Welcome
Call to Worship
Our help is in the name of the Lord,Who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 124:8
Hymn # 101 Come, Thou Almighty King
1 Come, thou Almighty King,
help us thy name to sing,
help us to praise.
Father, all glorious,
o'er all victorious,
come and reign over us,
Ancient of Days.
2 Come, thou Incarnate Word,
gird on thy mighty sword,
our prayer attend.
Come, and thy people bless,
and give thy Word success;
Spirit of holiness,
on us descend.
3 Come, Holy Comforter,
thy sacred witness bear
in this glad hour.
Thou who almighty art,
now rule in every heart,
and ne'er from us depart,
Spirit of pow'r.
4 To the great One in Three
eternal praises be,
hence evermore.
His sovereign majesty
may we in glory see,
and to eternity
love and adore.
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 23:12–23 (NKJV modified JDK)
12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. 13 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of Gehenna as yourselves.
16 Woe to you, blind leaders, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’ 17 Uncomprehending and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? 18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’ 19 Uncomprehending and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. 21 He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. 22 And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: judgment and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
Sermon
Hymn # 645 Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee
1 Jesus, the very thought of thee
with sweetness fills my breast;
but sweeter far thy face to see,
and in thy presence rest.
2 Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame,
nor can the mem'ry find,
a sweeter sound than thy blest name,
O Savior of mankind.
3 O Hope of ev'ry contrite heart,
O Joy of all the meek,
to those who fall, how kind thou art!
How good to those who seek!
4 But what to those who find? Ah, this
nor tongue nor pen can show:
the love of Jesus, what it is
none but his loved ones know.
5 Jesus, our only joy be thou,
as thou our prize wilt be;
Jesus, be thou our glory now,
and through eternity.
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 # 360 When in His Might the Lord
1 When in his might the Lord arose to set us free,
and Zion was restored from her captivity,
in transports then of joy and mirth
we praised the Lord of all the earth.
2 The nations saw with fear the might of God displayed,
when he at last drew near to give his people aid;
great things for us the Lord has wrought,
and gladness to our hearts has brought.
3 Again refresh us, Lord, with your reviving love,
and be your blessing poured in mercy from above;
by grace revive our hearts again,
as streams refreshed by copious rain.
4 Although with bitter tears the sower bears his seed,
when harvest time appears he shall be glad indeed;
for they that in the sowing weep
shall yet in joy and gladness reap.
Benediction
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