To God be the glory; great things He has done!
He so loved the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin
And opened the lifegate that all may go in.
CHORUS: Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the people rejoice!
Oh, come to the Father through Jesus the Son
And give Him the glory - great things He has done!
Oh, perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To ev’ry believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives. CHORUS
Great things He has taught us, great things He had done,
And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son,
But purer and higher and greater will be
Our joy and our wonder when Jesus we see. CHORUS
When all I see is the battle
You see my victory
When all I see is the mountain
You see a mountain moved
And as I walk through the shadow
Your love surrounds me
I know there’s nothing to fear now
For I am safe with You
CHORUS: So when I flight I’ll fight on my knees
With my hands lifted high
Oh God the battle belongs to You
And every fear I lay at Your feet
I’ll sing through the night
Oh God the battle belongs to You
And if, O God You are for me
Who can be against me
I know that Jesus there’s nothing
Impossible for You
When all I see are the ashes
You see the beauty
When all I see is a cross, God
You see the empty tomb CHORUS
BRIDGE: Almighty Fortress You go before us
Nothing can stand against
The power of our God
You shine in the shadow
You win every battle
Nothing can stand against
The power of our God (Repeat bridge)
CHORUS
Oh God the battle belongs to You
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows, like sea billows, roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
CHORUS: It is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my soul
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control:
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul. CHORUS:
My sin, O the joy of this glorious thought,
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! CHORUS:
And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,
The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul. CHORUS:
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
Then came the morning that sealed the promise.
Your buried body began to breathe.
Out of silence the roaring Lion
Declared the grace has no claim on me.
Jesus, Yours is the victory.
CHORUS 2X
Jesus Christ, my Living Hope.
God, You are my Living Hope!k
Paul writes from prison to the congregation at Philippi. Though he is in prison, Philippians has a joyful spirit to it, especially this section. Notice how God is described: the God of peace. He is the God of peace because He loves peace, because He is peaceful, and because He gives us peace.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!
2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
God’s servants have spoken this blessing over God’s people for centuries, going all the way back to the days of Moses. Whenever you hear these words spoken over you, imagine the millions of Christians who have gone before you who had these same words spoken over them. Notice how the blessing ends: and give you peace.
22 The Lord said to Moses, 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
24 “‘“The Lord bless you
and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”’
27 “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
INVOCATION
Pastor: We begin our worship in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Congregation: Amen.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
P: We gather here today before our Lord and Creator. He created us to serve Him and to love one another. But we have separated ourselves from Him with our sins. So let us now confess our sins to Him and ask for His forgiveness.
C: Merciful Father, I confess that I am a sinner. I make no excuses for my sins. I have sinned against You by the things I have done and the things I have not done. I come before You this morning in need of Your forgiveness.
I need Thee ev’ry hour, Most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.
Chorus I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
Ev’ry hour I need Thee!
Oh, bless me now, my Saviour;
I come to Thee.
I need Thee ev’ry hour; Stay Thou nearby.
Temptations lose their pow’r, When Thou art nigh. Chorus:
P: Jesus died to take away all of your sins. You are forgiven. You have been washed in the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, and come before Him this morning forgiven of all your sins. You are His child, and an heir of eternal life. May God’s grace strengthen you to live each day as His forgiven and dearly loved child.
C: Amen.
Your grace and mercy brought me through.
I'm living this moment because of You.
I want to thank You and praise You too.
Your grace and mercy brought me through.
Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary,
Pure and holy, tried and true.
With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living
Sanctuary for You. (repeat last song only)
P: God is good…
C: All the time.
P: All the time…
C: God is good.
P: How great the love the Father has lavished on us…
C: That we should be called children of God.
P: Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine
C: To the only wise God be glory in the church throughout all generations.
P: Let God’s people say:
C: Amen.
PSALM 23
Much loved psalm. Part way through the psalm the picture switches from a shepherd to a king. In the Old Testament, kings were considered shepherds of their people. So, the image is really the same. God is pictured as a shepherd and as our king. Notice where the Shepherd Lord leads us: quiet waters. Peaceful. Peace is a theme for today.
P: The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
C: He makes me lie down in green pastures
P: He leads me beside quiet waters
C: He restores my soul.
P: He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
C: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
fear no evil
P: For You are with me
C: Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
P: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
C: You anoint my head with oil;
P: My cup overflows.
C: Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life
P: And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
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.
PHILIPPIANS 4:1-9
NUMBERS 6:22-27
APOSTLES’ 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.
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE
SERMON A RESTED SOUL MATTHEW 11:25-30
WE RESPOND
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 Cor. 4:18)
Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul.
Thank You, Lord, for making me whole.
Thank You, Lord, for giving to me
Thy great salvation so rich and free. (Repeat)
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 forever. 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.)
BENEDICTION
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