Morning Worship

 January 29, 2006

Reflection

 ⁶"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.  ⁸"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

                                                                                                 —Matthew 5:6, 8

      Do you want to be free from the oppression of lustful desires and actions?  Do you want to get off the treadmill of guilt and shame?

     God offers you and me hope in a surprising way.  He doesn’t tell us to lower our standards to a place where we think we can do it in our own strength.  He calls us to embrace the standard of His Word—not even a hint of sexual immorality or impurity, [or greed].  God wants us to despair in our own strength so that we have no other option but to throw ourselves on His grace.

    That’s the mystery of His plan.  You will find His strength in your weakness.  As you despair in yourself, you will find hope in Him.  And as you turn your back on lust, you will discover that true pleasure is something only God can give.

                                                                                       —Joshua Harris

We must fight fire with fire.  The fire of lust’s pleasures must be fought with the fire of God’s pleasures.  If we try to fight the fire of lust with prohibitions and threats alone—even the terrible warnings of Jesus—we will fail.  We must fight it with the massive promise of superior happiness.  We must swallow up the little flicker of lust’s pleasure in the conflagration of holy satisfaction.

                                                                                                                                —John Piper 

Welcome

^*Preparation— Pastor Dick Ellis

Prelude

 Praise

Call to Worship— Psalm 99

Leader:              ¹The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! ²The LORD is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples.  ³Let them praise your great and awesome name!  Holy is he!  ⁴The King in his might loves justice.  You have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.

Together:   ⁵Exalt the LORD our God; worship at his footstool!  Holy is he!

Leader:    ⁶Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called upon his name. They called to the LORD, and he answered them.  ⁷In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them; they kept his testimonies and the statute that he gave them.

Together:   ⁸O LORD our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings.  ⁹Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the LORD our God is holy!

 Hymn of Praise— Holy, Holy, Holy!

Prayer of Adoration

Renewal

Scripture Reading— Psalm 127

 ¹Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. ²It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep ³Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a      reward. ⁴Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. ⁵Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Hymn of Thanksgiving— Shine Thou Upon Us, Lord

Sacrament of Baptism

Congregational Prayer

Song of Praise— Before the Throne of God Above

Before the throne of God above,

I have a strong and perfect plea

A great High Priest whose name is Love

Who ever lives and pleads for me

My name is graven on His hands

My name is written on His heart

I know that while in heaven He stands

No tongue can bid me thence depart

No tongue can bid me thence depart

When Satan tempts me to despair

And tells me of the guilt within

Upward I look and see Him there

Who made an end of all my sin

Because the sinless Savior died

My sinful soul is counted free

For God the Just is satisfied

To look on Him and pardon me

To look on Him and pardon me

Behold Him there the Risen Lamb

My perfect spotless righteousness

The great unchangeable I Am

The King of glory and of grace

One with Himself I cannot die

My soul is purchased by His blood

My life is hid with Christ on high

With Christ my Savior and my God

With Christ my Savior and my God

Offering God Our Wealth

Commitment

Sermon Text— Ephesians 5:3

³But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.

 Sermon— Sex and God’s City:  The Alternative Lifestyle
                                                                          ~Pastor Vinny Tauriello

 Closing Hymn— All for Jesus!

Benediction

Postlude

Prayer and Praise Update

Missions

 Rev. Richard R. Gerber, Associate General Secretary, Committee on Home Missions and Church Extension

Matt and Shannon Baugh

Pray for Haiti as it is in the midst of political transition and confusion.  Kidnapping has become more prevalent and gang activity has increased greatly over the past few months.

Pray that the Lord will protect the Baugh family and give them wisdom and grace to fulfill their calling.

House of Correction, Jessup, MD

Pray that the faith of the men will not fail and that they will find unity.

Becca Myers, Quebec

   Continue to pray for Becca’s faith, hope, and love.

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 Patrick will receive the care and love that he need’s from the orphanage staff and that God will be with him.

Pray for John Rusk as he recovers from triple bypass surgery at Washington Hospital Center.  Pray also that the Lord will provide Sarah with the faith and strength that she will need during John’s recovery.