Evening Worship Service

Prelude: Johann Sebastian Bach

Kyrie, O God, Eternal Father, BWV 672
Christ, Comfort of all the world, BWV 673
Kyrie, O God the Holy Ghost, BWV 674

Call to Worship

Invocation

Hymn 73: Rejoice, All People, Homage Give Truro

Psalm 47, from The Psalter (1912)

Rejoice, all people, homage give, to God with voice of triumph sing;
he rules us in dread majesty, the great, the universal king.

He puts nations under us and makes us all triumphant stand;
he gives us for our heritage his promised rest, a goodly land.

God has ascended with a shout, Jehovah with the trumpet’s sound;
sing praise to God our King, sing praise, yes, let his glorious praise abound.

Our God is King of all the earth, with thoughtful heart his praise make known,
o’er all the nations God does reign, exalted on his holy throne.

To praise and serve our cov’nant God the princes of the earth draw nigh;
all kingly pow’rs belong to him, he is exalted, God Most High.

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: Psalm 103:10–12

He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

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 19:1–15

1 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. 3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” 10 The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” 11 But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.” 13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.

Sermon: Marriage, Children, and the Kingdom of Heaven Rev. Gavin Lymberopoulos

Hymn 131: Children of the Heavenly Father Tryggare Kan Ingen Vara

Text: Carolina Berg (1855)

Children of the heav’nly Father safely in his bosom gather;
nestling bird nor star in heaven such a refuge e’er was given.

God his own doth tend and nourish, in his holy courts they flourish;
from all evil things he spares them, in his mighty arms he bears them.

Neither life nor death shall ever from the Lord his children sever;
unto them his grace he showeth, and their sorrows all he knoweth.

Praise the Lord in joyful numbers, your Protector never slumbers;
at the will of your Defender ev’ry foe-man must surrender.

Though he giveth or he taketh, God his children ne’er forsaketh;
his the loving purpose solely to preserve them pure and holy.

More secure is no one ever than the loved ones of the Savior;
not yon star on high abiding nor the bird in home-nest hiding.

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: Come, Let Us to the Lord Our God arr. Colin Howland

Chamber Choir

Come, let us to the Lord our God with contrite hearts return; our God is gracious, nor will leave the desolate to mourn. His voice commands the tempest forth, and stills the stormy wave; and though his arm is strong to smite, ‘tis also strong to save. Long hath the night of sorrow reigned, the dawn shall bring us light: God shall appear, and we shall rise with gladness in his sight. As dew upon the tender herb, diffusing fragrance round; as showers that usher in the spring, and cheer the thristy ground: so shall his presence bless our souls, and shed a joyful light; that hallowed morn shall chase away the sorrows of the night.

Question of Preparation: Westminster Shorter Catechism, question 92

Question: What is a sacrament?
Answer: A sacrament is holy ordinance instituted by Christ; wherein, by sensible signs, Christ, and the benefits of the new covenant, are represented, sealed, and applied to believers.

Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

Words of Institution

Partaking of the Bread

Communion Hymn 461: Not What My Hands Have Done (stanzas 1–2) Leominster

Text: Horatio Bonar (1861)

Not what my hands have done can save my guilty soul;
not what my toiling flesh has borne can make my spirit whole.
Not what I feel or do can give me peace with God;
not all my prayers and sighs and tears can bear my awful load.

Thy work alone, O Christ, can ease this weight of sin;
thy blood alone, O Lamb of God, can give me peace within.
Thy love to me, O God, not mine, O Lord to thee,
can rid me of this dark unrest, and set my spirit free.

Partaking of the Cup

Communion Hymn 461: Not What My Hands Have Done (stanzas 4–5) Leominster

I bless the Christ of God; I rest on love divine;
and with unfalt’ring lip and heart, I call this Savior mine.
This cross dispels each doubt; I bury in his tomb
each thought of unbelief and fear, each ling’ring shade of gloom.

I praise the God of grace; I trust his truth and might;
he calls me his, I call him mine, my God, my joy, my light.
‘Tis he who saveth me, and freely pardon gives;
I love because he loveth me, I live because he lives.

Proclamation of the Mystery of our Faith: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again!

Hymn 85: The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want Evan

Text: Scottish Psalter (1650)

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, though I walk in death’s dark vale,
yet will I fear none ill,
for thou art with me; and thy rod
and staff me comfort still.

My table thou hast 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 God’s house forevermore
my dwelling place shall be.

Benediction

Postlude

Serving this evening:
Rev. Carroll Wynne, platform
Aaron Patterson, organist