Call To Worship
We confess the supremacy of God in Christ through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Call to Worship
From Psalm 103:1-5, 13-14 (CSB17)
My soul, bless the LORD,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name.
My soul, bless the LORD,
and do not forget his benefits.
He forgives all your iniquity;
he heals all your diseases.
He redeems your life from the Pit;
he crowns you with faithful love and compassion.
He satisfies you with good things;
your youth is renewed like the eagle.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
For he knows what we are made of,
remembering that we are dust.
Our Sung Call to Worship
10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)
Confession
We confess our need for mercy through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Confession
Prayer written by Jane Austen (1775-1817)
Look with mercy on the sins we have this day committed,
and in mercy make us feel them deeply,
that our repentance may be sincere,
and our resolutions steadfast of endeavoring
against the commission of such in future.
Teach us to understand the sinfulness of our own hearts,
and bring to our knowledge every fault of temper
and every evil habit in which we have indulged
to the discomfort of our fellow-creatures,
and the danger of our own souls.
May we now, and on each return of night,
consider how the past day has been spent by us,
what have been our prevailing thoughts, words and
actions during it,
and how far we can acquit ourselves of evil.
Have we thought irreverently of Thee,
have we disobeyed thy commandments,
have we neglected any known duty,
or willingly given pain to any human being?
Incline us to ask our hearts these questions, Oh! God,
and save us from deceiving ourselves by pride or vanity.
TIME OF SILENT CONFESSION
Our Sung Confession
Rock of Ages
Assurance and Peace
We profess our assurance of salvation and peace in Christ through both responsive reading and song.
Remember the Gospel
From 1 Corinthians 15:1-5, 20-22 (CSB)
Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters,
the gospel I preached to you, which you received,
on which you have taken your stand and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
For I passed on to you as most important what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
that he was buried,
that he was raised on the third day according to the
Scriptures.
Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through a man,
the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man.
For just as in Adam all die,
so also in Christ all will be made alive.
Our Sung Profession of Assurance
The Power of the Cross
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.
You may give electronically at gabcames.org/giving/.
We Give Thanks in Song
In Christ Alone
Scripture Reading
Hosea 10:1-15 (ESV)
1Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit.
The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built;
as his country improved, he improved his pillars.
2 Their heart is false; now they must bear their guilt.
The LORD will break down their altars
and destroy their pillars.
3 For now they will say:
“We have no king,
for we do not fear the LORD;
and a king—what could he do for us?”
4 They utter mere words;
with empty oaths they make covenants;
so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds
in the furrows of the field.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria tremble
for the calf of Beth-aven.
Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests—
those who rejoiced over it and over its glory—
for it has departed from them.
6 The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria
as tribute to the great king.
Ephraim shall be put to shame,
and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol.
7 Samaria’s king shall perish
like a twig on the face of the waters.
8 The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,
shall be destroyed.
Thorn and thistle shall grow up
on their altars,
and they shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,”
and to the hills, “Fall on us.”
9 From the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel;
there they have continued.
Shall not the war against the unjust overtake them in Gibeah?
10 When I please, I will discipline them,
and nations shall be gathered against them
when they are bound up for their double iniquity.
11 Ephraim was a trained calf that loved to thresh,
and I spared her fair neck;
but I will put Ephraim to the yoke;
Judah must plow;
Jacob must harrow for himself.
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the LORD,
that he may come and
rain righteousness upon you.
13 You have plowed iniquity;
you have reaped injustice;
you have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your own way
and in the multitude of your warriors,
14 therefore the tumult of war shall arise among
your people,
and all your fortresses shall be destroyed,
as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle;
mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.
15 Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel,
because of your great evil.
At dawn the king of Israel
shall be utterly cut off.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
Sermon
Hosea 10:1:15 – Yahweh Goes to War with His Wicked Bride – Pastor Michael Felkins
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
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Blessing
May the Word of God go with you,
as a meditation to delight your mind,
as a guard to keep your feet from evil ways,
as a message of hope to your neighbor,
as a satisfaction to your soul.
Amen.