:: Download the 9.3.2017 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
:: Download the 9.3.2017 Bulletin
:: Download the 9.3.2017 Sermon Audio
image :: Fountain in the Center of the Park, Henri Martin (d.1943, French)
Preparation for Worship on September 3 2017 :: In the Midst of the Camps
“Simultaneously He is ‘in the midst of the assembly’ and in the heavenly Jerusalem ever interceding for us… From one perspective, He sings with us in the church; from another He intercedes for us in heaven. When the church gathers in worship, earth and heaven converge. When we sing we are not singing by ourselves.” (Reggie Kidd)
“The Lord is our midst and is doing something not just in our worship, but in preparation for, after worship, being sent out into the world. The Lord is in our midst when we gather, and the Lord is with us when we scatter. There can be no scattered people of God without the gathered people of God. There can be no good works, fruit bearing, Kingdom extension, evangelism, mercy, or missions without worship. The insistence that both worship and service be brought together is unique to the Christian church. The people who worship are also the people who serve the King.” (Joseph Ryan)
Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for September 3 include ::
:: O God Our Help in Ages Past (Isaac Watts, 1719) CHART [bandcamp track=650804974 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: We Are Not Overcome (Heiskell & Wardell, 2013) CHART [bandcamp track=3830598251 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Come To The Feast (Jeff Lawson, 2012) CHART [bandcamp track=2408015188 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Here, O My Lord (Horatius Bonar, 1855) CHART [bandcamp track=232759179 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: O The Deep Deep Love of Jesus (Samuel Trevor Francis, c.1890) CHART [bandcamp track=828526162 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
Call to Worship :: Psalm 67
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make His face to shine upon us,
that Your way may be known on earth,
Your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise You, O God;
let all the peoples praise You!
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for You judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth.
Let the peoples praise You, O God;
let all the peoples praise You!
The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, shall bless us.
God shall bless us;
let all the ends of the earth fear Him!
Confession of Sin
Heavenly Father, we have not been content to wait for You, and have taken matters into our own hands. We have practiced deceit against You, and injustice toward one another. Unbelief, fear and shame have overcome us, and we have sought a refuge elsewhere. Deliver us, Good Lord. We look now to the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Through Him alone we now come to You, asking You to give us grace to hear Your voice, trust in Your love, delight in Your Word, and lean on Your strength. We long to see Your face. Amen.
Words of Encouragement :: Zephaniah 3:14-15
Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil.
New Testament Reading :: Revelation 15:2-4
And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are Your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are Your ways, King of the nations. Who will not fear You, Lord, and bring glory to Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.”
Sermon :: Numbers 2:1-34
1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “The people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers’ houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side.3 Those to camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah by their companies, the chief of the people of Judah being Nahshon the son of Amminadab, 4 his company as listed being 74,600. 5 Those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, the chief of the people of Issachar being Nethanel the son of Zuar, 6 his company as listed being 54,400. 7 Then the tribe of Zebulun, the chief of the people of Zebulun being Eliab the son of Helon, 8 his company as listed being 57,400. 9 All those listed of the camp of Judah, by their companies, were 186,400. They shall set out first on the march.
10 “On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben by their companies, the chief of the people of Reuben being Elizur the son of Shedeur, 11 his company as listed being 46,500. 12 And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon, the chief of the people of Simeon being Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, 13 his company as listed being 59,300. 14 Then the tribe of Gad, the chief of the people of Gad being Eliasaph the son of Reuel, 15 his company as listed being 45,650.16 All those listed of the camp of Reuben, by their companies, were 151,450. They shall set out second.
17 “Then the tent of meeting shall set out, with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; as they camp, so shall they set out, each in position, standard by standard.
18 “On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim by their companies, the chief of the people of Ephraim being Elishama the son of Ammihud, 19 his company as listed being 40,500. 20 And next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh, the chief of the people of Manasseh being Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, 21 his company as listed being 32,200. 22 Then the tribe of Benjamin, the chief of the people of Benjamin being Abidan the son of Gideoni, 23 his company as listed being 35,400. 24 All those listed of the camp of Ephraim, by their companies, were 108,100. They shall set out third on the march.
25 “On the north side shall be the standard of the camp of Dan by their companies, the chief of the people of Dan being Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, 26 his company as listed being 62,700. 27 And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher, the chief of the people of Asher being Pagiel the son of Ochran, 28 his company as listed being 41,500. 29 Then the tribe of Naphtali, the chief of the people of Naphtali being Ahira the son of Enan, 30 his company as listed being 53,400. 31 All those listed of the camp of Dan were 157,600. They shall set out last, standard by standard.”
32 These are the people of Israel as listed by their fathers’ houses. All those listed in the camps by their companies were 603,550. 33 But the Levites were not listed among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses.
34 Thus did the people of Israel. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so they camped by their standards, and so they set out, each one in his clan, according to his fathers’ house.