Download: Readings and Song Lyrics for January 9, 2022
Reflection
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up
what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,
of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God
that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,
the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.
The Apostle Paul
Colossians 1:24-26 (ESV)
Call To Worship
We confess the supremacy of God in Christ through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Call to Worship
Based on Isaiah 60
Arise, shine, for your light has come!
The glory of the Lord has risen upon us.
Let us praise the Lord together!
The sun shall no longer be our light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon shine on us,
for the Lord will be our light,
and our God will be our glory.
The Lord will be our everlasting light,
and our days of sorrow will end.
Come, let us sing to our light and salvation!
Our Sung Call to Worship
Crown Him With Many Crowns
Verse 1
Crown Him with many crowns,
The Lamb upon His throne;
Hark! How the heav’nly anthem drowns
All music but its own:
Awake, my soul, and sing
Of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless King
Through all eternity.
Verse 2
Crown Him the Lord of love;
Behold His hands and side,
Rich wounds, yet visible above,
In beauty glorified.
No angel in the sky
Can fully bear that sight
But downward bends his burning eye
At mysteries so bright.
Verse 3
Crown Him the Lord of life,
Who triumphed o’er the grave,
And rose victorious in the strife
For those He came to save;
His glories now we sing
Who died, and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring
And lives that death may die.
Verse 4
Crown Him the Lord of lords,
The Sovereign Lord of time,
Creator of the earth and heav’n,
Yet I can call Him mine!
All hail, Redeemer, hail!
For Thou hast died for me:
Thy praise and glory shall not fail
Throughout eternity!
Words by Matthew Bridges, Alternate words by Eric Schumacher, Music by George Elvey
©Public Domain
Confession
We confess our need for mercy through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Confession
From 1 John 1:5, 8-9; Psalm 51:1-4 (CSB)
God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him.
If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves,
and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, God is faithful and righteous
to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
MEN
Be gracious to me, God,
according to your faithful love;
according to your abundant compassion,
blot out my rebellion.
WOMEN
Completely wash away my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I am conscious of my rebellion,
and my sin is always before me.
ALL
Against you — you alone — I have sinned
and done this evil in your sight.
So you are right when you pass sentence;
you are blameless when you judge.
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 & The Lord’s Supper
From 1 John 2:1-2; Romans 8:34 (CSB)
If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—
Jesus Christ the righteous one.
He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins,
and not only for ours,
but also for those of the whole world.
Christ Jesus is the one who died,
but even more, has been raised;
he also is at the right hand of God
and intercedes for us.
Distributing the elements. Singing “Before the Throne of God Above”
Before the Throne of God Above
Verse 1
Before the throne of God above,
I have a strong and perfect plea
A great High Priest whose name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands.
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in heav’n He stands,
No tongue can bid me thence depart,
No tongue can bid me thence depart.
Verse 2
When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there,
Who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me,
To look on Him and pardon me.
Verse 3
Behold Him there, the risen Lamb!
My perfect, spotless righteousness.
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of Glory and of Grace.
One with Himself, I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood.
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God,
With Christ, my Savior and my God.
Words and Music by Charitie Lees Bancroft and Vicki Cook
©1997 Sovereign Grace Worship
Celebration of the Lord’s Supper
O Praise the Name
Verse 1
I cast my mind to Calvary,
Where Jesus bled and died for me.
I see His wounds, His hands, His feet.
My Saviour on that cursed tree.
Verse 2
His body bound and drenched in tears.
They laid Him down in Joseph’s tomb.
The entrance sealed by heavy stone.
Messiah still and all alone. (Chorus)
Chorus
O praise the Name of the Lord our God.
O praise His Name forevermore.
For endless days we will sing Your praise.
Oh Lord, oh Lord, our God.
Verse 3
And on the third at break of dawn,
The Son of heaven rose again.
O trampled death where is your sting?
The angels roar for Christ the King. (Chorus)
Verse 4
He shall return in robes of white.
The blazing sun shall pierce the night.
And I will rise among the saints,
My gaze transfixed on Jesus’ face. (Chorus)
Tag
O Lord, O Lord our God.
O Lord, O Lord our God.
Music and Words by Benjamin Hastings, Dean Ussher, and Marty Sampson
© 2015 Hillsong Music Publishing Australia
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
© Come Up Kings Publishing, ComissionMusic, Gather House Music, McCleery MSC, Steven Musso Music, Watershed Worship Publishing
Glory to His Name—Words and Music by Elisha Albright Hoffman and John Hart Stockton
©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
Acts 14:1-28 (ESV)
1 Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. 2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3 So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. 4 But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. 5 When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, 6 they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, 7 and there they continued to preach the gospel.
8 Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, 10 said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking. 11 And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, 15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. 16 In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. 17 Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”
18 Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.
19 But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. 20 But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. 21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. 23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
24 Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. 25 And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, 26 and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been
commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. 27 And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they remained no little time with the disciples.
This is the word of the Lord.
The grass withers, and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord endures forever.
Sermon
Acts 14:1-28 – A Portrait of a Healthy Church – 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
May the light of the glorious gospel of Christ
shine in our hearts, transform our lives,
and brighten the world.
And the blessing of God almighty,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
rest upon you always.
Amen.