Download: Readings and Song Lyrics for April 23, 2023
Pre-service Song
How Deep the Father’s Love For Us
How deep the Father’s love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss.
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory.
Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders.
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished;
His dying breath has brought me life.
I know that it is finished.
I will not boast in anything:
No gifts, no power, no wisdom.
But I will boast in Jesus Christ:
His death and resurrection.
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer.
But this I know with all my heart:
His wounds have paid my ransom.
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer.
But this I know with all my heart:
His wounds have paid my ransom.
Words and Music by Stuart Townend
©1995 Thankyou Music
Call To Worship
We confess the supremacy of God in Christ through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Call to Worship
Revelation 7:10, 12; 15:3-4 (CSB)
Salvation belongs to our God,
who is seated on the throne,
and to the Lamb!
Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honor
and power and strength
be to our God forever and ever.
Great and awe-inspiring are your works,
Lord God, the Almighty;
just and true are your ways,
King of the nations.
Lord, who will not fear
and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
All the nations will come
and worship before you
because your righteous acts
have been revealed.
Our Sung Call to Worship
Come and Hear The Story (He is Risen From the Dead)
Come and hear the story! See our Savior’s glory!
Know that our Champion has won!
O, come, and join the chorus. Sing! Our God is for us!
Praise to the risen, reigning Son!
We were dead in sin when Christ came down from heaven,
Died in our place upon that tree.
But death could not contain him. He was not forsaken—
God raised him up for all to see! (Chorus)
Chorus
Where, O Death, now is your sting?
Christ is raised in victory!
He is risen! He is risen!
Hallelujah!
Hear the words the angel said:
“He is risen from the dead!”
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Praise Jesus!
Now, in heaven reigning — soon, he is returning.
Then, resurrection he will bring.
So we, though outward dying, live by faith that’s finding
Hope in our song of victory: (Chorus)
Life has come!
Sin and death are done!
Christ the Lord has won!
He is risen from the dead!
Go proclaim the story! Share our Savior’s glory!
Shout that our Champion has won!
We go and take this chorus: “Sing! Our God is for us!
Praise to the risen, reigning Son!” (Chorus)
Words by Eric Schumacher and Ashley Hoobler, Music by Ashley Hoobler
Confession
We confess our need for mercy through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Confession
Psalm 51:1-4, 7-9 (CSB)
Be gracious to me, God,
according to your faithful love;
according to your abundant compassion,
blot out my rebellion.
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.
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.
Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Turn your face away from my sins
and blot out all my guilt.
This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ,
our crucified and risen Lord. Amen.
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
Galatians 3:10-13; 2:20; 6:14
Remember the Gospel!
All who rely on the works of the law are under a curse,
because it is written, “Everyone who does not do
everything written in the book of the law is cursed.
”Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by
the law, because “the righteous will live by faith.”
But the law is not based on faith; instead, “the
one who does these things will live by them.”
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by
becoming a curse for us, because it is written,
“Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
I have been crucified with Christ,
and I no longer live,
but Christ lives in me.
The life I now live in the body,
I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me.
I will never boast about anything
except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our Sung Profession of Assurance
I Need You
Lord, I come, I confess,
Bowing here I find my rest,
And without You, I fall apart.
You’re the one that guides my heart. (Chorus)
Chorus
Lord, I need You! Oh, I need You!
Ev’ry hour I need You!
My one defense, my righteousness—
Oh, God, how I need You.
Where sin runs deep, Your grace is more.
Where grace is found is where You are.
And where You are, Lord, I am free;
Holiness is Christ in me. (Chorus)
So teach my song to rise to You
When temptation comes my way.
And when I cannot stand I’ll fall on You.
Jesus, You’re my hope and stay. (Repeat, then Chorus)
You’re my one defense, my righteousness—
Oh, God, how I need You.
Words and Music by Jesse Reeves, Matt Maher, Christy Nockels and Daniel Carson
©2011 sixsteps Music, Sweater Weather Music, Thankyou Music, Valley Of Songs Music, worshiptogether.com songs
Living Hope
How great the chasm that lay between us.
How high the mountain I could not climb.
In desperation I turned to heaven,
And spoke Your name into the night.
Then through the darkness,
Your lovingkindness tore through the shadows of my soul.
The work is finished, the end is written.
Jesus Christ, my living hope.
Who could imagine so great a mercy?
What heart could fathom such boundless grace?
The God of ages stepped down from glory
To wear my sin and bear my shame.
The cross has spoken, “I am forgiven.”
The King of kings calls me His own.
Beautiful Savior, I’m Yours forever.
Jesus Christ, my living hope. (Chorus 2 X’s)
Chorus
Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free!
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me!
You have broken ev’ry chain,
There’s salvation in Your name.
Jesus Christ, my living hope!
Then came the morning that sealed the promise,
Your buried body began to breathe.
Out of the silence, the roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me.
Then came the morning that sealed the promise,
Your buried body began to breathe.
Out of the silence, the roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me.
Jesus, Yours is the victory! (Chorus 2 X’s)
Jesus Christ, my living hope!
God, You are my living hope!
Words and music by Brian Johnson and Phil Wickham
©2017 Phil Wickham Music, Simply Global Songs, Sing My Songs, Bethel Music 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 a Mission Moment to highlight the different missions giving
opportunities we have at Grand. Members are encouraged to give to GABC Missions to support these missions.
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
Psalm 73 (ESV)
1Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them as a garment.
7 Their eyes swell out through fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
10 Therefore his people turn back to them,
and find no fault in them.
11 And they say, “How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all the day long I have been stricken
and rebuked every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have betrayed the generation of
your children.
16 But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.
18 Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
20 Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when you rouse yourself,
you despise them as phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire
besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and
my portion forever.
27 For behold, those who are far from you
shall perish; you put an end to everyone
who is unfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.
This is the word of the Lord.
The grass withers, and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord endures forever.
Sermon
Psalm 73 – Three Pillars of Contentment – Dean VanEvery
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 both song and spoken word.
Sending Song
‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus
‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
Just to know, “Thus saith the Lord.” (Chorus)
Chorus
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more!
O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
Just in simple faith to plunge me
‘Neath the healing, cleansing flood! (Chorus)
Yes, ‘tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace. (Chorus)
I’m so glad I learned to trust Him,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that He is with me,
Will be with me to the end (Chorus)
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more.
Words by Louisa Stead, Music by William Kirkpatrick
©Public Domain
Blessing
Luke 2:29 (NIV)
Sovereign Lord,
as you have promised,
you may now dismiss your servants in peace.
For our eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.
Scripture text for next Sunday: Matthew 5:3-12