::: Download the 12.1.2013 Worship Study Guide & Sermon Notes
::: Download the 12.1.2013 Bulletin
::: Download the 12.1.2013 Parent Bulletin
::: Listen to the 12.2.2013 Sermon Audio
image :: Peace, William Turner (English, c.1842)
Preparation for Worship ::: Peace
“God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man. It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and better but like turning a horse into a winged creature.” (C.S. Lewis)
“If you are a Christian, the story that tells you who you are is not the story of your parents, ancestors, ethnic group, or social class. It is instead, the story of the Bible– the promise to Abraham, the deliverance from slavery to Egypt and sin, the gift of land to landless Israelites, and life to dead sinners. This story of promise, deliverance, and gift is your family history, the story that defines you.” (Graham Tomlin)
“‘Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,’ says the Lord.” (Isaiah 57:19)
:: Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3505305395 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=4]
:: O Come, O Come Emmanuel [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2254475816 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=2]
:: Narrow Little Road [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3654011050 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=4]
:: Amen, Amen [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=4102113113 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=7]
:: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2254475816 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 t=4]
Call to Worship ::: Psalm 29:1-4,11
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over many waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth
and strips the forests bare,
and in His temple all cry, “Glory!”
May the Lord give strength to His people!
May the Lord bless His people with peace!
Old Testament Reading ::: Micah 5:4-5
And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth.
And he shall be their peace.
Sermon ::: Ephesians 2:11-22
11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
We Confess Our Sin Together
Heavenly Father, You have prepared Your salvation in the presence of all peoples. Your Son reconciled us to God through the Cross. Now give us to die to our sin in repentance, so we may live as one with You and with one another. We have not trusted Your Good News to be good; We have not availed ourselves of Your nearness; We have refused the peace of Christ; We have hoped for little from You; We have nursed our hostilities; And the very thoughts of our hearts are revealed in the light of the glory of Your great mercy toward us. Forgive our unbelief, and renew us by Your Holy Spirit that we might eagerly worship You, that we may once more find the Gospel of our Savior, Jesus Christ, to be our greatest joy. Amen.
Words of Encouragement ::: Romans 5:1-2
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand.