SPPC 2 Nov 2025

Please Stand for the Word of God

Facing the people, the leader greets them in the Lord's name. The Greeting should be explicitly Christian, declaring that the Lord is present and empowers our worship.

Welcome & Scripture Reading

🌟 Welcome to Church This Sunday 🌟

Good morning, beloved family in Christ!

It is a joy to welcome you into the house of the Lord this Sunday. Whether you are here every week or joining us for the first time, know that you are deeply loved and truly valued. Today, we gather not just as individuals, but as one body—united in faith, hope, and love.

Let us open our hearts to worship, receive the Word with gladness, and encourage one another as we walk together in the light of Christ. May this time be a blessing to you and a fragrant offering to our Savior.

All for Jesus – Each one Reach one.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Opening Prayer

🙏 Opening Prayer for Sunday Worship

Heavenly Father, We gather this morning in Your holy name, grateful for the gift of life and the grace that sustains us. Thank You for drawing us together as one body, united in Christ and filled with Your Spirit.

As we enter this time of worship, we lay aside every distraction and open our hearts to You. May our songs rise like incense, our prayers be pleasing in Your sight, and Your Word take root in our lives.

Bless each person here today—those rejoicing, those weary, and those seeking. Let Your peace reign, Your truth be proclaimed, and Your love overflow in every corner of this place.

We dedicate this service to You, Lord Jesus. Be glorified in all we say and do. Amen.

Chorus I love You Lord too slow

Chorus I will give thanks to Thee slow too many verses

Chorus Father God , I give all thanks and praise

Exhortation

 Dear friends, the scriptures urge us to acknowledge our wickedness before almighty God our heavenly Father and to confess our many sins to Him, that they may be forgiven through His infinite goodness and mercy in Jesus Christ our Lord. We should always humbly admit our sins before God, but especially when we meet together to give thanks for the great benefits we have received from Him, to praise and worship Him, to hear His holy word and to ask what is necessary for our bodies and souls. Therefore let us come before the throne of our gracious God and say together :

General Confession said together.  

Almighty and most merciful Father, we have strayed from Your ways like lost sheep, we have left undone what we ought to

have done, and we have done what we ought not to have done. We have followed our own ways and our own desires and we have neglected and broken Your holy laws. Have mercy on us Lord.

Restore those who repent and confess their sins according to Your promises declare in Jesus Christ our Lord. Grant, merciful Father, for His sake, that hereafter we may live a righteous and obedient life,  to the glory of Your Holy Name. Amen. 

Assurance of forgiveness said by the minister standing.

Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, does not desire the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his wickedness and live.  He has given authority and commandment to His ministers to declare to His people that He pardons and forgives the sins of all who truly repent and believe His holy gospel.  Therefore, let us ask Him to grant us true repentance and His Holy Spirit, that we may please Him now, and that the rest of our life may be pure and holy so that at the last we may come to His eternal joy through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed by thy Name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, In earth as it is in heaven. |Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses,  As we forgive them that trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, For ever and ever.  Amen. 

Cathy

will now read the Old Testament reading to us from the NIV pew bible.

She begins with “Hear the Word of God as it is written in The Psalm Psalm 32 The OT Isaiah 1:10-20 She ends with “This is the word of God”. Congregation: “Thanks be to God”

Lidia

will now read the New Testament reading to us from the NIV pew bible.

She begins with “Hear the Word of God as it is written in The Epistle 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12 The Gospel Luke 19:1-10 She ends with “This is the word of God”. Congregation: “Thanks be to God”.

Hymn I serve a risen Saviour

Sermon

Prayer 🙏 Prayer Before the Sermon (Psalm 121)

Gracious and Everlasting God,

As we prepare our hearts to receive Your Word, we lift our eyes to the hills, knowing that our help comes from You—the Maker of heaven and earth. You are our Keeper, our Shade, our Protector in every season.

Lord, as Your servant brings the message today, may Your Spirit speak through every word. Open our ears to hear, our minds to understand, and our hearts to respond. Let Your truth take root in us, that we may walk in Your ways and trust in Your unfailing care.

Thank You that You neither slumber nor sleep, and that You watch over our coming and going, both now and forevermore.

In Jesus’ mighty name we pray,

Amen.

Psalm 121 Dr. R. T. Kendall

Introduction

Psalm 121 is probably the best known of the songs of ascent. However, one of the effects of modern versions of the Bible is that we have to rethink and reinterpret long-held opinions about the meaning of well known Scripture sections.

In the King James Version, verse 1 reads: “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.” Many sermons have been preached on how, by looking to the hills, one gets help from the Lord. But the modern versions differ from it.

In the New International Version UK Edition, verse 1 reads: “I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from?” It seems that instead of looking to the mountains for help, it is likely the psalmist had the very opposite in mind. The mountains did not indicate the places where God met with His people, rather they were locations of idolatry where sacrifices were made to the god Baal.

It is possible that in a moment of temptation the psalmist was thinking, “Shall I look to the hills like so many others are doing?” Those who were worshipping Baal were increasing in number rapidly. Many were looking to the hills for help, so the psalmist pauses and asks, “Where does my help come from?” He realizes his help comes from the Lord.

Second, it is possible that the writer was referring to the tradition of looking to the mountains. There were those who, by looking to the mountains in the direction of Jerusalem, had a good feeling because the mountains surround Jerusalem (Ps. 125:2).

Third, when the travelers were looking to the hills, they might have thought of togetherness. They were going to Jerusalem for the feasts, and they would be meeting people whom they hadn’t seen for a long time.

In any case, whether they were looking because of temptation, tradition, or togetherness, the psalmist stops and says, “My help comes from the LORD.”

Psalm 121 shows believers the greatest fringe benefit of our salvation. What salvation will do for us in this life can be underestimated, but the fact is there are many fringe benefits of being a Christian.

The Fringe Benefit of God’s Promises

The eternal perspective is not the only reason to become a Christian. God gives the believer many promises, including: the promise that God will supply our needs (Philippians 4:19 “19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” ), or the promise that by delighting in the Lord we will have the desire of our heart (Psalm 37:4 “4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” ), or the promise that no good thing will be withheld from those whose walk is blameless (Psalm 84:11 “11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” ).

Where are these promises found? In the Bible, God’s gift to the believer. What a wonderful fringe benefit!

The Fringe Benefit of God’s Help

The main fringe benefit of being a Christian is found in verse 5: “The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand.” This assures me of God’s very presence. The psalmist said in Psalm 16:8: “I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.” God promises us Himself. Not only are we assured of going to heaven, but the greatest thing of all is that Jesus says to us, “You’ve got Me! I am with you always, even to the end. I will never leave you nor forsake you.” There is nothing more wonderful than knowing we have Him.

We have His help (v. 1). He is never too late, never too early, but always just on time.

The psalmist says in verse 3, “He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.” This was an implicit putdown of Baal, the false god (1 Kings 18).

The Fringe Benefit of God’s Continual Attention

Not only do we have God’s help if we are Christians, but we have His continual attention. He keeps or watches over us. The word keep is used several times in this psalm. God watches over our life, our comings and goings. One of the most moving words in the Bible is in Genesis 16, when Hagar looked up to heaven and said, “You-Are-the God-Who-Sees” (v. 13).

It is the most wonderful thing to realize that our heavenly Father is there. There will come a time, if you develop the relationship with Him that is available to you, when His attention will mean more to you than anything. God wants the kind of relationship with us where His approval will mean everything to us.

The travelers on their way to Jerusalem faced possible harm from three areas: they could step on a stone and sprain an ankle; they could suffer from sunstroke, or they could be affected by moon stroke (lunacy). But the psalmist says: “The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night” (v. 6).

However, when the psalmist says, “He will not allow your foot to be moved,” it is not an absolute promise that just because you have become a Christian nothing bad will ever happen to you again. It could be that God will let your foot slip. He may let you fall into temptation and into sin. It has happened. What do you do then?

Because the honor of God is at stake, you should come before God, sometimes to fast and pray that His honor will be protected. What the psalmist does is to show that whatever happens to us happens by God’s permission, even if it seems to be negative.

Conclusion

The greatest fringe benefit of belonging to the Lord is knowing you have Him now. True, you know that you will go to heaven when you die. But when you became a Christian God didn’t just shake your hand and say, “Well done, see you in heaven!” No, He says, “I will be with you. I will see everything that is going on, your coming and your going, both now and ever more.”

Amen

Notices Mr. John Oberholzer

Collection

Praise God from whom all blessing flow

Prayer

Hymn O worship the King, all-glorious above

Benediction May the Lord who calls through whispers and wonders,

Who stirs our hearts in silence and storms,

Continue to draw you near with His unfailing love.

May your eyes be open to His presence,

Your ears tuned to His voice,

And your life responsive to His leading.

Go now in peace,

With courage to follow,

With grace to listen,

And with joy in knowing

That the God who seeks your attention

Also holds your heart.

Amen.

Doxology - Now unto him.