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- Download: Readings and Song Lyrics for September 6, 2020
Call To Worship
We confess the supremacy of God in Christ through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Call to Worship
From Psalm 95:6-7 (NIV)
Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
Our Sung Call to Worship
This Is My Father’s World
Verse 1
This is my Father’s world,
And to my list’ning ears,
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world,
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.
Verse 2
This is my Father’s world,
The birds their carols raise;
The morning light, the lily white
Declare their Maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world,
He shines in all that’s fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass,
He speaks to me ev’rywhere.
Verse 3
This is my Father’s world,
O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong
God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world,
The battle is not done;
Jesus who died shall be satisfied,
And earth and heaven be one.
Words by Maltbie D. Babcock
Music by Franklin L. Sheppard
Public Domain
Confession
We confess our need for mercy through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Confession
Based on “Passion” from The Valley of Vision
Holy Lord,
How little repentance there is in the world,
and how many sins we have to repent of!
We are troubled by our outbursts of anger,
for the shame and horror of it as an evil.
We desire to give way to it no more,
and come to you for strength and grace to change.
Too often we freely vent our anger and are overcome by it,
bringing many excuses and justifications for it:
that it occurs suddenly,
that we do not delight in it,
that we are sorry afterward,
that godly persons commit it.
Afterward, we seek peace by forgetting our evil entirely,
or, by skimming over the wound we caused,
we hope for healing without peace in Christ’s blood.
Lord God, we know that our sudden anger arises when things cross us,
and we desire to please only ourselves and not Christ;
There is in all wrongs a double offense—
that which offends us, and that which offends you.
Our sin is that our hearts are troubled as things offend us,
without our having regard for Christ.
Thus, we are the subject of punishment for
justifying and not rebuking our own sin;
whereas we should humbly confess our sin
and run to the blood for pardon and peace.
Give us faith and repentance, true brokenness, lasting contrition,
for, in spite of our sin, you do not despise these things.
Time of silent confession.
Our Sung Confession
I Asked the Lord That I Might Grow
Verse 1
I asked the Lord that I might grow
In faith and love and ev’ry grace,
Might more of His salvation know,
And seek more earnestly His face.
Verse 2
‘Twas He who taught me thus to pray,
And He, I trust, has answered prayer,
But it has been in such a way
As almost drove me to despair.
Verse 3
I hoped that in some favored hour
At once He’d answer my request
And, by His love’s constraining pow’r,
Subdue my sins and give me rest.
Verse 4
Instead of this, He made me feel
The hidden evils of my heart
And let the angry pow’rs of hell
Assault my soul in ev’ry part.
Verse 5
Yea, more with His own hand He seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe,
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Humbled my heart and laid me low.
Verse 6
“Lord, why is this,” I, trembling cried;
“Wilt Thou pursue Thy worm to death?”
“’Tis in this way,” the Lord replied,
“I answer prayer for grace and faith.”
Verse 7
“These inward trials I employ
From self and pride to set thee free,
And break thy schemes of earthly joy
That thou may’st find thy all in Me.”
Words by John Newton
Music is traditional.
Public Domain
Assurance and Peace
We profess our assurance of salvation and peace in Christ through both responsive reading and song.
Remember the Gospel
Based on 1 Peter 3:18, 22 (CSB)
Christ suffered for sins once for all,
the righteous for the unrighteous,
that he might bring you to God.
He was put to death in the flesh
but made alive by the Spirit,
who has gone into heaven
and is at the right hand of God
with angels, authorities,
and powers subject to him.
Our Sung Profession of Assurance
Jesus Paid It All
Verse 1
I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small,
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.” (Chorus)
Chorus
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.
Verse 2
Lord, now indeed I find
Thy pow’r, and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone. (Chorus)
Verse 3
For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to claim;
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb. (Chorus)
Verse 4
And when, before the throne,
I stand in Him complete,
“Jesus died my soul to save,”
My lips shall still repeat. (Chorus)
Words by Elvina M. Hall
Music by John T. Grape
Public Domain
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/ or place your offering in the boxes at the back of the sanctuary or send a check in the mail.
Scripture Reading
1 Peter 5:5-14 (ESV)
5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
12 By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. 13 She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son. 14 Greet one another with the kiss of love.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
Sermon
1 Peter 5:5-14 – An Exhortation to the Church: Stand Firm – 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
Doxology
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen.
Words by Thomas Ken
Music from Genevan Psalter, 1551 Edition, attr. Louis Bourgeois
Public Domain