Prelude Peter Cunningham, tenor

How Can I Keep from Singing? arr. Alan Bullard

My life flows on in endless song, above earth’s lamentation; I hear the clear though far-off hymn that hails the new creation. Through all the tumult and the strife, I hear the music ringing; it finds an echo in my soul, how can I keep from singing? What though the tempest loudly roars, I know my Savior liveth; although the darkness binds me close, deep in the night sweet songs he giveth. His inner peace makes fresh my heart, a fountain ever springing; since love is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?

Call to Worship

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.

Prayer of Confession

O God our Father, forgive us for thinking less of you than we ought; for we think your truth too high, your will too hard, and your power too remote; but they are not! We humbly ask that you resolve our confused minds with your word, redirect our divided wills with your law, restore our troubled consciences with your forgiveness, and revive our anxious hearts with your presence, for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave himself for us. Amen.

The Gospel’s Assurance of Pardon: Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Invocation

Hymn 100: Holy, Holy, Holy! Nicaea

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty! God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee, casting down their gloden crowns around the glassy sea; cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee, who wert, and art, and ever more shalt be.

Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee, though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee perfect in pow’r, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! All thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty! God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

Responsive Reading: Psalm 98

Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.
The Lord has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody!
With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it!
Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together
before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.

Gloria Patri Meineke

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.

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.

Prayer of Intercession (concluding with The Lord’s Prayer)

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 debts, as we forgive our debtors And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

Announcements

Hymn 528: My Faith Looks Up to Thee Olivet

My faith looks up to thee, thou Lamb of Calvary, Savior divine;
now hear me while I pray, take all my guilt away, O let me from this day be wholly thine.

May thy rich grace impart strength to my fainting heart, my zeal inspire;
as thou hast died for me, O may my love to thee pure, warm, and changeless be, a living fire.

While life’s dark maze I tread, and griefs around me spread, be thou my guide;
bid darkness turn to day, wipe sorrow’s tears away, nor let me ever stray from thee aside.

When ends life’s transient dream, when death’s cold, sullen stream shall o’er me roll,
blest Savior, then, in love, fear and distrust remove; O bear me safe above, a ransomed soul.

Offering Prayer

(Offerings may be given online at tenth.org/about/giving or checks may be mailed to the church address: 1701 Delancey Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103)

Offertory: The Lord’s My Shepherd Bob Chilcott

The Lord’s my Shepherd, I’ll not want. He makes me down to lie in pastures green: he leadeth me the quiet waters by. My soul he doth restore again; and me to walk doth make within the paths of righteousness, e’en for his own name’s sake. Yea, thou I walk through death’s dark vale, yet will I fear no ill: for thou art with me and thy rod and staff me comfort still. My table thou has furnished in presence of my foes; my head thou dost with oil anoint, and my cup overflows. Goodness and mercy all my life shall surely follow me: and in my Father’s house alway my dwelling place shall be.

Peter Cunningham, tenor

Scripture Reading: Joel 2

1 Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near, 2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations.
3 Fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but behind them a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them. 4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses they run. 5 As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a powerful army drawn up for battle. 6 Before them peoples are in anguish; all faces grow pale. 7 Like warriors they charge; like soldiers they scale the wall. They march each on his way; they do not swerve from their paths. 8 They do not jostle one another; each marches in his path; they burst through the weapons and are not halted. 9 They leap upon the city, they run upon the walls, they climb up into the houses, they enter through the windows like a thief. 10 The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. 11 The Lord utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; he who executes his word is powerful. For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome; who can endure it? 12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. 14 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God? 15 Blow the trumpet in Zion; consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly; 16 gather the people. Consecrate the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber. 17 Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep and say, “Spare your people, O Lord, and make not your heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’” 18 Then the Lord became jealous for his land and had pity on his people. 19 The Lord answered and said to his people, “Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations. 20 “I will remove the northerner far from you, and drive him into a parched and desolate land, his vanguard into the eastern sea, and his rear guard into the western sea; the stench and foul smell of him will rise, for he has done great things. 21 “Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things! 22 Fear not, you beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit; the fig tree and vine give their full yield. 23 “Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before. 24 “The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. 25 I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. 26 “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. 27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame. 28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 29 Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. 30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.

Sermon: Sound the Alarm: the Day of the Lord Dr. Liam Goligher

Hymn 598: Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah Cwm Rhondda

Guide me, O thou great Jehovah, pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but thou art mighty; hold me with thy pow’rful hand;
Bread of heaven, Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more,
feed me till I want no more.

Open now the crystal fountain, whence the healing stream doth flow;
let the fire and cloudy pillar lead me all my journey through;
strong Deliv’rer, strong Deliv’rer, be thou still my strength and shield,
be thou still my strength and shield.

When I tread the verge of Jordan, bid my anxious fears subside;
Death of death, and hell’s Destruction, land me safe on Canaan’s side;
songs of praises, songs of praises I will ever give to thee,
I will ever give to thee.

Benediction

Postlude: We Thank Thee, God Johann Sebastian Bach

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