December 30, 2018 Sanctuary Service 9:30 and 11:00 a.m.

Transcription

1 December 30, 2018 Sanctuary Service 9:30 and 11:00 a.m.

2 Order of Worship Prelude Let All Things Now Living traditional Welsh melody, arr. Jeff Bennett Welcome and greetings Joe Donnovin, ruling elder * Call to worship taken from Psalm 33 Leader: Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. Leader: By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him. We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you. * Hymn of praise 101 Come, Thou Almighty King * Prayer of adoration Affirmation of the necessity of Scripture Leader: The light of nature and the works of creation and providence manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, to such an extent that men are without excuse. Yet the works of creation and providence are not sufficient to give a saving knowledge of God and of his will. Therefore it pleased the Lord, at various times and in different ways, to reveal himself and to declare his will to his church, and afterward to commit that revelation completely to the writing of Holy Scripture.

3 Leader: Holy Scripture, the written Word of God, contains all the books of the Old and New Testament. The Old Testament books are: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, First and Second Samuel, First and Second Kings, First and Second Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, The Song of Songs, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Leader: The New Testament books are: The Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; The Acts of the Apostles; The Epistles of Paul: Romans, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, 1st and 2nd Timothy, Titus, and Philemon; The Epistle to the Hebrews, The Epistle of James, The 1st and 2nd Epistles of Peter, The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Epistles of John, The Epistle of Jude and The Revelation. All of the Bible is given by inspiration of God to be the rule of faith and life for all. based on the Westminster Confession of Faith, Call to confession taken from Joel 2 and Proverbs 28 Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart. Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. The man who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. Prayer of confession taken from Psalm 51 Leader: Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. continued

4 Leader: Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Hymn of confession 335 Gracious Spirit, Dwell with Me Silent prayers of confession Assurance of God s pardoning grace taken from Titus 3 When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. * Hymn of assurance 638, vv. 1, 3, 4 Savior, Thy Dying Love Thou Gavest Me Worship in the giving of God s tithe and our offerings Offertory Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus) Weak and wounded sinner, lost and left to die, raise your head, for love is passing by. Come to Jesus, come to Jesus, come to Jesus and live! Now your burden s lifted and carried far away, and precious blood has washed away the stain. So sing to Jesus, sing to Jesus, sing to Jesus and live! And like a newborn baby, don t be afraid to crawl. Remember when you walk sometimes you fall. So fall on Jesus, fall on Jesus, fall on Jesus and live! Sometimes the way is lonely and steep and filled with pain. So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, cry to Jesus, cry to Jesus, cry to Jesus and live! And when the love spills over and music fills the night, and when you can t contain your joy inside, dance for Jesus, dance for Jesus, dance for Jesus and live!

5 And with your final heartbeat, kiss the world goodbye then go in peace, and laugh on glory s side, and fly to Jesus, fly to Jesus, fly to Jesus and live! text and music by Chris Rice, 2002; arr. Robert Sterling * Doxology 731 * Prayer of dedication and thanksgiving * Scripture reading from Proverbs 4:20-5:6 Stephanie Wharton (9:30) p. 990 in pew Bible and text printed in the bulletin Phillip Broussard (11:00) This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Prayer of preparation for the study of God s Word Sermon Scripture Alone: Pay Attention and Listen Closely Aaron Tolson, pastor of high school ministry Pastoral prayer * Hymn of response 140 O Word of God Incarnate * Benediction * Congregational response Threefold Amen * Postlude Our Great Savior arr. Jeff Bennet * Congregation standing as you are able Musicians for this week: Randall Crenshaw piano Joy Gibbons piano

6 Proverbs 4:20-5:6 20 My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. 21 Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 22 for they are life to those who find them and health to a man s whole body. 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. 24 Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. 26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. 27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. 1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight, 2 that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge. 3 For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; 4 but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. 6 She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths are crooked, but she knows it not. NEW SERMON SERIES: SCRIPTURE ALONE John Frame insightfully claims, The issue before the world today, as in the garden of Eden, is Has God said? As followers of Jesus, the good news is that we are not left in the dark concerning what God has said. We have his revealed Word, the Bible. But do we know what God says in his Word? Do we live in diligent dependence upon God s Word? Are we listening to God through the faithful reading, meditating, memorizing, and applying of God s Word to all of our life? The Westminster Shorter Catechism question 2 asks, What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him? The answer is, The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him. Are we ruled by his only rule to guide us, the Word of God? As we begin the new year, we desire to commit afresh to the study of and submission to God s revelation in the Scripture. Along with this January sermon series, we are making available a Community Bible Reading Plan Journal as well as a very accessible resource entitled Know How We Got our Bible. Let us renew our commitment to the authority and necessity of God s Word as we begin 2019.

7 SERMON NOTES Scripture Alone: Pay Attention and Listen Closely Proverbs 4:20-5:6 1. The importance of listening to the Word (4:20-23) 2. The practice of living the Word (4:24-27) 3. A warning to look out for the way (5:1-6)

8 SERMON NOTES Scripture Alone: Pay Attention and Listen Closely Proverbs 4:20-5:6

9 SERMON NOTES Scripture Alone: Pay Attention and Listen Closely Proverbs 4:20-5:6

10 WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS OUR NEW YEAR S EVE SERVICE WITH COMMUNION will take place tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. in the sanctuary. All are welcome. THE AMOUNT GIVEN DURING THE CHRISTMAS EVE OFFERING toward our Mercy Fund was $. We are grateful to God for this wonderful response to help this important ministry of our church. BEGINNING NEXT SUNDAY, JANUARY 6, WE WILL OFFER OUR ANNUAL COMMUNICANT CLASS for youth interested in joining the church. For more information and to sign up, please visit lmpc.org/communicant-class or contact Margaret Compton at margaret@lmpc.org with the student s name, age, and grade. The final day to sign up is today. REMINDER: TO SUPPLEMENT OUR SERMON SERIES which launches today, we are offering two books for purchase for $10 each: a Community Bible Reading Journal, and Know How We Got Our Bible. The journal is customized for LMPC, and the book is a very readable history of the biblical canon and demonstration of the reliability of Scripture. They are available for purchase in the sanctuary narthex, the fellowship hall lobby, and the administrative office lobby. Payment instructions are on the book tables. MOST WOMEN S BIBLE STUDIES BEGIN AGAIN THE WEEK OF JANUARY 6. All women are welcome to attend any of the studies. You can find the full schedule with leaders and topics at lmpc.org/women. Nursery is provided for the Wednesday morning groups. ARE YOU INTERESTED SERVING IN ANY AREA WITH YOUTH OR CHILDREN, infants through high school students? Or would you just like to know more about the LMPC policies and procedures for keeping our children safe? If so, please make plans to attend a Child Protection Policy training meeting on Tuesday, January 8 at 7:00 pm in the Conference Room. ALL ARE INVITED TO A SERVICE OF COMMISSIONING for Restoration Southside Church on January 13 at 6:00 p.m. in the fellowship hall. Join us for this special service as we send Erin and Jared Huffman, Ann Charlotte and Ben Hooper, and others to plant a church in Southside Chattanooga. Nursery is provided. LMPC IS STARTING A NEW DIVORCE CARE GROUP in January 2019 that will meet weekly throughout the winter and spring at LMPC. We will begin with an orientation on Tuesday, January 22 at the Jane Harris Youth Building. This ministry is open to all members and friends of LMPC. For more information contact Leon Sulser at leonsulser@gmail.com or Rodney Miller at rodney.miller@covenant.edu.

11 INTERESTED IN JOINING LMPC? The next Intro to LMPC class will be held Friday evening, Saturday morning, and during Sunday School, January This is for anyone who is interested in joining LMPC or learning more about what we believe. To sign up, please or call by January 16. Please note: childcare will be available only on Sunday morning. ALL ADULT WOMEN ARE INVITED TO OUR WINTER SUPPERS on Thursday, January 31. The suppers will again be in women s homes, and each supper will include 8-12 women of all generations. You can sign up by ing women@lmpc.org. The deadline to sign up is Thursday, January 24. If you are willing to host, please susie@lmpc.org. To find out more about happenings at LMPC, visit lmpc.org/news 2018 GIVING UPDATE through December 26, 2018 Annual Budget:...$4,644, Giving YTD:...4,513,000 Remaining Gifts Needed:...130,000 Outstanding Pledge Balance:...235,000 Please note that year-end gifts must either be received online or in the church office by Monday, December 31, or have a USPS postmark no later than December 31 to be deductible in lmpc.org/give 2019 PLEDGING UPDATE If you have not yet done so, you can submit your giving plans for 2019 online at lmpc.org/giving You can also place a giving plan card in the offering plate or deliver it to David Fowler in the church office. We are praying that, in light of our exciting plans for 2019 and the resulting larger than normal increase in next year s budget, we will have 80% of the 2019 budget pledged by tomorrow, December 31. So far, 75% of the budget has been pledged.

12 TODAY AT LMPC Sunday, December 30 8:10 a.m. Worship service... chapel 9:30 a.m. Worship service... sanctuary & fellowship hall 9:30 a.m. No Sunday school today 10:30 a.m. Elders are available to pray for your needs...brian Salter s office 11:00 a.m. Worship service... sanctuary & fellowship hall 11:00 a.m. No Sunday school today 6:00 p.m. No evening prayer Nursery is available at all morning services. Children of any age are welcome to participate in worship services. Crayons and activity sheets relevant to today s sermon are available in the narthex and at the front of the sanctuary. For more events this week, visit lmpc.org/calendar. If you are new to LMPC, haven t contacted us for a while, or want to get more involved here, please fill out a welcome card from the pew in front of you and place it in the offering plate when it passes. OUR MISSION Glorifying God by growing in grace and giving our lives away on the mountain, in the city, and around the world. Address: 316 North Bragg Avenue Lookout Mountain, TN Web: lmpc.org memberinfo@lmpc.org Phone: CONTACT US Worship services with Communion are held on the first Sunday of every month in the morning services and in lieu of evening prayer on the third Sunday of every month. Devices to amplify sound during the Sunday morning worship services are available. If you would like one, please arrive a few minutes early and ask an usher to assist you.