June 24, 2018
It’s week five of Christ in the Psalms, our annual summer series. We’re in Psalm 82.
The Psalms give us a vocabulary and a “hymnal” for relating to God through the full range of human experience and emotion, ultimately pointing us to Jesus. One of the ways we enjoy and study the psalms each year is by having different artists do a piece each week for the respective psalm we’re in. Our Psalm 82 artwork is by Alexander Ramsey. Learn more about his piece and all the preceding weekly artworks right here.
Here’s how you can prepare for this week’s service:
1. Read through our text, Psalm 82.
Justice matters. But who gets to decide what is right and what is wrong? How does that judgment get worked out in the context of relationships, work, family, and the local Church? If we believe that justice flows from God Himself to His image-bearing people, we must also believe that justice matters. Psalm 82 helps us see that justice is helping those who cannot help themselves. It is tested at the bounds of hospitality and sacrifice.
2. Read, pray and sing through the service:
CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 99:1–5, Welcome (From Immanuel Nashville):
To all who are weary and need rest,
To all who mourn and long for comfort,
To all who feel worthless and wonder if God cares,
To all who fail and desire strength,
To all who sin and need a Savior,
This church opens wide her doors
with a welcome from Jesus Christ,
the Ally of His enemies, the Defender of the guilty,
the Justifier of the inexcusable, the Friend of sinners.
Welcome!
Holy, Holy, Holy (Reginald Heber)
Rejoice The Lord Is King (Joel Limpic, Charles Wesley)
CONFESSION OF SIN: From The Worship Sourcebook:
You asked for my hands,
that You might use them for Your purpose.
I gave them for a moment, then withdrew them,
for the work was hard.
You asked for my mouth,
to speak out against injustice.
I gave You a whisper that I might not be accused.
You asked for my eyes,
to see the pain of poverty.
I closed them, for I did not want to see.
You asked for my life,
that You might work through me.
I gave a small part, that I might not get too involved.
Lord, forgive my calculated efforts to serve You—
only when it is convenient for me to do so,
only in those places where it is safe to do so,
and only with those who make it easy to do so.
Father, forgive me,
renew me, send me out as a usable instrument,
that I might take seriously the meaning of Your cross. Amen.
Jesus What A Savior (Kirby Kaple)
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Isaiah 53:4–7
Man Of Sorrows (Matt Crocker, Brooke Ligertwood)
GREETING, SERMON, & COMMUNION
RESPONSE: Song & Prayer
A Mighty Refuge (Martin Luther, Aaron Strumpel)
All The Poor And Powerless (David Leonard, Leslie Jordan)