Download: Readings and Song Lyrics for May 14, 2023
Pre-service Song
Rock of Ages
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Save from wrath and make me pure.
Not the labors of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know
Could my tears forever flow,
This for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.
While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyes shall close in death,
When I rise to worlds unknown,
And behold Thee on Thy throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in thee.
Words by Augustus M. Toplady , Music by Thomas Hastings
©Public Domain
Call To Worship
We confess the supremacy of God in Christ through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Call to Worship
Psalm 147:1-5, 7, 10-12 (CSB)
Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing to our God,
for praise is pleasant and lovely.
The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem;
he gathers Israel’s exiled people.
He heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.
Our Lord is great, vast in power;
his understanding is infinite.
The Lord helps the oppressed
but brings the wicked to the ground.
He is not impressed by the strength of a horse;
he does not value the power of a warrior.
The Lord values those who fear him,
those who put their hope in his faithful love.
Exalt the Lord, Jerusalem;
praise your God, Zion!
Hallelujah!
Our Sung Call to Worship
By Faith
By faith we see the hand of God
In the light of creation’s grand design,
In the lives of those who prove His faithfulness,
Who walk by faith and not by sight.
By faith our fathers roamed the earth
With the pow’r of His promise in their hearts,
Of a holy city built by God’s own hand,
A place where peace and justice reign. (Chorus)
Chorus
We will stand as children of the promise;
We will fix our eyes on Him, our soul’s reward.
Till the race is finished and the work is done,
We’ll walk by faith and not by sight.
By faith the prophets saw a day
When the longed for Messiah would appear
With the pow’r to break the chains of sin and death
And rise triumphant from the grave. (Chorus)
By faith the church was called to go
In the pow’r of the Spirit to the lost,
To deliver captives and to preach good news
In ev’ry corner of the earth. (Chorus)
By faith this mountain shall be moved,
And the pow’r of the gospel shall prevail,
For we know in Christ all things are possible,
For all who call upon His name. (Chorus 2 X’s)
We’ll walk by faith and not by sight.
We’ll walk by faith and not by sight.
Words and Music by Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend
©2009 Thankyou Music, Getty Music Publishing
Confession
We confess our need for mercy through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Confession
Psalm 32:3-6 (CSB)
When I kept silent, my bones became brittle
from my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was drained
as in the summer’s heat.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not conceal my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to you immediately.
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
Romans 8:31-35, 37-39 (CSB)
Remember the Gospel!
If God is for us, who is against us?
He did not even spare his own Son but gave him up for us all.
How will he not also with him grant us everything?
Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect?
God is the one who justifies.
Who is the one who condemns?
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.
Who can separate us from the love of Christ?
Can affliction or distress or persecution
or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors
through him who loved us.
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life,
nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come,
nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing
will be able to separate us from the love of God
that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Our Sung Profession of Assurance
Go to Dark Gethsemane (Distribution Song)
Go to dark Gethsemane,
You who feel the tempter’s pow’r;
Your Redeemer’s conflict see;
Watch with Him one bitter hour;
Turn not from His griefs away;
Learn of Jesus Christ to pray.
Follow to the judgment hall;
View the Lord of life arraigned;
O the wormwood and the gall!
O the pangs His soul sustained!
Shun not suff’ring, shame, or loss;
Learn of Him to bear the cross.
Calv’ry’s mournful mountain climb;
There, adoring at His feet,
Mark that miracle of time,
God’s own sacrifice complete:
“It is finished!” Hear the cry;
Learn of Jesus Christ to die.
Early hasten to the tomb
Where they laid His breathless clay;
All is solitude and gloom;
Who hath taken Him away?
Christ is ris’n! He meets our eyes:
Savior, teach us so to rise.
Words by James Montgomery,Music by Richard Redhead
©Public Domain
Celebration of the Lord’s Supper
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My riches gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast
Save in the death of Christ, my God.
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
See, from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did ever such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
Words by Isaac Watts, Music by Lowell Mason
©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 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
Matthew 5:4, Psalm 51:1-17 (CSB)
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
1 Be gracious to me, God, according to your faithful love; according to your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion.
2 Completely wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me.
4 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.
5 Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.
6 Surely you desire integrity in the inner self, and you teach me wisdom deep within.
7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me,
and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Turn your face away from my sins and blot out all my guilt.
10 God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not banish me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore the joy of your salvation to me, and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach the rebellious your ways, and sinners will return to you.
14 Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God— God of my salvation— and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it; you are not pleased with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God.
This is the word of the Lord.
The grass withers and the flower falls
but the word of the Lord endures forever.
Sermon
Matthew 5:4 – Empty (Part Two): Comfort for Those Who Mourn – 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 both song and spoken word.
Sending Song
It is Well With My Soul
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
It is well, (it is well) with my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Tho’ Satan should buffet, tho’ trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
It is well, (it is well) with my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
My sin oh, the bliss of this glorious tho’t:
My sin not in part, but the whole
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
It is well, (it is well) with my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
And, Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,
The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend,
“Even so,” it is well with my soul.
It is well, (it is well) with my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It is well, (it is well) with my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Words by Horatio Spafford, Music by Philip Bliss
©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 5:5