Download: Readings and Lyrics for March 12, 2023
Pre-service Song
Faith’s Review and Expectation (Amazing Grace)
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound!
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved:
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!
Thro’ many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.
Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil
A life of joy and peace.
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.
Words by John Newton, Music: Virginia Harmony
©Public Domain
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
Rejoice the Lord is King
Rejoice, the Lord is King!
Your Lord and King adore;
Rejoice, give thanks and sing,
And triumph evermore;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
Jesus, the Savior, reigns,
The God of truth and love;
When He had purged our stains
He took His seat above;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
His kingdom cannot fail,
He rules o’er earth and heaven,
The keys of death and hell
Are to our Jesus given;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
Rejoice in glorious hope!
Our Lord the Judge shall come,
And take His servants up
To their eternal home.
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice,
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
Words by Charles Wesley, Music by John Darwall
©Public Domain
Confession
We confess our need for mercy through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Confession
Psalms 80:1-3; 79:8-9 (CSB)
Listen, Shepherd of Israel,
who leads Joseph like a flock;
you who sit enthroned between the cherubim.
shine on your people.
Rally your power and come to save us.
Restore us, God;
make your face shine on us,
so that we may be saved.
Do not hold past iniquities against us;
let your compassion come to us quickly,
for we have become very weak.
God of our salvation, help us,
for the glory of your name.
Rescue us and atone for our sins,
for your name’s sake.
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
All who rely on the works of the law are under a curse,
because it is written, “Everyone who does not do every
thing 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
When I Survey (The Wonderful 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. (Chorus)
Chorus
O the wonderful cross! O the wonderful cross!
Bids me come and die and find that I may truly live.
O the wonderful cross! O the wonderful cross
All who gather here by grace draw near and bless Your name.
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. (Chorus)
His dying crimson like a robe
Spreads o’er his body on the tree
Then I am dead to all the globe
And all the globe is dead to me. (Chorus)
Verses by Isaac Watts. Tune by Lowell Mason. Chorus words and music by Chris Tomlin, J.D. Walt, Jesse Reeves
Verses and Tune© Public Domain; Chorus words and music ©2000 Rising Springs Music, Vamos Publishing, worshiptogether.com songs
There is One Gospel
There is one Gospel on which I stand for all eternity.
It is my story, my Father’s plan, the Son has rescued me.
Oh, what a Gospel, oh what a peace.
My highest joy and my deepest need.
Now and forever, He is my light.
I stand in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
There is one Gospel to which I cling, all else I count as loss.
For there, where justice and mercy meet, He saved me on the cross.
No more I boast in what I can bring,
no more I carry the weight of sin.
For He has brought me from death to life.
I stand in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
There is one Gospel where hope is found, the empty tomb still speaks.
For death could not keep my Saviour down, He lives and I am free.
Now on my Saviour I fix my eyes,
my life is His and His hope is mine.
For He has promised I too will rise.
I stand in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
And in this Gospel, the church is one, we do not walk alone.
We have His Spirit as we press on to lead us safely home.
And when in glory still I will sing
of this old story that rescued me.
Praise to my Saviour, the King of life.
I stand in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
And when in glory still I will sing
of this old story that rescued me.
Praise to my Saviour, the King of life.
I stand in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Praise to my Saviour, the King of life.
I stand in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I stand in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Words and Music by Jonny Robinson and Rich Thompson
©2022 CityAlight 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 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 2:1-12 (CSB)
1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 So he
assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born.
5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet:
6 And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah:
Because out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.”
7 Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared.
8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship him.”
9 After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy.
11 Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.
This is the word of the Lord.
The grass withers, and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord endures forever.
Sermon
Matthew 2:1-2 – Anger, Anxiety, Apathy or Adoration – 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
Let the Nations Be Glad
Let the glory of the Lord forever be our joy,
May redemption be the theme of our song.
For by grace we have been saved,
And by grace we shall proclaim
To the corners of the earth that Christ has come. (Chorus)
Chorus
Let the nations be glad! Let the people rejoice,
For salvation belongs to our God.
Let the whole earth be filled with the praises of the Lord,
For salvation belongs to our God, let the nations be glad.
Through the ages gone before, through the trial and the sword,
Many saints and martyrs conquered, though they died.
Still we holding out the cross,
Crossing oceans suffering loss,
Shall endure all things to win the crown of life. (Chorus)
As Your holy church goes forth in the Holy Spirit’s power,
With the glories of the gospel to explain,
Now we pray Your kingdom come,
And we pray Your will be done,
For the honor and the glory of Your name. (Chorus)
Let the nations be glad.
Let the nations be glad.
Words and Music by Matt Boswell, Matt Papa, and Aaron Boswell
©2010 Getty Music Hymns and Songs, Love Your Enemies Publishing, Curb Dayspring Music
Blessing
Psalm 67:1-3 (CSB)
May God be gracious to us and bless us;
may he make his face shine upon us —
so that your way may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, God;
let all the peoples praise you.
Scripture text for next Sunday: Matthew 2:13-23