The Lord’s Day

November 9, 2008

Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;

do not promote his evil device, that they not be exalted.

(Psalm 140:8)

Prelude

Apostolic Greeting

*Call to Worship Psalm 33:18–22

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,

On those who hope for His lovingkindness, to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine.

Our soul waits for the Lord;

He is our help and our shield.

For our heart rejoices in Him,

Because we trust in His holy name.

Let Your lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us,

According as we have hoped in You.

*Gloria Patri No. 734

*Prayer of Invocation

*Hymn Psalm 148 (facing page)

Public Confession

O Lord, we thank You for giving us songs to sing—songs of praise and thanksgiving, songs of joy and hope. We remember the great salvation in which we stand at this hour and, with humble hearts, ask that You would forgive our many transgressions. Let us know the comfort of Your pardon in Jesus our Savior.

Words of Assurance Psalm 138:6, 7

Though the Lord is exalted, yet He regards the lowly, but the haughty He knows from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me.

Response In Thee, O Lord, I Put My Trust (below)

Prayer for the Tithe and Offerings

Collection of the Tithe and Offerings

*Doxology No. 731

*Declaring Our Faith² Good Works

The cause of good works, we confess, is not our free will, but the Spirit of the Lord Jesus who dwells in our hearts by faith. We affirm that it is blasphemy to say that Christ abides in the hearts of those in whom is no spirit of sanctification. As soon as the Spirit takes possession of the heart of any man, so soon does He regenerate and renew him, so that he begins to hate what before he loved, and to love what he hated before.

The Spirit makes us resist filthy pleasures and groan in God’s presence for deliverance from the bondage of corruption, and finally to triumph over sin so that it does not reign in our mortal bodies. The sons of God fight against sin; sob and mourn when they find themselves tempted to do evil; and, if they fall, rise again with earnest and unfeigned repentance. They do these things, not by their own power, but by the power of the Lord Jesus, apart from whom they can do nothing.

Pastoral Prayer

*Responsive Reading Psalm 4

Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!

You have relieved me in my distress; be gracious to me and hear my prayer.

O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach?

How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception?

But know that the Lord has set apart the godly man for Himself;

The Lord hears when I call to Him.

Tremble, and do not sin;

Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still.

Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,

And trust in the Lord.

Many are saying, “Who will show us any good?”

Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O Lord!

You have put gladness in my heart,

More than when their grain and new wine abound.

In peace I will both lie down and sleep,

For You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety.

*Hymn Join All the Glorious Names No. 301

*Public Reading of the Word Hebrews 3

*Prayer for the Ministry of the Word

Sermon Matthew 26:69–75

Hymn God, Be Merciful to Me No. 486

Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper^

*Hymn Thy Works, Not Mine, O Christ No. 524

*Benediction

*Threefold Amen No. 740

* Congregation will please stand

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