::: Download the 3.17.2013 Worship Study Guide
::: Download the 3.17.2013 Bulletin
::: Download the 3.17.2013 wepckids Parent Bulletin
::: Listen to the 3.17.2013 Sermon
image :: Right and Left, Winslow Homer (American, 1909)
Preparation for Worship ::: Sight
He erased the curse, He triumphed over death, He opened paradise. He struck down sin, He opened wide the vaults of the sky, He lifted our first fruits to heaven, He filled the whole world with godliness. He drove out error, He led back the truth, He made our firstfruits mount to the royal throne… Before He humbled Himself, only the angels knew Him. After He humbled Himself, all human nature knew Him… God wants for nothing and has need of nothing. Yet, when He humbled Himself, He produced such great good, increased His household, and extended His Kingdom. Why, then, are you afraid that you will become less if you humble yourself? —John Chrysostom, 4th century
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.
Song of Adoration ::: O Help My Unbelief (Isaac Watts, 1791) [bandcamp track=2458560238 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]
Song of Praise ::: In Tenderness (W. Spencer Walton, 1894) [bandcamp track=2677147876 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]
Sermon: Mark 10:32-52
32 And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”
35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
Song of Response ::: I Need Thee Every Hour (Annie S. Hawks, 1872) [bandcamp track=3567125128 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]
We Confess Our Sin Together
What is the great and first commandment?
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
What is the second commandment like it?
Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-40)
What does this mean?
Love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. (Romans 13:8)
To what does this call us?
To a life of faith working through love. (Galatians 5:6)
Lord be merciful to me, be merciful to me. (Psalm 41:4)
Song of Response ::: Lord Be Merciful to Me (Pete Gretz, 2013)
Words of Encouragement: Daniel 9:9,18
The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against Him…. We do not make requests of You because we are righteous, but because of Your great mercy.
Song of Praise ::: Song of Moses (Kendrick, Barrett, Smith, Keyes & Moerman, 2011)
Old Testament Reading: Jonah 2:2-9
“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.
For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me;all your waves and your billows passed over me.
Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight;
yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’
The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever;
yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God.
When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord,
and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.
Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.
But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!”