The Lord’s Day

October 1, 2006

  Prelude

  Apostolic Greeting

*Call to Worship                                                                                             Psalm 37:1-6

Do not fret because of evildoers, be not envious toward wrongdoers. For they will wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgment as the noonday.

*Gloria Patri                                                                                                             No. 734

Glory be to the Father,

And to the Son,

And to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning,

Is now, and ever shall be,

World without end. Amen, Amen.

*Prayer of Invocation

*Hymn                                            Give Praise to God                               (previous page)

  Public Confession

O Lord, You have rescued us from the bondage of sin

And are leading us to a place of never-ending joy.

As Your redeemed, we are troubled by our sin.

Therefore, we make this confession so that our hearts might be made glad once again.

Forgive those careless words we spoke this past week,

Words that lacked the grace that we are commanded to display.

Forgive those sinful acts in which we engaged,

Acts that served the flesh, but did not honor You.

Forgive us for closing our hearts to those in need,

And for worrying too much about what we have and too little about what we should give.

  Words of Assurance                                                                                    Romans 5:1, 2

Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.

  Response                         In Thee, O Lord, I Put My Trust            (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                      Westminster Confession (God’s Covenant with Man)

How is the covenant of grace presented in Scripture?

The covenant was differently administered in the time of the law and in the time of the Gospel. Under the law it was administered by promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the Paschal Lamb, and other types and ordinances delivered to the people of the Jews, all foresignifying Christ to come.

How did those means affect the people of God prior to the coming of Christ?

Through the operation of the Spirit, those means were sufficient and efficacious to instruct and build up the elect in faith in the promised Messiah, by whom they had full remission of sins and eternal salvation.

How are things different now that Christ has come?

Under the Gospel, when Christ the substance was exhibited, the ordinances in which this covenant is dispensed are the preaching of the Word, and the administration of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Though fewer in number and administered with more simplicity and less outward glory, these means set forth the covenant in more fullness, evidence, and spiritual efficacy to all nations, both Jews and Gentiles.

Are there two covenants, one operating in the Old Testament and the other operating in the New Testament?

No, there are not two covenants of grace, differing in substance, but one and the same, under various dispensations.

  Pastoral Prayer

*Responsive Reading                                                                                 The Law of God

Then God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.”

For us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him. (1 Corinthians 8:6)

“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

Little children, guard yourselves from idols. (1 John 5:21)

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.”

“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.’” (Matthew 6:9)

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.”

There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. (Hebrews 4:9, 10)

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.”

Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. (Colossians 3:20)

“You shall not murder.”

Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Romans 13:8, 9)

“You shall not commit adultery.”

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. (Hebrews 13:4)

“You shall not steal.”

Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who has need. (Ephesians 4:28)

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of you, with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. (Ephesians 4:25)

“You shall not covet.”

Do not let immorality or any impurity or greed even be named among you, as is proper among saints. (Ephesians 5:3)

*Hymn                                   How Gentle God’s Commands                                  No. 681

*Public Reading of the Word                                                                                 1 Peter 1

*Prayer for the Ministry of the Word

  Sermon

  Hymn                                         It Is Well with My Soul                                        No. 691

  Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper⁺

*Hymn                                                    Psalm 128                                             (next page)

*Benediction

*Threefold Amen                                                                                                      No. 740

* Congregation will please stand

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