Sunday Sept. 3, 2023

Call To Worship:

Isaiah 61

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
    and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3     and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord
    for the display of his splendor.

4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins
    and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
    that have been devastated for generations.
5 Strangers will shepherd your flocks;
    foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
6 And you will be called priests of the Lord,
    you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
    and in their riches you will boast.

7 Instead of your shame
    you will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
    you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,
    and everlasting joy will be yours.

8 “For I, the Lord, love justice;
    I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
    and make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations
    and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
    that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”

10 I delight greatly in the Lord;
    my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
    and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up
    and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness
    and praise spring up before all nations.

Songs:

Come Thou Fount

Verse 1

Come Thou Fount of every blessing

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace

Streams of mercy never ceasing

Call for songs of loudest praise

Teach me some melodious sonnet

Sung by flaming tongues above

Praise the mount I'm fixed upon it

Mount of God's unchanging love

Verse 2

Here I raise my Ebenezer

Hither by Thy help I'm come

And I hope by Thy good pleasure

Safely to arrive at home

Jesus sought me when a stranger

Wandering from the fold of God

He to rescue me from danger

Interposed His precious blood

Verse 3

O to grace how great a debtor

Daily I'm constrained to be

Let Thy grace now like a fetter

Bind my wandering heart to Thee

Prone to wander Lord I feel it

Prone to leave the God I love

Here's my heart O take and seal it

Seal it for Thy courts above

Prone to wander Lord I feel it

Prone to leave the God I love

Here's my heart O take and seal it

Seal it for Thy courts above

In Christ Alone

Verse 1

In Christ alone my hope is found

He is my light my strength my song

This Cornerstone this solid Ground

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love what depths of peace

When fears are stilled when strivings cease

My Comforter my All in All

Here in the love of Christ I stand

Verse 2

In Christ alone who took on flesh

Fullness of God in helpless babe

This gift of love and righteousness

Scorned by the ones He came to save

Till on that cross as Jesus died

The wrath of God was satisfied

For every sin on Him was laid

Here in the death of Christ I live

Verse 3

There in the ground His body lay

Light of the world by darkness slain

Then bursting forth in glorious Day

Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me

For I am His and He is mine

Bought with the precious blood of Christ

Verse 4

No guilt in life no fear in death

This is the power of Christ in me

From life's first cry to final breath

Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell no scheme of man

Can ever pluck me from His hand

Till He returns or calls me home

Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

I Can Only Imagine

Verse 1

I can only imagine

What it will be like

When I walk by Your side

I can only imagine

What my eyes will see

When Your face is before me

I can only imagine

Chorus 1

Surrounded by Your glory

What will my heart feel

Will I dance for You Jesus

Or in awe of You be still

Will I stand in Your presence

Or to my knees will I fall

Will I sing hallelujah

Will I be able to speak at all

I can only imagine (yeah)

I can only imagine

Verse 2

I can only imagine

When that day comes

And I find myself standing in the Son

I can only imagine

When all I will do

Is forever forever worship You

I can only imagine

Misc 1

I can only imagine yeah

I can only imagine

Misc 2

(Ending)

I can only imagine when all I will do

Is forever forever worship You

I can only imagine

Teaching: “Seeking God’s Kingdom First: Kingdom to Come”

1 Peter 4:7-11

7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others,as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Communion:

Where is God inviting you into truly “being” the church?
Maybe it’s with your neighbors, serving in a new place in the community, having deeper relationships in Missio, etc.

Benediction:

Our Father in heaven,

May your name be revered as holy.

May your kingdom come.

May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.

May the strength of God pilot us;

May the wisdom of God instruct us,

May the hand of God protect us,

May the word of God direct us.

Be always ours this day and for evermore.

Amen

Jared KingAugust 31, 2023