Liturgy for April 30, 2023
Links
Sermon Audio
Sermon Transcription (PDF)
Reflections
For the Christian faith, a strong offense is the best defense; indeed, it is only defense. Christians defend their faith by proclaiming the gospel, declaring the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ in the plan and power of God.
Edmund P. Clowney from The Message of 1st Peter
You have been chosen, and you must therefore use such strength and heart and wits as you have.
J. R. R. Tolkien Gandalf to Frodo in The Fellowship of the Ring
We can no longer assume that if people want to find God or discover meaning or cope with a personal crisis, they will go to church. They may attend any number of religious bodies or sects. Or they may go to a therapist. Or read a self-help book. Merely opening our doors each Sunday is no longer sufficient. Offering a good product is not enough.
Steve Timmis
If they tell you
That in Some other place,
One can find solace
And true salvation
Other than in one God,
They mean to destroy your soul.
Take a firm stand.Marguerite de Navarre 1492-1549 from Spiritual Songs
Call to Worship
from Psalm 116
Leader: Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, He saved me.
People: Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
Leader: What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits to me?
People: I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.
I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people.
Leader: Come as God’s Church and worship Him!
Hymn of Praise: O God, We Praise Thee
Prayer of Praise and the Lord’s Prayer
Confession of Sin
Scripture Reading
Psalm 32:1-5, 9,10
Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your
hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions
to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.
Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or
it will not stay near you. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
Corporate Confession of Sin
All:
Holy Father, I sin—
Grant that I may grieve because of it,
overthrow my envy,
command my tongue,
trample down my selfishness,
deliver me from the idols of my heart.
O God, the eternal One in Three,
help me to know that all things are shadows, but you are substance,
all things are quicksand, but you are the mountain,
all things are shifting, but you are the anchor.
Give me grace to be kind, pure, and peaceable,
grace to live for your glory,
grace to be transformed into your likeness.
Take away my mourning and give me music.
Still my sighs and fill my being with song. Grant this, O heavenly Father,
for the sake of Jesus Christ, my Redeemer, my Shepherd, my Lord.
Amen.
Silent Confession and Reflection
Words of Assurance and the Peace of God
2 Corinthians 5:17-18, 21
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation... God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Leader: May the Peace of God be with you always.
People: And also with you.
Hymn of Response: Approach, My Soul, the Mercy Seat
Affirmation of Faith
Adapted from The Westminster Shorter Catechism
Questions and Answers 84-88
Leader: What does every sin deserve?
People: Every sin deserves God’s wrath and curse, both in this life, and that which is to come.
Leader: What does God require of us, that we may escape his wrath and curse, due to us for sin?
People: God requires of us faith in Jesus Christ, repentance unto life, with the diligent use of all the outward means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption.
Leader: What is faith in Jesus Christ?
People: Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel.
Leader: What is repentance unto life?
People: Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, does, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience.
Leader: What are the outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption?
People: The outward and ordinary means are, his ordinances, especially the Word, sacraments, and prayer; all which are made effectual to the elect for salvation.
Hymn: Gloria Patri
Prayer of Intercession
Hymn: The Lord Will Come and Not Be Slow
Preaching of the Word
Scripture: Psalm 11
Rev. Rob Looper
Closing Hymn: I Know that My Redeemer Lives - Glory, Hallelujah!
Benediction
Ephesians 3:20–21
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.
People: Amen.