Ever Sunday we gather to worship God through the liturgy, hymns, the preaching of the Word, and the bread and wine. This is what our gathering this past Sunday looked like:

 

-Opening Song: "Hosanna (Praise is Rising)"

 

CALL TO WORSHIP 

Hear the call to worship from Psalm 96 ...

 

Oh sing to the Lord a new song;

Sing to the Lord, all the earth!

Sing to the Lord, bless his name;

Tell of his salvation from day to day.

Declare his glory among the nations,

His marvelous works among all the peoples!

For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

He is to be feared above all gods.

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,

But the Lord made the heavens.

 

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

Let the field exult, and everything in it!

Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy

Before the Lord, for he comes,

For he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness,

And the peoples in his faithfulness.

 

- Song: "Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery"

 

CONFESSION OF SIN 

Let us confess our sins to the Father together…

 

Great God of mercy and grace,

We confess how prone our hearts are to wander from you.

We easily wander away like lost sheep.

Instead of trembling in awe and wonder before you,

and pursuing holiness eagerly,

we constantly turn aside after our idols.

Our hearts are set firmly on things that will rust, break, decay, and die,

instead of being devoted to the one who loved us

and gave himself for us.

Father, give us a new will that desires to obey you.

Jesus, thank you for crediting your perfect obedience to us.

Holy Spirit, transform our hearts by renewing our minds.

Have your way within us according to your own good pleasure,

as a potter shapes the clay for his own purposes.

In Jesus name, amen.

 

ABSOLUTION 

Hear the good news from Ezekiel...He

I will sprinkle clean water upon you,

And you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses,

And from all your idols I will cleanse you.

A new heart I will give you,

And a new spirit I will put within you;

And I will remove from your body the heart of stone

And give you a heart of flesh.

 

- Song: "Rock of Ages"

 

PROFESSION OF FAITH: MSA Catechism Q. 32-33

Let us profess our faith together by answering the following questions from the Morning Star Catechism...

 

L: Q32 - Can anyone be saved through his own works?

 

C: A - No, salvation is by grace through faith..

 

L & C: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourself, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast” - Ephesians 2:8-9

 

L: Q33 -Why can no one be saved by his own works?

 

C: A -Because all men are sinners.

 

L & C:  “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” -Romans 3:23

 

“For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” - James 2:10

 

- Song: "Amazing Grace"

 

- Sermon: "A Story About Change" by Pastor Justin Dean

 

- Communion

 

LITURGICAL PRAYER 

Please Stand and let us pray to our Father together...

Almighty and everlasting God,

Because of Your tender love toward man

you sent our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon Him

our flesh and suffer death upon the cross,

that all mankind should follow the example of His humility,

mercifully grant that we both follow the example of His patience

and be made partakers of His resurrection;

Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

 

- Song of Response

 

BENEDICTION 

As we leave here today…

 

May the Lord, who longs to be gracious to you,

Who waits on high to have compassion on you,

Plant you firmly in the faith, established, steadfast, and unmovable,

Through the hope of the gospel, proclaimed to all the creation under heaven.

 

L: Peace be with you! C: And also with you!