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Download: Readings and Song Lyrics for June 6
Reflection
“We are to study Acts not like cold scholars,
not like casual admirers but like committed soldiers.
Acts is not merely the history of the early church;
it’s the history of the mission of the early church.
And we are to continue that mission.”
Tony Merida
Call To Worship
We confess the supremacy of God in Christ through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Call to Worship
From Psalm 98:1-4 (CSB)
Sing a new song to the Lord,
for he has performed wonders;
his right hand and holy arm
have won him victory.
The Lord has made his victory known;
he has revealed his righteousness
in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his love
and faithfulness to the house of Israel;
all the ends of the earth
have seen our God’s victory.
Let the whole earth shout to the Lord;
be jubilant, shout for joy, and sing.
Our Sung Call to Worship
Joy to the World
Verse 1
Joy to the world! The Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let ev’ry heart prepare Him room,
And heav’n and nature sing,
And heav’n and nature sing,
And heav’n, and heav’n and nature sing.
Verse 2
Joy to the earth! The Savior reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
Verse 3
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as the curse is found.
Verse 4
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders of His love.
Words by Isaac Watts
Music by George Frederick Handel
Public Domain
Confession
We confess our need for mercy through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Confession
O, Lord, our God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
we are aware of the sins we have not put to death,
we feel the weakness of our flesh and our need of grace.
Remember that we are dust, and hear us we pray:
Lord, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy on us
Lord, deliver us from all pride, vanity, and hypocrisy,
from all envy, hatred, and malice,
from all lack of charity, gossip, and slander.
Remember that we are dust, and hear us we pray:
Lord, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy on us
Lord, deliver us from all disordered desires and sinful affections,
from the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Remember that we are dust, and hear us we pray:
Lord, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy on us
Lord, deliver your church from hardness of heart
from all false doctrine, heresy, and schism,
from contempt of your Word and your will.
Remember that we are dust, and hear us we pray:
Lord, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy on us
Lord, we pray for President Biden and Vice President Harris,
and for the United States Congress,
for Governor Reynolds and the State Legislature,
for Mayor Haila and the Ames City Council,
and for all leaders, both global and local.
Remember that they are dust, and hear us we pray:
Lord, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy on us
Lord, deliver us from disease, sickness, and plague,
from natural disaster, pestilence, and famine,
from conspiracy, rebellion, and violence,
from murder, war, and dying unprepared.
Remember that we are dust, and hear us we pray:
Lord, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy on us
Lord, in our success and in our failure,
in our wealth and in our poverty,
in our living and in our dying,
in our time of tribulation and of poverty,
remember that we are dust, and hear us we pray:
Lord, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy on us
Heavenly Father, we ask all these things
in name of Jesus our Lord and on the basis of
his perfect life—our righteousness;
his death—our sacrifice for sin;
his resurrection—our hope of glory;
his ascension—our intercession.
Through your Holy Spirit, be with us and dwell in us.
Remember that we are dust, and hear us we pray:
Lord, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy on us
Our Sung Confession
Is He Worthy?
Verse 1
Do you feel the world is broken? We do.
Do you feel the shadows deepen? We do.
But do you know that all the dark won’t stop
the light from getting through? We do.
Do you wish that you could see it all made new? We do.
Verse 2
Is all creation groaning? It is.
Is a new creation coming? It is.
Is the glory of the Lord to be the light within our midst? It is.
Is it good that we remind ourselves of this? It is.
Chorus
Is anyone worthy? Is anyone whole?
Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll?
The Lion of Judah who conquered the grave,
He is David’s root and the Lamb who died
to ransom the slave.
Is He worthy? Is He worthy?
Of all blessing and honor and glory
Is He worthy of this? He is!
Verse 3
Does the Father truly love us? He does.
Does the Spirit move among us? He does.
And does Jesus our Messiah hold forever those He loves? He does.
Does our God intend to dwell again with us? He does.
Chorus
Is anyone worthy? Is anyone whole?
Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll?
The Lion of Judah, who conquered the grave,
He is David’s root and the Lamb who died
to ransom the slave.
From every people and tribe,
every nation and tongue
He has made us a kingdom and
priests to God
To reign with the Son!
Is He worthy? Is He worthy
Of all blessing and honor and glory?
Is He worthy? Is He worthy?
Is He worthy of this?
He is!
Is He worthy? Is He worthy?
He is!
He is!
Music and Words by Andrew Peterson and Ben Shive
© 2018 Capitol CMG Genesis, Junkbox Music, Vamos Publishing, Jakedog Music
Assurance and Peace
We profess our assurance of salvation and peace in Christ through both responsive reading and song.
Remember the Gospel
From The Nicene Creed
Who is Jesus?
We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of the Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God,
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father,
by whom all things were made.
What has Jesus done for us?
He, for us and for our salvation, came down from heaven,
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary
and was made man,
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
He suffered and was buried.
And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures;
and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father.
And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead,
whose kingdom shall have no end.
Amen.
Our Sung Profession of Assurance
Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery
Verse 1
Come behold the wondrous mystery,
In the dawning of the King.
He, the theme of heaven’s praises,
Robed in frail humanity.
In our longing, in our darkness,
Now the light of life has come!
Look to Christ who condescended,
Took on flesh to ransom us.
Verse 2
Come behold the wondrous mystery:
He the perfect Son of Man,
In His living, in His suffering,
Never trace nor stain of sin.
See the true and better Adam,
Come to save the hell-bound man,
Christ the great and sure fulfillment
Of the law; in Him we stand.
Verse 3
Come behold the wondrous mystery:
Christ the Lord upon the tree.
In the stead of ruined sinners
Hangs the Lamb in victory!
See the price of our redemption,
See the Father’s plan unfold,
Bringing many sons to glory:
Grace unmeasured, love untold!
Verse 4
Come behold the wondrous mystery:
Slain by death, the God of life.
But no grave could e’er restrain Him;
Praise the Lord, He is alive!
What a foretaste of deliv’rance,
How unwavering our hope.
Christ in power resurrected,
As we will be when He comes.
Ending
What a foretaste of deliv’rance,
How unwavering our hope.
Christ in power resurrected,
As we will be when he comes.
Words and Music by Matt Papa, Matt Boswell, and Michael Bleecker
© 2012 Bleecker Publishing, Getty Music Hymns and Songs, Getty Music Publishing, Love Your Enemies Publishing, McKinney Music, Inc.
We Will Feast
Chorus
We will feast in the house of Zion.
We will sing with our hearts restored.
“He has done great things,”
We will say together.
We will feast and weep no more.
Verse 1
We will not be burned by the fire,
He is the Lord our God.
We are not consumed by the flood—
Upheld, protected, gathered up. (Chorus)
Verse 2
In the dark of night before the dawn,
My soul be not afraid.
For the promised morning, o how long!
O God of Jacob be my strength. (Chorus)
Verse 3
Every vow we’ve broken and betrayed—
You are the faithful one.
And from the garden to the grave
Bind us together, bring shalom. (Chorus)
Words and Music by Sandra McCracken and Joshua Moore
© 2015 Integrity Worship Music, Paper News Publishing, joshmooreownsthismusic
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
Acts 1:1-5
1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until
the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
This the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
Sermon
Acts 1:1-5 – Acts: Witnesses Assembled and Sent Out – Pastor Michael Felkins
Sermon Discipleship Questions
1. What encouraged you?
2. What convicted you?
3. Is there anything in your life that needs to change?
Sending
Having heard and confessed the Gospel, we are sent into the world on mission in Christ, which we express in spoken word.
Blessing
1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 (CSB)
May the Lord cause you to increase and overflow
with love for one another and for everyone.
May he make your hearts blameless in holiness
before our God and Father
at the coming of our Lord Jesus
with all his saints.
Amen.
Recognition of High School Graduates
Josiah Schumacher
Sam Trabue
Next week’s scripture passage: Acts 1:6-11