Service for September 21, 2025

Click here to listen to entire service

Prelude

Call to Worship

I will extol You, my God, O King;

And I will bless Your name forever and ever.

2 Every day I will bless You,

And I will praise Your name forever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

And His greatness is unsearchable.

Psalm 145:1-3

Hymn # 2 O Worship the King

1 O worship the king all glorious above,

O gratefully sing his power and his love;

Our shield and defender, the Ancient of Days,

Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.

2 O tell of his might, O sing of his grace,

Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space.

His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,

And dark is his path on the wings of the storm.

3 The earth with its store of wonders untold,

Almighty, your pow'r has founded of old;

Has ‘stablished it fast by a changeless decree,

And round it has cast, like a mantle, the sea.

4 Your bountiful care what tongue can recite?

It breathes in the air; it shines in the light;

It streams from the hills; it descends to the plain;

And sweetly distils in the dew and the rain.

5 Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,

In you do we trust, nor find you to fail;

Your mercies how tender, how firm to the end,

Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend!

6 O measureless Might! Ineffable Love!

While angels delight to hymn you above,

The humbler creation, though feeble their lays,

With true adoration shall lisp to your praise.

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 5:15-21

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.

Sermon

Hymn # 567 Rise, My Soul, to Watch and Pray

1 Rise, my soul, to watch and pray,

from thy sleep awaken;

be not by the evil day

unawares o'ertaken.

For the foe, well we know,

oft his harvest reapeth

while the Christian sleepeth.

2 Watch against the devil's snares,

lest asleep he find thee;

for indeed no pains he spares

to deceive and blind thee.

Satan's prey oft are they

who secure are sleeping

and no watch are keeping.

3 Watch! Let not the wicked world

with its pow'r defeat thee.

Watch lest with her pomp unfurled

she betray and cheat thee.

Watch and see lest there be

faithless friends to charm thee,

who but seek to harm thee.

4 Watch against thyself, my soul,

lest with grace thou trifle;

let not self thy thoughts control

nor God's mercy stifle.

Pride and sin lurk within

all thy hopes to scatter;

heed not when they flatter.

5 But while watching, also pray

to the Lord unceasing.

He will free thee, be thy stay,

strength and faith increasing.

O Lord, bless in distress

and let nothing swerve me

from the will to serve thee.

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 # 647 How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds

1 How sweet the name of Jesus sounds

in a believer's ear!

It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,

and drives away his fear.

2 It makes the wounded spirit whole,

and calms the troubled breast;

'tis manna to the hungry soul,

and to the weary rest.

3 Dear Name! the rock on which I build,

my shield and hiding place,

my never-failing treas'ry filled

with boundless stores of grace;

4 Jesus, my Shepherd, Brother, Friend,

my Prophet, Priest, and King,

my Lord, my Life, my Way, my End,

accept the praise I bring.

5 Weak is the effort of my heart,

and cold my warmest thought;

but when I see thee as thou art,

I'll praise thee as I ought.

6 Till then I would thy love proclaim

with every fleeting breath;

and may the music of thy name

refresh my soul in death.

Benediction