Service Preview for January 16

Service Preview for January 16

Download: Readings and Song Lyrics for January 16, 2022

Reflection
“Christian fellowship devoid of sound theology is no true fellowship.
Likewise, theology which does not stir up the body of Christ toward fellowship
and worship is no true theology.”

R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

Call To Worship
We confess the supremacy of God in Christ through both responsive reading and song.

Our Spoken Call to Worship
From Psalm 100:4, 5; 119:33-35

Welcome to the house of the Lord!
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
and into His courts with praise!

The Lord is good!
His mercy is everlasting
and His truth endures to all generations!

Prepare your ears to hear His words
and your hands to do His will.
Humble your hearts before the Lord and listen to Him.

Teach us, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
and we shall keep it to the end.
Give us understanding, and we shall keep Your law.
Indeed, we shall observe it with our whole hearts.

The Lord is good!
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations!

Praise the Lord!

Our Sung Call to Worship
How Great Thou Art

Verse 1
O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy pow’r throughout the universe displayed. (Chorus)

Chorus
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Verse 2
When thro’ the woods and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze:
(Chorus)

Verse 3
And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin. (Chorus)

Verse 4
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art! (Chorus)

Words and Music by Stuart K. Hine
Public Domain

Confession
We confess our need for mercy through both responsive reading and song.

Our Spoken Confession
Adapted from Psalm 19:12 and the writings of JR Miller

Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse us from hidden faults.
Keep back your servants also from presumptuous sins
and let them not have dominion over us.

Lord, reveal to us our hidden, obscure, undiscovered faults.
Open our eyes to our moral weaknesses and evil tendencies.
Show us the vices that are loathsome to You
that we may humble ourselves,
repent and turn towards You.

Time of silent confession.

Our Sung Confession
Did Christ Over Sinners Weep?

Verse 1
Did Christ over sinners weep,
And shall our cheeks be dry?
Let floods of penitential grief,
Burst forth from every eye
Burst forth from every eye. (Chorus)

Chorus
Behold the Son of God in tears,
The angels wondering see
Hast thou no wonder, O my soul?
He shed those tears for thee!

Verse 2
He wept that we might weep,
Might weep over sin and shame.
He wept to show His love for us,
And bid us love the same
And bid us love the same. (Chorus)

Verse 3
Then tender be our hearts,
Our eyes in sorrow dim
‘Til every tear from every eye,
Be wiped away by Him
Be wiped away by Him
Be wiped away by Him. (Chorus)

Tag
He shed those tears for thee!

Words by Henry Lyte, Music by Blake Mundell
©2012 Little Mountain Music

Assurance and Peace
We profess our assurance of salvation and peace in Christ through both responsive reading and song.

Remember the Gospel
Adapted from David Martyn Lloyd-Jones Studies in the Sermon on the Mount

Thank God that we have a gospel that tells us that
Another who is spotless and pure and utterly holy
has taken our sin and guilt upon Himself.
We are washed in Jesus’ precious blood,
and He has given us His own nature.

We were vile and foul,
but are now washed and clean;
We were utterly helpless in poverty of spirit,
but now hunger and thirst for righteousness.
The Lord is good
and His mercy is everlasting!

Our Sung Profession of Assurance
All Gone

Verse 1
Sins against the Holy One,
Sins against his loving Son,
Sins against his law we’ve done.
Sins against both God and man,
Sins that we have boldly planned,
Sins outnumbering the sand— (Chorus)

Chorus
What grace! No trace remains.

They’re all gone, all gone.
Far as the east is from the west,
Into the ocean they are cast.
They’re all gone, all gone.
He has removed our ev’ry debt,
Covered our shame and our regret,
They’re all gone.

Verse 2
All the justice we deserved,
All the punishment we earned,
Holy wrath without reserve,
Poured upon the righteous one,
Once for all the work is done,
Now the victory is won. (Chorus 2 X’s)

Music and words by Eric Schumacher and David Ward
©2018 Hymnicity

Thank You, Jesus, For the Blood

Verse 1
I was a wretch; I remember who I was.
I was lost, I was blind, I was running out of time.
Sin separated, the breach was far too wide,
But from the far side of the chasm,
You had me in your sight.

Verse 2
So you made a way across the great divide,
Left behind heaven’s throne to build it here inside.
There at the cross, You paid the debt I owed.
Broke my chains, freed my soul,
For the first time, I had hope. (Chorus)

Chorus
Thank You, Jesus, for the blood applied.
Thank You, Jesus, it has washed me white.
Thank You, Jesus, You have saved my life,
Brought me from the darkness into glorious light.

Verse 3
You took my place, laid inside my tomb of sin.
You were buried for three days, but then You walked right out again.
And now death has no sting, and life has no end.
For I have been transformed by the blood of the Lamb. (Chorus)

Bridge
There is nothing stronger, than
the wonder working power of the blood, the blood
that calls us sons and daughters.
We are ransomed by our Father through the blood, the blood. (Chorus)

Ending
Glory to His name,
Glory to His name!
There to my heart was the blood applied;
Glory to His name.

Words and Music by Charity Gayle, Ryan Kennedy, David Gentiles, Steve Musso, and Bryan McCleery
Glory to His Name—Words and Music by Elisha Albright Hoffman and John Hart Stockton
©Come Up Kings Publishing, ComissionMusic, Gather House Music, McCleery MSC, Steven Musso Music, Watershed Worship Publishing

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 15:1-35 (ESV)
1But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. 3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. 5 But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”
6 The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7 And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”
12 And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,
16 “‘After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it,
17 that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,
says the Lord, who makes these things 18 known from of old.’
19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”
22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, 23 with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. 24 Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, 25 it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”
30 So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. 32 And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words.33 And after they had spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them. 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

This is the word of the Lord.
The grass withers, and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord endures forever.

Sermon
Acts 15:1-35 – Gospel Clarity – 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
From Tabletalk, January 2022, Dustin W Benge

May the same Jesus who forgives you from sin,
justifies you by faith, and grants you eternal life,
make you complete in Himself
and bring you all the way to glory.