The Lord’s Day

February 10, 2008

Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many wicked.

For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord sustains the righteous.

(Psalm 37:16, 17)

  Prelude

  Apostolic Greeting

*Call to Worship                                                     Psalm 9:9–11

The Lord also will be a stronghold for the oppressed,

A stronghold in times of trouble;

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You,

For You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.

Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion;

Declare among the peoples His deeds.

*Gloria Patri                                                                      No. 734

*Prayer of Invocation

*Hymn          O Lord Most High, with All My Heart     No. 48

  Public Confession

O God, You are more wonderful than our minds can imagine, yet You have regard for us. We thank You for Your kindness, therefore, knowing that we are Your people only by grace.

Heavenly Father, help us to discern the weight of our transgressions so that we might rejoice in the fact of our freedom from condemnation. Please forgive our misspoken words, foolish speculations, and thoughtless assertions. Forgive our backbiting, our lies, our anger, and our deceit. Forgive our slowness to demonstrate to others the mercy we have received. Forgive our secret pleasure in the downfall of another.

Convict us of our sin, but also remind us of our Savior. For His sake we are forgiven, and for His glory we desire to live.

 Words of Assurance     1 Peter 1:22-23

Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.

  Response                         Lead Me, Lord    (inside front cover)

  Prayer for the Tithe and Offerings

  Collection of the Tithe and Offerings

*Doxology                                                                          No. 731

*Declaring Our Faith           The Larger Catechism (151, 152)

What makes some sins more heinous than others?

One sin may be more heinous than another depending on the offender: if they be of riper age, greater experience or grace, eminent for profession, gifts, place, office, guides to others, and whose example is likely to be followed by others; and also from the parties offended: if immediately against God, His attributes, and worship; against Christ, and His grace; the Holy Spirit, His witness, and workings; against superiors, men of eminency, and such as we stand especially related and engaged unto; against any of the saints, particularly weak brethren.

What does every sin deserve at the hands of God?

Every sin, even the least, being against the sovereignty, goodness, and holiness of God, and against His righteous law, deserves His wrath and curse, both in this life and that which is to come; and cannot be expiated but by the blood of Christ.

  Pastoral Prayer

*Responsive Reading                                    Proverbs 20:16–30

Take his garment when he becomes surety for a stranger;

And for foreigners, hold him in pledge.

Bread obtained by falsehood is sweet to a man,

But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.

Prepare plans by consultation,

And make war by wise guidance.

He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets,

Therefore do not associate with a gossip.

He who curses his father or his mother, his lamp will go out in time of darkness.

An inheritance gained hurriedly at the beginning will not be blessed in the end.

Do not say, “I will repay evil”;

Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.

Differing weights are an abomination to the Lord,

And a false scale is not good.

Man’s steps are ordained by the Lord,

How then can man understand his way?

It is a trap for a man to say rashly, “It is holy!”

And after the vows to make inquiry.

A wise king winnows the wicked,

And drives the threshing wheel over them.

The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord,

Searching all the innermost parts of his being.

Loyalty and truth preserve the king,

And he upholds his throne by righteousness.

The glory of young men is their strength,

And the honor of old men is their gray hair.

Stripes that wound scour away evil,

And strokes reach the innermost parts.

*Hymn        By Grace I’m Saved, Free and Boundless No. 456

*Public Reading of the Word                                   Ephesians 2

*Prayer for the Ministry of the Word

  Sermon                                          The Reverend Ryan Hughes

  Hymn                 O God of Mercy, God of Might          No. 433

  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