THE LORD’S DAY
ORDER OF WORSHIP
July 24,2016
REFLECTION
“God will never disappoint us… If deep in our hearts we suspect that God does not love us and cannot manage our affairs as well as we can, we certainly will not submit to His discipline. …To the unbeliever the fact of suffering only convinces him that God is not to be trusted, does not love us. To the believer, the opposite is true.” - Elisabeth Elliott
PRELUDE
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
CALL TO WORSHIP Psalm 107:1
Leader: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
All: His steadfast love endures forever!
PRAYER OF ADORATION
HYMNS OF ADORATION For the Beauty of the Earth
For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies;
For the love which from our birth,over and around us lies.
Chorus: Lord of all to Thee we raise,this our hymn of grateful praise.
For the wonder of each hour, of the day and of the night;
Hill and vale, and tree and flower;sun and moon, and stars of light. Chorus
For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child;
Friends on earth and friends above, for all gentle thoughts and mild. Chorus
For the church, that evermore lifteth holy hands above,
Offering up on every shore,her pure sacrifice of love. Chorus
For Thyself, best Gift Divine,to our race so freely given;
For that great, great love of Thine, peace on earth and joy in Heaven. Chorus
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
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.
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.
O to grace how great a debtor,daily I'm constrained to be!
Let that 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.
On that day when freed from sinning, I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood-washed linen,how I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry, take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry,me to realms of endless day.
CONFESSION OF SIN
Our loving Father, you have redeemed us from our sin and misery. You have given us all good things in your Son, Jesus. Yet we search for joy and belonging apart from you. We rebel against you and live like we have no need of your Word to guide us. Like fools, we continue in sinful habits that bring us harm. We think material riches can compare to spiritual riches. Please forgive us of our sins and our sinful condition. Rescue us from the trouble our sins have brought. Renew us by your Spirit with the righteousness of Christ our Savior, in whose name we pray. Amen.
SILENT CONFESSION OF SIN
ASSURANCE OF PARDON Hebrews 9:27-28
HYMN OF PARDON In Christ Alone
Music and Lyrics: Keith Getty and Stuart Townend
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.
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 ev'ry sin on Him was laid—Here in the death of Christ I live.
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.
No guilt in life, no fear in death—This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.
CONFESSION OF FAITH Nicene Creed
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in one holy *catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
*universal
NEW TESTAMENT READING Hebrews 12:3-13
Leader: This is the Word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
PASTORAL PRAYER Chris Akridge, Ruling Elder
Parents may take their children four years old and under to the nursery.
WORSHIP THROUGH GIVING
DOXOLOGY AND PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise him, all creatures here below; praise him above, ye heavenly host: praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
SERMON Rev. Brandon Meeks
Psalm 107:1-32 “God’s Steadfast Love”
HYMN OF RESPONSE Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim It!
Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it! Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
redeemed thro' his infinite mercy, his child and forever I am.
Chorus: Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
redeemed, redeemed, his child and forever I am.
Redeemed, and so happy in Jesus, no language my rapture can tell;
I know that the light of his presence with me doth continually dwell. Chorus
I think of my blessed Redeemer, I think of him all the day long;
I sing, for I cannot be silent; his love is the theme of my song. Chorus
BENEDICTION
WHO WE ARE
Our Purpose: “To find our Identity, Lifestyle, and Mission in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Our Beliefs and Our Denomination: Our final rule of authority is God’s word, contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New testaments. Our denominational affiliation is with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). We believe that the Westminster Confession of Faith, along with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, are an accurate reflection of the teaching of Scripture. We also follow the Book of Church Order of the PCA, which is a guide to conducting church life in an orderly manner.
SERMON OUTLINE
Main Point: Reflect on the ways God has shown his steadfast love to you and give thanks.
- The context of God’s steadfast love.
- God’s steadfast love for the “Famished Wanderer”
- God’s steadfast love for the “Helpless Prisoner”
- God’s steadfast love for the “Miserable Fool”
- God’s steadfast love for the “Distressed Fortune-Seeker”
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Youth Pool Party: Lee & Amanda Hicks invite the youth to their home for a pool party and cook-out (or pizza) onSaturday, August 6 at 5:00 PM. Please RSVP nd further details will be provided.
Habersham Life Service Opportunity:The deacons invite volunteers to help paint the Habersham Life office in Cornelia. We would like 4-6 men (or ladies if interested) to participate. Please join us to help this critically important, gospel affirming, and life supporting ministry in Habersham County. The work day will beSaturday, August 13thfrom9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.Lunch will be provided. Please see Lee Hicks or Keith Loveland if interested.
Prayer: If you have prayer requests to share with our entire church body, please forward them to Faye Gibbs ().
Connection cards: If you would like more information about our church, would like to be added to the email list, or if you would like our elders to pray about something specific, please fill out a connection card and drop it in the offering plate when it comes by.
Leading in worship this morning:Bryan Black, Ruling Elder
Preaching this morning: Rev. Brandon Meeks, Teaching Elder
Nursery Today: Kerrie Stumpf and Laura Sutter/ Wes and Jenny Crow/ Kecia and Grace Jones
Nursery Next Week: Jim and Mary Rosene/ Chris and April Akridge/ Paul and Amy Belk
CHRIST PRESBYTERIAN LEADERSHIP
Pastor, Teaching Elder
Hobie Wood, 706.490.2065,
Associate Pastor, Teaching Elder
Brandon Meeks, 704.662.2737,
Ruling Elders
Chris Akridge 706.768.7498, Bryan Black 706.461.0431,
Don Bluster 706.499.6818, Ken Doll 404.401.9164,
Bill Horton 706.754.2619, John Stumpf 706.949.4958
Deacons
Gus Hames 706.461.3091, Lee Hicks ,
Keith Loveland 706.878.3165, Brian Patterson 770.841.4642
CONTACT US
Mailing Address: Christ Presbyterian Church, PO Box 391
Clarkesville, GA 30523
Email:
Website:
Office: 706.968.2867
Meeting at the Ruby C Fulbright Aquatic Center
120 Paul Franklin Rd., Clarkesville, GA
CCLI#11160829