Soli Deo Gloria Caitlin Powell, contralto

He Was Despised, from Messiah George Frideric Handel

He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and aquainted with grief. He gave his back to the smiters, and his cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: He his not his face from shame and spitting.

O Rest in the Lord, from Elijah Felix Mendelssohn

O rest in the Lord, wait patiently for him, and he shall give thee thy heart’s desires. Commit thy way unto him, and trust in him; and fret not thyself because of evil doers.

Behold the Lamb of God Craig Courtney

Behold the Lamb of God, the lamb for sinners slain; a perfect sacrifice for all, he died, but lives again. Behold the Lamb of God, behold his hands, his side. The Son of God, the sinless Lamb, for me was crucified. He lives, let heaven rejoice, and earth her honors bring to him, the everlasting God, the great, eternal King. Oh, strike your harps of gold, ye ransomed host above. Praise him who bought you with his blood, and saved you by his love.

Call to Worship

Invocation

Hymn 457: Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing Nettleton

Come, thou fount of ev’ry blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above;
praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it, mount of God’s unchanging love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer; hither by thy help I’m come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger, wand’ring from the fold of God:
he, to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be;
let that grace now, like a fetter, bind my wand’ring heart to thee.
Prone to wander—Lord, I feel it—prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.

Prayer of Confession

Have mercy on us, O God, according to your unfailing love. According to your great compassion, blot out our transgressions. Wash away all our iniquity, and cleanse us from our sin. Against you, you only, have we sinned and done what is evil in your sight. Wash us, that we may be whiter than snow, for a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Restore us to fellowship with you, that we may walk in the full assurance of your promises, and in the freedom of knowing that you care for us and have brought us to yourself by the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose strong name we pray. Amen.

The Gospel’s Assurance of Pardon: 1 Corinthians 6:9, 11

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Doxology Tallis’ Canon

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 Illumination

Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:17–20

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Hymn 537: Take Time to Be Holy Holiness

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
abide in him always, and feed on his Word.
Make friends of God’s children; help those who are weak;
forgetting in nothing his blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
spend much time in secret with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like him thou shalt be;
thy friends in thy conduct his likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy, let him be thy guide,
and run not before him, whatever betide;
in joy or in sorrow, still follow thy Lord,
and, looking to Jesus, still trust in his Word.

Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul;
each thought and each motive beneath his control;
thus led by his Spirit to fountains of love,
thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

Confession of Faith: Westminster Shorter Catechism, question 2

Question: What rule has God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?
Answer: The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.

Offering Prayer

Offertory: This Is My Father’s World arr. Stephen Nielson

Colin Howland, piano

Sermon: “God’s Word: Abolished or Fulfilled?”  Rev. Gavin Lymberopoulos

Hymn: Blest Are the Undefiled Azmon

Blest are the undefiled in heart, whose ways are right and clean,
who never from the law depart, but fly from ev’ry sin.

Blest are the men who keep your word and practice your commands;
with their whole heart they seek the Lord, and serve you with their hands.

Great is their peace who love your law; how firm their souls abide!
Nor can a bold temptation draw their steady feet aside.

Then shall my heart have inward joy, and keep my face from shame,
when all your statutes I obey, and honor all your name.

Benediction

Postlude: I Sing the Mighty Power of God arr. Ovid Young

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