Liturgy (2)

- CALL TO WORSHIP -

Let us rise and worship the Triune God.

ADORATION

Minister: The Lord is risen! Congregation: He is risen indeed.

SCRIPTURE

Psalm 30:3–5 “O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. Sing praise to the Lord, you His saints, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.” Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord!

PRAYER

For centuries on end, our people languished in darkness, trapped in the dungeons of sin and death seeing only faint shadows when you tore through the darkness and opened our sins to your blazing glory. You rescued us from the grave and gave us light and breath and everything else. We thank you, Father, for your incredible salvation and ask you this morning to continue the work of your sanctification among your church in this land. By the battering ram of worship, continue to cast down all the remaining strongholds of the evil one among us as you build your glorious temple in all the earth. With hearts ablaze with the fire that you have given, we raise our souls and our bodies now to you. May the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable to you.

Almighty God, we worship you now through Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with You, and the Holy Spirit, One God, world without end, and Amen.

HYMN

Oh, ‘Twas a Joyful Sound to Hear.....................235

- CONFESSION -

Please sit.

EXHORTATION (Samuel Davidson)

One of the most remarkable witnesses of Christian hospitality was in the early church during plagues. Most people in the Roman Empire lived in densely populated cities which would be affected by plagues ever so often. For want of medical health, it was not safe to be near anyone afflicted by the plague. In fact, hearing news about the visitation of a plague, the citizens would flee to the villages, away from the infected city areas, leaving behind thousands of infected city folk. They pushed the infected away and fled from their loved one, throwing them into the roads before they were dead and treated unburied corpses as dirt, hoping in vain to avert the spread of the fatal disease.

The Christian bishops, on the other hand, taught their parishioners not flee the cities but endure the plague as a judgement from God and do good to the least of these, as the Lord teaches. So, these Christians stayed at their post. Not only did they not avoid the sick, but they went out and ministered to them, or brought them under their care, often incurring upon themselves the same disease and sometimes even dying in place of those they sought to save. With the cities deserted by all but the sick, and with all the sick admitted to Christian hospitals, the cities came to be predominantly Christian. So, it was that God used plagues to grow the kingdom of God. This account puts to shame our modern church that has bought into the cult of health and which does not know what it means to lay down one’s life for a stranger. The church today has gone so far as to suggest that the loving thing to do is to stay quarantined away from those in need of help. Whether in a plague or in a spiritual plague, the call to Christian hospitality will come at a cost to you. You are to count it all joy and lay down your life in serve of your neighbour as Christ did for you for this is how God grows his kingdom.

This reminds us of our need to confess our sins so let us prepare to do so as we sing..

PSALM

How Long, O Lord, Will You Forget?.................25

CONFESSION OF SIN

So, as you are able please kneel in confession before God

Psalm 86:1–3 “Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me; For I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am holy; You are my God; Save Your servant who trusts in You! Be merciful to me, O Lord, For I cry to You all day long.” O Lord, we have been unwilling to overcome evil with good, not being ready to carry our cross. We have not allowed Your love to work through us to make others suffering our own. Instead of seeking to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace we make it hard for others to live with us because of our grumbling and bitterness. Forgive us and renew a right spirit within us only by the death of your Son, who suffered greatly for our sake.

You have called Your church to truth in the inward parts, so we confess our individual sins to you now, Selah.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Please rise for the assurance of pardon! Psalm 86:4–5 “Rejoice the soul of Your servant, For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.”

It is impossible to love God and not love your neighbour. The first demands that God places on you when He forgives you is for you to open your heart to others with that same love. Christ, you are free to pursue hospitality for, Minister: Your sins are forgiven through Christ. Congregation: Thanks be to God!

CONFESSION OF FAITH

Having confessed our sins, let us now confess our common faith in the words of the apostles’ creed, saying, Minister: Christian, what do you believe? Congregation: I believe in God the Father Almighty,Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, Hisonly begotten Son, our Lord. He was conceivedby the Holy Ghost, and born of the virgin, Mary.He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified,died, and was buried. He descended into Hades.On the third day He rose again from the dead,ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right handof God the Father Almighty; from thence He willcome to judge the living and the dead. I believein the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic Church, thecommunion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, theresurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Responsive Reading

Minister: The fear of the Lord is clean and pure. Congregation: The fear of the Lord endures forever. Minister: The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, Congregation: Whether or not they are small or great. Minister: The fear of God is our foundation for worship. Congregation: Amen.

HYMN

And Can It Be?....................................................447

- CONSECRATION -

SCRIPTURE READING

(Ty Knight) Job 1:6-12 , Mark 1:21-34 Reader: The Word of the Lord. Congregation: Thanks be to God!

Baptisms and Memberships

HYMN

Please sit. Oh, the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus (412)

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER

(Ty Knight) Opening: Isaiah 61:1-2 Thanksgiving: Isaiah 61:10 Petitions: Isaiah 61:11

HYMN

Please stand. Jesus Shall Reign Where’er the Sun....................137

SERMON

Zach Wilke

PRAYER

Ending with The Lord’s Prayer…

OFFERTORY

Please stand. He Which Soweth Sparingly.................................713

- COMMUNION -

Please sit.

MEDITATION

Our Lord Jesus Christ said not just that “The Son of man must suffer many things,” but also that He must “be rejected.” For there may be some glory in merely suffering but our Lord did more than just suffer. He was cast aside in scorn and derision. Christ Jesus fell among thieves and robbers, was stripped of his clothing, was wounded and was left to die hanging on a cross, despised and sneered at by the watching world. The Scriptures say that “it pleased the Lord to bruise Him and put Him to grief.” He cried from the cross, “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?” As the weight of your sin hung from his shoulders, God imputed to Him the wrath you deserve. It is because of the death and rejection of this Christ that you, a sinner, despite your unworthiness, have been brought back to God.

Remember that there was a time when you were Gentiles in the flesh, when you were without Christ, “being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Christ has summoned you from the wayside and brought you into His house and invited you to this feast that is set before you. Do not just presume upon the death, burial and resurrection of your Lord. Remember your sin, remember His death and yours in Him. Receive life through this feast in joy and gladness, for you, even you are invited to eat with Jesus Christ at His table. So, come and welcome to Jesus Christ.

THE BREAD

For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he broke it:

Ah, Jesus Lord, Thy Love to Me..........................513a And when Jesus had given thanks, he broke it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

THE WINE

Ah, Jesus Lord, Thy Love to Me..........................513b

After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.

- COMMISSION -

Please stand.

CLOSING DOXOLOGY

The congregation may raise hands.

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work. Amen.