250803: Worship Bulletin

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. Psalm 119:18

Prelude

Welcome and Announcements

The Voluntary for Silent Prayer

*Call to Worship: Psalm 149

Minister: Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright….

People: For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.

Minister: By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

People: Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

Minister: The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.

Unison: Come! Let us give praise to the Lord!

*Hymn of Adoration: “Across the Lands” (Insert)

1 You’re the Word of God the Father,
From before the world began;
Every star and every planet
Has been fashioned by Your hand.
All creation holds together
By the power of Your voice:
Let the skies declare Your glory,
Let the land and seas rejoice!

Chorus
You’re the Author of creation,
You’re the Lord of every man;
And Your cry of love rings out
Across the lands.

2 Yet You left the gaze of angels,
Came to seek and save the lost,
And exchanged the joy of heaven
For the anguish of a cross.
With a prayer You fed the hungry,
With a word You stilled the sea.
Yet how silently You suffered
That the guilty may go free.

3 With a shout You rose victorious,
Wresting victory from the grave,
And ascended into heaven
Leading captives in Your wake.
Now You stand before the Father
Interceding for Your own.
From each tribe and tongue and nation
You are leading sinners home.

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*Prayer of Adoration and Congregational Prayer

Unison: O God, we bless you, our Creator, Preserver, Benefactor, Teacher, for opening to us the volume of nature where we may read and consider your works. And on this day, you spread before us the fuller pages of revelation, and in them we see what you would have us do, what you require of us, what you have promised to us, what you have given us in Jesus. We pray for a conscious experience of his salvation, in our deliverance from sin, in our bearing his image, in our enjoying his presence, in our being upheld by his free Spirit. We thank you that we need not live uncertain of what we are or of where we are going. For you bear witness with our spirit that we are your children, and with great joy we may say, “I know my Redeemer.” In his name we come to you. Amen.

Adapted from “The Teacher” in The Valley of Vision

*Affirmation of Faith (Westminster Larger Catechism 97)

Minister: What special use is there of the moral law to the regenerate?

People: Although those who are regenerate, and believe in Christ, are delivered from the moral law as a covenant of works, so that they are neither justified nor condemned by it; yet, besides its general uses common to them with all men, it is of special use, to show them how much they are bound to Christ for his fulfilling it, and enduring its curse in their place, and for their good; and to arouse them in this way to more thankfulness, and to express the same in their greater care to conform themselves to it as the rule of their obedience.

*Gloria Patri (Tune: “Lauda Anima”)

Glory be to God the Father, glory be to God the Son,
Glory be to God the Spirit, God Almighty, Three in One!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Glory be to him alone.

The Revelation of God’s Will: Ex. 20:1-17; Mt. 22:37-40

Unison: And God spoke all these words saying: ‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. ‘

Minister: You shall have no other gods before me.

People: You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

Minister: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

People: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 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.

Minister: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

People: Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

Minister: You shall not murder.

People: You shall not commit adultery.

Minister: You shall not steal.

People: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Minister: You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’”

Unison: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul, mind and strength…and your neighbor as yourself.”

Hymn of Confession: “Rock of Ages” (No. 499)

1 Rock of Ages, cleft for me
let me hide myself in thee;
let the water and the blood,
from thy riven side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure,
cleanse me from its guilt and pow'r.

2 Not the labors of my hands
can fulfil thy law's demands;
could my zeal no respite know,
could my tears for ever flow,
all for sin could not atone;
thou must save, and thou alone.

3 Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to thy cross I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress;
helpless, look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the Fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die.

4 While I draw this fleeting breath,
when mine eyelids close in death,
when I soar to worlds unknown,
see thee on thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee.

Corporate Confession

Unison: Almighty and most merciful God and Father: we have erred and strayed from your ways; like lost sheep we have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts; we have offended against your holy laws; we have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done; and there is no health in us. But you, O Lord, have mercy upon us miserable offenders; spare those, O God, who confess their faults; restore those who are penitent according to your promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord; and grant, O merciful Father, for His sake, that we may hereafter live a godly, sober and righteous life to the glory of your holy Name and the salvation of our own souls. Amen.

Silent Confession

Pastoral Prayer

Assurance of Pardon

Minister: Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.” (Galatians 3:11-13)

*Hymn of Thanksgiving: “Not All the Blood of Beasts” (No. 242)

1 Not all the blood of beasts
on Jewish altars slain,
could give the guilty conscience peace,
or wash away the stain:

2 But Christ, the heav'nly Lamb,
takes all our sins away,
a sacrifice of nobler name
and richer blood than they.

3 My faith would lay her hand
on that dear head of thine,
while like a penitent I stand,
and there confess my sin.

4 My soul looks back to see
the burdens thou didst bear,
when hanging on the cursed tree,
and knows her guilt was there.

5 Believing, we rejoice
to see the curse remove;
we bless the Lamb with cheerful voice,
and sing his bleeding love.

Worship of God through Tithes and Offerings

*Doxology (Tune: “Old Hundredth”)

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below.
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

*Prayer of Thanksgiving and Dedication

*Reading of The Holy Scriptures: Ephesians 4:1-16

Minister: This is the Word of God.

Unison: Thanks be to God for his Word!

*The Prayer for Illumination

Sermon: “Growing Up Together” (Rev. Kevin Gardner)

*Hymn of Response: “We Are God’s People” (No. 355)

1 We are God's people, the chosen of the Lord,
Born of His Spirit, established by His Word;
Our cornerstone is Christ alone,
And strong in Him we stand:
O let us live transparently
And walk heart to heart and hand in hand.

2 We are God’s loved ones, the Bride of Christ our Lord,
For we have known it, the love of God outpoured;
Now let us learn how to return
The gift of love once given:
O let us share each joy and care,
And live with a zeal that pleases Heaven.

3 We are the Body of which the Lord is Head,
Called to obey Him, now risen from the dead;
He wills us be a family,
Diverse yet truly one:
O let us give our gifts to God,
And so shall his work on earth be done.

4 We are a temple, the Spirit’s dwelling place,
Formed in great weakness, a cup to hold God’s grace;
We die alone, for on its own
Each ember loses fire:
Yet joined in one the flame burns on
To give warmth and light, and to inspire.

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*The Benediction

Postlude