The Lord’s Day

June 20, 2010

 

Return, O Lord, rescue my soul; save me because of Your lovingkindness.

(Psalm 6:4)

 

 

 

Prelude

 

Apostolic Greeting

 

*Call to Worship                                                 Psalm 140:12, 13

I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted

And justice for the poor.

Surely the righteous will give thanks to Your name;

The upright will dwell in Your presence.

 

*Gloria Patri                                                                                  No. 734

 

*Prayer of Invocation

 

*Hymn                              All Praise to God             (facing page)

 

Public Confession

Heavenly Father, please have mercy on us and forgive our transgressions. Forgive our sinful words and attitudes; forgive our selfishness and ill-treatment of others. Forgive us for the sins we have committed against those in our own homes. And please teach us to forgive as we have been forgiven—all for the honor of our blessed Savior.

 

Words of Assurance                                                Psalm 5:4–7

You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; no evil dwells with You. The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. You destroy those who speak falsehood; the Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit. But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house, at Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You.

 

Response                              Psalm 51E               (following page)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prayer for the Tithe and Offerings

 

Collection of the Tithe and Offerings

 

*Doxology                                                                          No. 731

 

*Declaring Our Faith[†]                                      Fisher’s Catechism

Our Catechism states that there are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. Why has this article of our holy religion been so much opposed by adversaries in every period of the church?

The devil and his instruments have opposed it because they know it is the primary object of our faith and worship; it not being enough for us to know what God is, as to His essential attributes, without knowing who He is, as to His personality, according as He has revealed Himself in His Word, to be Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

What is the meaning of the word Trinity, which is commonly used in expressing this doctrine?

It signifies the same with Tri-unity, or three in one; that is, three distinct persons, in one and the same individual or numerical essence.

Is it reasonable to require a belief of what we cannot understand?

It is not at all unreasonable in matters that are entirely supernatural; but, on the contrary, it is the highest reason we should believe what God says of Himself.

 

Pastoral Prayer

 

*Responsive Reading                                                        Psalm 91

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!”

For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day;

Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.

A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you.

You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.

For you have made the Lord, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place.

No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent.

For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.

They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone.

You will tread upon the lion and cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample down.

“Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.”

“He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.”

“With a long life I will satisfy him and let him see My salvation.”

 

*Hymn                         Show Me Mercy, O God             (following)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Public Reading of the Word                                         Romans 2

 

*Prayer for the Ministry of the Word

 

Sermon        The Doctrine of the Church: An Overview               

                                         Matt. 16:13ff.; 1 Cor. 3:10, 11

 

Hymn                   The Church’s One Foundation            No. 347

 

  Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper+

 

*Hymn               Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation        No. 342

 

*Benediction

 

*Threefold Amen                                                                 No. 740

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Congregation will please stand

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



[†] These questions and responses are based on Fisher’s Catechism, written by James Fisher in 1753.