9008 Quioccasin Road
Richmond, VA 23229
( 804 ) 741–6562
This coming Sunday we’ll hear from the Old Testament Minor Prophet, Haggai. God’s people have been building their own houses while the Lord’s house is in ruins. But a restoration is unfolding that is much more glorious that anyone can remember or imagine.
We encourage you to take a few minutes to read through Haggai to prepare for worship this Sunday. Want some help? Check out Heart Prep for worship on Sunday, July 28 >>> Haggai: Rebuild
image :: Autumn Song, Victor Borisov-Musatov (Russian, 1905)
Simultaneously He is “in the midst of the assembly” and in the heavenly Jerusalem ever interceding for us… From one perspective, He sings with us in the church; from another He intercedes for us in heaven. When the church gathers in worship, earth and heaven converge. When we sing we are not singing by ourselves. (Reggie Kidd)
::: Rejoice the Lord is King (Charles Wesley, 1744)
::: How Deep the Father’s Love For Us (Stuart Townend, 1995) [bandcamp track=3490451272 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]
::: Arise! My Soul Arise! (Charles Wesley, 1742) [bandcamp track=1534263805 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine upon us, that Your ways may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise You, O God; may all the peoples praise You. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth. May the peoples praise You, O God; may all the peoples praise You. Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us. God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear Him.
1:1 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
2 “I will utterly sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
3 “I will sweep away man and beast;
I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
and the fish of the sea,
and the rubble with the wicked.
I will cut off mankind
from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
3:8 “Therefore wait for me,” declares the Lord,
“for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.
For my decision is to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
to pour out upon them my indignation,
all my burning anger;
for in the fire of my jealousy
all the earth shall be consumed.
9 “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples
to a pure speech,
that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord
and serve him with one accord.
10 From beyond the rivers of Cush
my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones,
shall bring my offering.
11 “On that day you shall not be put to shame
because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;
for then I will remove from your midst
your proudly exultant ones,
and you shall no longer be haughty
in my holy mountain.
12 But I will leave in your midst
a people humble and lowly.
They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord,
13 those who are left in Israel;
they shall do no injustice
and speak no lies,
nor shall there be found in their mouth
a deceitful tongue.
For they shall graze and lie down,
and none shall make them afraid.”
14 Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;
he has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall never again fear evil.
16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Fear not, O Zion;
let not your hands grow weak.
17 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.
18 I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival,
so that you will no longer suffer reproach.
19 Behold, at that time I will deal
with all your oppressors.
And I will save the lame
and gather the outcast,
and I will change their shame into praise
and renown in all the earth.
20 At that time I will bring you in,
at the time when I gather you together;
for I will make you renowned and praised
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes
before your eyes,” says the Lord.
Heavenly Father, we have not been content to wait for You, and have taken matters into our own hands. We have practiced deceit against You, and injustice toward one another. Unbelief, fear and shame have overcome us, and we have sought a refuge elsewhere.
Deliver us, Good Lord.
We look now to the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Through Him alone we now come to You, asking You to give us grace to hear Your voice, trust in Your love, delight in Your Word, and lean on Your strength.
We long to see Your face. Amen.
Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil.
And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:
“Great and marvelous are your deeds,
Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
King of the nations.
Who will not fear you, Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
This coming Sunday we’ll hear from the Old Testament Minor Prophet, Zephaniah. Zephaniah sees the severity of divine judgement and hears the sweet song of the Lord’s deliverance. In the Cross of Jesus Christ, this prophesy finds its ultimate fulfillment.
We encourage you to take a few minutes to read through Zephaniah to prepare for worship this Sunday. Want some help? Check out Heart Prep for worship on Sunday, July 21 >>> Zephaniah :: In Your Midst
image :: Long Neck Deer, Yoota Azargeen (Iran, c.1975)
“Our age not only does not have a very sharp eye for the almost imperceptible intrusions of grace, it no longer has much feeling for the nature of the violences which precede and follow them.” (Flannery O’Connor)
“Turn us, O good Lord, and so shall we be turned.” (Book of Common Prayer)
::: Let The Glory of the Lord Endure Forever (Psalm 104:31)
::: What Wondrous Love is This (Southern Harmony, 1840) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=637168784 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=10]
::: Help My Unbelief (John Newton, 1779) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2144117063 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=3]
::: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2351851484 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=10]
::: My Hope is Built on Nothing Less (Edward Mote, 1834) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3283416963 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=8]
::: On Jordan’s Stormy Banks (Samuel Stennett, 1787) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=637168784 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=14]
In You, Lord my God,
I put my trust.
I trust in You;
do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
Show me Your ways, Lord,
teach me Your paths.
Guide me in Your truth and teach me,
for You are God my Savior,
and my hope is in You all day long.
1:1 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save?
3 Why do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
4 So the law is paralyzed,
and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
so justice goes forth perverted.
3:16 I hear, and my body trembles;
my lips quiver at the sound;
rottenness enters into my bones;
my legs tremble beneath me.
Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble
to come upon people who invade us.
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
19 God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
Lord God Almighty, when we are disoriented and angry at our circumstances, we demand, “How long?” from a heart of unbelief. We are given to self-deception instead of honesty with You. We love self-indulgence instead of enjoying You. We pursue self-reliance instead of resting in You. We do this because we lack faith. We are tempted to believe that You hear us. We doubt that You care. We despise Your redemption, and so try to make our own way. Forgive us and give us greater faith so that we might trust in You and walk in Your ways. To the glory of Your name. Amen
I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Starting this Sunday, July 7, current and inquiring leaders are encouraged to attend our training. It should be a time of prayer and encouragement as we see how God will guide us in this vital ministry.
Week 1 room change: For July 7th only, we will meet in Room 21.
Information? Kristin Tetterton or Joe Brown
This coming Sunday we’ll hear from the Old Testament Minor Prophet, Habakkuk. Habakkuk asks “Does God care?” The Lord answers in a way that surprises, humbles and transforms.
We encourage you to take a few minutes to read through Habakkuk to prepare for worship this Sunday. Want some help? Check out Heart Prep for worship on Sunday, July 14 >>> Habakkuk :: How to Live