Evening Worship Service

Prelude: The Lord Is My Light Frances Allitsen

Timothy Renner, baritone

Call to Worship

Invocation

Hymn 116: For the Beauty of the Earth Dix

Text: Folliott Pierpoint (1864)

For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth over and around us lies,

Refrain
Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

For the beauty of each hour of the day and of the night,
hill and vale, and tree and flow’r, sun and moon and stars of light, (Refrain)

For the joy of ear and eye, for the heart and mind’s delight,
for the mystic harmony linking sense to sound and sight, (Refrain)

For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth and friends above, for all gentle thoughts and mild, (Refrain)

For each perfect gift of thine to our race so freely giv’n,
graces human and divine, flow’rs of earth and buds of heav’n, (Refrain)

Prayer of Confession

O most just and holy God, we confess before your great majesty that we are sinners by nature, and we have willingly disobeyed your commandments in thought, word, and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart, nor have we loved our neighbor as ourselves. We come to you, Lord, not to make excuses or claim any merit of our own, but to cast ourselves upon your tender mercy, hoping and trusting in the merit and mediation of Christ alone. Amen.

The Gospel’s Assurance of Pardon: 1 Peter 2:24–25

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

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 20:29–21:10

29 And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him. 21:1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”

Hymn 600: He Leadeth Me: O Blessed Thought! He Leadeth Me

Text: Joseph Gilmore (1862)

He leadeth me: O blessed thought!
O words with heav’nly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be,
still ‘tis God’s hand that leadeth me.

Refrain
He leadeth me, he leadeth me;
by his own hand he leadeth me:
his faithful foll’wer I would be,
for by his hand he leadeth me.

Sometimes ‘mid scenes of deepest gloom,
sometimes where Eden’s bowers bloom,
by waters calm, o’er troubled sea,
still ‘tis his hand that leadeth me. (Refrain)

Lord, I would clasp thy hand in mine,
nor ever murmur nor repine;
content, whatever lot I see,
since ‘tis my God that leadeth me. (Refrain); final verse continued on next page

And when my task on earth is done,
when, by thy grace, the vict’ry’s won,
e’en death’s cold wave I will not flee,
since God through Jordan leadeth me. (Refrain)

Confession of Faith: Westminster Shorter Catechism, question 98

Question: What is prayer?
Answer: Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.

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: Jesus, Lover of My Soul James Koerts

Timothy Renner, baritone

Sermon: Who Is This? Rev. Gavin Lymberopoulos

Hymn 575: Soldiers of Christ, Arise Diademata

Text: Charles Wesley (1749)

Soldiers of Christ, arise, and put your armor on,
strong in the strength which God supplies through his eternal Son.
Strong in the Lord of Hosts, and in his mighty pow’r,
who in the strength of Jesus trusts is more than conqueror.

Stand then in his great might, with all his strength endued;
but take, to arm you for the fight, the panoply of God.
Leave no unguarded place, no weakness of the soul;
take ev’ry virtue, ev’ry grace, and fortify the whole.

To keep your armor bright, attend with constant care;
still walking in your Captain’s sight, and watching unto prayer.
From strength to strength go on; wrestle and fight and pray;
tread all the pow’rs of darkness down, and win the well-fought day.

Benediction

Postlude: Now Thank We All Our God Sigfrid Karg-Elert

Serving this evening:
Jared Chochrum, platform
Colin Howland, organist