Afternoon Worship Service

Welcome and Preparation for Worship

Prelude: Sonata No. 8: Adagio cantabile Ludwig van Beethoven Rudy Heuer, piano

Call to Worship: Psalm 96:1–4

Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.

Doxology Old Hundredth

Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise him, all creatures here below;
Praise him above, ye heav’nly host; praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Invocation

Hymn 198: Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates! Truro

Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates! Behold, the King of glory waits;
the King of kings is drawing near, the Savior of the world is here.

A helper just he comes to thee, his chariot is humility,
his kingly crown is holiness, his scepter, pity in distress.

O blest the land, the city blest, where Christ the Ruler is confessed!
O happy hearts and happy homes to whom this King in triumph comes!

Fling wide the portals of your heart; make it a temple, set apart
from earthly use for heav’n’s employ, adorned with prayer and love and joy.

Redeemer, come! I open wide my heart to thee; here, Lord, abide!
Let me thy inner presence feel; thy grace and love in me reveal.

So come, my Sovereign, enter in! Let new and nobler life begin!
Thy Holy Spirit, guide us on, until the glorious crown be won.

Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

Scripture Reading: John 1:43–51

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Announcements

Multilingual Prayer

Hymn 224: Go, Tell It on the Mountain Go Tell It

Refrain
Go, tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere;
go, tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born.

While shepherds kept their watching o’er silent flocks by night,
behold, throughout the heavens there shone a holy light. (Refrain)

The shepherds feared and trembled when, lo! above the earth
rang out the angel chorus that hailed our Savior’s birth. (Refrain)

Down in a lowly manger our humble Christ was born,
and God sent us salvation that blessed Christmas morn. (Refrain)

Offering Prayer

(In person offerings may be made via the oak boxes. Give online at tenth.org/give or mail checks to:
1701 Delancey Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103)

Offertory: O Holy Night Adolphe Adam

Joe Park; Rudy Heuer, piano

Sermon Passage: Mark 2:1–12

1 And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” 12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Sermon: Who can forgive sins but God alone? Dr. Enrique Leal

Hymn 203: Hark! the Herald Angels Sing Mendelssohn

Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King;
peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations, rise, join the triumph of the skies;
with th’angelic host proclaim, “Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

Refrain
Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King.”

Christ, by highest heav’n adored, Christ, the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold him come, offspring of the Virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail th’incarnate Deity,
pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel. (Refrain)

Hail, the heav’n-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings, ris’n with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by, born that man no more may die,
born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth. (Refrain)

Benediction

Postlude: Partita no. 3 Preludio Johann Sebastian Bach Tom Jackson, violin

Sermon Notes