CHRIST CHURCH VENTURA

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1 The Celtic Cross is an ancient Christian symbol. The cross proper recalls the death of Christ for the sins of his people, while the circle is a historic symbol of God s eternal nature. Jesus name is at the center, depicted by the Greek letters Ιης and is surrounded by the vine and branches, representing our relationship to Him. At the bottom, CHRISTUS VICTOR, Christ is Victorious, testifies to his triumph over sin and death on the cross. This Celtic cross is used by permission of Saint Paul s Presbyterian Church in Orlando, Florida. Each of the five panels represents a significant event in Christ s life. Exalting Christ through Worship, Renewal, Community, and Partnership $ HIS REIGN The wounded lamb as Christ reclining on the book of seven seals is a historic symbol of the reigning Christ. The three-rayed nimbus is an ancient symbol of deity. (Revelation 5:9-12) HIS RESURRECTION Lilies traditionally represent the resurrection; the trumpet heralds Christ s certain and triumphal return. (1 Corinthians 15:54; Matthew 24:31; Luke 12:27) $ $ HIS ATONEMENT The crown of thorns and nails testify to Christ s sacrificial death on the cross. (Hebrews 2:17; John 19:2; 20:27)! HIS BAPTISM The dove and tongues of fire symbolically portray the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:10; Acts 2:3) $ CHRIST CHURCH VENTURA HIS INCARNATION The open Bible is the Word of God. The double lighted candlesticks represent the dual nature of Christ his deity and his humanity. (John 1:1-14) PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN AMERICA To all who are spiritually weary and seek rest; to all who mourn and long for comfort; to all who struggle and desire hope; to all who sin and need a Savior; to all who are strangers and yearn for home; to all who hunger and thirst after righteousness; and to whoever will come; this church offers a genuine welcome in the name of the risen Lord Jesus Christ.

2 WHAT IS OUR MESSAGE? The great good news is that God has taken it upon Himself to do something for us that we are powerless to do for ourselves. The Gospel is simply this: sinners are forgiven and accepted by God because of the work of Jesus Christ. Trust in Christ s finished work is not just the beginning of the Christian life, but the means and end as well. The Gospel is what must be applied more and more deeply in order to live as a Christian. The power of the Gospel is not merely about forgiveness and improvement, but renewal and wholeness. A GOSPEL-SHAPED MINISTRY The Gospel changes people Through the continual application of the Gospel we become more like Christ. The Gospel produces joy Grace frees us from both condemnation and self-righteousness to enjoy God fully. The Gospel defines community In union with Christ, we become God s sons and daughters His new people. WHAT DO WE BELIEVE? We embrace the historic Christian faith believing the timeless truths held in common by the church in all ages and places. We wholeheartedly affirm the classic doctrines defined by the Apostles, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds. The Trinity There is only one God eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Incarnation The person Jesus Christ is the only Son of God who is both fully God and fully human. The Atonement Jesus died on a cross and was raised from the dead in order to redeem us from our sins. We also embrace the Reformed Christian faith believing the biblical teachings that were restated during the Protestant Reformation. This great renewal of the church in the 16 th century has given us a common heritage in the classic solas. The Gospel points outward Grace disengages approval seeking, engenders authenticity, and curbs pride. Scripture Alone The Bible is the one source of divine revelation and the only completely reliable guide for faith and life. The Gospel informs attitudes As Christians, we desire the peace and wellbeing of our communities and cities. The Gospel removes barriers Reconciliation humbles us so that we may become agents to reconcile others. Christ Alone Salvation is accomplished by the substitutionary atonement of the historical and sinless Christ alone. Grace Alone We are rescued from God s anger, freed from sin s bondage and lifted to new life by His grace alone. The Gospel renews culture All of life matters to God and we are to pursue all vocations with excellence. Faith Alone Christ s righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of God s justice by faith alone. The Gospel builds momentum Church planting is the result of and the means to fulfilling the great commission God Alone The sole purpose of our creation and redemption is to enjoy God s presence and live for His glory.

3 CHRIST CHURCH VENTURA IS A CONGREGATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN AMERICA Empowered by the Gospel, we aim to experience God s pleasure in fostering true knowledge, holy affection, and faithful obedience through historic worship, gospel renewal, genuine community, and global partnership to the end that God s people are gathered and Christ s Kingdom is extended throughout Ventura County and beyond. CHURCH OFFICERS Teaching Elder Roy R. Bennett (ojairoyb@gmail.com) Ruling Elder David Sveiven (dsevend@yahoo.com) Ruling Elder David Blank (cosmos.psa19@rocketmail.com) Deacon Ernie Rivas (abodigital@mac.com) MINISTRY LEADERS Chief Musician Tilford Jackson Church Treasurer Tom Etchart Children s Director Michele Sveiven CONTACT INFORMATION PO Box 25 Ojai, CA (805) WORSHIP LOCATION Trinity Lutheran Church 196 N. Ashwood Avenue, Ventura at 4:00pm ANNOUNCEMENTS CHILDREN S ED (ages 2-18) Class Dismissed to resume in the Fall (see Michele Sveiven) CCV MEN S StUDY GROUP Class Dismissed to resume in the Fall (see Skip Chapin) CONGREGATIONAL STUDY Class Dismissed to resume in the Fall (see Roy Bennett) VENTURA COUNTY RESCUE MISSION 1 st & 3 rd Thurs. 6:45-7:45pm Meets at 234 E. 6th Street, Oxnard (see John Geb) All Music reproduction is by permission CCLI# Order for the Celebration and Worship of God Fifth Sunday after Pentecost: July 9, :00 pm * Congregation standing PRELUDE Pianist Tilford Jackson CHORAL INTROIT (Music on page 2) Brethren, We Have Met to Worship WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS SILENT PREPARATION CALL TO WORSHIP Isaiah 40:9-11 INVITIATORY Lord, you are the everlasting God, Creator of heaven and earth! Have you not known? Have you not heard? Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord or shown him counsel? Unison: Look, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, like dust! To whom will you compare this unsearchable and holy One? Come let us adore Him. Alleluia. * HYMN OF PRAISE (Music on page 3) This is My Father's World * PRAYER OF ADORATION Unison: O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor. Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 1

4 ! BRETHREN, WE HAVE MET TO WORSHIP THE BLESSING OF INFANT BAPTISM God's sign, communicated to a child as by an impressed seal, confirms the promise given to the pious parent, and declares it to be ratified that the Lord will be God not only to him but to his seed; and that he wills to manifest his goodness and grace not only to him but to his descendants even to the thousandth generation [Ex. 20:6]. God's boundless generosity, in showing itself there, first gives men ample occasion to proclaim his glory, then floods godly hearts with uncommon happiness, which quickens men to a deeper love of their kind Father, as they see his concern on their behalf for their posterity. Accordingly, let those who embrace the promise that God's mercy is to be extended to their children deem it their duty to offer them to the church to be sealed by the symbol of mercy, and thereby to arouse themselves to a surer confidence, because they see with their very eyes the covenant of the Lord engraved upon the bodies of their children. John Calvin Institutes of the Christian Religion (4.16.9) 2 15

5 ! HOW IS OUR BAPTISM TO BE IMPROVED BY US? THIS IS MY FATHER S WORLD The needful but much neglected duty of improving our baptism, is to be performed by us all our life long, especially in the time of temptation, and when we are present at the administration of it to others; by serious and thankful consideration of the nature of it, and of the ends for which Christ instituted it, the privileges and benefits conferred and sealed thereby, and our solemn vow made therein; by being humbled for our sinful defilement, our falling short of, and walking contrary to, the grace of baptism, and our engagements; by growing up to assurance of pardon of sin, and of all other blessings sealed to us in that sacrament; by drawing strength from the death and resurrection of Christ, into whom we are baptized, for the mortifying of sin, and quickening of grace; and by endeavoring to live by faith, to have our conversation in holiness and righteousness, as those that have therein given up their names to Christ; and to walk in brotherly love, as being baptized by the same Spirit into one body. Westminster Larger Catechism, Question

6 $ * AFFIRMATION OF FAITH The Heidelberg Catechism #69 & 74 How does baptism remind you and assure you that Christ s one sacrifice on the cross is for you personally? In this way: Christ instituted this outward washing and with it gave the promise that, as surely as water washes away the dirt from the body, so certainly his blood and his Spirit wash away my soul s impurity, in other words, all my sins. GOD THAT MADEST EARTH AND HEAVEN Should infants, too, be baptized? Yes. Infants as well as adults are in God s covenant and are his people. They, no less than adults, are promised the forgiveness of sin through Christ s blood and the Holy Spirit who produces faith. Therefore, by baptism, the mark of the covenant, infants should be received into the Christian church and should be distinguished from the children of unbelievers. This was done in the Old Testament by circumcision, which was replaced in the New Testament by baptism. THE PSALTER Psalm 78:1-8 (ESV) 78 :1 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! 2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, 3 things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. 5 He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, 6 that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, 7 so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, keep his commandments; 8 and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God. 13

7 * PRAYER OF PROTECTION Aurelius Augustine Unison: Blessed are all your saints, O God and King, who have traveled over the tempestuous sea of this mortal life and have entered the harbor of peace and felicity. Watch over us who are still on our dangerous journey and remember that we are exposed to the rough storms of trouble and temptations. Frail is our vessel and the ocean is wide, but as in your mercy you have set our course, so steer the vessel of our life toward the everlasting shore of peace, and bring us at last to the quiet haven of our hearts desire, where you, our God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are blessed and live and reign forever and ever. * BENEDICTION Numbers 6:24-26 (ESV) The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up the light of his countenance and give you peace. * DISMISSAL (Music on page 13) God that Madest Earth and Heaven L. O. Emerson 1906 POSTLUDE Go in peace to love and serve the risen Lord Jesus. Thanks be to God! Pianist Tilford Jackson The Word of the Lord! Thanks be to God! * HYMN OF TRUST (Music on page 6) Children of the Heavenly Father THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE Unison: Almighty God, we thank you that by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ you have overcome sin and death and have brought us to yourself. We thank you that by the sealing of the Holy Spirit you have bestowed upon us the forgiveness of sin, the resurrection to newness of life and have bound us to yourself and to your service. Renew us, O Lord, by the same Holy Spirit, granting us an inquiring mind, an affectionate and discerning heart, and the courage to will and persevere in all that you would call us to, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Dear Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray for Michael and Jeanette Luckmann who have come to declare publicly their allegiance to your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Deliver Them, O Lord, from the way of sin and death. Daily open their hearts to your grace and truth. Fill them with your life-giving Spirit. Keep them in the faith and communion of your holy church. Enable them to love others in the power of the Spirit. Send them into the world to be a witness to your grace and love. And preserve them until they arrive in their heavenly home to enjoy the fullness of your peace and glory. Lord, hear our prayer. 12 5

8 CHILDREN OF THE HEAVENLY FATHER SERMON NOTES!! 6 11

9 O GOD, GREAT FATHER 10 Father, we pray for this child, Benjamin Theodore Luckmann as he receives the sacrament of baptism. Deliver him from the way of sin and death; open his heart to your grace and truth; fill him with your lifegiving Spirit; keep him in the faith and communion of your holy Church; prepare him to witness to your love; and bring him to the fullness of your peace and glory. Lord, hear our prayer. And we pray for these parents: Michael and Jeanette Luckmann. Grant them grace so to live before their son, loving him, teaching him, praying with him and for him, that by their faithful living and through the power of the gospel all of the promises of the covenant may be fulfilled in his life. Lord, hear our prayer. And we pray for ourselves, the congregation of Christ Church Ventura: Grant us grace to welcome Benjamin Theodore, to love him and pray for him, to engage his fellowship, encourage his growth, and extend him our care as duty done to you, the one true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Lord, hear our prayer. Amen. THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY BAPTISM Renew and strengthen, O Lord, this child of the covenant, Benjamin Theodore Luckmann, by your Holy Spirit; empower him for your service and sustain him all of his days. Defend him, O Lord, by your grace that he may continue in your way forever, and daily increase in him your Holy Spirit more and more until, at last, he comes to your everlasting kingdom; we ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Thanks be to God!

10 NOTES ON THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM * HYMN OF TRUST (Music on page 10) O God, Great Father" * GOSPEL LESSON Matthew 6:7-13 (ESV) 6 :7 And Jesus said, "When you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen." * PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION SERMON Reverend Roy R. Bennett Fulfill Your Good Pleasure" PASTORAL PRAYER OFFERTORY * DOXOLOGY Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him all creatures here below; Praise Him above ye heavenly host: Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen. * PRAYER OF DEDICATION 8 9