For August 5, 2012

Worship Next Sunday

August 5, 2012

Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee

Sermon text: Acts 15:1-11

Sermon title: Saved through Grace

Music:

Opening Hymn 17 Praise the Lord:Ye Heavens Adore Him

Preparation Hymn 437 O God, to Us Show Mercy

Response Hymn 342 Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation

Closing Hymn 460 Amazing Grace

Confession of Faith: Heidelberg Catechism

Old Testament Passage: Genesis 12:1-3

Preparation Guide

Sunday: Review morning sermon (evening service @ 5pm)

Monday: Acts 15:1-11

Tuesday: 2 Kings 19:1-19

Wednesday: 2 Kings 19:20-37

Thursday: Genesis 12:1-3

Friday: Exodus 20:8-11

Saturday: Acts 15

Suggested Bible Study and Prayers

(Passages that we will refer to in next Sunday's worship)

2 Kings 19

O God, we have been humbled by our troubles. We were so proud of ourselves until a day of distress came to us. You must help us, or we will not be able to survive. You can send powers and principalities fleeing, despite all of their proud boasts. Grant us courage today. Fill us with a spirit of heartfelt prayer. Hear us when we cry out to You. You hear and see those who mock You. Save us from the hands of enemies that are too strong for us. You hear our prayers, and grant us the gift of hope. We will stand with You. You are able to humble the proudest foe. The years of our most powerful adversaries will come to an end. Your plans are from of old, and You will do all Your holy will. We will be amazed by Your wonderful deliverance. Surely You are God, and we are Your people. The end of the story will be different than the sorrow of the present moment.

Genesis 12

Lord God, You grant us lives to be lived for Your glory. We have opportunities for faithfulness that You give to us. You also grant us resources of money and time for the use of Your kingdom. Will we use these things for ourselves, and miss the opportunity to serve You sacrificially? Help us to love Your house out of our deep regard for You. Give us others with whom we may serve. Build up Your kingdom for Your own glory. Protect us from vicious men who have no intention of truly serving You.

Acts 15

Great God, there was much dissension in the early church, and there are important disagreements in the church today. Help us to distinguish between those matters where love must cover a multitude of sins, and those matters that must be more fully discussed for Your good purposes. Give us the courage and discipline to call together eminent and godly servants of the truth in order to gain greater clarity by Your Word and Spirit. Make their deliberations a productive and worthwhile use of Your resources. Thank You for the wonderful truth that was displayed so powerfully in Your church in days of old when the age changed from the time of the Law to the new day of the gospel. Thank you for the way of life by grace through the faith that remained the same in both ages. Yet thank You once again for the clarity that the ceremonies of the Law have been fulfilled in Christ. It is now clear that we do not need to be Jewish before we can be Christians. The way of life for us in not through circumcision, Passover, and the regulations of clean and unclean. Nonetheless, we thank You for the record of these matters in the Law, for they show us the wonders of Christ. He has become our circumcision through His death on the cross. Through Him alone we have been rescued from sure destruction, for He is our Passover. By His blood sprinkled upon our hearts we have been cleansed by the Holy Spirit from the guilt and stain of sin.

For July 29, 2012

Worship Next Sunday

July 29, 2012

Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee

Sermon text: Acts 14:24-28

Sermon title: Journey's End and a New Creation

Music:

Opening Hymn 2 O Worship the King

Preparation Hymn 331 Come, O Come, Thou Quickening Spirit

Response Hymn 310 Rejoice, the Lord Is King

Closing Hymn 580 Lead On, O King Eternal

Confession of Faith: Nicene Creed

Old Testament Passage: Genesis 8

Preparation Guide

Sunday: Review morning sermon (evening service @ 5pm)

Monday: Acts 14:24-28

Tuesday: 2 Kings 18:1-18

Wednesday: 2 Kings 18:19-23

Thursday: Genesis 8

Friday: Exodus 20:7

Saturday: Acts 14

Suggested Bible Study and Prayers

(Passages that we will refer to in next Sunday's worship)

2 Kings 18

Father God, You are able to bring good news to Your people at just the right times. You also know the right discipline to give to Your children. We thank You for the relief that You grant by giving us leaders who will listen to You and obey Your commandments. Even the best of these will yet have weakness and sin. Enemies of great power and skill may come and speak to us words of hate and faithlessness. Teach us to trust in You, O Lord our God. Help us not to fall into dangerous lies and traps. The world around us is full of trouble, but You are far more powerful than any foe. We will listen to You. Thank You for Your Son. His holiness and power are so far above even the best rulers. He will fight for us in our day of desperate need.

Genesis 8

God of Our Salvation, You have remembered us over many years. You know our weakness. At just the right time, You bring an end to the flood of trouble. You give us solid land again for our feet upon the Rock of Christ our Redeemer. You grant to Your people a new beginning, as You did in the days of Noah. Together with the whole family of faith, we are made alive in the land of the living by Your sure and powerful promise.

Acts 14

Our Father, Your missionaries are serving in all kinds of places throughout the world. As the apostle went not only to established places of worship, but also spoke in public places where people had very little knowledge of Your Word, Your servants even today serve in a variety of settings. We pray that You would provide them with every resource necessary for their effective proclamation of Your great works of creation, providence, and redemption. We pray that You would grant all these brothers clarity, energy, health, and especially spiritual strength in the midst of much weakness. We commend them to Your grace. Use their ministry in a powerful way, and grant an open door in many places where the Word has never before been heard.

For July 22, 2012

Worship Next Sunday

July 22, 2012

Preaching: Pastor Steve Magee

Sermon text: Acts 14:19-23

Sermon title: "Why Are You Angry?"

Music:

Opening Hymn 4 All Praise to God, Who Reigns Above

Preparation Hymn 145 The Spirit Breathes upon the Word

Response Hymn 670 If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee

Closing Hymn 689 Be Still, My Soul

Confession of Faith: The Apostle's Creed

Old Testament Passage: Genesis 4:1-8

Preparation Guide

Sunday: Review morning sermon (evening service @ 5pm)

Monday: Acts 14:19-23

Tuesday: 2 Kings 17:1-20

Wednesday: 2 Kings 17:21-41

Thursday: Genesis 4:1-8

Friday: Exodus 20:4-6

Saturday: Acts 14

Suggested Bible Study and Prayers

(Passages that we will refer to in next Sunday's worship)

2 Kings 17

Sovereign Lord, how can Your people survive under wicked leaders? Our sin is all around us, and we face enemies that are too powerful for us. O God, we admit to You our fascination with the idolatries of this world. Like Your people of old, we have secretly served false gods. You have warned us through those who spoke Your Word. We despised the message of the truth and Your holy commandments. We have moved in directions that have been horribly unprofitable. What trouble we have brought upon our lives! Please forgive us, help us, and rescue us from evil. We thank You for our strong Deliverer, Jesus Christ. He is able to help us. He is powerful and holy. He made a promise to be with us, and to help us and our children. Please teach us how to live in a world full of false religious philosophies and immorality. We do not know how to do this. We need You to help us today and always. We need to remember how to fear You and to follow You. Deliver us out of the hand of our enemies. Teach us to be dedicated to You with all that we are and all that we have.

Genesis 4

Lord of the Generations, there is a blood that speaks a better Word for us than the blood of Abel. The blood of Abel speaks of murder, even the murder of a brother. We mourn our ugly sin that so destroys the tranquility of family life. O God, forgive us. What have we done? The ground cries out to You, O God! Our sin and punishment are much more than we can bear. Yet even in this despicable state, You have put a mark upon us, that there would be a measure of Your protection, even for evil men, that the generations might yet move forward, and Your holy plan be fulfilled in all of its great detail. Forgive us for the progress of sin, for man has not been satisfied with one woman, or with any reasonable justice among men. We call upon Your Name, O Lord, and we thank You for a new line of spiritual life for us in the coming of Your Son Jesus.

Acts 14

Our Father, Your missionaries are serving in all kinds of places throughout the world. As the apostle went not only to established places of worship, but also spoke in public places where people had very little knowledge of Your Word, Your servants even today serve in a variety of settings. We pray that You would provide them with every resource necessary for their effective proclamation of Your great works of creation, providence, and redemption. We pray that You would grant all these brothers clarity, energy, health, and especially spiritual strength in the midst of much weakness. We commend them to Your grace. Use their ministry in a powerful way, and grant an open door in many places where the Word has never before been heard.

For July 15, 2012

Worship Next Sunday

July 15, 2012

Preaching: Intern Nathan Snyder

Sermon text: Luke 10:32-45

Sermon title: Following the Master Servant

Music:

Opening Hymn 53 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

Preparation Hymn 303 Blessed Jesus, at Your Word

Response Hymn 420 At the Lamb's High Feast We Sing

Closing Hymn 598 Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah

Confession of Faith: Heidelberg Catechism

Old Testament Passage: Isaiah 53:10-12

Preparation Guide

Sunday: Review morning sermon (evening service @ 5pm)

Monday: Luke 10:32-45

Tuesday: 2 Kings 16:1-9

Wednesday: 2 Kings 16:10-20

Thursday: Isaiah 53:10-12

Friday: Exodus 20:1-3

Saturday: Luke 10

Suggested Bible Study and Prayers

(Passages that we will refer to in next Sunday's worship)

2 Kings 16

Our Father, when we think that we cannot bear any more trouble, there may still be more testing before us. How will we survive? People that should be serving You may utterly give themselves over to idolatry and murder. How can we keep on going? Give Your servants new strength by Your Spirit. You supply us with resources of divine aid when it would appear that all is lost. Why should our leaders fall in love with the worship of false gods? There is no sense in this sin. Help us to feel again the true movements of Your Holy Spirit in the faithful ministry of Your Word. Give us a renewed respect for Your worship. Grant us a great repentance, and make even the sons of our most deceived enemies turn away from the foolish wickedness of their fathers.

Isaiah 53

O Lord, so many have ignored the truth of Your grace. So many were offended by the lowliness of our holy King. How is it that men would dare to despise Jesus, who was wounded for our transgressions? Thank You for this great truth: that the Shepherd died for the sheep. The One who was oppressed and afflicted in silence, now lives forever in the strength of resurrection power. When He is seen again, every knee shall bow before Him who was an offering for sin. He has justified many by His knowledge. He has carried our guilt. Through the strength of His death, and through His intercession for us, we have been saved.

Luke 10

Sovereign Lord, we pray to You as the Lord of the harvest. We ask that You would send forth laborers into Your harvest field. There is much service for Your kingdom that can be done everywhere and at all times. May we honestly call men to repent and believe. May we warn the complacent and encourage all who would trust in Your Son. Your kingdom can defeat every power of the enemy. Whatever setbacks we face here, whatever evil snare we fall into, and whatever foolishness we temporarily embrace, our names are written in heaven. You have revealed great things to Your church, things that even angels long to look into. Take far away from us the impulse to justify ourselves. Will we not give ourselves over to humble Christian service today? Why are we so hard-hearted? Your Son saw us in our need, and He showed us mercy. Grant us peace within Your church as we serve You and others. Help us to choose the best portion of all, Your Son Jesus Christ.

For July 8, 2012

Worship Next Sunday

July 8, 2012

Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee

Sermon text: Acts 14:8-18

Sermon title: “Good News” and “Earnest Counsel”

Music:

Opening Hymn Psalm 150

Preparation Hymn 486 God, Be Merciful to Me

Response Hymn 246 Man of Sorrows! What a Name

Closing Hymn 465 Marvelous Grace of Our Loving Lord

Confession of Faith: Nicene Creed

Old Testament Passage: Proverbs 27:9

Preparation Guide

Sunday: Review morning sermon (evening service @ 5pm)

Monday: Acts 14:8-18

Tuesday: 2 Kings 15:1-22

Wednesday: 2 Kings 15:23-38

Thursday: Proverbs 27:9

Friday: Matthew 22:39

Saturday: Acts 14

Suggested Bible Study and Prayers

(Passages that we will refer to in next Sunday's worship)

2 Kings 15

Glorious Lord, what can Your people do in a time of great instability and trouble? Some face challenges of health that are very difficult to bear. Others face sins that so easily ensnare them, and they are useless as leaders among those they must help. Many face the attacks of evil men, who conspire against them. Still others have their families destroyed by wicked adversaries. There is trouble within us because of our sin, and there is trouble outside us because of our enemies. Where will we find the strength to remember Your Law and obey it? Your Son was born in an evil generation. He faced a grave challenge from the devil. Leaders stood against Him, and rulers of the Gentiles were willing to see Him suffer. Yet He secured our eternal hope. Thank You that we can rest in Him, though we are facing trouble from every direction.

Proverbs 27

Lord God, You know the beginning from the end. We trust You. We marvel at the perfect wisdom of Your Son. Every impulse and detail of His heart and life was perfect. He related perfectly in all family relationships. He discerned every right opportunity for friendship and service. The heart of our Savior was perfect, just as the Man Himself was perfect. His glory will last forever. His righteousness is eternal. In Him we have a secure hope and a future of grace and truth. Grant to us the mind of Christ even now, so that we might serve You rightly.

Acts 14

Our Father, Your missionaries are serving in all kinds of places throughout the world. As the apostle went not only to established places of worship, but also spoke in public places where people had very little knowledge of Your Word, Your servants even today serve in a variety of settings. We pray that You would provide them with every resource necessary for their effective proclamation of Your great works of creation, providence, and redemption. We pray that You would grant all these brothers clarity, energy, health, and especially spiritual strength in the midst of much weakness. We commend them to Your grace. Use their ministry in a powerful way, and grant an open door in many places where the Word has never before been heard.