Download: Readings and Song Lyrics for May 17, 2026
Pre-service Song
I Need Thee Every Hour
I need Thee ev’ry hour, most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.
I need Thee, O I need Thee; Ev’ry hour I need Thee!
O bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee.
I need Thee ev’ry hour, stay Thou nearby;
Temptations lose their pow’r when Thou art nigh.
I need Thee, O I need Thee; Ev’ry hour I need Thee!
O bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee.
I need Thee ev’ry hour, in joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide, or life is vain.
I need Thee, O I need Thee; Ev’ry hour I need Thee!
O bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee.
I need Thee ev’ry hour, Most Holy One;
O make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.
I need Thee, O I need Thee; Ev’ry hour I need Thee!
O bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee.
Words by Annie S. Hawks, Music by Robert Lowry
©Public Domain
Call To Worship
We confess the supremacy of God in Christ through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Call to Worship
Lamentations 3:21-24 (ESV)
But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
Our Sung Call to Worship
Great is Thy Faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God, my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not:
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.
Chorus
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love. (Chorus)
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! (Chorus)
Words by Thomas O. Chisholm, Music by William M. Runyan
©Public Domain
Confession
We confess our need for mercy through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Confession
2 Corinthians 6:16–7:1 (ESV)
Hear the Word of the Lord:
What agreement has the temple of God with idols?
For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
“I will make my dwelling among them
and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
Therefore go out from their midst,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
and I will be a father to you,
and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”
Since we have these promises, beloved,
let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit,
bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
Forgive our sins, Father, for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ,
and cleanse us from every impurity of the flesh and spirit
so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways
to the glory of your holy name.
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
Titus 3:3-7 (ESV)
Remember the Gospel!
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient,
led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures,
passing our days in malice and envy,
hated by others and hating one another.
But when the goodness and loving kindness
of God our Savior appeared, he saved us,
not because of works done by us in righteousness,
but according to his own mercy,
by the washing of regeneration
and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
whom he poured out on us richly
through Jesus Christ our Savior,
so that being justified by his grace
we might become heirs
according to the hope of eternal life.
Our Sung Profession of Assurance
All Sufficient Merit
All sufficient merit shining like the sun.
A fortune I inherit, by no work I have done.
My righteousness I forfeit at my Savior’s cross,
where all sufficient merit did what I could not.
In love He condescended, eternal now in time.
A life without a blemish, the Maker made to die.
The law could never save us, our lawlessness had won
until the pure and spotless Lamb had finally come.
It is done, it is finished, no more debt I owe.
Paid in full, all sufficient merit now my own.
I lay down my garments, any empty boasts.
Good works now all corrupted by the sinful host.
I’m dressed in my Lord Jesus, a crimson robe made white.
No more fear of judgment, His righteousness is mine.
It is done, it is finished, no more debt I owe.
Paid in full, all sufficient merit now my own. (Repeat)
All sufficient merit, firm in life and death.
The joy of my salvation shall be my final breath.
And when I stand accepted before the throne of God
I’ll gaze upon my Jesus and thank Him for the cross.
Yes, I’ll thank You for the cross.
It is done, it is finished, no more debt I owe.
Paid in full, all sufficient merit now my own. (Repeat)
Oh, Your merit now my own.
Oh, Your merit now my own.
By Shane Barnard, Bryan Fowler, and Beth Barnard
© 2023 More Songs From Wellhouse; Songs From Wellhouse; Waiting Room Music; Be Essential Songs; bryanfowlersongs
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.
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
James 1:22-27 (ESV)
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
This is the word of the Lord.
The grass withers and the flower falls
but the word of the Lord endures forever.
Sermon
James 1:22-27 (ESV) – “Pure Religion” – Pastor Dean VanEvery
Sermon Discipleship Questions
1. What encouraged you?
2. What convicted you?
3. Is there anything in your life that needs to change?
Be Thou My Vision (Distribution Song)
Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art:
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord:
Thou my great Father, and I Thy true son,
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art.
High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
Words by Mary E. Byrne & Eleanor H. Hull, Music: Traditional Irish Melody
©Public Domain
Celebration of the Lord’s Supper
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
For the Cause
For the cause of Christ the King we give our lives, an offering
‘Til all the earth resounds with ceaseless praise to the Son.
For the cause of Christ we go with joy to reap, with faith to sow
As many see and many put their trust in the Son.
Chorus
Christ we proclaim,
The Name above every name:
For all creation, every nation,
God’s salvation through the Son!
For the King once lifted high to cries of rage, of “crucify!”
Endured the cross as every sin was laid on the Son.
To the King who conquered death to free the poor and the oppressed
For lasting peace for life and liberty in the Son. (Chorus)
Let it be my life’s refrain: To live is Christ, to die is gain;
Deny myself, take up my cross and follow the Son!
Let it be my life’s refrain: To live is Christ, to die is gain;
Deny myself, take up my cross and follow the Son! (Chorus)
By Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend
© 2016 Getty Music Publishing; Townend Songs
Blessing
Psalm 67:1-3 (ESV)
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,
that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
Scripture text for next Sunday: James 2:1-13