:::  Download the 6.16.2013 Heart Prep Guide

:::  Download the 6.16.2013 Bulletin

:::  Download the 6.16.2013 WepcKids Parent Bulletin

:::  Listen to the 6.16.2013 Sermon

image  :: The Vision of the Prophet Obadiah, Marc Chagal (1956)

Preparation for Worship  :::  Obadiah, Standing

“Learn to praise Him and, despair­ing of your­self, say, ‘Lord Jesus, You are my righteous­ness, just as I am Your sin.  You have taken upon Your­self what is mine and have given to me what is Yours.  You have taken upon Your­self what You were not and have given to me what I was not.’  Beware of aspir­ing to such purity that you will not wish to be looked upon as a sin­ner, or to be one.  For Christ dwells only in sinners.” (Martin Luther)

Depth of Mercy (Charles Wesley, 1740) [bandcamp track=1100253496  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=0687f5 size=venti]

Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior (Fanny Crosby, 1868) [bandcamp track=1009889899  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=0687f5 size=venti]

Nothing But the Blood of Jesus (Robert Lowry,1876) [bandcamp track=2357154689  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=0687f5 size=venti]

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (Robert Robinson, 1758) [bandcamp track=4015998502  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms (Elisha Hoffman & Anthony Showalter, 1887) [bandcamp track=4223285600  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=0687f5 size=venti]

All Creatures of Our God and King (Francis of Assisi, 1225) [bandcamp track=3110760989  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=0687f5 size=grande]

Call to Worship ::: Isaiah 33:2,5-6

O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble. The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high. He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness, and he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure.

Sermon  :::  Obadiah 1:1-21

¹ The vision of Obadiah.

Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom:
We have heard a report from the Lord,
and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
“Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!”
² Behold, I will make you small among the nations;
you shall be utterly despised.
³ The pride of your heart has deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rock,
in your lofty dwelling,
who say in your heart,
“Who will bring me down to the ground?”
⁴ Though you soar aloft like the eagle,
though your nest is set among the stars,
from there I will bring you down,
declares the Lord.

⁵ If thieves came to you,
if plunderers came by night—
how you have been destroyed!—
would they not steal only enough for themselves?
If grape gatherers came to you,
would they not leave gleanings?
⁶ How Esau has been pillaged,
his treasures sought out!
⁷ All your allies have driven you to your border;
those at peace with you have deceived you;
they have prevailed against you;
those who eat your bread have set a trap beneath you—
you have no understanding.

⁸ Will I not on that day, declares the Lord,
destroy the wise men out of Edom,
and understanding out of Mount Esau?
⁹ And your mighty men shall be dismayed, O Teman,
so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.

¹⁰ Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob,
shame shall cover you,
and you shall be cut off forever.
¹¹ On the day that you stood aloof,
on the day that strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
and cast lots for Jerusalem,
you were like one of them.
¹² But do not gloat over the day of your brother
in the day of his misfortune;
do not rejoice over the people of Judah
in the day of their ruin;
do not boast
in the day of distress.
¹³ Do not enter the gate of my people
in the day of their calamity;
do not gloat over his disaster
in the day of his calamity;
do not loot his wealth
in the day of his calamity.
¹⁴ Do not stand at the crossroads
to cut off his fugitives;
do not hand over his survivors
in the day of distress.

¹⁵ For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations.
As you have done, it shall be done to you;
your deeds shall return on your own head.
¹⁶ For as you have drunk on my holy mountain,
so all the nations shall drink continually;
they shall drink and swallow,
and shall be as though they had never been.
¹⁷ But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape,
and it shall be holy,
and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions.
¹⁸ The house of Jacob shall be a fire,
and the house of Joseph a flame,
and the house of Esau stubble;
they shall burn them and consume them,
and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau,
for the Lord has spoken.

¹⁹ Those of the Negeb shall possess Mount Esau,
and those of the Shephelah shall possess the land of the Philistines;
they shall possess the land of Ephraim and the land of Samaria,
and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
²⁰ The exiles of this host of the people of Israel
shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath,
and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
shall possess the cities of the Negeb.
²¹ Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion
to rule Mount Esau,
and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.

We Confess Our Sin Together  :::  from The Valley of Vision, “Confession and Petition”

Holy Lord, we are guilty—of pride and unbelief, of failure to find Your mind in Your Word, of neglect to seek You in our daily lives. Our violations and shortcomings present our consciences with a long list of accusations, but they shall not stand!  For we lay them all now on Christ, our Sacrifice and Advocate. Lord, subdue our weaknesses and selfishness, granting us grace to live above them. Let us not be mastered by them, but have You rule over us in liberty and power. We praise and thank You for Your wisdom and love, for sometimes putting us into the furnace to refine our gold and remove our dross.  Deliver us from every evil habit, everything that dims the brightness of Your grace in us, everything that prevents us from taking our deepest delight in You. Amen.

Words of Encouragement  :::  Romans 5:1-2

Since have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.

New Testament Reading  :::  Luke 18:9-14

 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance.  He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Benediction

:::  Download the 6.9.2013 Heart Prep Guide & Sermon Notes

:::  Download the 6.9.2013 Bulletin

:::  Download the 6.9.2013 WepcKids Parent Bulletin

:::  Listen to the 6.9.2013 Sermon 

image  ::  Plumb Line, Pat Calonne (2013)

Arise O God and Shine (William Hurn, 1815) [bandcamp track=2605083989  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=0687f5 size=venti]

Did Christ Over Sinners Weep (Benjamin Beddome, 1787) [bandcamp track=3528043466  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=0687f5 size=venti]

Psalm 130 / From the Depths of Woe (Martin Luther, 1524) [bandcamp track=762862813  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=0687f5 size=venti]

Jesus Whispers (Joseph Hart, 1759) [bandcamp track=1346965301  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=0687f5 size=venti]

Let Me Be (Aaron Senseman, 2006) Let Me Be

To Thee I Come (Samuel Medley, 18th century) [bandcamp track=3009654777  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=0687f5 size=venti]

Preparation for Worship  :::  Amos, Does God Care?

“Nothing is more common than for men to make partial and absurd distinctions between vices of equal enormity, and to observe some of the divine commands with great scrupulousness, while they violate others, equally important, without any concern, or the least apparent consciousness of guilt.” (Samuel Johnson)

“Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?  My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends. Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends, So Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?” (Janis Joplin, Michael McClure & Bob Neuwirth)

Call to Worship ::: from Isaiah 35

Be strong, and do not fear! Your God will come to save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf be unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Then will the wilderness rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice and shout for joy. And we, the ransomed of the Lord, will enter with singing. Everlasting joy will crown our heads. Open your eyes and see now the glory of the Lord, and the splendor of our God.

Mission Update :: WEPC Neighborhood Outreach

Sermon  :::  Amos 1:1-2; 2:6-11; 5:1-7; 9:9-15

¹ The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

² And he said:

“The Lord roars from Zion
and utters his voice from Jerusalem;
the pastures of the shepherds mourn,
and the top of Carmel withers.”               (Amos 1:1-2)

⁶ Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Israel,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they sell the righteous for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals—
⁷ those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth
and turn aside the way of the afflicted;
a man and his father go in to the same girl,
so that my holy name is profaned;
⁸ they lay themselves down beside every altar
on garments taken in pledge,
and in the house of their God they drink
the wine of those who have been fined.

⁹ “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
whose height was like the height of the cedars
and who was as strong as the oaks;
I destroyed his fruit above
and his roots beneath.
¹⁰ Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt
and led you forty years in the wilderness,
to possess the land of the Amorite.
¹¹ And I raised up some of your sons for prophets,
and some of your young men for Nazirites.
Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?”
declares the Lord.      (Amos 2:6-11)

¹ Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel:

² “Fallen, no more to rise,
is the virgin Israel;
forsaken on her land,
with none to raise her up.”

³ For thus says the Lord God:

“The city that went out a thousand
shall have a hundred left,
and that which went out a hundred
shall have ten left
to the house of Israel.”

⁴ For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:

“Seek me and live;
⁵     but do not seek Bethel,
and do not enter into Gilgal
or cross over to Beersheba;
for Gilgal shall surely go into exile,
and Bethel shall come to nothing.”

⁶ Seek the Lord and live,
lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel,
⁷ O you who turn justice to wormwood
and cast down righteousness to the earth!      (Amos 5:1-7)

⁹ “For behold, I will command,
and shake the house of Israel among all the nations
as one shakes with a sieve,
but no pebble shall fall to the earth.
¹⁰ All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword,
who say, ‘Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.’

¹¹ “In that day I will raise up
the booth of David that is fallen
and repair its breaches,
and raise up its ruins
and rebuild it as in the days of old,
¹² that they may possess the remnant of Edom
and all the nations who are called by my name,”
declares the Lord who does this.

¹³ “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when the plowman shall overtake the reaper
and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed;
the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
and all the hills shall flow with it.
¹⁴ I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,
and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,
and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.
¹⁵ I will plant them on their land,
and they shall never again be uprooted
out of the land that I have given them,”
says the Lord your God.      (Amos 9:9-15)

We Confess Our Sin Together

O Lord, we have not longed for Your coming nor for Your Kingdom. We have not denied ourselves, taking up Your Cross, following You. Instead, clinging to the things of this world and counting them dear, We have grown callous to the needs of the poor, the lonely and the suffering. We have not cried out for justice nor cared about those who are without Christ and without hope in this world. Lord, forgive us for our sins against You and grant that by the power of Your Spirit, we might live in light of Your coming again.

Words of Encouragement  :::  II Corinthians 8:9

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

New Testament Reading  :::  Romans 8:18-21

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.  For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.  For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope  that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

Benediction

:::  Download the 6.2.2013 Heart Prep Guide & Sermon Notes

:::  Download the 6.2.2013 Bulletin

:::  Download the 6.2.2013 WepcKids Parent Bulletin

:::  Listen to the 6.2.2013 Sermon

image  ::  Woodcut from The Locust Plague in the United States, Charles V. Riley (1877)

Preparation for Worship  ::: The Day of The Lord

Romantic love is blind to everything except what is lovable and lovely, but Christ’s love sees us with terrible clarity and sees us whole. Christ’s love so wishes our joy that it is ruthless against everything in us that diminishes our joy. The worst sentence Love can pass is that we behold the suffering which Love has endured for our sake, and that is also our acquittal. The justice and mercy of the judge are ultimately one. (Frederick Buechner)

Call to Worship ::: Psalm 85:8-12

There is none like You among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like Yours. All the nations You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name. For You are great and do wondrous things; You alone are God. Teach me Your way, O Lord, that I may walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. I give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify Your name forever.

Declaration of Faith  :::  The Apostles’ Creed, 2^nd century

We believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. We believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended into hell.  The third day He rose again from the dead.  He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.  From there He will come to judge the living and the dead.  We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church; the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.  Amen.

Holy, Holy, Holy (Heber, 1826) [bandcamp track=3071271614  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]

New Testament Reading  :::  Philippians 1:9-11

It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

You Created (Young, 2003)

Lo, He Comes With Clouds Descending (Charles Wesley, 1758) [bandcamp track=1316143512  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]

Sermon  :::  Joel 2:1-27

¹ Blow a trumpet in Zion;
sound an alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near,
² a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains
a great and powerful people;
their like has never been before,
nor will be again after them
through the years of all generations.

³ Fire devours before them,
and behind them a flame burns.
The land is like the garden of Eden before them,
but behind them a desolate wilderness,
and nothing escapes them.

⁴ Their appearance is like the appearance of horses,
and like war horses they run.
⁵ As with the rumbling of chariots,
they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling of a flame of fire
devouring the stubble,
like a powerful army
drawn up for battle.

⁶ Before them peoples are in anguish;
all faces grow pale.
⁷ Like warriors they charge;
like soldiers they scale the wall.
They march each on his way;
they do not swerve from their paths.
⁸ They do not jostle one another;
each marches in his path;
they burst through the weapons
and are not halted.
⁹ They leap upon the city,
they run upon the walls,
they climb up into the houses,
they enter through the windows like a thief.

¹⁰ The earth quakes before them;
the heavens tremble.
The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.
¹¹ The Lord utters his voice
before his army,
for his camp is exceedingly great;
he who executes his word is powerful.
For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome;
who can endure it?

¹² “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
¹³     and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.
¹⁴ Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
for the Lord your God?

¹⁵ Blow the trumpet in Zion;
consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
¹⁶     gather the people.
Consecrate the congregation;
assemble the elders;
gather the children,
even nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her chamber.

¹⁷ Between the vestibule and the altar
let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep
and say, “Spare your people, O Lord,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”

¹⁸ Then the Lord became jealous for his land
and had pity on his people.
¹⁹ The Lord answered and said to his people,
“Behold, I am sending to you
grain, wine, and oil,
and you will be satisfied;
and I will no more make you
a reproach among the nations.

²⁰ “I will remove the northerner far from you,
and drive him into a parched and desolate land,
his vanguard into the eastern sea,
and his rear guard into the western sea;
the stench and foul smell of him will rise,
for he has done great things.

²¹ “Fear not, O land;
be glad and rejoice,
for the Lord has done great things!
²² Fear not, you beasts of the field,
for the pastures of the wilderness are green;
the tree bears its fruit;
the fig tree and vine give their full yield.

²³ “Be glad, O children of Zion,
and rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given the early rain for your vindication;
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the latter rain, as before.

²⁴ “The threshing floors shall be full of grain;
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
²⁵ I will restore to you the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent among you.

²⁶ “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
²⁷ You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.

We Confess Our Sin Together

O Lord, no day of our lives passes that does not prove us guilty in Your sight. Our best services are filthy rags. All things in us call for our rejection. However, all things in Christ plead our acceptance. Grant us to hear Your voice assuring us that by Your stripes we are healed, that You were bruised for our iniquities, that You became sin for us that we might be robed in Your righteousness. Grant that by resting in Your righteousness we may hereafter walk in newness of life as followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

God Declares Our Forgiveness  :::  Romans 10:9,13

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

Rock of Ages (Augustus Toplady, 1776) [bandcamp track=4123719478  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]

Christ Whose Glory Fills the Skies (Charles Wesley, 1740)

Kindness (Tomlin, 2000)

On Jordan’s  Stormy Banks (Samuel Stennett, 1787) [bandcamp track=1253254129  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]

Benediction