Praise to God for His Majesty
Call to Worship
1 The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
2 The LORD is great in Zion;
he is exalted over all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name!
Holy is he!
*Trinity Hymnal No. 100
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,
though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee
perfect in pow'r, in love, and purity.Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
Prayer of Invocation
*Trinity Hymnal No. 735
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.
*Confession of Faith
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The Westminster Shorter Catechism 21–22 p. 870
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Q. Who is the redeemer of God's elect?
A. The only redeemer of God's elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was, and continueth to be, God and man in two distinct natures, and one person, forever. -
Q. How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man?
A. Christ, the Son of God, became man, by taking to himself a true body and a reasonable soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the virgin Mary, and born of her, yet without sin.
Confession Before a Holy God
Reading of the Law
1 Set the trumpet to your lips!
One like a vulture is over the house of the LORD,
because they have transgressed my covenant
and rebelled against my law.
2 To me they cry,
“My God, we—Israel—know you.”
3 Israel has spurned the good;
the enemy shall pursue him.
4 They made kings, but not through me.
They set up princes, but I knew it not.
With their silver and gold they made idols
for their own destruction.
5 I have spurned your calf, O Samaria.
My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of innocence?
6 For it is from Israel;
a craftsman made it;
it is not God.
The calf of Samaria
shall be broken to pieces.
7 For they sow the wind,
and they shall reap the whirlwind.
The standing grain has no heads;
it shall yield no flour;
if it were to yield,
strangers would devour it.
8 Israel is swallowed up;
already they are among the nations as a useless vessel.
9 For they have gone up to Assyria,
a wild donkey wandering alone;
Ephraim has hired lovers.
10 Though they hire allies among the nations,
I will soon gather them up.
And the king and princes shall soon writhe
because of the tribute.
11 Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning,
they have become to him altars for sinning.
12 Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands,
they would be regarded as a strange thing.
13 As for my sacrificial offerings,
they sacrifice meat and eat it,
but the LORD does not accept them.
Now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins;
they shall return to Egypt.
14 For Israel has forgotten his Maker
and built palaces,
and Judah has multiplied fortified cities;
so I will send a fire upon his cities,
and it shall devour her strongholds.
Confession of Sin
Assurance of Pardon
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
The Means of Grace
Prayer of Intercession
*Scripture Reading and Text
12 I am writing to you, little children,
because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.
14 I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
Sermon
John’s Address to Spiritual Babes
Rev. Kyle Brent
Prayer of Application
*Trinity Hymnal No. 6
O Come, My Soul, Bless Thou the Lord
O come, my soul, bless thou the Lord thy Maker,
and all within me bless his holy name;
bless thou the Lord, forget not all his mercies,
his pard'ning grace and saving love proclaim.Refrain:
Bless him forever, wondrous in might,
bless him, his servants that in his will delight.Good is the Lord and full of kind compassion,
most slow to anger, plenteous in love;
rich is his grace to all that humbly seek him,
boundless and endless as the heav'ns above.Bless him forever, wondrous in might,
bless him, his servants that in his will delight.His love is like a father's to his children,
tender and kind to all who fear his name;
for well he knows our weakness and our frailty,
he knows that we are dust, he knows our frame.Bless him forever, wondrous in might,
bless him, his servants that in his will delight.We fade and die like flow'rs that grow in beauty,
like tender grass that soon will disappear;
but evermore the love of God is changeless,
still shown to those who look to him in fear.Bless him forever, wondrous in might,
bless him, his servants that in his will delight.High in the heav'ns his throne is fixed forever,
his kingdom rules o'er all from pole to pole;
bless ye the Lord through all his wide dominion,
bless his most holy name, O thou my soul.Bless him forever, wondrous in might,
bless him, his servants that in his will delight.
Thanksgiving and Blessing
Offering
*Trinity Hymnal No. 95
Though troubles assail us and dangers affright,
though friends should all fail us and foes all unite,
yet one thing secures us, whatever betide,
the promise assures us, "The Lord will provide."The birds, without garner or storehouse, are fed;
from them let us learn to trust God for our bread.
His saints what is fitting shall ne'er be denied
so long as 'tis written, "The Lord will provide."When Satan assails us to stop up our path,
and courage all fails us, we triumph by faith.
He cannot take from us, though oft he has tried,
this heart-cheering promise, "The Lord will provide."No strength of our own and no goodness we claim;
yet, since we have known of the Savior's great name,
in this our strong tower for safety we hide:
the Lord is our power, "The Lord will provide."
*Benediction
*Trinity Hymnal No. 731
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
praise him, all creatures here below;
praise him above, ye heav'ly host;
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.