The Lord’s Day

April 29, 2007

  Prelude

  Apostolic Greeting

*Call to Worship                                                 Psalm 34:15-19

Minister: The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous

Congregation: And His ears are open to their cry.

Minister: The face of the Lord is against evildoers,

Congregation: To cut off the memory of them from the earth. 

Minister: The righteous cry, and the Lord hears

Congregation: And delivers them out of all their troubles.

Minister: The Lord is near to the brokenhearted

Congregation: And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Minister: Many are the afflictions of the righteous,

Congregation: But the Lord delivers him out of them all.

*Gloria Patri                                                                      No. 734

*Prayer of Invocation

*Hymns          Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing     No. 457

Stand Up, O God, Be Present Now         No. 71

  Public Confession

We are grateful, O God, for Your mercy, which is shown to Your people day by day. We rejoice in what You have made known to us, especially the knowledge of our salvation in Christ our Lord.

We confess that we have not guarded our lips, as Your Word directs us. And we have not guarded our hearts, according to the warnings of Scripture. Instead, we have spoken sinfully and entertained wicked thoughts. Please forgive us for these transgressions.

We also confess that we have not given to You all our mind, heart, and strength. And we have not treated our neighbor as we would desire to be treated. Please forgive us for these sins.

  Words of Assurance                                                John 1:9-14

There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

  Response                         Amazing Grace   (inside front cover)

  Prayer for the Tithe and Offerings

  Collection of the Tithe and Offerings

*Doxology                                                                          No. 731

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host:

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Amen.

*Declaring Our Faith The Larger Catechism

What is the chief and highest end of man?

Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy Him forever.

How does it appear that there is a God?

The very light of nature in man, and the works of God, declare plainly that there is a God; but His Word and Spirit only do sufficiently and effectually reveal Him unto men for their salvation.

What is the Word of God?

The holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, the only rule of faith and obedience.

  Pastoral Prayer

*Responsive Reading                                      Proverbs 6:20-29

My son, observe the commandment of your father and do not forsake the teaching of your mother;

Bind them continually on your heart; tie them around your neck.

When you walk about, they will guide you;

When you sleep, they will watch over you;

And when you awake, they will talk to you.

For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light;

And reproofs for discipline are the way of life,

To keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.

Do not desire her beauty in your heart,

Nor let her capture you with her eyelids.

For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread,

And an adulteress hunts for the precious life.

Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned?

Or can a man walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?

So is the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;

Whoever touches her will not go unpunished.

*Hymn           That Man Is Blest Who, Fearing God     No. 558

*Public Reading of the Word                                    Romans 15

*Prayer for the Ministry of the Word

  Sermon                                                            Matthew 7:13-20

  Hymn                Not What My Hands Have Done         No. 461

  Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper⁺

*Hymn                         We Are God’s People                  No. 355

*Benediction

*Threefold Amen                                                               No. 740

* Congregation will please stand

⁺ Visitors: please see the note on the back of this bulletin