240825 – Worship Bulletin

You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence. (Acts 2:28)

Prelude

Welcome and Announcements

The Voluntary for Silent Prayer

*Call to Worship: Revelation 4:6-13

Minister: And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain….And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb….And they sang a new song, saying,

People: “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

Minister: Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,

People: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”

Minister: And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

People: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

*Hymn of Adoration: “Crown Him with Many Crowns” (No. 295)

1 Crown him with many crowns,
the Lamb upon his throne;
hark! how the heav'nly anthem drowns
all music but its own:
awake, my soul, and sing
of him who died for thee,
and hail him as thy matchless King
through all eternity.

2 Crown him the Lord of love;
behold his hands and side,
rich wounds, yet visible above,
in beauty glorified:
no angel in the sky
can fully bear that sight,
but downward bends his burning eye
at mysteries so bright.

3 Crown him the Lord of peace;
whose pow'r a scepter sways
from pole to pole, that wars may cease,
absorbed in prayer and praise:
his reign shall know no end;
and round his pierced feet
fair flow'rs of paradise extend
their fragrance ever sweet.

4 Crown him the Lord of years,
the Potentate of time;
Creator of the rolling spheres,
ineffably sublime:
all hail, Redeemer, hail!
for thou hast died for me:
thy praise shall never, never fail
throughout eternity.

*Prayer of Adoration and Congregational Prayer

Risen Savior, we look to you, the founder and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before you, you endured the cross, despising the shame, and are seated at the right hand of the throne of God. By your Father’s will, you were despised and rejected, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, for you bore our grief and carried our sorrows. You were pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, and the Father laid on you the iniquities of us all. But now you are highly exalted and given a name that is above every name. And one day, at your name, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that you, Jesus Christ, are Lord. Amen!

*Affirmation of Faith: Westminster Shorter Catechism 27, 28

Minister: Wherein did Christ’s humiliation consist?

People: Christ’s humiliation consisted in his being born, and that in a low condition, made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the cross; in being buried, and continuing under the power of death for a time.

Minister: Wherein consists Christ’s exaltation?

People: Christ’s exaltation consists in his rising again from the dead on the third day, in ascending up into heaven, in sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and in coming to judge the world at the last day.

*Alleluia (Tune: “Ode to Joy”)

Alleluia, alleluia! Glory be to God on high!
Alleluia! to the Savior who has gained the victory!
Alleluia! to the Spirit, fount of love and sanctity!
Alleluia, alleluia to the Triune Majesty!

Old Testament Reading: Psalm 110

*Hymn of Preparation: “Praise Him! Praise Him!” (No. 173)

1 Praise him! praise him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Sing, O earth, his wonderful love proclaim!
Hail him! hail him! highest archangels in glory;
strength and honor give to his holy name!
Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard his children,
in his arms he carries them all day long:

Refrain:
Praise him! praise him!
tell of his excellent greatness;
praise him! praise Him!
ever in joyful song!

2 Praise him! praise him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
For our sins he suffered and bled and died;
he our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
hail him! hail him! Jesus the Crucified.
Sound his praises! Jesus who bore our sorrows,
love unbounded, wonderful, deep, and strong: [Refrain]

3 Praise him! praise him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Heav'nly portals loud with hosannas ring!
Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever and ever;
crown him! crown him! Prophet and Priest and King!
Christ is coming! over the world victorious,
pow'r and glory unto the Lord belong: [Refrain]

The Prayers of the People

Unison: Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this day, protecting us from dangers and uncertainties, both known and unknown. Preserve us with your mighty power that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity. Drive from this place, O Lord, all snares of the enemy and, in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose. In the name and by the power of Him who lay down in the grave and rose again for us, Jesus Christ our Lord, Redeemer and Friend. Amen.

Minister: Father, we thank you for your works in Creation, for the beauty, splendor, and majesty of the world in which we live.

People: We praise you for your works of Providence by which we are sustained, preserved, provided for and blessed.

Minister: We praise you specifically for the gifts of food, friendship, family, and health.

People: We praise and thank you for your marvelous works in Redemption—that in the Lord, Jesus Christ, you have sought us, found us, saved us and brought us safely home to yourself.

Minister: For all your surpassing goodness to us, especially for the hope of your certain return, of eternal life and of the new heaven and the new earth we worship and adore you.

Unison: Lord, hear our prayers of thanksgiving.

Silent Prayers of Thanksgiving

Pastoral Prayer

Words of Encouragement

Minister: 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? (Romans 8:31-32)

People: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name!

*Hymn of Thanksgiving: “Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder” (No. 172, Tune: “Irby”)

1 Let us love and sing and wonder,
let us praise the Savior's name!
He has hushed the law's loud thunder,
he has quenched Mount Sinai's flame;
he has washed us with his blood,
he has brought us nigh to God.

2 Let us love the Lord who bought us,
pitied us when enemies,
called us by his grace, and taught us,
gave us ears and gave us eyes:
he has washed us with his blood,
he presents our souls to God.

3 Let us sing, though fierce temptation
threaten hard to bear us down!
For the Lord, our strong salvation,
holds in view the conqu'ror's crown;
he who washed us with his blood,
soon will bring us home to God.

4 Let us wonder; grace and justice
join, and point to mercy's store;
when through grace in Christ our trust is,
justice smiles, and asks no more:
he who washed us with his blood,
has secured our way to God.

5 Let us praise, and join the chorus
of the saints enthroned on high;
here they trusted him before us,
now their praises fill the sky:
"You have washed us with your blood;
You are worthy, Lamb of God!"

Worship of God through Tithes and Offerings

*Doxology (Tune: “Lasst Uns Erfreuen”)

Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him, alleluia;
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, Three in One;
O praise Him, O praise Him, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

*Prayer of Thanksgiving and Dedication

*Reading of The Holy Scriptures: Acts 2:14-36

Minister: This is the Word of God.

Unison: Thanks be to God for his Word!

*The Prayer for Illumination

Sermon: “The Gospel in the Present Tense” (Rev. Michael Allen)

*Hymn of Response: “In Christ Alone” (SH No. 9)

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! – who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied –
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine –
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand:
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.

(CCLI 3036374)

*The Benediction

Postlude

*Denotes congregational standing, if able.