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image  :: The Prophet Nahum predicts the destruction of Nineveh by the Lord, Romeyn de Hooghe (1705)

Preparation for Worship  :::  Nahum, Who Is In Charge?

Although in the Cross there is nothing but curse, this was nevertheless so swallowed up by the power of the Son of God, that the Cross has put on, as it were, a new nature. There is no tribunal so magnificent, no kingly throne so stately, no show of triumph so distinguished, no chariot so lofty, as the gallows on which Christ subdued death and the devil, the prince of death. Moreover, He has utterly trodden them under His feet.  (John Calvin)

Christ executes the office of a king, in subduing us to Himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all His and our enemies. (Westminster Shorter Catechism)

Jesus What A Friend For Sinners (J. Wilbur Chapman, 1910) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3401631397 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=1]

Hold Thou My Hand (Fanny Crosby, 1879) 

Hast Thou Heard Him, Seen Him, Known Him (Ora Rowan,1834-79) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2800896556 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=6]

Come To The Feast (Jeff Lawson, 2012) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3077911556 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=9]

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (Isaac Watts, 1707) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3563716376 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=11]

Before the Throne of God Above (Charitie Lees Bancroft, 1841-1923) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=784345862 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=14]

Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder (John Newton, 1774) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3957404521 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=11]

Call to Worship ::: Psalm 18:1-3

I love you, Lord, my Strength. The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress and my Deliverer; my God is my Rock, in whom I take refuge, my Shield and the Horn of my salvation, my Stronghold. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies.

New Testament Reading  :::  Colossians 2:13-15

You were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh. God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Sermon  :::  Nahum 1:1-15

¹ An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.

² The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord is avenging and wrathful;
the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries
and keeps wrath for his enemies.
³ The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,
and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.
His way is in whirlwind and storm,
and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
⁴ He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;
he dries up all the rivers;
Bashan and Carmel wither;
the bloom of Lebanon withers.
⁵ The mountains quake before him;
the hills melt;
the earth heaves before him,
the world and all who dwell in it.

⁶ Who can stand before his indignation?
Who can endure the heat of his anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire,
and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.
⁷ The Lord is good,
a stronghold in the day of trouble;
he knows those who take refuge in him.
⁸     But with an overflowing flood
he will make a complete end of the adversaries,
and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
⁹ What do you plot against the Lord?
He will make a complete end;
trouble will not rise up a second time.
¹⁰ For they are like entangled thorns,
like drunkards as they drink;
they are consumed like stubble fully dried.
¹¹ From you came one
who plotted evil against the Lord,
a worthless counselor.

¹² Thus says the Lord,
“Though they are at full strength and many,
they will be cut down and pass away.
Though I have afflicted you,
I will afflict you no more.
¹³ And now I will break his yoke from off you
and will burst your bonds apart.”

¹⁴ The Lord has given commandment about you:
“No more shall your name be perpetuated;
from the house of your gods I will cut off
the carved image and the metal image.
I will make your grave, for you are vile.”

¹⁵  Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him
who brings good news,
who publishes peace!
Keep your feasts, O Judah;
fulfill your vows,
for never again shall the worthless pass through you;
he is utterly cut off.

We Confess Our Sin Together :::  from The Valley of  Vision, “Love Shines at Calvary”

My Father, enlarge my heart, warm my affections, open my lips, supply words that proclaim “Love shines at Calvary.” There grace removes my burdens and heaps them on Your Son. made a transgressor, a curse, and sin for me; There the sword of your justice struck the God-man: There Your infinite attributes were magnified, and infinite atonement was made; There infinite punishment was due, and infinite punishment was endured. Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy, cast off that I might be brought in, trodden down as an enemy that I might be welcomed as a friend, surrendered to hell’s worst that I might attain heaven’s best,stripped that I might be clothed, wounded that I might be healed, thirsty that I might drink, tormented that I might be comforted, made a shame that I might inherit glory. My Savior wept that all tears might be wiped from my eyes, groaned that that I might have endless song, endured all pain that I might have unfading health, bore a crown of thorns that I might have a glory-diadem. Bowed His head that I might uplift mine, experienced reproach that I might receive welcome, closed His eyes in death that I might gaze on unclouded brightness, expired that I might forever live. O Father, who did not spare Your only Son that You might spare me, All this action Your love designed and accomplished: Help me to adore You with my words and my life, O that my every breath might be ecstatic praise, my every step buoyant with delight, as I see my enemies crushed, Satan baffled, defeated, destroyed, sin buried in the ocean of reconciling blood, Hell’s gates closed, heaven’s portal open. Go forth, O conquering God, and show me the Cross, mighty to subdue, comfort and save.

God Declares Our Forgiveness  :::  Romans 5:9-11

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

Benediction

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image  :: The Prophet Micah, Jacob Pynas (17th century)

Preparation for Worship  :::  Micah, God’s Lawsuit

“Wait, O soul; thy God will presently arise to plead thy cause, and execute judgment for thee; do not put forth thine hand to save thyself; wait on Him, He will deliver thee; He will bring thee forth to the light, and thou shalt behold his righteousness in the ordering of thy life.”  (F.B. Meyer)

“No one can judge a criminal until he recognizes that he is just such a criminal as the man standing before him, and that he perhaps is more than all men to blame for that crime. When he understands that, he will be able to be a judge.” (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)

Gloria (Mejias & Byrd, 2009) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=588404472 size=small bgcol=333333 linkcol=0f91ff t=9]

Jesus Lover of My Soul (Charles Wesley, 1740) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3165625088 size=small bgcol=333333 linkcol=0f91ff t=6]

Rock of Ages When the Day Seems Long (Sandra McCracken, 2005) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3638870269 size=small bgcol=333333 linkcol=0f91ff t=4]

Help My Unbelief (John Newton, 1725-1807) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2144117063 size=small bgcol=333333 linkcol=0f91ff t=3]

None Other Lamb (Christina Rossetti, 1892) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=1038326589 size=small bgcol=333333 linkcol=0f91ff t=1]

Crown Him With Many Crowns (Matthew Bridges 1851) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2315225179 size=small bgcol=333333 linkcol=0f91ff t=3]

 Call to Worship :::  based on John 2:24; II Cor 5:17-21

Let us worship God. who reconciled us to himself through Christ. We are new creations; the old has gone, the new has come. Let us worship God as Christ’s ambassadors. Through us and through our worship may we announce the good news to all. Let us worship God in spirit and in truth. Praise God! We are reconciled, redeemed, renewed!

Sermon  :::  Micah 7

¹ Woe is me! For I have become
as when the summer fruit has been gathered,
as when the grapes have been gleaned:
there is no cluster to eat,
no first-ripe fig that my soul desires.
² The godly has perished from the earth,
and there is no one upright among mankind;
they all lie in wait for blood,
and each hunts the other with a net.
³ Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well;
the prince and the judge ask for a bribe,
and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul;
thus they weave it together.
⁴ The best of them is like a brier,
the most upright of them a thorn hedge.
The day of your watchmen, of your punishment, has come;
now their confusion is at hand.
⁵ Put no trust in a neighbor;
have no confidence in a friend;
guard the doors of your mouth
from her who lies in your arms;
⁶ for the son treats the father with contempt,
the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.
⁷ But as for me, I will look to the Lord;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.

⁸ Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;
when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be a light to me.
⁹ I will bear the indignation of the Lord
because I have sinned against him,
until he pleads my cause
and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light;
I shall look upon his vindication.
¹⁰ Then my enemy will see,
and shame will cover her who said to me,
“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will look upon her;
now she will be trampled down
like the mire of the streets.

¹¹ A day for the building of your walls!
In that day the boundary shall be far extended.
¹² In that day they will come to you,
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
and from Egypt to the River,
from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.
¹³ But the earth will be desolate
because of its inhabitants,
for the fruit of their deeds.

¹⁴ Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your inheritance,
who dwell alone in a forest
in the midst of a garden land;
let them graze in Bashan and Gilead
as in the days of old.
¹⁵ As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
I will show them marvelous things.
¹⁶ The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might;
they shall lay their hands on their mouths;
their ears shall be deaf;
¹⁷ they shall lick the dust like a serpent,
like the crawling things of the earth;
they shall come trembling out of their strongholds;
they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God,
and they shall be in fear of you.

¹⁸ Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.
¹⁹ He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.
²⁰ You will show faithfulness to Jacob
and steadfast love to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers
from the days of old.

We Confess Our Sin Together  :::   from Valley of Vision, “A Cry for Deliverance”

Heavenly Father, Save me entirely from sin. I know I am righteous through the righteousness of another, but I pant and pine for likeness to thyself; I am thy child and should bear thy image, Enable me to recognize my death unto sin; When it tempts me may I be deaf unto its voice. Deliver me from the invasion as well as the dominion of sin. Grant me to walk as Christ walked, to live in the newness of his life, the life of love, the life of faith, the life of holiness. I abhor my body of death, its indolence, envy, meanness, pride. Forgive, and kill these vices, have mercy on my unbelief, on my corrupt and wandering heart. When thy blessings come I begin to idolize them, and set my affection on some beloved object – children, friends, wealth, honour; Cleanse this spiritual adultery and give me chastity; close my heart to all but thee. Sin is my greatest curse; Let thy victory be apparent to my consciousness, and displayed in my life. Help me to be always devoted, confident, obedient, resigned, childlike in my trust of thee, to love thee with soul, body, mind, strength, to love my fellow-man as I love myself, to be saved from unregenerate temper, hard thoughts, slanderous words, meanness, unkind manners, to master my tongue and keep the door of my lips. Fill me with grace daily, that my life be a fountain of sweet water.

Words of Encouragement  :::  Psalm 130:7-8

O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

New Testament Reading  :::  Luke 1:68-69

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.

Benediction

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image  :: Woodcut Jonah in de Fish ’98, Peter Wortel

Preparation for Worship  :::  Jonah, God is Merciful

“Then only, when by sore distress compelled, I seek in God relief, O’erwhelmed with floods of wickedness,and swallowed up in gulfs of grief; Out of the deep my mournful prayer directing to the throne divine, And hoping against hope, I dare In hell to call the Saviour mine.” (Charles Wesley)

“The very contradictions in my life are in some ways signs of God’s mercy to me.” (Thomas Merton)

Call to Worship

God makes the sun rise and set. He is faithful from generation to generation. God makes summer and winter come and go. He is faithful from generation to generation. God helps plants grow and flowers bloom. He is faithful from generation to generation. God gives us food to eat, places to live, and people to love. He is faithful from generation to generation. God is always with us. He is faithful from generation to generation. God keeps his promises to us. He is faithful from generation to generation. Let us praise our faithful God.

Sermon  :::  Jonah 1:1-3, 15-17, 2:1-9, 3:9-4:4, 4:9-11

¹ Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, ²  “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” ³ But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

¹⁵ So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. ¹⁶ Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

¹⁷ And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

¹ Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, ²  saying,

“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. ³ For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me. ⁴ Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’ ⁵ The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head ⁶ at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. ⁷ When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. ⁸ Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. ⁹ But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!”

⁹ Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”

¹⁰  When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

¹ But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. ² And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. ³ Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” ⁴ And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”

⁹But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” ¹⁰ And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. ¹¹ And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

We Confess Our Sin Together  ::: from The Book of Common Prayer

Most merciful God, 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. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.  We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.  For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Words of Encouragement  :::  Zephaniah 3:16b-17

Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. 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.

New Testament Reading  :::  Matthew 12:38-42

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” ³⁹ But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. ⁴² The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

Benediction