius Bonar)
:: O Love That Will Not Let Me Go[bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3572066182 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=3803477124] :: On Jordan’s Stormy Banks[bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=1060200358 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=4197421989]
Call to Worship :: Matthew 11:28-29
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath.
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.
My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O Lord—how long? [Refrain]
Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise? [Refrain]
I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
My eye wastes away because of grief;
it grows weak because of all my foes. [Refrain]
Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
The Lord has heard my plea;
the Lord accepts my prayer.
All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment. [Refrain]
Sermon :: Revelation 21:4
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
We Confess Our Sin Together :: Psalm 51:1-12
Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to Your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Words of Encouragement and Old Testament Reading :: Isaiah 65:17-25
“For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
and her people to be a gladness.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people;
no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
and the cry of distress.
No more shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not fill out his days,
for the young man shall die a hundred years old,
and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labor in vain
or bear children for calamity,
for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord,
and their descendants with them.
Before they call I will answer;
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;
the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
and dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain,”
says the Lord.
On a Wednesday afternoon at Tenwek Hospital in rural Kenya, gynecological consultant Joy Irwin, M.D., saw a patient—-a thirty-eight-year-old woman who had had a stroke, could barely talk, and was suffering from a blood clot in her leg. The prescribed blood thinner was causing heavy bleeding during her menstrual cycle.
“I examine her in our busy clinic” Irwin wrote on a blogpost in May. “It is hot. She cannot move well. She cannot speak. We lift her to the bed.”
Finding no cervical cancer or fibroids, there is little Irwin’s clinic is equipped to treat.
“My eyes fill up with tears. Nothing I can do,” Irwin wrote. “In my mind, I flash to Bethesda: to the man on his [pallet] by the pool. There is no one to lift him into the water. [I Enter] into his frustration, his pain, his helplessness, the dirt, the smell, the chaos.”
“And then Jesus is there. And it is simple. ‘Pick up your bed and walk.’ And he does,” Irwin wrote.
This day is like any other day for Irwin, who is a medical missionary with World Gospel Mission. The only hospital available to women in this part of Kenya, Tenwek, often treats patients in dire condition. For Irwin and the other OB/GYNs, these patients include women who have been laboring at home for days, who are suffering from preeclampsia, a life-threatening pregnancy complication, who are dying from botched, back-alley abortions.
“God is reaching out to touch women’s lives,” Irwin said in a recent interview. “Women are dying from things we don’t often see here [in the U.S.]. But as Christians, we know there is hope beyond . . . Minute by minute, second by second, I am leaning on my Jesus.”
While Joy spends her days treating patients, her husband Bill, an attorney, works with the hospital administration writing grants and brainstorming ways to grow the hospital, both as a healthcare center and a teaching facility for Kenyan doctors and nurses. He also watches their six-year-old son, Walter, and helps look after as many as thirty other children whose parents work at the hospital.
“Often the spotlight is on what I do,” Joy Irwin said. “But Bill and Walter are just as much a part of this as me. I could not be here without them.”
For the rest of 2014, the Irwins will be on home ministry assignment in Richmond, raising support and recruiting new team members. In a report to WEPC, they have asked for your prayers for the following specific needs:
1. Fundraising and expansion of their team: pray that all of the needed support for their return will be raised, and that more individual and churches would join with them in prayer and financial support.
2. The missionaries who are covering the hospital while the Irwins are gone. There are many patients on the OB/GYN service and few hands to help.
3. For peace in Kenya, a nation struggling with terrorism and internal political change.
image :: Wind from the Sea, Andrew Wyeth (1947, American)
Preparation for Worship :: Grace and Peace to You
“Grace remits sin, and peace quiets the conscience. Sin and conscience torment us, but Christ has overcome these fiends now and forever…These two terms, grace and peace, constitute Christianity.” (Martin Luther)
“O Love incomprehensible, that made Thee bleed for me.
The Judge of all hath suffered death, to set His prisoner free.” (Augustus Toplady)
Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for August 17
:: Come Ye Sinners(Hart) audio // chart :: Praise My Soul The King of Heaven(Lyte) audio // chart :: 10,000 Reasons(Redman & Myrin) audio // chart :: Come to Jesus (Rice) audio // chart :: For All the Saints (How) audio // chart
Call to Worship :: Psalm 86:8–10
Among the gods there is none like You, Lord; no deeds can compare with Yours. All the nations You have made will come and worship before You, Lord; they will bring glory to Your name. For You are great and do marvelous deeds; You alone are God.
Old Testament Reading :: Isaiah 26:12-13
O Lord, You will ordain peace for us, for You have indeed done for us all our works. O Lord our God, other lords besides You have ruled over us, but Your name alone we bring to remembrance.
Sermon :: Ephesians 6:21-24
21 So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. 22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts. 23 Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.
We Confess Our Sin Together
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
We come before You, unworthy of Your grace;
We have forfeited Your love and peace.
We are restless sinners. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
Too often have we chosen the fruit over the garden.
Too often have we bowed down to the golden calf.
Too often have we begged for a sign.
Too often have we declared Caesar to be Lord.
Too often have we demanded to see the wounds in Your hands.
Too often have we substituted our image of you, for You.
Too often have we neglected Your call to be salt and light.
Too often have we reduced Christianity to a moral code.
Too often have we forgotten Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.
Too often have we acted on sight and not on faith.
Lord, have mercy upon us;
Grant us Your peace.
Words of Encouragement :: Colossians 1:19-20
God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Christ,and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the Cross.
image :: “Help! Help!”, For Children. The Gates of Paradise, William Blake (1793, English)
Preparation for Worship :: Praying in the Spirit
“Prayer is the breath of God in man, returning whence it came.” (Benjamin Beddome)
“We must lay before Him what is in us; not what ought to be in us.” (C.S. Lewis)
“Teach me to pray. Pray Thyself in me.” (Francois Fenelon)
“We do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” (Romans 8:26)
Call to Worship :: Psalm 47:1-2,5-6
God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present Help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Fortress.
Old Testament Reading :: Exodus 17:8-13
Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.
Sermon :: Ephesians 6:18-20
18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
We Confess Our Sin Together
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.
image :: Saint George and the Princess of Trebizond (detail), Antonio Pisanello (1395-1455, Italian)
Preparation for Worship :: Whole Armor
“My Saviour shall subdue
The powers of earth and hell;
Behold, He maketh all things new,
He doeth all things well.” (John Beaumont)
“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)
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.
Sermon :: Ephesians 6:13-17
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
We Confess Our Sin Together :: The Valley of Vision, “The Servant In Battle”
O LORD, I bless You that the issue of the battle between Yourself and Satan has never been uncertain, and will end in victory. Calvary broke the dragon’s head, and I contend with a vanquished foe, who with all his subtlety and strength has already been overcome. When I feel the serpent at my heel may I remember Him whose heel was bruised, but who, when bruised, broke the devil’s head. My soul with inward joy extols the Mighty Conqueror. Heal me of any wounds received in the great conflict; If I have gathered filth, if my faith has suffered damage, if my hope is less than bright, if my love is not fervent, if some creature-comfort occupies my heart, if my soul sinks under pressure of the fight. O LORD, whose every promise is balm, every touch life, draw near to Your weary warrior, refresh me, that I may rise again to wage the strife, and never tire until my enemy is trodden down. Give me such fellowship with You that I may defy Satan, unbelief, the flesh, the world, with delight that comes not from a creature, and which a creature cannot mar. Give me a draught of the eternal fountain that lies in Your immutable, everlasting love and decree. Then shall my hand never weaken, my feet never stumble, my sword never rest, my shield never rust, my helmet never shatter, my breastplate never fall, as my strength rests in the power of Your might.
Words of Encouragement :: I Corinthians 15:56-57
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
