Welcome
Call to Worship
Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord...
Praise Him, O you servants of the Lord!
Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
Sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant.
Psalm 135:1, 3 (NKJV)
Hymn # 12 Exalt the Lord, His Praise Proclaim
1 Exalt the Lord, his praise proclaim; all ye his servants, praise his name, who in the Lord's house ever stand and humbly serve at his command. The Lord is good, his praise proclaim; since it is pleasant, praise his name; his people for his own he takes and his own peculiar treasure makes.
2 I know the Lord is high in state, above all gods our Lord is great; the Lord performs what he decrees, in heav'n and earth, in depths and seas. He makes the vapors to ascend in clouds from earth's remotest end; the lightnings flash at his command; he holds the tempest in his hand.
3 Exalt the Lord, his praise proclaim; all ye his servants, praise his name, who in the Lord's house ever stand and humbly serve at his command. Forever praise and bless his name, and in the church his praise proclaim; in Zion is his dwelling place; praise ye the Lord, show forth his grace.
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
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:
Genesis 3:1–4:1 (NKJV):
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” 12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” 13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent:“ Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” 16 To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.” 17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”
20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. 22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
1 Corinthians 15:22 (NKJV):
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
Sermon
Hymn # 486 God, Be Merciful to Me
1 God, be merciful to me, on thy grace I rest my plea; plenteous in compassion thou, blot out my transgressions now; wash me, make me pure within, cleanse, O cleanse me from my sin.
2 My transgressions I confess, grief and guilt my soul oppress; I have sinned against thy grace and provoked thee to thy face; I confess thy judgment just, speechless, I thy mercy trust.
3 I am evil, born in sin; thou desirest truth within. Thou alone my Savior art, teach thy wisdom to my heart; make me pure, thy grace bestow, wash me whiter than the snow.
4 Broken, humbled to the dust by thy wrath and judgment just, let my contrite heart rejoice and in gladness hear thy voice; from my sins O hide thy face, blot them out in boundless grace.
5 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.
6 Sinners then shall learn from me and return, O God, to thee; Savior, all my guilt remove, and my tongue shall sing Thy love; touch my silent lips, O Lord, and my mouth shall praise accord.
Prayer of the Church with the Lord’s Prayer
Let us pray together as Jesus taught us:
“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 # 500 Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me
1 Rock of Ages, cleft for me let me hide myself in thee; let the water and the blood, from thy riven side which flowed, be of sin the double cure, cleanse me from its guilt and pow'r.
2 Not the labors of my hands can fulfil thy law's demands; could my zeal no respite know, could my tears for ever flow, all for sin could not atone; thou must save, and thou alone.
3 Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling; naked, come to thee for dress; helpless, look to thee for grace; foul, I to the Fountain fly; wash me, Savior, or I die.
4 While I draw this fleeting breath, when mine eyelids close in death, when I soar to worlds unknown, see thee on thy judgment throne, Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee.
Benediction
