:: Download the 5.8.2016 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
:: Download the 5.8.2016 Bulletin
:: Download the 5.8.2016 Sermon Audio
image :: Street Light, Giacomo Balla (Italian, c.1909-11)
Preparation for Worship :: Eyewitnesses of His Majesty
“You shall remember the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 8:18)
“God has a disposition to communicate Himself, to spread abroad His own fullness. His purpose was for His goodness to over-spill His own Being, as it were. He chose to create the heavens and the earth so that His glory could come pouring out from Himself in abundance. He brought a physical reality into existence in order that it might experience His glory and be filled with it and reflect it – every atom, every second, every part and moment of creation. He made human beings in His own image to reflect His glory, and He placed them in a perfect environment which also reflected it.” (Jonathan Edwards)
“The glory of God is a human being fully alive.” (Irenaeus)
Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday May 8 include ::
:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: All Must Be Well (Mary Bowley-Peters, 1847) CHART [bandcamp track=2424243148 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Gloria Patri (2nd Century Hymn) CHART [bandcamp track=1717027862 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Give Me Jesus (African-American Spiritual) CHART [bandcamp track=893825801 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Holy, Holy, Holy (Reginald Heber,1826) CHART [bandcamp track=3071271614 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Approach My Soul The Mercy Seat (John Newton, 1779) CHART
>>AUDIO
:: Christ Whose Glory Fills the Skies (Charles Wesley, 1740) 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.
Old Testament Reading :: Exodus 33:18-23
Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”
Confession of Sin
Holy God, when You call us to follow You with great boldness, we tremble at Your presence and cover our eyes. We are afraid of what we will see for Your greatness unveils our weakness, Your justice unveils our iniquity, and Your holiness unveils our stained hearts and minds. O Lord, hear our prayer. Lord Jesus Christ, Giver of all grace, forgive us our sins. Give us the strength to renounce that which hides You from us. 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.
Sermon :: II Peter 1:12-19
12 Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder,14 since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.