:: Download the 6.28.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
:: Download the 6.28.2015 Bulletin
:: Download the 6.28.2015 Sermon Audio
image :: Resting Under The Tree, Ivan Generalic (1942, Croatian)
Preparation for Worship :: The Fourth Commandment: His Rest
“The Resurrection of Christ was the truth of all truths among the early believers. It was not the day of His death they made their Sabbath, but the first day of the week—the day when the sadness of the weeping women at the sepulcher was turned into gladness… conscious that a new and nobler Genesis had dawned on a darkened world.” (John MacDuff)
Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs for Sunday June 28 include:
:: O Worship The King (Robert Grant, 1833) CHART [bandcamp track=7651308 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Calmer of My Troubled Heart (Charles Wesley, 1762) CHART [bandcamp track=787838808 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: None Other Lamb (Christina Rossetti, b.1830) CHART [bandcamp track=798046000 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Jesus, I Am Resting (Jean S. Pigott, 1876) CHART [bandcamp track=104008922 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: O Day of Rest and Gladness (Christopher Wordsworth, 1862) CHART [bandcamp track=2456210230 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Great Is Thy Faithfulness (Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923) CHART [bandcamp track=3717975761 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
Call to Worship :: Psalm 84:1-2, 10-12
How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; My heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in You!
Gospel Reading :: Mark 3:1-6
Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 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. 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. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
Declaration of Faith :: The Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 103
What is God’s will for you in the fourth commandment? First, that the gospel ministry and education for it be maintained, and that, especially on the festive day of rest, I diligently attend the assembly of God’s people to learn what God’s Word teaches, to participate in the sacraments, to pray to God publicly, and to bring Christian offerings for the poor. Second, that every day of my life I rest from my evil ways, let the Lord work in me through his Spirit, and so begin in this life the eternal Sabbath.
Prayer of Confession :: The Book of Common Prayer
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us.
Words of Encouragement :: Matthew 11:28-29
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Sermon :: Exodus 20:1-2,8-11
And God spoke all these words, saying,
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”