How great the chasm that lay between us,
How high the mountain I could not climb.
In desperation I turned to heaven
And spoke Your name into the night.
Then through the darkness Your loving kindness
Tore through the shadows of my soul.
The work is finished, the end is written.
Jesus Christ, my Living Hope.
CHORUS: Hallelujah! Praise the One who set me free!
Hallelujah! Death has lost its grip on me.
You have broken ev’ry chain,
There’s salvation in Your name.
Jesus Christ, my Living Hope.
Who could imagine so great a mercy?
What heart could fathom such boundless grace?
The God of ages stepped down from glory
To wear my sin and bear my shame.
The cross has spoken. I am forgiven.
The King of Kings calls me His own.
Beautiful Savior, I’m yours forever.
Jesus Christ, my Living Hope. CHORUS
(continued on the next page)
Then came the morning that sealed the promise.
Your buried body began to breathe.
Out of the silence the roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me.
Jesus, Yours is the victory.
CHORUS: Hallelujah! Praise the One who set me free!
Hallelujah! Death has lost its grip on me.
You have broken ev’ry chain,
There’s salvation in Your name.
Jesus Christ, my Living Hope. (repeat)
Jesus Christ, my Living Hope.
God, You are my Living Hope!
Change my heart, O God; Make it ever true.
Change my heart, O God; May I be like You.
You are the potter; I am the clay.
Mold me and make me, this is what I pray.
Change my heart, O God; Make it ever true.
Change my heart, O God; May I be like You
In the darkness we were waiting
Without hope, without light
'Til from Heaven You came running
There was mercy in Your eyes
To fulfill the law and prophets
To a virgin came the word
From a throne of endless glory
To a cradle in the dirt
CHORUS: Praise the Father, praise the Son
Praise the Spirit, three in one
God of glory, Majesty
Praise forever to the King of Kings
To reveal the kingdom coming
And to reconcile the lost
To redeem the whole creation
You did not despise the cross
For even in your suffering
You saw to the other side
Knowing this was our salvation
Jesus for our sake you died CHORUS
And the morning that You rose
All of Heaven held its breath
'Til that stone was moved for good
For the Lamb had conquered death
And the dead rose from their tombs
And the angels stood in awe
For the souls of all who'd come
To the Father are restored
And the church of Christ was born
Then the Spirit lit the flame
Now this gospel truth of old
Shall not kneel, shall not faint
By His blood and in His name
In His freedom I am free
For the love of Jesus Christ
Who has resurrected me CHORUS
I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me.
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee.
Chorus: Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the pow’r of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope
And my will be lost in Thine. Chorus:
Oh, the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend;
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God,
I commune as friend with friend! Chorus:
There are depths of love that I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee. Chorus:
Isaiah writes four songs about ‘The Servant of the Lord.’ They describe the coming Messiah, or Christ, and the work that He would do. He is the perfect servant of the Lord who would save us. We are not ‘The Servant of the Lord,’ but we are servants of the Lord. We rejoice in the service of THE Servant. We then ask, “How can I thank you for the service you have given to me?” The answer, “As I have served you, serve one another.”
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
3 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”
5 This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:
6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
7 to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
Jesus is anointed and chosen to be The Servant of the Lord, the Messiah, the Saviour, at His baptism. But why was Jesus baptized? Baptism washes away sins. Wasn’t Jesus perfect, so why was He baptized? Jesus bore the sins of the world. Yours and mine. He was bearing our sins not only in His death, but His whole life. He submitted to baptism not for His own sins, but for ours.
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
INVOCATION
Pastor: We begin our worship and praise the same way we were baptized: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Congregation: Amen.
MORNING PRAYER
C: I thank you my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger. Keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. Into Your hands I commend my body and soul and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the wicked foe may have no power over me. Amen.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
P: As believers in Christ we are called to repent of our sins and forgive one another. In the book of James we are told, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for one another so that you may be healed.” As one body in Christ, we unite our hearts in prayer:
C: Lord, I pray to You because I am hurting. I have cut myself off from You and others by the sin in my life. I need Your forgiveness so that I may find healing for my wounded life and for the wounds I have caused others. Today in the name of Jesus I pray, forgive me and by the power of Your Holy Spirit renew my heart. Amen
P: We take comfort and find confidence in the words of Jesus, “He has sent me to announce forgiveness to the prisoners and to restore sight to the blind, to give mercy to those whose lives are shattered by sin, to announce the favor of the Lord.” God gave His only Son, Jesus, to die for our sins and rise from death to give us eternal life. We are forgiven. We live in the favor of the Lord.
C: Amen!
Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit washed in His blood.
Chorus: This is my story; this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story; this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
Loving Submission, all is at rest; I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, kept in His love. Chorus.
PSALM 110
P: The Lord says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand
C: Until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”
P: The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying,
C: “Rule in the midst of your enemies!”
P: Your troops will be willing on your day of battle.
C: Arrayed in holy splendor
P: Your young men will come to you like dew from the morning’s womb.
C: The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind:
P: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”
C: The Lord is at your right hand;
P: He will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
C: He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead
P: And crushing the rulers of the whole earth.
C: He will drink from a brook along the way
P: And so he will lift his head high.
ALL: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forever and ever. Amen.
Children's Message
THE APOSTLE’S CREED
C: I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
THANK OFFERING
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
(2 Corinthians 4:18)
Give thanks with a grateful heart. Give thanks to the Holy One.
Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son.
And now, let the weak say “I am strong!” Let the poor say “I am rich!”
Because of what the Lord has done for us.
And now, let the weak say “I am strong!” Let the poor say “I am rich!”
Because of what the Lord has done for us.
Give thanks with a grateful heart. Give thanks to the Holy One.
Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son. Give thanks…
PRAYERS
THE LORD’S PRAYER: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are Yours now and ever. Amen.
(Our prayer team is always ready to go to the throne of the Father for you.
For prayer chain requests, email prayer@livinghopereunion.church.)
P: The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.
Amen. Amen. Amen.
GREETING & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Make me a servant, humble and meek;
Lord, let me lift up those who are weak.
And may the prayer of my heart always be:
Make me a servant, make me a servant,
Make me a servant today. (2X)