Order of Worship
Welcome and Announcements
Meditation Passage
1 Chronicles 16:11-12
From David's Song of Thanks "Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered."
* Apostolic Greeting
Reserved for Ministers
* God Calls His People to Worship
2 Peter 1:16-21
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased," we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
* Invocation
God Commands His People:
Matthew 5:43-48
You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
We Confess Our Faith
(560) The Apostles’ Creed
Confession of Sin
(Silent confession followed by corporate confession)
Father, Son, and Spirit, the only true and living God, you have called us to love our enemies. You have called us to pray for those who persecute us. We confess that we have failed to do this. We confess that, far too often, we have only loved those who love us. We are so thankful that you have not dealt with us in this way. Forgive us for these sins. Remake us into the image of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who loved us and died for us even while we hated him. Grant us great kindness, patience, and compassion toward the lost who treat us poorly because we are yours, and thereby enable us to mirror the image of you, our Father, to a dying world.
Assurance of Pardon
Colossians 1:13-14
"He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
* We Praise God in Song
Doxology (#567)
God Speaks Through His Word - Acts 1:12-26
Sermon: The Waiting Church, Pt1
Speaker: Elder James Schwacofer
Congregational Prayer (Followed by the Lord's Prayer)
Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.
Closing Doxology
Revelation 5:11-13
Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”