Morning Worship

 January 22, 2006

Reflection

Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed.

                                                                              —Proverbs 19:17

 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

                                                                                —Matthew 5:7

Joy (in the reward of heaven) is the freeing power to love our enemies. … The command to love our enemy is a command to find our hope and our satisfaction in God and his great reward. … We must be persuaded in the midst of our agony that the love of God is “better than life” (Psalm 63:3). Loving your enemy doesn’t earn you  the reward of heaven. Treasuring the reward of heaven empowers you to love              your enemy.  
                                                                                     —John Piper

Welcome

Call to Worship— Psalm 145:1-3; 8-9

Leader:             ¹I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. ²Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.  ³Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. ⁸The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. ⁹The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

Hymn of Praise— What All Your Mercies, O My God

Prayer of Adoration

 Confession of Faith— Westminster Confession of Faith ch 5.1

 God the great Creator of all things doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all   creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by his most wise and holy providence, according to his infallible foreknowledge, and the free and  immutable counsel of his own will, to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy.

Song of Praise— Isaiah 40

Do you not know?  Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

The Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

And His understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary,

And increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

And young men stumble and fall;

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

They will run and not grow weary,

    They will walk and not be faint. (repeat)

Renewal

Scripture Reading— Deuteronomy 15:7-11

 ⁷"If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, ⁸but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. ⁹Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, 'The seventh year, the year of release is near,' and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the LORD against you, and you be guilty of sin. ¹⁰You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. ¹¹For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, 'You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.'

 Prayer of Confession—

 Thank you, O God, for the gift of Sabbath. Let us rest in the work of Jesus for us: for his life of perfect obedience, and his death on the cross in which he bore the shame and punishment of our guilt. Let us find our joy in the future, Sabbath-rest of heaven, And I, in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied in seeing your likeness.            (Psalm 17:15)

Let us gladly seize the gift of Sabbath to rest from our 6-day work and from the anxieties and worries of life. Let us joyfully give up the lesser pleasures and distractions of this life which weaken our greater delight in you. Let us taste deeply of your mercy, so we share your mercy with others each day. May we follow Jesus’ example and use the gift of Sabbath to serve others, providing them a taste of God’s mercy. In the name and for the glory of Christ, AMEN.

 Private Confession

 Words of Encouragement— Hebrews 4:9-10  

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

Praise Songs

Depth of Mercy

Depth of mercy can there be

Mercy reaching even me

God the just his wrath forbears

Me, the chief of sinners spares

So many times my heart has strayed

From his kind and perfect ways

Making clear my desperate need

For his blood poured out for me

Give me grace Lord, let me own

All the wrongs that I have done

Let me now my sins deplore

Look to you and sin no more

There for me the savior stands

Holding forth his wounded hands

Scars which ever cry for me

Once condemned but now set free

What the Lord Has Done in Me

Let the weak say, "I am strong."  Let the poor say, "I am rich." 

Let the blind say, "I can see; it's what the Lord has done in me."

 Hosanna! Hosanna!  To the Lamb that was slain.

Hosanna! Hosanna! Jesus died and rose again.

Into the river I will wade, there my sins are washed away.

From the heavens mercy streams of the Savior's love for me.

I will rise from waters deep into the saving arms of God.

I will sing salvation songs; Jesus Christ has set me free

Testimony

Congregational Prayer

Song of Praise— How Great is Your Love, O Lord

No eye has seen and no ear has heard

and no mind has ever conceived

The glorious things that You have prepared

for every one who has believed.

You brought us near and You called us Your own

And made us joint heirs with Your Son.

 How high and how wide, how deep and how long

How sweet and how strong is your love;

How lavish your grace, how faithful your ways

How great is your love, O Lord.

Objects of mercy who should have known wrath

We’re filled with unspeakable joy

Riches of wisdom, unsearchable wealth,

And the wonder of knowing your voice.

You are our treasure and our great reward

Our hope and our glorious King.

Commitment

Sermon Text— Luke 6:32-36

³²"If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even      sinners love those who love them. ³³And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. ³⁵But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the     ungrateful and the evil. ³⁶Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

 Sermon— Showing God-like Mercy                             Pastor Dick Ellis

 Offering God our Wealth/Offertory

 Closing Hymn— To God Be the Glory

Benediction

Postlude

Prayer and Praise Update

Missions

 Rev. Ross W. Graham, General Secretary, Committee on Home Missions and Church Extension.

Woody and Laurie Lauer, Kobe Shi, Japan

Woody had frequent opportunities to preach throughout the fall, and they are rejoicing as several of the people that they have been working with have accepted salvation.

Pray that God will be merciful and continue to use Woody to spread His word.

Care Net Pregnancy Center

Pray that their financial needs will be met so that this ministry can   continue to support life and reach out to women and families.

Becca Myers, Quebec

Pray for St-Marc Church, for it’s ministry to the community, and for the spiritual health of its    members.

Praise the Lord for all of the work He has already done and the plans that He has for the future.

 At New Hope

 Continue to pray that God will provide the finances needed to cover all of the costs involved with Patrick McClellan’s adoption and that the process will proceed smoothly.

Pray for the Hake family as they enfold Elsie and Elaina.