A Mighty Fortress is Our God
Martin Luther

A mighty fortress is our God
A bulwark never failing
Our helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe
His craft and power are great
And armed with cruel hate
On earth is not his equal

Did we in our own strength confide
Our striving would be losing
Were not the right Man on our side
The Man of God's own choosing
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he
Lord Sabaoth, His name
From age to age the same
And He must win the battle

And though this world, with devils filled
Should threaten to undo us
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us
The Prince of Darkness grim
We tremble not for him
His rage we can endure
For lo, his doom is sure
One little word shall fell him

 

 

 

 

Call to Worship
Adapted from Psalm 55

Listen to our prayer, O God!  Do not ignore our cry for help!  Our enemies oppress us and bring disaster down on us.

Our hearts are in anguish.  Fear and trembling overwhelm us.  We long for a place of shelter from raging wind and the storm.

Lord - we see violence and strife in our cities.  We see malice and abuse.  Destructive forces are at work, and threats and lies never ever-present.

We call out to you for salvation, O Lord.  Hear our cry, and rescue us.

We will cast our burdens on the Lord, and He will sustain us!  He will never let the righteous be shaken.  He will bring down the wicked into the pit of decay, but He will never forsake His people.

As for us, we will hold fast, and trust in the Lord.

 

 

 

 


Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus
Louisa M R. Stead, Williams James Kirkpatrick

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus
Just to take Him at His word
Just to rest upon His promise
Just to know Thus saith the Lord

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus
O for grace to trust Him more

O how sweet to trust in Jesus
Just to trust His cleansing blood
Just in simple faith to plunge me
Neath the healing cleansing flood

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus
O for grace to trust Him more

Yes tis sweet to trust in Jesus
Just from sin and self to cease
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest and joy and peace

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus
O for grace to trust Him more

I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee
Precious Jesus, Savior, friend
And I know that Thou art with me
Will be with me to the end

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus
O for grace to trust Him mor

 

 

 

 


Congregational Prayer
From the Valley of Vision

O Lord,

We thank you for the gospel, by which we draw near to you, and you to us.

Please turn our minds away from the cares of the world, and toward you.  Pour upon us the spirit of grace and supplication.  Awaken in us every grateful and cheerful emotion.

Give testimony to the Word preached, and glorify it in the hearts of all who hear.  May it enlighten the ignorant, awaken the careless, reclaim the wandering, strengthen the weak, and comfort the afflicted.

Grant us benevolence towards our dependents, forgiveness towards our enemies, peaceableness towards our neighbors, openness towards our fellow-Christians.

In Jesus’s name.

Amen.

 

 

 

 


New City Catechism
Question 21

What sort of Redeemer is needed to bring us back to God?

One who is truly human and also truly God.

 

 

 

 


Thy Mercy, My God
John Stocker, Sandra McCracken

Thy mercy, my God, is the theme of my song
The joy of my heart and the boast of my tongue
Thy free grace alone, from the first to the last
Hath won my affections, and bound my soul fast

Without Thy sweet mercy I could not live here
Sin would reduce me to utter despair
But, through Thy free goodness, my spirits revive
And He that first made me still keeps me alive

Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart
Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart
Dissolved by Thy goodness, I fall to the ground
And weep to the praise of the mercy I’ve found

Great Father of mercies, Thy goodness I own
And the covenant love of Thy crucified Son
All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine
Seals mercy, and pardon, and righteousness mine

 

 

 

 

My Worth Is Not In What I Own
Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, and Graham Hendrick

My worth is not in what I own
Not in the strength of flesh and bone
But in the costly wounds of love
At the cross
My worth is not in skill or name
In win or lose, in pride or shame
But in the blood of Christ that flowed
At the cross

I rejoice in my Redeemer
Greatest Treasure
Wellspring of my soul
I will trust in Him, no other
My soul is satisfied in Him alone

As summer flowers we fade and die
Fame, youth and beauty hurry by
But life eternal calls to us
At the cross
I will not boast in wealth or might
Or human wisdom’s fleeting light
But I will boast in knowing Christ
At the cross

I rejoice in my Redeemer
Greatest Treasure
Wellspring of my soul
I will trust in Him, no other
My soul is satisfied in Him alone

Two wonders here that I confess
My worth and my unworthiness
My value fixed - my ransom paid
At the cross

I rejoice in my Redeemer
Greatest Treasure
Wellspring of my soul
I will trust in Him, no other
My soul is satisfied in Him alone

 

 

 

 

 

Psalm 89

1 I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever;
with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever;
in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”
3 You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
4  ‘I will establish your offspring forever,
and build your throne for all generations.’”
Selah

5  Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
6  For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord,
7  a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,
and awesome above all who are around him?
8  O Lord God of hosts,
who is mighty as you are, O Lord,
with your faithfulness all around you?
9  You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, you still them.
10  You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11  The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.
12  The north and the south, you have created them;
Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
13  You have a mighty arm;
strong is your hand, high your right hand.
14  Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
15  Blessed are the people who know the festal shout,
who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,
16  who exult in your name all the day
and in your righteousness are exalted.
17  For you are the glory of their strength;
by your favor our horn is exalted.
18  For our shield belongs to the Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.

19  Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said:
“I have granted help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20  I have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have anointed him,
21  so that my hand shall be established with him;
my arm also shall strengthen him.
22  The enemy shall not outwit him;
the wicked shall not humble him.
23  I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
24  My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him,
and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
25  I will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
26  He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’
27  And I will make him the firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
28  My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,
and my covenant will stand firm for him.
29  I will establish his offspring forever
and his throne as the days of the heavens.
30 If his children forsake my law
and do not walk according to my rules,
31  if they violate my statutes
and do not keep my commandments,
32  then I will punish their transgression with the rod
and their iniquity with stripes,
33  but I will not remove from him my steadfast love
or be false to my faithfulness.
34  I will not violate my covenant
or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
35  Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;
I will not lie to David.
36  His offspring shall endure forever,
his throne as long as the sun before me.
37  Like the moon it shall be established forever,
a faithful witness in the skies.”
Selah

38  But now you have cast off and rejected;
you are full of wrath against your anointed.
39  You have renounced the covenant with your servant;
you have defiled his crown in the dust.
40  You have breached all his walls;
you have laid his strongholds in ruins.
41  All who pass by plunder him;
he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
42  You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
you have made all his enemies rejoice.
43  You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
and you have not made him stand in battle.
44  You have made his splendor to cease
and cast his throne to the ground.
45  You have cut short the days of his youth;
you have covered him with shame.
Selah

46  How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your wrath burn like fire?
47  Remember how short my time is!
For what vanity you have created all the children of man!
48  What man can live and never see death?
Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?
Selah

49  Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,
which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
50  Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked,
and how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many nations,
51  with which your enemies mock, O Lord,
with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.

52  Blessed be the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.

 

 

 


10,000 Reasons
Jonas Myrin, Matt Redman

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His Holy Name
Sing like never before
O my soul
Worship His Holy Name

The sun comes up, it’s a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His Holy Name
Sing like never before
O my soul
Worship His Holy Name

You're rich in love and You're slow to anger
Your name is great and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness, I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His Holy Name
Sing like never before
O my soul
Worship His Holy Name

And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His Holy Name
Sing like never before
O my soul
Worship His Holy Name

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