::  Download the 4.16.2017 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
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image :: The Holy Women at the Tomb, William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1890, French)

Preparation for Worship on April 16 2017 :: Raised

“Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free. He has destroyed it by enduring it.  He destroyed Hell when He descended into it. He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh. Isaiah foretold this when he said, ‘You, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below.’  Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with. It was in an uproar because it is mocked. It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed. It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated. It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.” (John Chrysostom, Easter Sermon, c. 400AD)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for April 16 include ::

:: Christ the Lord is Risen Today (Charles Wesley, 1739) CHART [bandcamp track=3406429762 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: He is Risen (Caroline Cobb, 2013) CHART [bandcamp track=2265250518 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Crown Him With Many Crowns (Matthew Bridges, 1851) CHART [bandcamp track=92738205 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: He Is Lord (American Folk Hymn; Philippians 2:11)

Call to Worship :: The angel speaks to the women at the empty tomb, Matthew 28:5-6 

“Do not be afraid, as you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said.” Alleluia! Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Confession of Sin

Our gracious Father, You sent Your Son to die and raised Him to new life in order that death might be destroyed and that we might live. We confess that we have often chosen death over life and lived as if Jesus has not been raised. In our thoughts, words, and deeds we have rebelled against You. We have fled from You, Whose love is better than life and Whom to know is Life itself. We have sinned against others, and have diminished their lives. Father, forgive us our sin for Jesus’ sake. Give us grace to live as followers of our risen Lord, Jesus Christ. To the glory of Your holy name. Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: I Corinthians 15:54-57

Death has been swallowed up in victory. “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Old Testament Reading :: Job 14:1-5,12-14

Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure. Do you fix your eye on such a one?  Will you bring him before you for judgment? Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one! Man’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed…But man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last and is no more. As water disappears from the sea or a riverbed becomes parched and dry, so man lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, men will not awake or be roused from their sleep. If only you would hide me in the grave and conceal me till your anger has passed!  If only you would set me a time and then remember me! If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come.

Sermon :: II Corinthians 4:13-18

¹³ Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, ¹⁴ knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. ¹⁵ For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. ¹⁶ So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸ as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

::  Download the 4.9.2017 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 4.9.2017 Bulletin
::  Download the 4.9.2017 Sermon Audio 

image :: One Hundred and Twenty Vessels, Matt Klos (2013, American)

Preparation for Worship on April 9 2017 :: Treasure in Jars of Clay

“When I am converted by the Gospel, the Holy Spirit is present. He takes me as clay and makes of me a new creature, which is endowed with a different mind, heart, and thoughts, that is, with a true knowledge of God and a sincere trust in His grace. To summarize, the very essence of my heart is renewed and changed. This makes me a new plant, one that is grafted on Christ the Vine and grows from Him. My holiness, righteousness, and purity do not stem from me, nor do they depend on me. They come solely from Christ and are based only in Him, in whom I am rooted by faith, just as the sap flows from the stalk into the branches. Now I am like Him and of His kind. Both He and I are of one nature and essence, and I bear fruit in Him and through Him. This fruit is not mine; it is the Vine’s.” (Martin Luther)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for April 9 include ::

:: All Glory, Laud and Honor (Theodulf of Orléans, c.820)  CHART [bandcamp track=236522930  bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Jesus, I my Cross Have Taken (Henry Lyte, 1825) CHART [bandcamp track=1380076138 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: The Christian’s Hope Can Never Fail (Gadsby Hymnal, 1838) CHART [bandcamp track=2114191198 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: We Fall Down (Chris Tomlin, 2001) CHART  >>> Audio

:: Better Is One Day (Matt Redman, 1997) CHART >>> Audio

:: Kyrie (Greene, 2017) CHART 

Call to Worship :: Zechariah 9:9-10,16-17

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. His rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. On that day the LORD their God will save them, as the flock of His people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on His land. For how great is His goodness, and how great His beauty!

Confession of Sin

King of Glory, You came to us as true Peace in the midst of our warfare, as true Freedom to release us from our bondage to sin, as true Refuge while we languished in a chaos of our own design. Though we know Jesus as Sovereign King, we have rebelled just as Israel did long ago, we have negotiated with the Enemy by our secret sins and proud skepticism, we have betrayed our Heavenly Father in our daily refusal of Peace, Freedom, and Refuge. For our treason, You died; For our restoration, You rose again. Draw us close to You in this week, that our eyes may catch the vision of Your tears, and our hearts, the wonder of Your grace.

Words of Encouragement :: from Psalm 118

In my anguish I cried to the Lord; and He answered by setting me free. The Lord is with me. The Lord is my Strength and my Song; He has become my Salvation.

Old Testament Reading :: Isaiah 45:21-25

Declare and present your case;
let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none besides me.
“Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
By myself I have sworn;
from my mouth has gone out in righteousness
a word that shall not return:
‘To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear allegiance.’
“Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
are righteousness and strength;
to him shall come and be ashamed
all who were incensed against him.
In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
shall be justified and shall glory.”

Sermon :: II Corinthians 4:7-12

⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. ⁸ We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰ always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. ¹¹ For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. ¹² So death is at work in us, but life in you.

::  Download the 4.2.2017 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 4.2.2017 Bulletin
::  Download the 4.2.2017 Sermon Audio

image :: Girl With A White Veil, Antonio Mancini (1876, Italian)

Preparation for Worship on April 2 2017 :: Faces

“Worship is a meeting at the center so that our lives are centered in God and not lived eccentrically. We worship so that we live in response to and from this center, the living God. Failure to worship consigns us to a life of spasms and jerks, at the mercy of every advertisement, every seduction, every siren. Without worship we live manipulated and manipulating lives. We move in either frightened panic or deluded lethargy as we are, in turn, alarmed by spectres and soothed by placebos. If there is no center, there is no circumference. People who do not worship are swept into a vast restlessness, epidemic in the world, with no steady direction and no sustaining purpose.” (Eugene Peterson)

“Look at Him… A friend of sinners!” (Luke 7:34)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for April 2 include ::

:: Behold Our God (Baird & Altrogge, 2011) CHART [bandcamp track=4160179747 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: May the Mind of Christ My Savior (Kate B. Wilkinson, 1925) CHART [bandcamp track=383595627 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Here, O My Lord (Horatius Bonar, 1855) CHART [bandcamp track=232759179 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Let Us Love And Sing And Wonder (John Newton, 1774) CHART [bandcamp track=3505470677 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: On Jordan’s Stormy Banks (Samuel Stennett, 1787) CHART [bandcamp track=1174694383 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

:: Kyrie (Greene, 2017) CHART 

Call to Worship :: Psalm 99:1-3,9

The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble; He sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. Great is the Lord in Zion; He is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise Your great and awesome name— He is holy. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy.

Confession of Sin

Holy God, when You call us to follow You with great boldness, we tremble and cover our eyes. We are afraid of what we will see. Your greatness unveils our weakness, Your justice unveils our iniquity, and Your holiness unveils our stained hearts and minds. Lord Jesus Christ, Giver of all grace, forgive us our sins. Give us the strength to renounce that which hides You from us. . Lift our eyes to see the glory of God in the face of Christ. Give us the wisdom to trust Your atoning sacrifice. We believe; help our unbelief, that we might know the freedom and power of Your Cross.

Words of Encouragement :: from Colossians 2:13-15

When you were dead in your sins God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the Law that stood opposed to us; He took 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.

Old Testament Reading :: Genesis 1:1-5

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Sermon :: II Corinthians 3:12-4:6

¹² Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, ¹³ not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. ¹⁴ But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away.¹⁵ Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.¹⁶ But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. ¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸ And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

¹ Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. ² But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. ³ And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴ In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵ For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

::  Download the 3.26.2017 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes 
::  Download the 3.26.2017 Bulletin
::  Download the 3.26.2017 Sermon Audio 

image :: Return of The Sun, Odd Nerdrum (1985, Norwegian)

Preparation for Worship on March 26 2017 :: Gospel Confidence & Glory

“Just as the moon and the stars, though they are themselves bright and spread their light over all the earth, yet vanish before the greater brightness of the sun, so the Law, however glorious in itself, has no glory in the face of the Gospel’s grandeur.” (John Calvin)

“I cannot from my idols part,
Nor love the Lord with all my heart,
Nor can myself deny;
I cannot pray, and feel Thee near,
Nor can I sing with heavenly cheer,
Unless the Lord be nigh.

Then let this mighty Jesus be,
An all-sufficient Help for me,
Creating power and will;
Thy grace sufficed saints of old;
It made them strong and made them bold,
And it suffices still.” (John Berridge)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for March 26 include ::

:: How Great Thou Art (Carl Boberg, 1885) CHART [bandcamp track=4153898077 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]::  Dayspring (Charles Wesley, 1740) CHART [bandcamp track=3143786484 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: By Thy Mercy (James Cummins, 1839) CHART [bandcamp track=3255248990 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: None Other Lamb (Christina Rossetti, b.1830)  CHART [bandcamp track=798046000 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: O Come to the Altar (Elevation Worship, 2016) CHART / AUDIO

:: Kyrie (Greene, 2017) CHART 

Call to Worship :: Hebrews 12:18-24, 28-29

You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.” The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Confession of Sin

Father in heaven, We confess that we have sinned against You in our thoughts, words and deeds. You have spoken definitively by Your Son: forgive us for living as if You never act, never hear, never speak. Forgive us for the counterfeit justice we pursue through our plotting, slander, gossip, self-sufficiency and self-righteous anger. Forgive us for living as if You do not care for us. Forgive us and cleanse us. Show us the Cross of Jesus Christ. Fill us with Your Spirit, that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your Name.

Words of Encouragement :: Romans 8:1-2,11

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies.

Old Testament Reading :: Exodus 34:29-35

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.  Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them.  Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai.  And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. Whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Sermon :: II Corinthians 3:1-11

¹ Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? ² You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. ³ And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

⁴ Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. ⁵ Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, ⁶ who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

⁷ Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, ⁸ will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? ⁹ For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory.¹⁰ Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. ¹¹ For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.

::  Download the 3.19.2017 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 3.19.2017 Bulletin
::  Download the 3.19.2017 Sermon Audio 

image :: Highway and Byways, Paul Klee (1929, Swiss)

Preparation for Worship on March 19 2017 :: Triumphal Procession

“Christ undertook a battle not rightly His; we share in a triumph not rightly ours.” (Murray Harris)

“The presence of Christ brought about the strangest of inversions: He wipes out the guilt of the woman who was crushed by it, and arouses guilt in those who felt none.“ (Paul Tournier)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for March 19 include ::

:: Holy, Holy, Holy (Reginald Heber,1826) CHART [bandcamp track=3071271614 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: We Will Feast In the House of Zion (Sandra McCracken, 2015) CHART [bandcamp track=3987551429 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]::  What Wondrous Love is This (American Folk Hymn, c.1811) CHART [bandcamp track=455609457 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: By His Wounds (Wardell, 2011) CHART [bandcamp track=99124493 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: My Hope is Built on Nothing Less (Edward Mote, 1834) CHART [bandcamp track=1565832897 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

:: Kyrie (Greene, 2017) CHART 

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.

Confession of Sin :: based on Isaiah 30:15,18

Sovereign Lord, You said that in repentance and rest is our salvation, in quietness and trust is our strength, but we would have none of it. Yet You long to be gracious to us; You rise to show us compassion.

Words of Encouragement :: Hebrews 2:14-15

Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

Old Testament Reading :: Ezekiel 20:40-41

For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, declares the Lord God, there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. There I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred offerings. As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations.

Sermon :: II Corinthians 2:12-17

¹² When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, ¹³ my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.

¹⁴ But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. ¹⁵ For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, ¹⁶ to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? ¹⁷ For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.