Liturgy for April 16, 2023

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Reflections

For He did not come to reward the rewardable, improve the improvable, or correct the correctable. Jesus came to raise the dead.

I know of no other God except the one called Jesus Christ.

No one has yet discovered the word Jesus ought not to have said, none suggested the better word he might have said... None has fallen short of the ideal. He is full of surprises, but they are all the surprises of perfection…. You are ever amazed that he is incomparably better than you could have expected. He is tender without being weak, strong without being coarse, lowly without being servile. He has conviction without intolerance, enthusiasm without fanaticism, holiness without Pharisaism, passion without prejudice. This man alone never made a false step, never struck a jarring note. His life alone moved on those high levels where local limitations are transcended and the absolute Law of Moral Beauty prevails. It was life at its Highest.

(The priest Tikhon speaks) …there are no words or thoughts in human language to express all the ways and reason of the Lamb “until His ways are openly revealed to us.” Who can embrace Him who is unembraceable, who can grasp the whole of Him who is infinite?

That one name. Jesus Christ.

Call to Worship

Adapted from 1st Peter 1:3-5

Leader: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
People: According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Leader: To an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you!
Alleluia! He is risen!
People: Alleluia! He is risen indeed!

Hymn of Praise: Come, Thou Almighty King

Prayer of Praise and the Lord’s Prayer

Confession of Sin

Scripture Reading

James 2:10, Matthew 5:20

For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Corporate Confession

Leader: Let us confess our sins together.

All:
Almighty, eternal, most just and gracious God, help us to know that all things are shadows, but you are substance; all things are quicksand, but you are mountain; all things are shifting, but you are anchor; all things are ignorance, but you are wisdom. You are thrice holy, yet my life abounds with apologies not made, repentance not completed, forgiveness not offered, brothers not respected, reputations not defended, peace not pursued, neighbors not loved, Sabbaths not kept, appetites not restrained, parents not honored, spouses not cherished, children not trained, prisoners not visited, strangers not clothed, hungry not fed, providences ignored, envy unchecked, prayers unspoken, fears not conquered, truth not defended, sheep not fed, feet unmoved, tongues unbridled, eyes unguarded, time wasted, talents wasted, treasure wasted. Lord Jesus, deliver me from these chains, from the wretchedness of the old ways that still hang on, from the sugar of sin as well as its gall, so that with earnest heart searching I may come to you, cast myself on you, trust in you, cry to you and be delivered by you.

Silent Reflection and Confession

Words of Assurance and the Peace of God

Romans 8:31-32
Leader: What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? May the peace of God be with you.
People: And also with you.

Hymn of Response: It Is Well with My Soul

Affirmation of Faith

The Heidelberg Catechism, Question and Answer 45
Leader: How does Christ’s resurrection benefit us?
All: First, by his resurrection he has overcome death, so that he might make us share in the righteousness he won for us by his death. Second, by his power we too are already now resurrected to a new life. And third, Christ’s resurrection is a guarantee of our glorious resurrection.

Hymn: Gloria Patria

Prayer of Intercession

Hymn: How Sweet and Awesome Is the Place

Preaching of the Word

Scripture: John 2:12-22
The Exclusive Christ, Rev. Drew Heurion

Sermon Audio (External Link)

Hymn: All the Way My Savior Leads Me

Benediction

From Jude 24-25

Now unto him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Father, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever.
Amen.