::: Worship Study Guide
::: Order of Worship
Image : Li Gang, 00002 (2012)
Preparation for Worship and Communion
“We wake, if ever we wake, to the silence of God. And then, when we wake to the deep shores of time uncreated, then when the dazzling dark breaks over the far slopes of time…then it’s time to break our necks for home.”
Annie Dillard, Holy the Firm
Call to Worship Psalm 90:1-2
Lord, You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.
Declaration of Faith The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Song of Adoration
::: Holy Holy Holy (Heber)
Offering
::: O God Our Help In Ages Past (Watts)
Old Testament Reading Isaiah 64:4
Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.
Song of Praise
::: Crown Him With Many Crowns (Bridges)
Sermon I Corinthians 2:9
But, as it is written,“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him.”
::: Sermon Audio
Preparation for the Lord’s Supper I Corinthians 11:23-26
“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”
Confession of Sin based on Heidelberg Catechism Q & 58-61 (1563)
Everlasting God, may I now experience in my heart the beginnings of eternal joy in Christ. He alone secures my perfect blessedness such as no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no human heart has ever imagined: a blessedness in which to praise You forever. Forgive me for believing I secure my own blessedness. You alone have authority to declare that I am right with God and heir to everlasting life. I confess that I have grievously sinned against You and all Your commandments. I have never kept any of them. I am inexcusably still inclined toward all evil. Nevertheless, without my deserving it at all, out of sheer grace, You grant and credit to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner, as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me. Heavenly Father, grant me the gift of a believing heart, resting in the eternal peace Jesus secured for me by His Cross. Amen.
Words of Encouragement Romans 8:31-32
If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?