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.
Psalm 100:1-2
Hymn # 1 All People That on Earth Do Dwell
1 All people that on earth do dwell,sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;him serve with fear, his praise forth tell,come ye before him and rejoice.
2 The Lord ye know is God indeed;without our aid he did us make;we are his folk, he doth us feed,and for his sheep he doth us take.
3 O enter then his gates with praise,approach with joy his courts unto;praise, laud, and bless his name always,for it is seemly so to do.
4 For why? The Lord our God is good,his mercy is forever sure;his truth at all times firmly stood,and shall from age to age endure.
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: Philippians 1:12-26
12 But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, 13 so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; 14 and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
15 Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: 16 The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; 17 but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.
19 For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20 according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. 24 Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. 25 And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, 26 that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.
Sermon
Hymn # 449 We Rest on Thee
1 We rest on thee - our shield and our defender!We go not forth alone against the foe;strong in thy strength, safe in thy keeping tender,"We rest on thee, and in thy name we go."strong in thy strength, safe in thy keeping tender,"We rest on thee, and in thy name we go."
2 Yea, "in thy name," O Captain of salvation!In thy dear name, all other names above;Jesus our righteousness, our sure foundation,our Prince of glory and our King of love.Jesus our righteousness, our sure foundation,our Prince of glory and our King of love.
3 "We go" in faith, our own great weakness feeling,and needing more each day thy grace to know:yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing,“We rest on thee, and in thy name we go.”yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing,“We rest on thee, and in thy name we go.”
4 "We rest on thee" - our shield and our defender!Thine is the battle, thine shall be the praise;when passing through the gates of pearly splendor,victors - we rest with thee, through endless days.When passing through the gates of pearly splendor,victors - we rest with thee, through endless days.
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 # 457 Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
1 Come, thou fount of ev'ry blessing,tune my heart to sing thy grace;streams of mercy, never ceasing,call for songs of loudest praise.Teach me some melodious sonnet,sung by flaming tongues above;praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,mount of God's unchanging love.
2 Here I raise my Ebenezer;hither by thy help I'm come;and I hope, by thy good pleasure,safely to arrive at home.Jesus sought me when a stranger,wand'ring from the fold of God:he, to rescue me from danger,interposed his precious blood.
3 O to grace how great a debtordaily I'm constrained to be;let that grace now, like a fetter,bind my wand'ring heart to thee.Prone to wander – Lord, I feel it –prone to leave the God I love;here's my heart, O take and seal it,seal it for thy courts above.
Benediction
