R E F L E C T I O N S

Transcription

1 R E F L E C T I O N S Conversion is not the smooth, easy-going process some men seem to think... It is wounding work, this breaking of the hearts, but without wounding there is no saving... Where there is grafting there will always be a cutting, the graft must be let in with a wound; to stick it onto the outside or to tie it on with a string would be of no use. Heart must be set to heart and back to back or there will be no sap from root to branch. And this, I say, must be done by a wound, by a cut. John Bunyan The church is not a theological classroom. It is a conversion, confession, repentance, reconciliation, forgiveness and sanctification center, where flawed people place their faith in Christ, gather to know and love him better, and learn to love others as he designed. Paul David Tripp Social responsibility becomes an aspect not of Christian mission only, but also of Christian conversion. It is impossible to be truly converted to God without being thereby converted to our neighbor. John Stott So, as we have our tea, I propose not only to operate on your heart so as to change your will, but also on your eyes so as to change your outlook. But wait a minute. No, I do not propose to operate at all. I myself cannot do anything of the sort. I am just mildly suggesting that you are perhaps dead, and perhaps blind, leaving you to think the matter over for yourself. If an operation is to be performed it must be performed by God Himself. Cornelius Van Til

2 RIVERWOOD PRESBY TERIAN CHURCH T U S C A L O O S A, A L A B A M A Februar y 11, :00 Ser vice Rev. J ef f Pa te, Pa stor Transfiguration Sunday Leaders In Worship: Assisting Elder Gene Martin Nancy Allen, piano WELCOME & PRELUDE Program all communication devices to be in silent mode. Thank you. Please use this time for prayer and meditation as we prepare to go before the living God in worship. CALL TO WORSHIP: from Psalm 95 Pastor: Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! All: Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! Pastor: For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. All: Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Pastor: Come, let us worship! P R A I S E HYMN OF PRAISE: 101 Come, Thou Almighty King PRAYER OF PRAISE AND THE LORD'S PRAYER Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen. 2

3 C O N F E S S I O N SCRIPTURE READING: Ezekiel 36: Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have 23 profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when 24 through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations and 25 gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I 26 will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. 27 And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. Leader: This is the Word of the Lord. All: Thanks be to God! CORPORATE CONFESSION OF SIN: All: Merciful God, you pardon all who truly repent and turn to you. We humbly confess our sins and ask your mercy. We have not loved you with a pure heart, nor have we loved our neighbor as ourselves. We have not done justice, loved kindness, or walked humbly with you, our God. Have mercy on us, O God, in your loving-kindness. In your great compassion, cleanse us from our sin. Create in us a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within us. Do not cast us from your presence, or take your Holy Spirit from us. Restore to us the joy of your salvation and sustain us with your bountiful Spirit through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. SILENT REFLECTION AND CONFESSION WORDS OF ASSURANCE & PEACE OF GOD: based on Ephesians 1:7-10 Pastor: Because of his sovereign and undeserved love, God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, the Beloved, and you have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of your trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, All: which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ, Pastor: this according to his plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. The peace of Christ be with you all. All: And also with you. HYMN: Before the Throne of God Above (lyrics on page 6) 3

4 C O M M I T M E N T OFFERTORY PRAYER OFFERTORY Presentation of tithes & offerings DOXOLOGY (Hymnal, page 731) AFFIRMATION OF FAITH: Leader: People: Christian, what do you believe? I believe that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. (1 Jn 1:5) Jesus is the image of the invisible God. (Col. 1:15) we must be perfect, as God is perfect. (Matt. 5:48) all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Rom. 3:23) if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (1 Jn 2:1) God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:38, 39) RESPONSE: 735 Gloria Patri MISSIONS MOMENT & PRAYER OF INTERCESSION HYMN: 145 The Spirit Breathes upon the Word 4

5 P R E A C H I N G O F T H E W O R D SCRIPTURE: John 16: But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, Where are you going? 6 7 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will 8 not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict 9 the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do 10 not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have 13 many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever 14 he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will 15 glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. SERMON: The Gift Who Convinces and Calls Rev. Jeff Pate HYMN: 480 Come, for the Feast Is Spread st. 1,3 RESPONSIVE READING: Pastor: All: Pastor: Our Lord commands all believers to eat this broken bread and to drink this cup in true faith and in the confident hope of his return in glory. In this supper God declares to us that our sins have been completely forgiven through the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which he himself finished on the cross once for all. He also declares to us that the Holy Spirit grafts us into Christ, who with his very body is now in heaven at the right hand of the Father, where he wants us to worship him. THE SACRAMENT OF THE LORD S SUPPER Riverwood Presbyterian uses wine in the celebration of Holy Communion. If you would prefer non-alcoholic grape juice, please take a cup from the inner circle of the tray. HYMN: 179 Hallelujah! Thine the Glory BENEDICTION ANNOUNCEMENTS C O M M U N I O N DISMISSING HYMN: 263 Lift High the Cross v. 4 5

6 BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD ABOVE 1. Before the throne of God above, I have a strong and perfect plea, a great High Priest whose name is Love, who ever lives and pleads for me. My name is graven on His hands, my name is written on His heart. I know that while in Heav n He stands, No tongue can bid me thence depart, no tongue can bid me thence depart. 2. When Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within, upward I look and see Him there, who made an end to all my sin. Because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free; for God, the just, is satisfied, to look on Him and pardon me, to look on Him and pardon me. 3. Behold Him there, the risen Lamb, my perfect, spotless righteousness, the great unchangeable I AM, the King of Glory and of grace! One with Himself I cannot die, my soul is purchased by His blood! My life is hid with Christ on high, with Christ my Savior and my God, with Christ my Savior and my God. Words by Charitie Bancroft; Music by Vikki Cook 1997 Sovereign Grace Worship/ASCAP; CCLI license # TODAY AT RIVERWOOD Covenant Kids Club meets tonight at 4:30pm. Choir rehearsal is in the sanctuary at 5:00pm. Youth groups also meet tonight (see detailed announcement on the next page). Feb. 11 Feb. 18 Feb. 25 SUNDAY EVENING SCHEDULE Covenant Kids Club / Jr. & Sr. High Youth / Choir Rehearsal Covenant Kids Club / Jr. & Sr. High Youth / Evening Worship Covenant Kids Club / Jr. & Sr. High Youth / Choir Rehearsal LECTIONARY READINGS FOR TRANSFIGURATION SUNDAY 2 Kings 2:1-12; Psalm 50:1-6; 2 Corinthians 4:3-6; Mark 9:2-9 6

7 HAPPY BIRTHDAYS February 13 Ceilidh Crawford February 13 Wilson Pate February 14 Pam Thornton February 15 Abigail Jones A N N O U N C E M E N T S YOUTH GROUPS ARE MEETING TODAY! Calling all YOUTH - It's time to celebrate God's gift of sugar! So bring all of your sweet teeth to THE BARN today at your appointed time and be prepared to devour some delectable delights (translation: We gonna eat candy!). Junior High Youth (grades 6-8) meet from 4:30 to 6:10 Senior High Youth (grades 9-12) meet from 5:40 to 7:45 Hope to see YOU there! LUNCH FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS AND NURSERY WORKERS...and their families following service this morning. Immediately following the lunch, we will have a short meeting regarding the Children's Ministry Policy. ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICES Each year on Ash Wednesday, Riverwood comes before the Lord in prayer, repentance, and the symbolic cross marked in ashes. This year there will be two services 7:00am for those who need to get to work or school, and an 8:00am service to include RCS students and staff. You are welcome to join us at either service to begin the Easter season with worship, as we seek to acknowledge and turn from our sin. The service will be in the sanctuary and will last approximately 30 minutes. BABY SHOWER Please come celebrate with Erin Sheppard! We will have a diapers and wipes shower next Sunday, February 18 at 2:00 p.m. THANK YOU FROM WINGS OF GRACE TO RIVERWOOD Thank you so much for your past and ongoing partnership with the Wings of Grace Center by sending volunteers, donated items, and financial support. You are blessing so many! -Mrs. Terri Hibbard, Director, and Bruce & Mickey DeHaan, full-time volunteers MARK YOUR CALENDARS Thursday, March 1: Women s Event Favorite Things Party Sunday, March 4: Ridge Haven fundraiser luncheon 7

8 S U N D A Y S C H O O L At Riverwood Presbyterian Church we have Sunday School at 9:45am for all age groups. MEETING DOWNSTAIRS: Nursery: Multi-Staffed 2-3 year olds: Janalie Graham & Joanie Norris 4-5 year olds: Debbie Jones MEETING UPSTAIRS: Grades 1-3: Monica Urban Grades 4-6: Ginny Nippert MEETING IN THE BARN: Youth Class led by Jeff Pate MEETING IN THE FELLOWSHIP HALL: Adult Class MEETING IN THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING: Adult Class Disability and the Gospel led by Gene Martin M I N I S T R I E S O F S E R V I C E NURSERY VOLUNTEER SCHEDULE: February 11: Aaron Powers / Debbie Jones / Bruce & Mickey DeHaan / Kaitlin Jones February 18: Olivia Staggs / Sarah Vander Wal / Janalie Graham & Sumlin Pate / Hannah Urban FEBRUARY DEACON SCHEDULE: Head Deacons: Bruce DeHaan & Tom Arnold Clean Up: Steve Patridge & Dusty Sheppard F I N A N C I A L R E P O R T 8 January 2018: Operating Income: $27, Operating Expense*: $31, Net Income: ($4,710.02) Designated gifts: $1, Building loan balance: $941, *Includes the minimum monthly building loan payment