The Lord’s Day

August 24, 2008

 

The Lord is righteous; He has cut in two the cords of the wicked.

(Psalm 129:4)

 

  Prelude

 

  Apostolic Greeting

 

*Call to Worship                                            Psalm 105:1–4

Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name;

Make known His deeds among the peoples. 

Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;

Speak of all His wonders. 

Glory in His holy name;

Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad. 

Seek the Lord and His strength;

Seek His face continually.

 

*Gloria Patri                                                             No. 734

 

*Prayer of Invocation

 

*Hymn         O Come, My Soul, Bless Thou the Lord      No. 6

 

  Public Confession

Forgive us, O Lord, for caring too little about righteousness. Forgive us for those times we acted wrongly. Forgive our quickness to condemn and our slowness to forgive. Forgive our loose tongues, and cause us to mourn the harm we bring to another’s reputation.

 

Make us steadfast in the pursuit of holiness, heavenly Father. Do not let us be satisfied with lives of indifference. Let the Savior be honored in our lives, day by day. Let His great name be exalted among us as we display His grace.

 

  Words of Assurance                                   Psalm 84:10, 11

A day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

 

  Response           O for a Closer Walk with God (facing page)

 

  Prayer for the Tithe and Offerings

 

  Collection of the Tithe and Offerings

 

*Doxology                                                                 No. 731

 

*Declaring Our Faith                   The Larger Catechism (196)[†]

What does the conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer teach us?

The conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer (which is: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.) teaches us to enforce our petitions with arguments, which are to be taken, not from any worthiness in ourselves, or in any other creature, but from God; and with our prayers to join praises, ascribing to God alone eternal sovereignty, omnipotency, and glorious excellency; in regard whereof, as He is able and willing to help us, so we by faith are emboldened to plead with Him that He would, and quietly to rely upon Him that He will, fulfill our requests. And to testify to our desire and assurance, we say, Amen.

 

  Pastoral Prayer

 

*Responsive Reading                                 Proverbs 30:17-33

The eye that mocks a father and scorns a mother, the ravens of the valley will pick it out,

And the young eagles will eat it.

There are three things which are too wonderful for me,

Four which I do not understand:

The way of an eagle in the sky,

The way of a serpent on a rock,

The way of a ship in the middle of the sea,

And the way of a man with a maid.

This is the way of an adulterous woman:

She eats and wipes her mouth, and says, “I have done no wrong.”

Under three things the earth quakes,

And under four, it cannot bear up:

Under a slave when he becomes king,

And a fool when he is satisfied with food,

Under an unloved woman when she gets a husband,

And a maidservant when she supplants her mistress.

Four things are small on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise:

The ants are not a strong people, but they prepare their food in the summer;

The shephanim are not mighty people, yet they make their houses in the rocks;

The locusts have no king, yet all of them go out in ranks;

The lizard you may grasp with the hands, yet it is in kings’ palaces.

There are three things which are stately in their march, even four which are stately when they walk:

The lion which is mighty among beasts and does not retreat before any,

The strutting rooster, the male goat also,

And a king when his army is with him.

If you have been foolish in exalting yourself or if you have plotted evil, put your hand on your mouth.

For the churning of milk produces butter, and pressing the nose brings forth blood;

So the churning of anger produces strife.

 

*Hymn           That Man Is Blest Who, Fearing God    No. 558

 

*Public Reading of the Word                             1 Timothy 6

 

*Prayer for the Ministry of the Word

 

  Sermon                                                                               

 

  Hymn      O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High!      No. 155

 

  Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper⁺

 

*Hymn          O God, Your Judgments Give the King   No. 312

 

*Benediction

 

*Threefold Amen                                                      No. 740

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Congregation will please stand

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