::: Download the 4.07.2013 Worship Study Guide
::: Download the 4.07.2013 Bulletin
::: Download the 4.07.2013 WepcKids Parent Bulletin
::: Listen to the 4.07.2013 Sermon
image :: Wood-bearing Women, Felix Vallotton (Swiss, 1899)
Preparation for Worship ::: Love
“Self-love so blinds us that we make the smallest faults in the world to be akin to heinous and unpardonable sins. We have this evil so deeply rooted in our hearts that if we are told of our duty, it only half moves us…. What, then, can break down all hardness in us, what can mortify all our excessive passions, what can correct all our cruelty, bring low all our pride and loftiness and sweeten all our bitterness? What God has done towards us. He has so loved the world that He has given up His only Son to death for us.”
John Calvin
Call to Worship ::: Psalm 95:6-7
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care.
Song of Adoration ::: How Great Is Our God (Tomlin, 2004)
Declaration of Faith ::: The Apostles’ Creed (2nd cent.)
We believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, We 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. We 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.
Old Testament Reading ::: Deuteronomy 6:4-6, 10-12
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts… When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
The Ministry of Prayer ::: Luke 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.
Song of Praise ::: Upon A Life I Did Not Live (Bonar, 1881) [bandcamp track=196705242 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]
Sermon ::: Mark 12:28-44
28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
35 And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.”’
37 David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?” And the great throng heard him gladly.
38 And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces 39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 40 who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
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.”
We Confess Our Sin Together ::: adapted from The Valley of Vision
My Father, enlarge my heart, warm my affections, open my lips, supply words that proclaim “Love shines at the Calvary.” There grace removes my burdens and heaps them on Your Son. made a transgressor, a curse, and sin for me;
There the sword of Your justice struck the God-man: There Your infinite attributes were magnified, and infinite atonement was made; There infinite punishment was due, and infinite punishment was endured.
Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy, cast off that I might be brought in, trodden down as an enemy that I might be welcomed as a friend, surrendered to hell’s worst that I might attain heaven’s best,
Stripped that I might be clothed, wounded that I might be healed, thristy that I might drink, tormented that I might be comforted, made a shame that I might inherit glory.
My Savior wept that all tears might be wiped from my eyes, groaned that that I might have endless song, endured all pain that I might have unfading health, bore a crown of thorns that I might have a crown of glory.
Bowed His head that I might uplift mine, experienced reproach that I might receive welcome, closed His eyes in death that I might gaze on Your brilliance, expired that I might forever live.
O Father, who did not spare Your only Son that You might spare me, All this action Your love designed and accomplished: Help me to adore You with my words and my life, O that my every breath might be praise, my every step joyful, as I see my enemies crushed, Satan baffled, defeated, destroyed, sin buried in the ocean of reconciling blood, Hell’s gates closed, heaven’s portal open.
Go forth, O conquering God, and show me the Cross: mighty to subdue, comfort and save.
God Declares Our Forgiveness ::: I John 4:9-10
God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.