The Lord’s Day
January 13, 2008
My soul shall rejoice in the Lord;
It shall exult in His salvation.
(Psalm 35:9)
Prelude
Apostolic Greeting
*Call to Worship Psalm 138:3–5
On the day I called, You answered me;
You made me bold with strength in my soul.
All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O Lord,
When they have heard the words of Your mouth.
And they will sing of the ways of the Lord,
For great is the glory of the Lord.
*Gloria Patri No. 734
*Prayer of Invocation
*Hymn O Worship the King No. 2
Public Confession
The depth of Your compassion, O Lord, leaves us in awe. We confidently confess to You that we have sinned in various ways this past week. In our thoughts and words we did not always uphold Your standard of righteousness. In our response to need we did not always set aside our interests for the sake of another. Our attitudes, desires, plans, and affections sometimes gave evidence of the sin that remains in us. Forgive us, therefore, so that we might have the joy of our salvation restored.
Words of Assurance Psalm 23:6
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Response Searcher of Hearts (facing page)
Prayer for the Tithe and Offerings
Collection of the Tithe and Offerings
*Doxology No. 731
*Declaring Our Faith The Larger Catechism (91–93)
What is the duty which God requires of man?
The duty which God requires of man is obedience to His revealed will.
What did God at first reveal to man as the rule of his obedience?
The rule of obedience revealed to Adam and to all mankind in him, besides a special command not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, was the moral law.
What is the moral law?
The moral law is the declaration of the will of God to mankind, directing and binding everyone to personal, perfect, and perpetual conformity and obedience thereunto; promising life upon the fulfilling, and threatening death upon the breach of it.
Pastoral Prayer
*Responsive Reading Proverbs 19:1–14
Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than he who is perverse in speech and is a fool.
Also it is not good for a person to be without knowledge, and he who hurries his footsteps errs.
The foolishness of man ruins his way,
And his heart rages against the Lord.
Wealth adds many friends,
But a poor man is separated from his friend.
A false witness will not go unpunished,
And he who tells lies will not escape.
Many will seek the favor of a generous man,
And every man is a friend to him who gives gifts.
All the brothers of a poor man hate him; how much more do his friends abandon him!
He pursues them with words, but they are gone.
He who gets wisdom loves his own soul;
He who keeps understanding will find good.
A false witness will not go unpunished,
And he who tells lies will perish.
Luxury is not fitting for a fool;
Much less for a slave to rule over princes.
A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger,
And it is his glory to overlook a transgression.
The king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion,
But his favor is like dew on the grass.
A foolish son is destruction to his father,
And the contentions of a wife are a constant dripping.
House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers,
But a prudent wife is from the Lord.
*Hymn Ye Servants of God, Your Master Proclaim No. 165
*Public Reading of the Word Galatians 4
*Prayer for the Ministry of the Word
Sermon Matthew 13:24–43
Hymn Not What My Hands Have Done No. 461
Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper+
*Hymn O God, to Us Show Mercy No. 437
*Benediction
*Threefold Amen No. 740
* Congregation will please stand
+ Visitors: please see the note on the back of this bulletin