Sunday April 7, 2024
Call To Worship:
Judges 5:1-5
“Then Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang on that day,
2 “When locks are long in Israel,
when the people offer themselves willingly—
bless the Lord!
3 Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;
to the Lord I will sing;
I will make melody to the Lord, the God of Israel.
4 Lord, when you went out from Seir,
when you marched from the region of Edom,
the earth trembled,
and the heavens poured;
the clouds indeed poured water.
5 The mountains quaked before the Lord, the One of Sinai,
before the Lord, the God of Israel.”
Songs:
Hear Our Praises
May our homes be filled with dancing
May our streets be filled with joy
May injustice bow to Jesus
As the people turn and pray
From the mountain to the valley
Hear our praises rise to you
From the heavens to the nations
Hear our singing fill the air
May a light shine in the darkness
As we walk before the cross
May your glory fill the whole earth
as the water o’er the seas
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Your Love, Oh Lord
Your love, O Lord- Reaches to the heavens
Your faithfulness-stretches to the skies
Your righteousness- is like the mighty mountains
And your justice flows- like the ocean’s tides
I will lift my voice to worship you, my king
I will find my strength in the shadow of your wings
Angus Dei
[Verse]
Alleluia, Alleluia
For the Lord God Almighty reigns
Alleluia, Alleluia
For the Lord God Almighty reigns
Alleluia
[Chorus 1]
Holy, holy
Are You Lord God, Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb
You are holy, holy
Are You Lord God, Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb
Amen
[Verse]
Alleluia, Alleluia
For the Lord God Almighty reigns
Alleluia, Alleluia
For the Lord God Almighty reigns
Alleluia
[Chorus 2]
Holy, holy
Are You Lord God, Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb
You are holy, holy
Are You Lord God, Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb
You are holy, holy
Are You Lord God, Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb
You are holy, holy
Are You Lord God, Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb...
Teaching: Holy Spirit: Judges- Deborah
Judges 4:1-24
“The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, after Ehud died. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hand of King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-ha-goiim. 3 Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help, for he had nine hundred chariots of iron and had oppressed the Israelites cruelly twenty years.
4 At that time Deborah, a prophet, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. 5 She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you, ‘Position yourself at Mount Tabor, taking ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali and the tribe of Zebulun. 7 I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand.’ ” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and ten thousand warriors went up behind him, and Deborah went up with him.
11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the other Kenites, that is, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had encamped as far away as Elon-bezaanannim, which is near Kedesh.
12 When Sisera was told that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the troops who were with him, from Harosheth-ha-goiim to the Wadi Kishon. 14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day on which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. Has not the Lord gone out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand warriors following him. 15 And the Lord threw Sisera and all his chariots and all his army into a panic before Barak; Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot, 16 while Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-ha-goiim. All the army of Sisera fell by the sword; not one was left.
17 Now Sisera had fled away on foot to the tent of Jael wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between King Jabin of Hazor and the clan of Heber the Kenite. 18 Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; have no fear.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 Then he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 He said to her, “Stand at the entrance of the tent, and if anybody comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’ ” 21 But Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, until it went down into the ground—he was lying fast asleep from weariness—and he died. 22 Then, as Barak came in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went into her tent, and there was Sisera lying dead, with the tent peg in his temple.
23 So on that day God subdued King Jabin of Canaan before the Israelites. 24 Then the hand of the Israelites bore harder and harder on King Jabin of Canaan, until they destroyed King Jabin of Canaan.”
Judges 5:24-31
“Most blessed of women be Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite,
of tent-dwelling women most blessed.
25 Water he asked, milk she gave;
she brought him curds in a lordly bowl.
26 She put her hand to the tent peg
and her right hand to the workers’ mallet;
she struck Sisera a blow;
she crushed his head;
she shattered and pierced his temple.
27 Between her feet he sank, he fell,
he lay still;
between her feet he sank, he fell;
where he sank, there he fell dead.
28 Out of the window she peered;
the mother of Sisera gazed through the lattice:
‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?
Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?’
29 Her wisest ladies make answer;
indeed, she answers the question herself:
30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil?
A woman or two for every man;
spoil of dyed stuffs for Sisera,
spoil of dyed stuffs embroidered,
two pieces of dyed work embroidered for my neck as spoil?’
31 So perish all your enemies, O Lord!
But may your friends be like the sun as it rises in its might.”
Communion:
Head up to the front to take communion.
Once you take communion head back to your seat and reflect on the following questions:
Where are you needing the Spirit’s deliverance in your life right now?
Benediction:
Move among us, Spirit,
and gather us together with you.
Take our many selves—
our lives, our loves, our ideas,
our questions, our speech, our silence—
and unite us as your people.
Give us the gifts of presence, transformation and guidance,
so that even as we dream your dreams and see your visions,
we may be able to witness to your presence
in our common life.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.—(2 Corinthians 13:14)
Amen.