Call To Worship
We confess the supremacy of God in Christ through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Call to Worship
From Psalm 110 (CSB17)
This is the declaration of the LORD to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool.”
The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion.
Rule over your surrounding enemies.
Your people will volunteer on your day of battle.
In holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn,
the dew of your youth belongs to you.
The LORD has sworn an oath and will not take it back:
“You are a priest forever
according to the pattern of Melchizedek.”
The Lord is at your right hand;
he will crush kings on the day of his anger.
He will judge the nations, heaping up corpses;
he will crush leaders over the entire world.
He will drink from the brook by the road;
therefore, he will lift up his head.
Our Sung Call to Worship
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
Confession
We confess our need for mercy through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Confession
Based on Psalm 2
Lord, we confess that with the nations
we have raged and plotted in vain
against you and your Anointed.
We deserve for you
to laugh at our folly;
to hold us in derision;
to speak to us in wrath;
to terrify us in your fury;
to dash us to pieces like a potter’s vessel.
O Lord, have mercy upon us
for the sake of your Son, our Lord.
Make us his own,
his heritage,
his possession.
Cause us to serve the Lord with fear,
and to rejoice with trembling.
May we kiss the Son
and be counted among the blessed
who take refuge in him.
TIME OF SILENT CONFESSION
Assurance and Peace
We profess our assurance of salvation and peace in Christ through both responsive reading and song.
Remember the Gospel
From Hebrews 10:10-17 (CSB17)
There is good news for those who believe!
We have been sanctified through
the offering of the body of Jesus Christ
once for all time.
Every priest stands day after day ministering
and offering the same sacrifices time after time,
which can never take away sins.
But this man,
after offering one sacrifice for sins forever,
sat down at the right hand of God.
He is now waiting until his enemies
are made his footstool.
For by one offering he has perfected forever
those who are sanctified.
The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this:
“This is the covenant I will make with them
after those days, the Lord says,
I will put my laws on their heart
and write them on their minds,
and I will never again remember
their sins and their lawless acts.”
Our Sung Profession of Assurance
The Power of the Cross
The Solid Rock
Thanksgiving and Petition
We Give Thanks in Prayer and Offer Petitions to God
We express our gratitude to God our Father for Christ’s work on the cross for us and bring our requests before him. In bringing our requests, we confess that we believe God truly is a good father, who cares about our needs and gives us what he knows is best.
We Give Thanks by Giving
We give financial offerings to support the work of the church because of our gratitude to God. By giving we confess we are trusting in God’s provision for us as well.
On the first Sunday of each month we have two offerings—one for the general fund and a second one for the benevolence ministry of our church.
We Give Thanks in Song
Jesus Is Mine
Scripture Reading
Luke 20:27-21:4 (ESV)
27 There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, 28 and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.29 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second 31 and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. 32 Afterward the woman also died. 33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.”
34 And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, 35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, 36 for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. 38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.”
39 Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” 40 For they no longer dared to ask him any question.
41 But he said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is David’s son? 42 For David himself says in the Book of Psalms, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, 43until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ 44 David thus calls him Lord, so how is he his son?”
45 And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 47 who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
1 Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, 2 and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. 3 And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them.4 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
This is the Good News of Jesus.
O come, let us adore him!
Sermon
Luke 20:27-21:4 – “Beware of the Scribes” – Pastor Eric Schumacher
The Lord’s Supper
This morning we will be observing the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is a covenant meal for the people of God whereby we remember the person and work of Christ on the cross to redeem us from our sin. It is a time to reflect, remember and repent. It is also the application of the sermon whereby we confess our sin and continually turn to Jesus for grace.
If you have trusted Christ as your Lord and Savior, have been baptized by immersion and are a member in good standing of a local church we invite you to share in this covenant meal with us.
We also ask that everyone who takes this covenant meal with us remember the warning given by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.” So we ask that you examine your heart and your relationship with God through the person and work of Christ.
If you are not able to receive the Lord’s Supper with us, please use this time to meditate on one of the following prayers.
A PRAYER FOR THOSE SEARCHING FOR THE TRUTH
Lord Jesus, You claim to be the Way, the Truth and the Life. If what You claim is true, please guide me, teach me and open me to the reality of who You are. Grant that I might be undaunted in my pursuit of knowing You. Give me an understanding of You that is coherent and convincing, and that leads me to the life in You. Amen.
A PRAYER FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO CONFESS FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST
Lord Jesus I admit that I am weaker and more sinful than I ever dared admit, but through You I am more loved and accepted than I ever dared hope. I thank You for paying my debt on the cross, taking what I deserve in order to purchase my complete forgiveness. Knowing that You have been raised from the dead, I turn from my sins and receive You as My Savior and Lord. Amen.
A PRAYER OF COMMITMENT FOR THOSE WHO HAVE CONFESSED FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST
Lord Jesus, You have called us to follow You in baptism and in a life of committed discipleship in Your church. Grant that I may take the necessary steps to be one with Your people, and live in the fullness of Your Spirit in a local community of Christ followers. Amen.
adapted from D. A. Carson, ed., Worship by the Book (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002)
Gluten Free Lord’s Supper: The elements of our Lord’s Supper are gluten free.
Please dispose of your Lord’s Supper cup in the waste receptacles near the doors.
Sending
Having heard and confessed the Gospel, we are sent into the world on mission in Christ, which we express in both song and spoken word.
Sending Song
The Doxology