image : Sea with Two Sailboats, Emil Nolde (1867-1956)
Tag Archives: Mark
Seeds
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image: Seeds, 草間 彌生 (2012)
Be Thou My Vision (Irish Hymn, 8th century) chart[bandcamp track=3137703094 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
Help My Unbelief (John Newton, 1779) chart
Gather Them In (Peter La Grand, 2008) chart[bandcamp track=1336227612 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
Praise the Savior Now and Ever (V. Fortunatus, 6th century) chart [bandcamp track=381888658 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
Jesus Savior Pilot Me (Edward Hopper, 1871) chart [bandcamp track=3066709800 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
Preparation for Worship
“The Lord of the harvest must determine when, and what, and where the harvest shall be.” —Charles Bridges
“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” —Leonard Cohen
Call to WorshipPhilippians 2:5-11
Christ Jesus, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Covenant Baptism
The Ministry of Prayer
New Testament Reading I Corinthians 1:26-31
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards,not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
We Confess Our Sin Together Help my Unbelief (John Newton, 1779)
God Declares Our Forgiveness — Ephesians 1:7
In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of his grace.
Children’s Sermon
Sermon — Mark 4:21-34
21 And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? 22 For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25 For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
30 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. 34 He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
Benediction
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Looking Forward to Worship on Nov 25 2012
Question > > > What “insignificant thing” do you see God using today?
Gospel > > > Mark 4:21-34
21 And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? 22 For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25 For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
30 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. 34 He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
audio : The Seed, Rare Earth (1971)
image : Moonrise, Bror Julius Olsson Nordfeldt (1906)
The Secret & Bearing Fruit
::: Worship Study Guide for Nov 18 2012
::: Order of Worship
::: Sermon Audio
image : The Veteran in a New Field, Winslow Homer (1865)
Preparation for Worship
“There is no mechanical solution to true spirituality or the true Christian life. Anything that has the mark of the mechanical is a mistake. It is not possible to say, ‘Read so many of the chapters of the Bible every day, and you will have this much sanctification.’ It is not possible to say, ‘Pray so long every day, and you will have a certain amount of sanctification.’ It is not possible to add the two together and to say, ‘You will have this big a piece of sanctification.’ This is a purely mechanical solution, and it denies the whole Christian position. For the fact is that the Christian life, true spirituality, can never have a mechanical solution. The real solution is being cast up into the moment-by-moment communion, personal communion with God Himself, and letting Christ’s truth flow through me through the agency of the Holy Spirit.”
Francis Schaeffer
Call to Worship Isaiah 55:10-12
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
::: In Tenderness (W. Spencer Walton, 1894)
audio / chart / history
Membership & Baptism
The Ministry of Prayer
::: He Loves Us (David Crowder)
New Testament Reading I Corinthians 2:4-10
My speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 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”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
We Confess Our Sin Together
Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, forgive us. Instead of being separated from the world, we coddle our secret sins. Instead of hearing Your Word, we are shaped by every other voice, belief, and perspective. Instead of eagerly following You in Your mission to the world, we choose sheltered and self-focused lives. Lord Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on us. Our only hope is in Your finished work. You lived the life we should have lived. You died the death we should have died: in our place, as our substitute, to make atonement for our sins.
God Declares Our Forgiveness Ephesians 2:12-13
Remember that you were once separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
::: Creator of the Stars (7th Century Latin Hymn)
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Sermon Mark 4:1-20
1 Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2 And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” 9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
10 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that
“they may indeed see but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they should turn and be forgiven.”
13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
::: None Other Lamb (Christina Rossetti, 1830-1894)
::: Grace Flows Down (Giglio, Bell & Padgett, 2000)
::: Abide With Me (Henry Francis Lyte, 1847)
Benediction
Looking Ahead to Worship on Sunday Nov 18 2012
Questions > > > Have you listened to God & heard His Gospel today?
Gospel > > > Mark 4:1-20
Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2 And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” 9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
10 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that
“they may indeed see but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they should turn and be forgiven.”
13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
audio : Dirt, The Penguin Cafe’ Orchestra (1993)
image : The Sower with Setting Sun, Vincent van Gogh (1888)
New Family
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image : John, Richard & Laurence, Fairfield Porter (c.1950)
Preparation for Worship
“Christianity entered history as a new world order, a new social dimension. From the very beginning Christianity was not primarily a doctrine, but a community. There was not only a Message to be proclaimed, there was a New Community, distinct and peculiar, in the process of growth and formation, to which members were called. Indeed, ‘fellowship’ (koinonia) was the basic category of Christian existence.”
Georges Florovsky
Call to Worship Psalm 65:1-4
Praise awaits You, our God, in Zion;
to You our vows will be fulfilled.
You who answer prayer,
to You all people will come.
When we were overwhelmed by sins,
You forgave our transgressions.
Blessed are those You choose
and bring near to live in Your courts!
We are filled with the good things of Your house,
of Your holy temple.
Come & Welcome (Thomas Haweis, 1792)
Covenant Baptism
Mission UpdateReformed University Fellowship at Virginia Tech
The Ministry of Prayer
By Thy Mercy (James John Cummins, 1839)
audio / score / history
Old Testament Reading — Isaiah 49:8-9,25
This is what the Lord says: “In the time of My favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances, to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’…” This is what the Lord says: “Yes, captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce; I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save.”
For All the Saints (William Walsham How, 1864)
We Confess Our Sin Together
Almighty and merciful Father, You have called us to be Your desired followers and have made us one family. Yet we have not lived as one. We have not loved You and one another as You command. Selfish ambition has gripped us, and we have failed to look out for others’ interests above our own. We have not treated one another as those in whom Christ dwells. Conceit has gripped us, and we have failed to associate with and care for those who are different from ourselves. Pride has gripped us, and we sought to control You, the Lord. Forgive us for our sins against You. Go on to subdue everything in us that is contrary to Your purposes. By the power of your Spirit make us a community that is eager to do Your will and walk in Your ways. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
God Declares Our ForgivenessEphesians 2:12-13
Remember that you were once separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Sermon — Mark 3:13-35
13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons. 16 He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); 18 Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot,19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
20 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” 23 And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.
28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
31 And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”
The Church’s One Foundation (Samuel Stone, 1866)
In Christ Alone (Getty & Townend, 1997)
We Exalt Thee (Psalm 97:6)
Benediction
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