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Immanuel Gathered, 10/16/11: A Retrospective
October 17, 2011 by Ben Whipple 0 comments
Greetings Immanuelites! One of the most precious times of the week for us is Sunday morning from 9:30-11:00 AM, when we gather as a church family to worship God. We can only do that through the finished work of Jesus, so our main goal every time we gather is see Jesus more clearly: to turn from our various idols, to rest in Jesus and his trustworthy promises, and to move out on gospel mission into our families and communities compelled by the love of Christ. This blog post is an opportunity for you to rehearse what we did/sang/read/prayed/heard this past Sunday, with the hope that your memory would be jogged as to how God specifically motivated/encouraged/convicted/transformed you through the message of the Gospel in the context of his people. If you missed last Sunday, guess what: we missed you too! Let this be a simple way for you to experience what we experienced. And to all: Lord-willing, we'll see you next Sunday!
Call to Worship, Confession, Assurance of Pardon
Psalm 55:1,16,17 - "Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy! But I call to God, and the LORD will save me. Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice."
Song: Everlasting God by Brenton Brown & Ken Riley
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord…Our God, you reign forever
Our hope, our strong deliverer
You are the everlasting God, the everlasting God
You do not faint, you won’t grow weary
You’re the defender of the weak, you comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles
Song: Be Unto Your Name by Lynn DeShazo & Gary Sadler
We are a moment, You are forever; Lord of the ages, God before timeWe are a vapor, You are eternal; Love everlasting, reigning on high
Holy, holy Lord God Almighty, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
Highest praises, honor and glory be unto Your name, be unto Your name
We are the broken, You are the Healer; Jesus, Redeemer, mighty to save
You are the love song we’ll sing forever; Bowing before You, blessing Your name
Song: Beautiful One by Tim Hughes
Wonderful, so wonderful is Your unfailing love, Your cross has spoken mercy over me.No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart could fully know how glorious, how beautiful You are.
Beautiful One, I love, Beautiful One, I adore, Beautiful One, my soul must sing.
Powerful, so powerful, Your glory fills the skies, Your mighty works displayed for all to see.
The beauty of Your majesty awakes my heart to sing: How marvelous, how wonderful You are.
You opened my eyes to Your wonders anew, You captured my heart with this love
‘Cause nothing on earth is as beautiful as You.
Song: Jesus, Thank You by Pat Sczebel
The mystery of the cross I cannot comprehend, the agonies of Calvary.You, the perfect Holy One, crushed your Son, who drank the bitter cup reserved for me.
Your blood has washed away my sin. Jesus, thank you
The Father's wrath completely satisfied, Jesus, thank you
Once your enemy, now seated at your table, Jesus, thank you
By your perfect sacrifice I've been brought near. Your enemy you've made your friend.
Pouring out the riches of your glorious grace, your mercy and your kindness know no end.
Lover of my soul, I want to live for you
Preaching of the Word
This was the second week of our prayer sermon series, and Ben preached from Ephesians 1:3-23. We sat at Paul's feet as he taught us how to pray: how to ground our prayers in the sovereign purposes of Christ, how to focus our prayers on the ultimate goal of knowing God, and how to cultivate in our prayers a continual cry for increased spiritual sight. In the end, we realized we don't know our Father God as well as we think we do. So we run to God through Jesus and cry out, "Father, teach us to pray - we want to know you!"
Closing Song: Be Thou My Vision by Mary Elizabeth Byrne & Eleanor Henrietta Hull
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art-Thou my best thought, by day or by night, Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Be Thou my Wisdom and Thou my true Word; I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son, Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise, Thou mine inheritance, now and always;
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart, High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art.
High King of heaven, my victory won, May I reach heaven’s joys, bright heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
Benediction
"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith - that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph. 3:14-21)"