Service for March 16, 2025

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Welcome

Call to Worship

Oh, sing to the LORD a new song!

Sing to the LORD, all the earth.

2 Sing to the LORD, bless His name;

Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

3 Declare His glory among the nations,

His wonders among all peoples.

Psalm 96:1-3

Hymn # 267 The Day of Resurrection!

1 The day of resurrection!

Earth, tell it out abroad;

the Passover of gladness,

the Passover of God.

From death to life eternal,

from this world to the sky,

our Christ hath brought us over

with hymns of victory.

2 Our hearts be pure from evil,

that we may see aright

the Lord in rays eternal

of resurrection light;

and listening to his accents,

may hear, so calm and plain,

his own "All hail!" and hearing,

may raise the victor strain.

3 Now let the heav'ns be joyful,

let earth her song begin;

let the round world keep triumph,

and all that is therein;

invisible and visible,

their notes let all things blend,

for Christ the Lord hath risen,

our joy that hath no end.

Call To Confession

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For,

“Whoever would love life and see good days

must keep their tongue from evil

and their lips from deceitful speech.

They must turn from evil and do good;

they must seek peace and pursue it.

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous

and his ears are attentive to their prayer,

but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

1 Peter 3:8–12 citing Psalm 34:12-16 (NIV):

Confession of Sins

Let us pray to the Lord confessing our sin, saying together:

Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord;

may your love and faithfulness always protect me.

For troubles without number surround me;

my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.

They are more than the hairs of my head,

and my heart fails within me.

Be pleased to save me, Lord;

come quickly, Lord, to help me.

Psalm 40:11–13 (NIV)

Word of Comfort

As we are weary and burdened by our sin and our troubles, our Lord Jesus says to us:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28–30 (NIV)

Song of Renewal

Jesus! I do now receive him,

more than all in him I find;

he hath granted me forgiveness,

I am his, and he is mine.

Hallelujah! what a Savior!

Hallelujah, what a Friend!

Saving, helping, keeping, loving,

he is with me to the end.

Trinity Hymnal # 498, stanza 5

Scripture Lesson:

Matthew 15:7-11

Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,

And honor Me with their lips,

But their heart is far from Me.

9 And in vain they worship Me,

Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

10 When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”

Matthew 15:21-28

Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”

23 But He answered her not a word.

And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.”

24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”

26 But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”

27 And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Sermon – Crumbs from His Table

Hymn – We Will Feast in the House of Zion

(Chorus)

We will feast in the house of Zion

We will sing with our hearts restored

“He has done great things,” we will say together

We will feast, and weep no more

1 We will not be burned, by the fire

He is the Lord our God

We are not consumed, by the flood

Upheld, protected, gathered up

(Chorus)

2 In the dark of night, before the dawn

My soul be not afraid

For the promised morning, Oh how long

O God of Jacob, be my strength

(Chorus)

3 Ev’ry vow we’ve broken and betrayed

You are the faithful One

And from the garden to the grave

Bind us together bring shalom

(Chorus)

Prayer of the Church and the Lord’s Prayer

“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

Hymn # 457 Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

1 Come, thou fount of ev'ry blessing,

tune my heart to sing thy grace;

streams of mercy, never ceasing,

call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet,

sung by flaming tongues above;

praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,

mount of God's unchanging love.

2 Here I raise my Ebenezer;

hither by thy help I'm come;

and I hope, by thy good pleasure,

safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,

wand'ring from the fold of God:

he, to rescue me from danger,

interposed his precious blood.

3 O to grace how great a debtor

daily I'm constrained to be;

let that grace now, like a fetter,

bind my wand'ring heart to thee.

Prone to wander – Lord, I feel it –

prone to leave the God I love;

here's my heart, O take and seal it,

seal it for thy courts above.

Benediction