AM WORSHIP
Call to Worship: Psalm 100:1-5
Opening Hymn: Hymn 224 “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”
Confession of Sin
Most merciful God, Who are of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, and hast promised forgiveness to all those who confess and forsake their sins; We come before You with a humble sense of our own unworthiness, acknowledging our manifold transgressions of Your righteous laws. But, O gracious Father, Who desires not the death of a sinner, look upon us, we beseech You, in mercy, and forgive us all our transgressions. Make us deeply sensible of the great evil of them; And work in us a hearty contrition; That we may obtain forgiveness at Your hands, Who are ever ready to receive humble and penitent sinners; for the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ, our only Savior and Redeemer. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: John 14:1-3
Psalm of Preparation: Psalm 42B “As Pants the Deer for Flowing Streams”
Old Covenant Reading: Psalm 37:1-11
New Covenant Reading: Matthew 5:1-6
Sermon: Blessed Words of the Incarnate Lawgiver
Hymn of Response: Hymn 501 “LORD, Speak to Me, That I May Speak”
Confession of Faith: Ten Commandments
Doxology (Hymn 568)
Diaconal Offering
Closing Psalm: Psalm 15B “Who, O LORD, with Thee Abiding”
PM Worship
Hymns: 236, Psalm 3, 158
OT: Psalm 3:1-8
NT: John 16:23-33
Sermon: Deliverance to the LORD Belongs
Adult Sunday School: Fellowship Lunch – No Sunday School today
Suggested Preparations
Monday (10/10) Read and discuss Matthew 5:1-6.
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (ESV)
Sinclair Ferguson writes:
The Sermon on the Mount teaches us about the lifestyle of the kingdom of God. That kingdom will be consummated only when Christ returns and transforms the kingdom of this world into His own kingdom, publicly putting everything under His authority. But the Sermon on the Mount is not about there and then; it is about here and now. It is not asking us whether we will live a Christlike life in heaven. It is calling us to lead that life on earth, as Jesus Himself did to perfection. It is not a sermon about an ideal life in an ideal world, but about the kingdom life in a fallen world.
Read or sing Hymn 224 “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”
Tuesday (10/11) Read and discuss Matthew 4:23-25.
And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan. (ESV)
Michael J. Wilkins writes:
Once Jesus calls the four brothers to join Him in fishing for human souls, He embarks on the first of at least three extensive ministry tours in Galilee, an area with a population of around three hundred thousand people in two hundred or more villages and towns. Matthew gives an insightful summary of the activities on that tour: “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” That summary is largely duplicated in 9:35, forming a literary device often called an “inclusion,” a sort of bookends that emphasize the material in the chapters between them. In chapters 5-7 Jesus is presented as the Messiah in word in the incomparable Sermon on the Mount, and in chapters 8-9 Jesus is presented as the Messiah at work in the collection of miracle stories. Presenting Jesus in this way, Matthew’s readers will know clearly the nature of the kingdom of heaven that Jesus has inaugurated.
Read or sing Psalm 42B “As Pants the Deer for Flowing Streams”
Wednesday (10/12) Read and discuss Psalm 37:1-11.
Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not envious of wrongdoers!
For they will soon fade like the grass
and wither like the green herb.
Trust in the LORD, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.
In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
But the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in abundant peace. (ESV)
Timothy E. Saleska writes:
Each pearl along the way from the beginning to the end of the psalm represents an attempt to convince the faithful that the road they are walking – from the beginning to the end – is the right one and that to stray from it is to lose everything.
The righteous need constant guidance because in this life they suffer from the perennial problem that always bedevils believers, whom the psalmist also labels, “the righteous,” “those who hope in Yahweh,” “the humble,” “the needy,” “those upright in conduct,” “the blameless,” “those blessed by Yahweh,” and “His faithful ones.”
The problem is the clashing of desires in their heart. The righteous person certainly believes that Yahweh is His Creator and Redeemer. He loves God and desires to follow His will and trust His promises because He believes that the ways of Yahweh lead to eternal life. Yet there is a part of him that keeps looking in another direction for satisfaction. In agreement with St. Paul, Luther labels this inner conflict as the flesh verses the spirit: “The flesh habitually looks only at the things that are present and is influenced and impressed only by them; but it regards as worthless the things that are not present, those which the Word teaches, because it does not see them.” The old Adam, the sinful nature that baptized believers still retain throughout this earthly life, always desires to live by sight. In other words, he narrows his search for meaning and happiness to the things of this world, and his prevailing passion is to live for the moment. …
Therefore, a battle rages in believers’ hearts. Moment by moment throughout life, the righteous stand at a crossroads, where a part of them desires to follow Yahweh, but another part desires to forsake His path. The only thing keeping the righteous on track is the Word of God [in the power of the Holy Spirit], which sustains and nurtures them along the way.
Sing or Read Hymn 501 “LORD, Speak to Me, That I May Speak”
Thursday (10/13) Read and discuss John 16:23-33.
In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
“I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (ESV)
Since we live, by grace, in this New Covenant administration of the Covenant of Grace – it is critical for us to understand this promise. What does it mean for us to pray in Jesus name? Obviously, this is not some sort of magic formula whereby we can just name it and claim it to satisfy our whims: If you are praying to win the lottery and attaching “in Jesus’ name” to the end of your prayer – not only are you going to be sadly disappointed you need to repent of taking the Lord’s name in vain. That is not what it means to pray “in Jesus’ name” … But what exactly does it mean to pray in Jesus’ name? The good news is that this isn’t a complicated concept. Every Christian who is ten years old can understand what it means to pray in Jesus’ name – and some of you who are younger than that will be able to grasp this as well. William Hendricksen puts it like this:
We [make our requests to God] on the basis of Christ’s merits and in harmony with His … revelation.
That means there are only two things to know in order to understand what it means to pray in Jesus’ name:
1. First, we make our requests to God on the basis of Christ’s merits. We don’t bargain with the LORD or come to the Father as though we are worthy of Him doing anything for us. We make requests to the Father on the basis of Jesus being worthy that the Father would do these things for Him.
2. Second, that means we can only truly pray in Jesus’ name when we are praying in accordance with Christ’s revealed will. After all, if the Father is going to answer our prayers for Christ’s sake the prayer must be for something that Jesus wants.
So, that’s it. We pray in Jesus’ name when “We [make our requests to God] on the basis of Christ’s merits and in harmony with His … revelation.” And whenever we do that, Jesus is saying the Father will grant those requests.
Friday (10/14) Read and discuss Psalm 3:1-8.
O LORD, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
many are saying of my soul,
“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah
But you, O LORD, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
I cried aloud to the LORD,
and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah
I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.
I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
Arise, O LORD!
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
Salvation belongs to the LORD;
your blessing be on your people! Selah (ESV)
James Montgomery Boice writes:
When a believer gazes too long at his enemies, the force arrayed against him seems to grow in size until it appears to be overwhelming. But when he turns his thoughts to God, God is seen in his true, great stature, and the enemies shrink to manageable proportions.
This principle was illustrated by the difference between the ten and the two spies when they were first sent into Canaan at the time of the Jewish conquest. Ten of the spies were overwhelmed with the strength and stature of the Canaanites, especially the descendants of Anak, where were giants. They said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are. … All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there … We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them. The other two spies, Caleb and Joshua, said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
What was the difference? Had they seen different things? No. The land was the same. Both groups had seen the giants. But the ten looked only at the giants and forgot about God, with the result that they seemed in their own eyes to shrink to the size of grasshoppers. The two kept their eyes on God, and for them it was the giants who appeared small.
Read or sing Psalm 15B “Who, O LORD, with Thee Abiding”
Saturday (10/15) Read and discuss Matthew 5:1-6.
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (ESV)
John Stott writes:
To be ‘poor in spirit’ is to acknowledge our spiritual poverty, indeed our spiritual bankruptcy, before God. For we are sinners, under the holy wrath of God, and deserving nothing but the judgment of God. We have nothing to offer, nothing to plead, nothing with which to buy the favor of heaven.
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to thee for dress;
Helpless, look to thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.
This is the language of the poor in spirit. We do not belong anywhere except alongside the publican in Jesus’ parable, crying out with downcast eyes, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ As Calvin wrote: ‘He only who is reduced to nothing in himself, and relies on the mercy of God, is poor in spirit.’
Prayer: Please lift up tomorrow’s morning and evening worship services.