:::  Worship Study Guide for Nov 18 2012

:::  Order of Worship

:::  Sermon Audio

image :  The Veteran in a New Field, Winslow Homer (1865)

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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)

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Membership & Baptism

The Ministry of Prayer  

:::  He Loves Us (David Crowder)

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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)

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:::  Grace Flows Down (Giglio, Bell & Padgett, 2000)

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:::  Abide With Me (Henry Francis Lyte, 1847)

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Benediction

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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)

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Covenant Baptism

Mission UpdateReformed University Fellowship at Virginia Tech

The Ministry of Prayer  

By Thy Mercy (James John Cummins, 1839)

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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)

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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 brother^s 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)

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In Christ Alone (Getty & Townend, 1997)

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We Exalt Thee (Psalm 97:6)

Benediction

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image : The Grip, Roy Lichtenstein (1962)

Preparation for Worship

“Jesus, deeply grieved in heart at the hardness of their hearts, said in effect: Rise up and stand in their midst. Become a marvel to those who see’… While the withered hand was restored, the withered minds of the onlookers were not. For they went out and immediately were debating what they would do to Jesus.  Are you debating what you will do?  Worship Him as God.”

Athanasius of Alexandria, 4^th century

Call to WorshipIsaiah 55:2-3

Listen diligently to Me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to Me;
hear, that your soul may live.

Declaration of FaithThe Apostles’ Creed (orig. 2^nd century)

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.

O Worship The King (Robert Grant, 1833)

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The Ministry of PrayerLuke 11:2-4

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.  For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.   Amen.

There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy (Frederick Faber, 1862)

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Old Testament ReadingPsalm 80:14-19

Turn again, O God of hosts!  Look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, the stock that Your right hand planted, and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.  They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your face!  But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom You have made strong for Yourself!  Then we shall not turn back from You; give us life, and we will call upon Your name! Restore us, O Lord God of hosts Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

Thy Mercy My God (John Stocker, 1776)

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Be Merciful to Me (Henry Baker, 1868)

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Sermon   Mark 3:1-12

¹Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. ² And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. ³ And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” ⁴ And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. ⁵ And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. ⁶ The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

⁷ Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea ⁸ and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. ⁹ And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, ¹⁰ for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. ¹¹ And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” ¹² And he strictly ordered them not to make him known.

Preparation for the Lord’s Supper

Words of InstitutionMark 14:16-25

The disciples prepared the Passover. And when it was evening, Jesus came with the twelve. And they were reclining at the table and as they were eating, he took bread.  And after blessing it, he broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

 We Confess Our Sin Togetheradapted from The Valley of Vision, 129

O God Most High, Most Glorious, the thought of Your infinite peace cheers me,

For I am toiling, troubled and distressed, but You are forever at perfect peace.

Your designs cause You no fear or care of unfulfillment, they stand fast as the eternal hills.

Your power knows no bound, Your goodness no end.  You bring order out of confusion, and my defeats are Your victories: The Lord God omnipotent reigns.

I come to You as a sinner with cares and sorrows, to leave every concern entirely to You, every sin calling for Christ’s precious blood;

Revive deep spirituality in my heart: Let me live near to the great Shepherd, hear His voice, know its tones, follow its call.

 Keep me from deception by causing me to abide in You, keep me from harm by helping me to walk in the power of the Spirit.  Give me more intense faith in the eternal Truth, burning into me by experience the things I know;

Let me never be ashamed of the truth of the Gospel, that I may bear its reproach, vindicate it, see Jesus as its essence, know in it the power of the Spirit.

Lord, help me, for I am often lukewarm and cold; Unbelief mars my confidence, sin makes me forget You.  Restore my withered heart.

Grant me to know that I truly live only when I live to You, that all else is trifling.  Your presence alone can make me holy, devout, strong and satisfied.

Abide in me, gracious God, and grant me rest.

God Declares Our ForgivenessI Peter 2:24

He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.  By His wounds you have been healed.

Celebration of the Lord’s Supper

Our Great God (Ortega & Powell, 1997)

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None Other Lamb (Christina Rossetti, 1830-1894)

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O Day of Rest and Gladness (Christopher Wordsworth, 1862)

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Jesus I Am Resting, Resting — (Jean Sophia Pigott, 1876)

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Benediction

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image : Apples on a Table, Green Background, Henri Matisse (1916)

Preparation for Worship

“When Jesus is attacked for eating with sinners, and taking as His disciple a despised  tax collector, one might ask: ‘What could He possibly gain by doing so?’  Only the salvation of sinners.”

Gregory of Nazianzus, 4^th century

Call to WorshipPsalm 36:5-9

Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
Your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
Your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast You save, O Lord.

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
They feast on the abundance of Your house,
and You give them drink from the river of Your delights.

For with You is the fountain of life;
in Your light do we see light.

And Can It Be (Charles Wesley, 1738)

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Mission UpdateFamilyLife, Dave Peery

I Will Sing Of My Redeemer (James McGranahan, 1877)

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Old Testament ReadingPsalm 78:15-19,23-25

He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.  He made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers.  Yet they sinned still more against Him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.  They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved. They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?… Yet He commanded the skies above and opened the doors of heaven, and He rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven.  Man ate of the bread of the angels; He sent them food in abundance.

We Confess Our Sin Together

Lord, forgive us our sins against You and our neighbor.  You are the Great Physician, giving new life to all who come; but we cling to our familiar sickness.  You are the Bridegroom, inviting us to feast on new wine; but we are slow to come to Your table.  You said You came not to call the righteous, but sinners.  Forgive our pride and unbelief.  Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.  Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.  Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world, grant us Your peace.

God Declares Our Forgiveness — I Corinthians 1:9,18

God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful…The message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Jesus Whispers (Joseph Hart, 1759)

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Children’s Sermon

Sermon — Mark 2:13-28

¹³ He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. ¹⁴ And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

¹⁵ And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶ And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹⁷ And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

¹⁸ Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁹ And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. ²⁰ The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. ²¹ No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. ²² And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”

²³ One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. ²⁴ And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” ²⁵ And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: ²⁶ how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” ²⁷ And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸ So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

None Other Lamb (Christina Rossetti, 1830-1894)

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Amazing Grace (John Newton, 1779)

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Benediction

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