:::  Download the 10.20.2013 Worship Study Guide & Sermon Notes

:::  Download the 10.20.2013 Bulletin

::: Download the 10.20.2013 Parent Bulletin

:::  Listen to the 10.20.2013 Sermon Audio

image :: Bird on Foot, Walter Battiss (20th century, South African)

Preparation for Worship  :::  Head Over All

“Every call to worship is a call into the Real World… I encounter such constant and widespread lying about reality each day and meet with such skilled and systematic distortion of the truth that I’m always in danger of losing my grip on reality. The reality, of course, is that God is sovereign and Christ is Savior.” (Eugene Peterson)

“You have put all things under his feet.”  (Psalm 8:6)

:: Behold Our God (Baird & Altrogge, 2011) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=427149551 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=12]

:: Crown Him With Many Crowns (Matthew Bridges 1851) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=430611362 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=4]

:: O God Our Help in Ages Past (Isaac Watts, 1719) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=220393897 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=6]

:: The Power of the Cross (Townend & Getty, 2005) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2885207056 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=11]

:: Rejoice the Lord Is King (Charles  Wesley, 1744)

:: What Wondrous Love Is This (Traditional American) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=637168784 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=10]

Call to Worship  :::  Psalm 95:1-3,6

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.

Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

Old Testament Reading  :::  Daniel 6:26

He is the living God,
enduring forever;
His Kingdom shall never be destroyed,
and His dominion shall be to the end.

Sermon  :::  Ephesians 1:19-23

¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might ²⁰ that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. ²² And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

We Confess Our Sin Together

Our gracious Father, You sent Your Son to die and rise to new life in order that death might be brought to an end and that we, too, might live a new life. Yet we often chosen death over life. In our thoughts, words, and deeds we have rebelled against You and Your intentions for us. We have broken our fellowship with You, whose love is better than life and whom to know is life itself. We have sinned against others, sometimes unintentionally and sometimes deliberately, and have diminished their lives. We have invited Your wrath, who were created to reflect Your glory. Father, forgive us our sin for Jesus’ sake. And grant that the same Spirit that raised Christ might convict and renew us, that we might walk in Your ways, to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.

Words of Encouragement  ::: Colossians 3:1,3-4

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Benediction

:::  Download the 10:13.2013 Worship Study Guide & Sermon Notes

:::  Download the 10.13.2013 Bulletin

::: Download the 10.13.2013 Parent Bulletin

:::  Listen to the 10.13.2013 Sermon Audio

image :: Untitled, Tara Donovan (2012, American)

Preparation for Worship  ::: Eyes

“I am a great writer because when I was a little girl and walked into the room where my father was sitting, his eyes would light up. That is why I am a great writer. That is why. There isn’t any other reason.”  (Toni Morrison)

“My job is not to solve people’s problems or make them happy, but to help them to see the grace that is operating in their lives. It’s hard to do, because our whole culture is going the other direction, saying that if you’re smart enough and get the right kind of help, you can solve all your problems.”  (Eugene Peterson)

:: Be Thou My Vision (8th century Irish Hymn) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3401631397 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=5]

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

::  Father Long Before Creation (Chinese Hymn, c.1952) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2817376614 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=1]

:: On Jordan’s Stormy Banks (Samuel Stennett, 1787) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=637168784 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=14]

:: Enough (Chris Tomlin, 2002)

::  What Wondrous Love Is This (American Folk Hymn) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=637168784 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=10]

:: In Christ Alone (Getty & Townend, 2001) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=1060200358 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=12]

Call to Worship  :::  from Psalm 146

Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord, O my soul!  I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.  Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God.  The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.  The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations.  Praise the Lord!

Old Testament Reading  :::  Isaiah 11:2-6,9

The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them…
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.

Sermon  :::  Ephesians 1:15-23

¹⁵ For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, ¹⁶ I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, ¹⁸ having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might ²⁰ that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. ²² And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

We Confess Our Sin Together

Father of glory, our hearts cannot be hidden from Your sight. Our blind self-pity, self-serving and self-justifying are laid bare before Your eyes. Have mercy upon us, most merciful God. Grant us the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Christ, so that the eyes of our hearts might be enlightened. Help us to know the hope to which Jesus called us, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Words of Encouragement  ::: Hebrews 12:2

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the Cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Benediction