The Worship of God April 26, 2009

Welcome in the name of the Lord Jesus! If you are a guest with us, please be sure

to sign our Registry when it is passed during the service. Children are welcome in

our worship. We have a nursery available for children 3 and under. Children not yet

in kindergarten will be dismissed prior to the sermon. Thank you for joining us

today and may the Lord richly bless you.

Welcome and Preparation for Worship

“What is your supreme desire? Are you out for the benefits and blessings of the

Christian life and salvation, or have you a deeper and profounder desire? Are you

out for the fleshly carnal results, or do you long to know God and to become more

and more like the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you hungering and thirsting after

righteousness?” - David Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Call to Worship1 Psalm 97:1-2, 12

The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! Clouds

and thick darkness are all around Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation

of His throne. Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous, and give thanks to His holy

name!

Hymn of Praise2

My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less Mote

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness veils His lovely face,

I rest on His unchanging grace;

In every high and stormy gale,

My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood

Support me in the whelming flood;

When all around my soul gives way,

He then is all my hope and stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,

O may I then in Him be found;

Dressed in His righteousness alone,

Faultless to stand before the throne.

1 We believe that God always initiates with sinners, so we begin worship with his invitation

and command to us to gather in his name.

2 All songs used by permission or covered under CCLI license # 391165.

Confession of Faith Col 1: 15-18

(Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him

all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones

or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for

Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the

head of the body, the church. He is he beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that

in everything He might be preeminent.

We Will Glorify Paris

We will glorify the King of Kings, We will glorify the Lamb;

We will glorify the Lord of Lords, Who is the great I Am.

Lord Jehovah reigns in majesty, We will bow before His throne;

We will worship Him in righteousness, We will worship Him alone.

He is Lord of heaven, Lord of earth, He is Lord of all who live;

He is Lord above the universe, All praise to Him we give.

O Hallelujah to the King of Kings, Hallelujah to the Lamb;

Hallelujah to the Lord of Lords, Who is the great I Am.

Call to Confession of Sin Psalm 79:8-9

Do not remember against us our former iniquities; let your compassion come

speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low. Help us, O God of our salvation,

for the glory of Your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for Your name’s sake!

Corporate Confession of Sin Adapted from Valley of Vision

O Lord, I have a wild heart, and cannot stand before You. I am like a bird before

a man. How little I love Your truth and Your ways. I neglect prayer by thinking I

have prayed enough. I sin more safely because Your grace abounds, and I do not hate

my lusts. I am an evangelical hypocrite, who loves the form of religion without living

out its power. My mind is a bucket without a bottom, with no spiritual

understanding, ever learning but never reaching the truth, always at the gospel well

but never holding water. I confess my sin, trusting in Your promise to cleanse me

from all unrighteousness. Give me a broken heart that yet carries home the water of

Your redeeming grace. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon in Christ 1 Peter 3:18

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he

might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.

Worship with Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs

Mighty to Save Fielding/Morgan

Saviour

He can move the mountains

My God is mighty to save

He is mighty to save

Forever

Author of salvation

He rose and conquered the grave

Jesus conquered the grave

Everyone needs compassion

Love that's never failing

Let mercy fall on me

Everyone needs forgiveness

The kindness of a Saviour

The hope of nations

So take me as You find me

All my fears and failures

Fill my life again

I give my life to follow

Everything I believe in

Now I surrender

(BRIDGE)

Shine Your light

And let the whole world see

We're singing for the glory

Of the risen King Jesus

Shine Your light

And let the whole world see

We're singing for the glory

Of the risen King

Holy Is The Lord Tomlin

We stand and lift up our hands,

For the joy of the Lord is our strength.

We bow down and worship Him now,

How great, how awesome is He.

And together we sing,

Holy is the Lord God Almighty, the earth is filled with His glory!

Holy is the Lord God Almighty, the earth is filled with His glory!

The earth is filled with His glory!

It is rising up all around,

It’s the anthem of the Lord’s renown.

It’s rising up all around,

It’s the anthem of the Lord’s renown.

And Can It Be Wesley

And can it be that I should gain an in’trest in the Savior’s blood?

Died He for me, who caused His pain? For me, who Him to death pursued?

Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

‘Tis myst’ry all! Th’Immortal dies: who can explore His strange design?

In vain the firstborn seraph tries to sound the depths of love divine.

Tis mercy all, let earth adore, let angel minds inquire no more.

He left His Father’s throne above so free, so infinite His grace!

Humbled Himself so great His love! And bled for all His chosen race.

‘Tis mercy all, immense and free; for, O my God, it found out me.

Long my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and nature’s night;

Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray, I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;

My chains fell off, my heart was free; I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!

Alive in Him, my living Head, and clothed in righteousness divine!

Bold I approach th’eternal throne, and claim the crown, through Christ, my own.

Corporate Prayer Glenn Fincher

Offering

Reception of New Members

Chris Ray & Lauren Davis

Sermon3 Matthew 7:24 - 8:1 Rev. Steve Coward

The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper A Word About Communion – The bread and juice you see on the Communion

table may not look like much to the casual observer. In fact, it is merely bread and

juice. What makes this meal special is that the Lord Jesus Christ is spiritually present

in a unique way. This sacrament is not something to be taken lightly but neither is it

a time to be somber; rather, we should be filled with thankfulness and joy. Our

Savior, out of His great mercy, bids His people to come to this meal. If you are a

member of a church who embraces the Gospel of Jesus Christ and are at peace with

your fellow Christians, we welcome you to this table. Come and consider with us our

Lord’s body and shed blood symbolized in the bread and juice. Rejoice with us in

our union with Him and with each other as His Covenant people. For those not

taking Communion today, we encourage you to carefully think on the prayers found

in the section entitled: “Prayers for Those Not Communing”, and we look forward to

the day when you may join us in this meal.

3 4, 5, & 6-year-old children may be dismissed before the sermon to Godly Play in room 173.

Lord Most High Harris/Sadler

From the ends of the earth (Echo)

From the depths of the sea (Echo)

From the heights of the heavens (Echo)

Your name be praised

From the hearts of the weak (Echo)

From the shouts of the strong (Echo)

From the lips of all people (Echo)

This song we raise Lord

Throughout the endless ages

You will be crowned with praises

Lord Most High

Exalted in every nation

Sovereign of all creation

Lord Most High be magnified

Benediction4

Prayers of Meditation for Those Not Communing

Prayer for Those Searching for Truth

Lord Jesus, you claim to be the way, the truth, and the life. Grant that I might be

undaunted by the cost of following you as I consider the reasons for doing so. If

what you claim is true, please guide me, teach me, and open to me the reality of who

you are. Give me an understanding of you that is coherent, convincing, and that

leads to the life that you promise. Amen.

Prayer of Belief

Heavenly Father, I admit that I am weaker and more sinful than I ever before

believed, but, through Your Son Jesus, I can be more loved and accepted than I ever

dared hope. I thank You that He lived the life I should have lived, and paid the debt

and punishment I owed. Receive me now for His sake. I turn from my sins and

receive Him as Savior. Amen.

Prayer for Those Struggling with Sin

Lord Jesus, grant that I may see in you the fulfillment of all my need, and may turn

from every false satisfaction to feed on you, the true and living bread. Enable me to

lay aside the sin that clings so closely, and run with perseverance the race set before

me, looking to you, the pioneer and perfecter of my faith. Amen.

Prayer of Commitment

Lord Jesus, you have called us to follow you in baptism and in a life of committed

discipleship in your church. Grant that I may take the necessary steps to be one with

your people, and live in the fullness of your Spirit. Amen.

4 Just as God has the first word in worship, he also has the last word. For those who are in

Christ Jesus, these are always words of blessing. We look up and extend our hands out in a

posture of receiving the blessing of God.