260621: Worship Bulletin

“The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love. Psalm 33:16-18

 

Prelude

Welcome and Announcements

The Voluntary for Silent Prayer

In heav'nly love abiding, no change my heart shall fear;
and safe is such confiding, for nothing changes here.

*Call to Worship: Psalm 28:6-7

Minister: Blessed be the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.

People: The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;

Minister: my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.

Unison: Come, let us sing and praise our God!

*Hymn of Adoration: “O God, Our Help in Ages Past” (SH No. 561)

1 O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home.

2 Under the shadow of thy throne, thy saints have dwelt secure;
sufficient is thine arm alone, and our defense is sure.

3 Before the hills in order stood or earth received its frame,
from everlasting thou art God, to endless years the same.

4 A thousand ages in thy sight are like an evening gone,
short as the watch that ends the night before the rising sun.

5 Time, like an ever-rolling stream, bears all its sons away;
they fly forgotten, as a dream dies at the op'ning day.

6 O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
be thou our Guide while life shall last, and our eternal home!

*Prayer of Adoration and Congregational Prayer

Unison: O Lord, as long as we live, may we sing your praises! We do not put our trust in the rulers of this world, for they will die, and their plans will come to an end. But we place our hope in you, for you are the Creator of heaven, the earth, the seas, and all that is in them. You are faithful forever and righteous altogether, bringing justice to the oppressed, lifting up those who are bowed down, upholding the widow and fatherless, but bringing ruin to the ways of the wicked. You, O Lord, will reign forever! In this we rejoice! In this we hope! Amen.

From Psalm 146

*Confession of Faith (Heidelberg Catechism 94)

Minister: What does the LORD require in the first commandment, you shall have no other gods before me?

People: That for the sake of my very salvation I avoid and flee all idolatry, witchcraft, superstition, and prayer to saints or to other creatures. Further, that I rightly come to know the only true God, trust in him alone, submit to him with all humility and patience, expect all good from him only, and love, fear, and honor him with all my heart. In short, that I forsake all creatures rather than do the least thing against his will.

Unison: To the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

*Gloria (Tune: “Lauda Anima”)

Glory be to God the Father, glory be to God the Son,
Glory be to God the Spirit: great Jehovah, Three in One!
Glory, power, honor, blessing while eternal ages run!

Old Testament Reading: Psalm 27:1-14
New Testament Reading: Hebrews 10:32-11:2

Hymn of Preparation: “Be Thou My Vision” (SH No. 434)

Be thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
naught be all else to me, save that thou art—
thou my best thought, by day or by night,
waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my Wisdom, and thou my true Word;
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord;
thou my great Father and I thy true son,
thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Be thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
be thou my Armor, and be thou my Light,
thou my soul's Shelter, thou my high Tow'r.
Raise thou me heav'nward, O Pow'r of my pow'r.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise,
thou mine inheritance, now and always;
thou and thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my Treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,
may I reach heaven's joys, O bright heav'n's Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

The Prayers of Intercession

Unison: Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, for the means of grace and for the hope of glory. Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us, granting us in this world knowledge of Thy truth and in the world to come life everlasting. Amen.

Minister: Father, we pray for your people throughout the world; for our denomination; for this church; and for all ministers and missionaries.

People: We pray for the leaders of our nation and all who hold authority, especially that they would resolve to protect the lives of the unborn and defenseless.

Minister: We pray for the world, especially that you would bring peace to people and nations devastated by war, disaster, disease, evil leaders, and false religions. We pray for our brothers and sisters in these places as they offer the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ amid great danger and opposition.

People: We pray for our children and future generations which will be born to them. May the knowledge of you, Lord, fill the earth through them.

Minister: May we have grace to glorify Christ in our own day.

Unison: Lord, hear our prayers.

Pastoral Prayer

Words of Encouragement

Minister: I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live…. Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful.
Psalm 116:1-2, 5

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

*Hymn of Preparation: “My Faith Looks Up to Thee” (SH No. 401)

My faith looks up to thee, thou Lamb of Calvary, Savior divine!
Now hear me while I pray, take all my guilt away;
oh, let me from this day be wholly thine.

May thy rich grace impart strength to my fainting heart, my zeal inspire;
as thou hast died for me, oh, may my love to thee pure,
warm, and changeless be, a living fire.

While life's dark maze I tread, and griefs around me spread, be thou my Guide;
bid darkness turn to day, wipe sorrow's tears away,
nor let me ever stray from thee aside.

When ends life's transient dream, when death's cold, sullen stream shall o'er me roll,
blest Savior, then in love, fear and distrust remove;
oh, bear me safe above, a ransomed soul.

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: Habakkuk 1-3

Minister: This is the Word of God.

Unison: Thanks be to God for his Word!

The Prayer for Illumination

Sermon: “Living by Faith” (Rev. Ben Harris)

*Hymn of Response: “We Rest on Thee” (SH No. 658)

We rest on thee, our Shield and our Defender!
We go not forth alone against the foe;
strong in thy strength, safe in thy keeping tender,
we rest on thee, and in thy name we go;
strong in thy strength, safe in thy keeping tender,
we rest on thee, and in thy name we go.

Yea, in thy name, O Captain of salvation!
In thy dear name, all other names above:
Jesus our righteousness, our sure foundation,
our Prince of glory and our King of love,
Jesus our righteousness, our sure foundation,
our Prince of glory and our King of love.

We go in faith, our own great weakness feeling,
and needing more each day thy grace to know:
yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing,
"We rest on thee, and in thy name we go";
yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing,
"We rest on thee, and in thy name we go."

We rest on thee, our Shield and our Defender!
Thine is the battle, thine shall be the praise;
when passing through the gates of pearly splendor,
victors, we rest with thee, through endless days;
when passing through the gates of pearly splendor,
victors, we rest with thee, through endless days.

*The Benediction

Postlude

*Denotes congregational standing, if able.