Service for March 2, 2025

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Welcome

Call to Worship

Praise the LORD!

Praise the LORD from the heavens;

Praise Him in the heights!

2 Praise Him, all His angels;

Praise Him, all His hosts!

3 Praise Him, sun and moon;

Praise Him, all you stars of light!

4 Praise Him, you heavens of heavens,

And you waters above the heavens!

5 Let them praise the name of the LORD,

For He commanded and they were created.

Psalm 148:1-5

Hymn # 115 All Creatures of Our God and King

1 All creatures of our God and King,

lift up your voice and with us sing

alleluia, alleluia!

Thou burning sun with golden beam,

thou silver moon with softer gleam,

O praise him, O praise him,

alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

2 Thou rushing wind that art so strong,

ye clouds that sail in heav'n along,

O praise him, alleluia!

Thou rising morn, in praise rejoice,

ye lights of evening, find a voice,

O praise him, O praise him,

alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

3 Thou flowing water, pure and clear,

make music for thy Lord to hear,

alleluia, alleluia!

Thou fire so masterful and bright,

that givest man both warmth and light,

O praise him, O praise him,

alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

4 And all ye men of tender heart,

forgiving others, take your part,

O sing ye, alleluia!

Ye who long pain and sorrow bear,

praise God and on him cast your care,

O praise him, O praise him,

alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

5 Let all things their Creator bless,

and worship him in humbleness,

O praise him, alleluia!

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,

and praise the Spirit, three in one,

O praise him, O praise him,

alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Call To Confession

Our Lord Jesus says, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ And also, ‘Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.’

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us... If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” Let us, therefore, confess ours sins to the Lord, saying together:

1 John 1:8 (NKJV)

Confession of Sins

Almighty and Gracious Father, we confess to you that we have sinned by not loving you with our whole heart and by not loving our neighbor as ourselves. Our faith is weak, and we easily give in to doubt. Forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness in thought, word and deed. For we ask this in the name of your Son, who is our sure Redeemer and our Savior. Amen.

Word of Assurance

Brothers and Sisters in Jesus, our Gracious Heavenly Father has forgiven us our sins according to His word that "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins."

Colossians 1:13–14

Doxology # 731

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

praise him, all creatures here below;

praise him above, ye heav'nly host;

praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Scripture Lesson: Ephesians 2:1-10

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Sermon

Hymn # 532 Teach Me, O Lord, Thy Holy Way

1 Teach me, O Lord, thy holy way

and give me an obedient mind;

that in thy service I may find

my soul's delight from day to day.

2 Guide me, O Savior, with thy hand,

and so control my thoughts and deeds,

that I may tread the path which leads

right onward to the blessed land.

3 Help me, O Savior, here to trace

the sacred footsteps thou hast trod;

and, meekly walking with my God,

to grow in goodness, truth, and grace.

4 Guard me, O Lord, that I may ne'er

forsake the right, or do the wrong:

against temptation make me strong,

and round me spread thy shelt'ring care.

5 Bless me in ev'ry task, O Lord,

begun, continued, done for thee:

fulfil thy perfect work in me;

and thine abounding grace afford.

Prayer of the Church with 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.”

The Nicene Creed page 846

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty,

Maker of heaven and earth,

of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God,

begotten of his Father before all worlds,

God of God, Light of Light,

very God of very God,

begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father;

by whom all things were made;

who for us and for our salvation

came down from heaven,

and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary,

and was made man;

and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered and was buried;

and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures,

and ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father;

and he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living and the dead;

whose kingdom shall have no end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son;

who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified;

who spoke by the prophets;

and we believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church;

we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins;

and we look for the resurrection of the dead,

and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Hymn – I Will Sing of the Lamb (choir only)

The Lord’s Supper

Hymn – I Will Sing of the Lamb (3-4)

3 Once I was blind,

Yet believed I saw everything,

Proud in my ways,

Yet a fool in my part;

Lost and alone

In the company of multitudes,

Life in my body, yet death in my heart.

Oh, I will sing of the Lamb,

Oh, I will sing of the Lamb.

Oh, why should the King

Save a sinner like me?

Hallelujah, hallelujah.

4 What shall I give

To the Man who gave everything,

Humbling Himself

Before all He had made?

Dare I withhold

My own life from His sovereignty?

I shall give all for the sake of His name!

Oh, I will sing of the Lamb,

Oh, I will sing of the Lamb.

I’ll sing of His love

For the rest of my days!

Hallelujah, hallelujah.

Benediction