OUR APPROACH TO GOD

PRELUDE
VOTUM
Our help is in the name of the Lord who made the heavens and the earth.
Amen.
GATHERING SONG ‘Holy Is the Lord’ (Chris Tomlin)
Verse
We stand and lift up our hands
For the joy of the Lord is our strength
We bow down and worship Him now
How great how awesome is He
Pre-Chorus
And together we sing
Ev'ryone sing
Chorus
Holy is the Lord God Almighty
The earth is filled with His glory
Holy is the Lord God Almighty
The earth is filled with His glory
The earth is filled with His glory
Bridge
It is rising up all around
It's the anthem of the Lord's renown
It's rising up all around
It's the anthem of the Lord's renown Chorus
CALL TO WORSHIP (Question 54 of the Heidelberg catechism)
What do you believe concerning “the holy catholic church”?
I believe that the Son of God
Through his Spirit and Word,
Out of the entire human race,
From the beginning of the world to its end,
Gathers, protects and preserves for himself
A community chosen for eternal life
And united in true faith.
And of this community I am and always will be
A living member.
PASSING OF THE PEACE
PRAYER OF CONFESSION (unison)
What is true faith?
True faith is
Not only a sure knowledge by which I hold as true
All that God has revealed to us in Scripture;
It is also a wholehearted trust,
Which the Holy Spirit creates in me by the gospel,
That God has freely granted

Not only to others but to me also,
Forgiveness of sins,
Eternal righteousness,
And salvation.
These are gifts of sheer grace,
Granted solely by Christ’s merit.
Let us pray.
Lord, we are like sheep, and we get lost.
We forget the needs of our neighbors
And do not love you above all else.
We need a savior, so we long for Jesus.
Come, fill our lives.
WORDS OF ASSURANCE (Question 56 of the Heidelberg Catechism)
What do you believe concerning the “forgiveness of sins?”
I believe that God,
Because of Christ’s satisfaction,
Will no longer remember any of my sins
Or my sinful nature
Which I need to struggle against all my life.
Rather by grace,
God grants me the righteousness of Christ
To free me forever from judgment.
SUMMARY OF THE LAW (Question 4 of the Heidelberg Catechism)
What does God’s law require of us?
Christ teaches us this in summary in Matthew 22:37-40
You shall love the Lord your God
With all your heart,
And with all your soul,
And with all your mind.
This is the greatest and first commandment.
And a second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
ANTHEM ‘Surely He Has Borne Our Griefs’ (Arr. by Joseph Martin)
CHILDREN’S TIME AND LORD’S PRAYER

THE WORD OF GOD

SCRIPTURE LESSON Psalm 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green
pastures; he leads me beside still waters; 3 he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head
with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my
life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.

John 10:1-10

10 ‘Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but
climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the
shepherd of the sheep. 3The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice.
He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own,
he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will
not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of
strangers.’ 6

Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he

was saying to them.
7 So again Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All
who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 9
I am the
gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have
it abundantly.
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God.
SERMON

OUR RESPONSE TO GOD
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH: (Question 1 of the Heidelberg Catechism)
What is your only comfort in life and in death?
That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful
Savior, Jesus Christ.
He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the
tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my
head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my
salvation.
Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me
wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.
RECOGNITION OF OUR GIFTS AND OFFERINGS
THE DOXOLOGY
Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen
PRAYER OF DEDICATION (unison)
God of Grace, multiply these tithes and offerings so that this church’s ministry and mission
are able to change lives and create new opportunities to know You. We pray that these gifts
may help all of Your children build a temple within their own body that brings honor and
praise to You. In the name of Jesus that we pray. Amen.
SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNNION
MEANING OF THE SACRAMENT
COMMUNION PRAYER
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Holy Lord, we thank you for creating the whole world and calling it good. We thank you
for making us in your image to live with each other in love. You have told us Your
purpose in the commandments to Moses, and called for justice through the words of the
prophets. Through long generations You have been faithful to Your children. Your ways
are just and they are true. With people of faith from all times and places, we lift our
hearts in joyful praise, for you alone are holy.
Holy, holy, holy Lord; God of power and might; heaven and earth are full of Your
glory. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
We thank you for Jesus who came and lived with us, being a friend to all those who are
lost and broken. We thank you that he is not dead but is risen to rule the world and is still
a friend of sinners today. We trust in him to overcome ever power to hurt or divide us.
Great God we thank you for this bread and ask that in its breaking we might be joined
together as the people You have called us to be. We offer this prayer in the name of the
One who taught us to pray together by saying, Our Father, who art in heaven...
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE (Question 116 of the Heidelberg Catechism)
Why do Christians need to pray?
Because prayer is the most important part
Of the thankfulness God requires of us.
And also because God gives his grace and Holy Spirit
Only to those who pray continually and groan inwardly,
Asking God for these gifts
And thanking God for them.
HYMN #579 ‘Jesus Loves Me’
Verse 1
Jesus loves me this I know
For the Bible tells me so
Little ones to Him belong
They are weak but He is strong
Chorus
Yes Jesus loves me
Yes Jesus loves me
Yes Jesus loves me
The Bible tells me so

Verse 2
Jesus loves me He who died
Heaven’s gate to open wide
He will wash away my sin
Let His little child come in
Verse 3
Jesus loves me He will stay
Close beside me all the way
He’s prepared a home for me
And some day His face I’ll see

BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE
CCS 12951
CCLI 1957266