Service for May 4, 2025

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Welcome

Call to Worship

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!

2 Serve the LORD with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

3 Know that the LORD, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

5 For the LORD is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations.

Psalm 100

Hymn # 297 All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name

1 All hail the pow'r of Jesus' name!

Let angels prostrate fall,

let angels prostrate fall;

bring forth the royal diadem,

Refrain:

and crown him, crown him, crown him,

crown him, and crown him Lord of all!

2 Crown him, ye martyrs of your God

who from his altar call,

who from his altar call;

extol the Stem of Jesse's rod, (Refrain)

3 Ye seed of Israel's chosen race,

ye ransomed of the fall,

ye ransomed of the fall,

hail him who saves you by his grace, (Refrain)

4 Sinners, whose love can ne'er forget

the wormwood and the gall,

the wormwood and the gall,

go, spread your trophies at his feet, (Refrain)

5 Let ev'ry kindred, ev'ry tribe,

on this terrestrial ball,

on this terrestrial ball,

to him all majesty ascribe, (Refrain)

6 O that with yonder sacred throng

we at his feet may fall,

we at his feet may fall!

we'll join the everlasting song, (Refrain)

Call To Confession

And God spoke all these words, saying:

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 You shall have no other gods before Me.

4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image...5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.

7 You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

12 Honor your father and your mother.

13 You shall not murder.

14 You shall not commit adultery.

15 You shall not steal.

16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

17 You shall not desire...anything that is your neighbor’s.

I acknowledged my sin to You,

And my iniquity I have not hidden.

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”

And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You

In a time when You may be found.

Psalm 32:5–6 (NKJV)

Confession of Sins

Let us, therefore, confess our sin, saying together:

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me... Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities” through Jesus your Son. Amen.

Word of Assurance

For as the heavens are high above the earth,

So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;

As far as the east is from the west,

So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

As a father pities his children,

So the Lord pities those who fear Him.

Psalm 103:11–13 (NKJV)

Song of Renewal

Gracious God my heart renew,

Make my spirit right and true;

Cast me not away from thee,

Let thy Spirit dwell in me;

Thy salvation's joy impart.

Steadfast make my willing heart.

#486, stanza 5 (Ps 51:10-11)

Scripture Lesson: Ephesians 4:1-6

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Sermon

Hymn # 533 I Am Thine, O Lord, I Have Heard Thy Voice

1 I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy voice,

and it told thy love to me;

but I long to rise in the arms of faith,

and be closer drawn to thee.

Refrain:

Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,

to the cross where thou hast died;

draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,

to thy precious, bleeding side.

2 Consecrate me now to thy service, Lord,

by the pow'r of grace divine;

let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,

and my will be lost in thine. [Refrain]

3 O the pure delight of a single hour

that before thy throne I spend,

when I kneel in prayer, and with thee, my God,

I commune as friend with friend. [Refrain]

4 There are depths of love that I cannot know

till I cross the narrow sea;

there are heights of joy that I may not reach

till I rest in peace with thee. [Refrain]

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.”

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 # 44 How Great Thou Art (1-2)

1 O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder

consider all the worlds thy hands have made,

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

thy pow’r thro’-out the universe displayed.

Refrain

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:

How great thou art, how great thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:

how great thou art, how great thou art!

2 When thro’ the woods and forest glades I wander

and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,

when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,

and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze; [Refrain]

The Lord’s Supper

Hymn # 44 How Great Thou Art (3-4)

3 And when I think that God, his Son not sparing,

sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,

that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,

he bled and died to take away my sin. [Refrain]

4 When Christ shall come with shout of ac

clamation

and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!

Then I shall bow in humble adoration,

and there proclaim, my God, how great thou art. [Refrain]

Benediction