Service Preview for May 1, 2022

Service Preview for May 1, 2022

Download: Readings and Song Lyrics for May 1, 2022

Reflection
God laid upon my back a grievous load,
A heavy cross to bear along the road;
I staggered on, till lo! One weary day,
An angry lion leaped across my way.
I prayed to God, and swift at His command
The cross became a weapon in my hand;
It slew my raging enemy, and then
It leaped upon my back a cross again!

I faltered many a league, until at length,
Groaning, I fell and found no further strength.
I cried, ‘O God! I am so weak and lame,’
And swift the cross a winged staff became.
It swept me on until I retrieved my loss,
Then leaped upon my back again a cross.

I reached a desert; on its burning track
I still perceived the cross upon my back.
No shade was there, and in the burning sun
I sank me down, and thought my day was done;
But God’s grace works many a sweet surprise.
The cross became a tree before mine eyes.
I slept, awoke, and had the strength of ten,
Then felt the cross upon my back again.

And thus through all my days, from that to this,
The cross, my burden, has become my bliss;
Nor shall I ever lay my burden down,
For God shall one day make my cross a crown.

William Henry Sheppard
(William and Lucy Sheppard were 19th century missionaries to the people of the Congo)

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

Our Spoken Call to Worship
Based on “Come, People of the Risen King!” by Getty, Getty, and Townend

Come, people of the Risen King!
Come, and bring him praise!

We arise and come to Jesus,
whose steady arms of mercy gather us in!

Come, those who awoke with joy like the rising sun!
Come, those who have wept through the night!

We arise and come to Jesus,
whose perfect love never changes,
whose kindness does not cease!

Come, young and old, men and women, rich and poor—
come and find the riches of his grace!

We arise and come to Jesus—
let every tongue rejoice!

Our Sung Call to Worship
Come People of the Risen King

Verse 1
Come, people of the Risen King,
who delight to bring Him praise.
Come all, and tune your hearts to sing
to the Morning Star of grace.
From the shifting shadows of the earth
we will lift our eyes to Him,
Where steady arms of mercy reach
to gather children in. (Chorus)

Chorus
Rejoice, rejoice,
let ev’ry tongue rejoice!
One heart, one voice;
O, Church of Christ, rejoice!

Verse 2
Come, those whose joy is morning sun,
and those weeping through the night.
Come those who tell of battles won,
and those struggling in the fight.
For His perfect love will never change,
and His mercies never cease;
But follow us through all our days,
with the certain hope of peace. (Chorus)

Verse 3
Come young and old from ev’ry land,
men and women of the faith.
Come those with full or empty hands,
find the riches of His grace.
Over all the world His people sing;
shore to shore we hear them call
The truth that cries through ev’ry age,
“Our God is all in all.” (Chorus 2X’s)

Words and Music by Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend
©2007 Thankyou Music

Lament
We lament our need for mercy through both responsive reading and song.

Our Spoken Lament
Psalm 90:1-3, 7-11, 12-15 (CSB)

Lord, you have been our refuge in every generation.
Before the mountains were born,
before you gave birth to the earth and the world,
from eternity to eternity, you are God.

You return mankind to the dust,
saying, “Return, descendants of Adam.”

For we are consumed by your anger;
we are terrified by your wrath.
You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
For all our days ebb away under your wrath;
we end our years like a sigh.

Our lives last seventy years
or, if we are strong, eighty years.
Even the best of them are struggle and sorrow;
indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away.
Teach us to number our days carefully
so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.

Lord — how long?
Turn and have compassion on your servants.
Satisfy us in the morning with your faithful love
so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days.
Make us rejoice for as many days as you have humbled us,
for as many years as we have seen adversity.

Silent lament.

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

Remember the Gospel
Matthew 11:28 (CSB)

Hear the invitation of Jesus!

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take up my yoke and learn from me,
because I am lowly and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Our Sung Profession of Assurance
Psalm 121 (Distribution of the Elements)

Verse 1
I lift my eyes up to the hills,
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
Maker of heaven and earth.

Pre Chorus
He will not let your feet slip,
His right hand never leaves you
He who keeps you never slumbers nor sleeps.

Chorus
He watches over you,
Like a shade from the sun by day and the moon by night
He watches over you,
No evil can ever invade the covering of Yahweh.

(Repeat Verse 1, Pre Chorus and Chorus)

Bridge
When you go out, when you come in, He watches over You.
Today and forevermore, He never leaves You.

(Chorus)

Words and Music by Shane Heilman
©Rejoice With Trembling Music

Celebration of the Lord’s Supper

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

There is an Everlasting Kindness (Compassion Hymn)

Verse 1
There is an everlasting kindness
You lavished on us,
When the radiance of heaven
Came to rescue the lost.
You called the sheep without a shepherd
To leave their distress
For Your streams of forgiveness
And the shade of Your rest.

Verse 2
And with compassion for the hurting
You reached out your hand
As the lame ran to meet You
And the dead breathed again.
You saw behind the eyes of sorrow
And shared in our tears;
Heard the sigh of the weary,
Let the children draw near. (Chorus)

Chorus
What boundless love, what fathomless grace
You have shown us, O God of compassion.
Each day we live an offering of praise,
As we show to the world Your compassion.

Verse 3
We stood beneath the cross of Calv’ry
And gazed on Your face
At the thorns of oppression
And the wounds of disgrace;
For surely You have borne our suff’ring
And carried our grief,
As You pardoned the scoffer
And showed grace to the thief. (Chorus)

Verse 4
How beautiful the feet that carry
This gospel of peace
To the fields of injustice
And the valleys of need.
To be a voice of hope and healing,
To answer the cries
Of the hungry and helpless
With the mercy of Christ. (Chorus)

Words and Music by Keith & Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend
©2008 Thankyou Music

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 26:4-29
4 “My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. 5 They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee. 6 And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, 7 to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king! 8 Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?
9 “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
10 And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.
12 “In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
19 “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. 21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. 22 To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: 23 that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”
24 And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.” 25 But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. 26 For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” 28 And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” 29 And Paul said, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.”

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

Sermon
Acts 25:1-26:32 – A Faithful Witness for Jesus – 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
Philippians 4:7 (CSB)

Go! And may the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding,
guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

College Graduates Recognition