Immanuel Gathered, 10/9/11: A Retrospective

October 10, 2011 by Ben Whipple 0 comments

Posted in: Immanuel Gathered: A Retrospective

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

The Psalmist declares in Psalm 147: "Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting. The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. The LORD lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground. Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving!" (Psalm 147:1-7a) This is the God that we gather to worship. And as David reflects on who his God is, his response is to call us to sing to the LORD! Let's lift our eyes and our hearts and our voices to our great and powerful God…

Song: All Creatures of Our God & King by St. Francis of Assisi

All creatures of our God and King, Lift up your voice and with us sing

Alleluia, Alleluia!

Thou burning sun with golden beam, thou silver moon with softer gleam,

O praise Him, O praise Him, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Let all things their Creator bless, and worship him in humbleness

Alleluia, Alleluia!

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, and praise the Spirit, Three in One,

O praise Him, O praise Him, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Confession/Repentance

Throughout Scripture, God is repeatedly on record as a God who calls all people to himself, to worship him in humbleness. And he is also on record on this glorious truth: when people come to him, he delights in showing mercy! Listen to these words from Scripture: "Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. (adapted from Isa. 55:7 & Mic. 7:18)" God promises his pardon to those who will forsake their pride and plead for his mercy. I urge you in these next moments to make such a plea your own as you confess your sin in private prayer to the God who delights to show mercy. (from "Christ-Centered Worship" by Bryan Chapell)

Song: Jesus, I Come by William Sleeper & Greg Thompson

Out of my bondage, sorrow and night, Jesus, I come; Jesus I come.
Into your freedom, gladness and light, Jesus, I come to you.
Out of my sickness into your health, Out of my wanting and into your wealth,
Out of my sin and into yourself, Jesus, I come to you.

Assurance of Pardon

Let's read together from Hebrews 4:14-16: "Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." This is the Word of the Lord.

Song: Rock of Ages by Augustus Toplady & Thomas Hastings

Not the labors of my hands can fulfill thy law's demands;

Could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow,

All for sin could not atone; thou must save and thou alone.

While I draw this fleeting breath, when my eyes shall close in death,

When I soar to worlds unknown, see thee on thy judgment throne,

Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee.

Song: I Will Rise by Chris Tomlin, Louie Giglio, Jesse Reeves, & Matt Maher

Jesus has overcome, and the grave is overwhelmed

The victory is won, he is risen from the dead

And I will rise when he calls my name, no more darkness, no more pain

I will rise on eagle's wings, before my God fall on my knees and rise

I will rise!

Preaching of the Word

This was the first week of our prayer sermon series, and Matt preached from Genesis 1-3. Working from the simple definition that prayer is talking with God, the case was made that we were created for prayer, but sin severed that intimate relationship with our Creator. We need prayer, but we lost that ability when sin entered the picture. Consequently, we long for that ability to communicate with our God, but we're not able to change anything by ourselves - we need someone outside of ourselves. Matt ended by taking us to Hebrews 4:14-16, which was read earlier, and proclaimed to us the good news that we can pray because of what Christ has done and is doing for us. Prayer is not a given - it was won for us by Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!

Closing Song: Before The Throne of God Above by Charitie Lees Bancroft & Vikki Cook

Before the throne of God above I have a strong, a perfect plea,
A great High Priest whose name is love, who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands, my name is written on His heart;
I know that while in heav’n He stands
No tongue can bid me thence de - part, no tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair, and tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free;
For God the Just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me, to look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there, the risen Lamb, my perfect, spotless Righteousness;
The great unchangeable I AM, the King of glory and of grace!
One with Himself I cannot die, my soul is purchased with His blood;
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God, with Christ, my Savior and my God.

Benediction

"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" (Rev. 5:12)