Scripture Reading:
#1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling (Psalm 46:1-3)
#2. You will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart (Jer. 29:12-13).
Prayer of Praise to God: Refer to the verses above and hymn below.
Hymn: Praise Him! Praise Him!
1 Praise him, praise him! Jesus, our blessed redeemer!
Sing, O earth, his wonderful love proclaim!
Hail him, hail him! Highest archangels in glory!
Strength and honor give to his holy name!
Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard his children.
In his arms he carries them all day long.
Refrain:
Praise him! Praise him! tell of his excellent greatness.
Praise him! Praise him! ever in joyful song.
2 Praise Him, praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
For our sins He suffered, and bled, and died.
He, our Rock, our Hope of eternal salvation—
Hail Him! Hail Him! Jesus, the Crucified!
Sound His praises! Jesus, who bore our sorrows!
Love unbounded, wonderful, deep, and strong. [Refrain]
3 Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Heav’nly portals loud with hosannas ring!
Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever and ever.
Crown Him! Crown Him! Prophet, and Priest, and King!
Christ is coming, over the world victorious;
pow’r and glory unto the Lord belong! [Refrain]
Reading of the Law: And 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. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. “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 to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and 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 (Exodus 20:1-11)
Silent Confession of Sin/Confession of Sin: Grant, Almighty God, that as you urge us to daily repentance, and each of us is also stung with the consciousness of his own sins, – O grant, that we may not grow stupid in our vices, nor deceive ourselves with empty flatteries, but that each of us may, on the contrary, carefully examine his own life, and then with one mouth and heart confess that we are all guilty, not only of light offences, but of such as deserve eternal death, and that no other relief remains for us but your infinite mercy, and that we may so seek to become partakers of that grace which has been once offered to us by your Son, and is daily offered to us by His Gospel, that relying on him as our Mediator, we may not cease to entertain hope even in the midst of a thousand deaths, until we be gathered into that blessed life, which has been procured for us by the blood of thy only Son. Amen.
Reading of the Gospel: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (1Peter. 1:3)
Heidelberg Catechism: Lord’s Day 43
Question #105
Q. What is God’s will for you in the sixth commandment?
A. I am not to belittle, hate, insult, or kill my neighbor— not by my thoughts, my words, my look or gesture, and certainly not by actual deeds— and I am not to be party to this in others; rather, I am to put away all desire for revenge. I am not to harm or recklessly endanger myself either. Prevention of murder is also why government is armed with the sword.
Question #106
Q. Does this commandment refer only to murder?
A. By forbidding murder God teaches us that he hates the root of murder: envy, hatred, anger, vindictiveness. In God’s sight all such are disguised forms of murder.
Question #107
Q. Is it enough then that we do not murder our neighbor in any such way?
A. No. By condemning envy, hatred, and anger God wants us to love our neighbors as ourselves, to be patient, peace-loving, gentle, merciful, and friendly toward them, to protect them from harm as much as we can, and to do good even to our enemies.
Prayer of Thanksgiving: Thank God for the blessings of young children in our church and for the volunteers who serve in the nursery.
Prayer of Supplication: Ask God for more volunteers for the nursery and that all the young ones would be followers of Christ.
.Bible reading and commentary:
Read: 2 Corinthians 3:7-18 (pt. 2 of 2)
Last week we looked at some of the differences between the Old Covenant (Mosaic) and the New Covenant. We ended with (Hebrews 13:20): Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, ‘by the blood of the eternal covenant’. The glory of the New Covenant is everlasting. The fading glory of the Old Covenant was expressed and illustrated by the manner in which the reflected glory on Moses’ face faded (v. 13). He put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. His action symbolized the fading glory of the Old Covenant. Let’s look at two more comparisons.
The Old Covenant brought despair, fear and bondage, while the New Covenant brings hope, boldness and freedom (vv. 12-15). Throughout the centuries many men and women have seriously tried to be right with God by striving after perfect obedience to his law. After much effort this proves to be impossible and usually brings despair. The more we try, the more aware we become of failure. With failure and despair come fear and bondage. The fear that we have is the fear of judgment. After death comes judgment and sinners have no hope of acceptance by God at the judgment if their confidence is in what they themselves have achieved. Christians need to remember that people in the Old Testament were saved by grace alone also. God has always been gracious and at the moment of Adam and Eve’s rebellion he made the gracious promise of a Savior (Genesis 3:15).
Under the New Covenant we have hope (v 12), that is confidence and assurance for the future. In Romans 5:2, Paul says ‘We rejoice in hope of the glory of God’, and with glorious hope comes boldness (v 12), the boldness of God’s children in prayer (compare Heb.10:20-21; Rom. 8:15; Heb. 4:16). And we can have boldness in witnessing before men and women in the world (Acts 4:31).
The Old Covenant did not enable men and women to look at Moses’ face when it reflected God’s glory, but the New Covenant enables us to see the glory of Christ and to be transformed by it. Paul takes some time here to refer to and explain the position of the Jews who do not yet believe in the Lord Jesus as their Messiah and Savior. They still have a veil covering their hearts.
When the Holy Spirit removes the veil from our hearts, he shows us the glory of the Lord Jesus. Under the New Covenant, believers may look with perfect freedom upon the glory of God in the face of Jesus. God, the Holy Spirit, delights in turning our eyes to the Lord Jesus so we may consider him. The glory of the New Covenant is that our reflecting of the Lord’s glory has the potential for always increasing as we become more like him.
Closing Hymn: The Gloria Patri
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.
Closing Scripture: I [Jesus] have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world (John 16:33).
The Lord’s Prayer (together): Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.