City Reformed PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Sunday Morning Service May 14, 2017
Welcome to City Reformed Presbyterian Church We are glad to have you join us for worship today. We expect that many people who are with us may not be familiar with the way our worship service is structured. We have attempted to explain as much as possible in the bulletin. More information is available on our website: www.cityreformed.org. What kind of Church is City Reformed? - We believe that the Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God. Its message centers on the good news ( gospel ) of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The gospel compels us to engage the city around us, it calls us to renew our minds, it draws us together to be the family of God, and it directs our worship to the living God. - We are linked to the historic Protestant church ( Evangelical ) & to other Christians throughout the world. - We are a part of a denomination called the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). www.pcanet.org. What happens on Sundays? May - August: Oakland location: (Lord s Supper on the 1st Sunday of the Month) 10:15 AM Worship Service (Children s Church for kids 4-7) 11:45 AM Food & fellowship September - April: Oakland location: (Lord s Supper on the 1st Sunday of the Month) 9:15 AM Worship Service 10:00 AM Christian Education (all ages) 10:45 AM Coffee & Fellowship 11:15 AM Worship Service (Children s Church for kids 4-7) 12:45 PM Food & Fellowship All year: Squirrel Hill location: (Lord s Supper on the 3rd Sunday of the Month) 6:30 PM Worship Service 8:00 PM Grill the Preacher Q&A, food and fellowship Are there programs for my children? May- August: Nursery for children infant- 4 is offered during the service. During the service children 4-7 have the option to be dismissed to attend Children s Church. September- April: Nursery for children infant-4 is offered during both services and Christian Education. We have a full Christian Education Program for children of all ages at 10:00 am. Families that go to the 9:15am service have the option to dismiss their children to attend Christian Education during the sermon. During the 11:15 service children 4-7 have the option to be dismissed to attend Children s Church. Please talk to an usher or greeter if you have any questions about the nursery. Where can I park my car? On Sunday mornings, the metered parking is free and there are usually many open spots on the street. How do I connect? We would love to get to know you! Please join us for a time of fellowship and refreshments after the worship services. If you would like to contact a pastor please email: rob@cityreformed.org. The best way to meet other members of our congregation is to visit one of our community groups (listed on page 9). The groups are always open for visitors, and brand new groups form throughout the year. Finally, be sure to stop by the welcome table for more information.
City Reformed Presbyterian Church Sunday Morning Worship May 14, 2017 We tell ourselves, Strong Christians pray a lot. If I were a strong Christian, I d pray more. Strong Christians do pray more, but they pray more because they realize how weak they are. They don t try to hide it from themselves. Weakness is the channel that allows them to access grace. - Paul Miller, A Praying Life 1
Presider: Reverend Robert Gray Please stand for the call to worship if you are able. Worship Service Call to Worship: Isaiah 40:1-9 Leader: Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord s hand double for all her sins. People: A voice cries: In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Leader: Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. People: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Leader: A voice says, Cry! And I said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. People: The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Leader: Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; Prayer of Invocation Praise To The Lord Praise to the Lord, The Almighty, the King of creation! O my soul, praise Him for He is thy health and salvation! All ye who hear, Now to His temple draw near; Praise Him in glad adoration. Praise to the Lord, Who o er all things so wondrously reigneth, Shelters thee under His wings, Yea, so gently sustaineth! Hast thou not seen How all your longings have been Granted in what He ordaineth? Praise to the Lord, Who doth prosper thy work and defend thee. Surely His goodness and Mercy here daily attend thee. Ponder anew What the Almighty can do If with His love He befriend thee. People: Lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God! 2
Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him! All that hath life and breath, Come now with praises before Him. Let the Amen Sound from His people again, Gladly for aye we adore Him. O Love That Will Not Let Me Go O Love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee; I give thee back the life I owe, That in thine ocean depths its flow May richer, fuller be. Great Are You Lord You give life You are love You bring light to the darkness You give hope You restore ev ry heart that is broken And great are You Lord It s Your breath in our lungs So we pour out our praise We pour out our praise It s Your breath in our lungs So we pour out our praise to You only Bridge And all the earth will shout Your praise Our hearts will cry these bones will sing Great are You Lord O light that followest all my way, I yield my flickering torch to thee; My heart restores its borrowed ray, That in thy sunshine s blaze its day May brighter, fairer be. O Joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to thee; I trace the rainbow through the rain, And feel the promise is not vain, That morn shall tearless be. O Cross that liftest up my head, I dare not ask to fly from thee; I lay in dust life s glory dead, And from the ground there blossoms red Life that shall endless be. 3
Call to Confession: Isaiah 53:5-6 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Prayer of Confession Father, we are in desperate need of your salvation. We know that we cannot stand in your judgment on our own. We have sinned and gone astray. We place our hope in your mercy through Jesus. He was crushed and put to grief when he willingly gave his life as an offering for sin. He was righteous, yet bore our iniquities. This is our hope and prayer. Jesus our substitute, our savior. Open our eyes to see this grace, to delight in it and share it with others. Silent Confession Assurance of Pardon: 1 Peter 2:21, 24-25 Christ suffered for you He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. Song of Renewal During this song we will pass offering bags through the congregation. We ask that our members and regular attendees will thoughtfully consider their contribution as an act of worship - a response to God s grace in our lives. Those who are not a regular part of our church are not expected to participate in the offering. I Need Thee Every Hour I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord; No tender voice like Thine can peace afford I need Thee, O I need Thee; Every hour I need Thee; O bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee. I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby; Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh. I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain; Come quickly and abide, or life is in vain. I need Thee every hour, most Holy One; O make me Thine indeed, Thou blessèd Son. I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will; And Thy rich promises in me fulfill. Baptism: Natalie Louise Pacheco, daughter of Carlos & Maike Pacheco Question to the Congregation: Do you as a congregation undertake the responsibility of assisting the parents in the Christian nurture of this child? 4 Corporate & Pastoral Prayer *At this time, children ages 4-7 may be dismissed for children s church. The leaders will take the children to children s church and then back to the worship service after the sermon. Children s Song of the Month: Great is Thy Faithfulness
Sermon The Gospel According to Isaiah, Part 4: Kingdom of the Servant of the Lord Isaiah 54:1-17 1 Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married, says the Lord. 2 Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. 3 For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, and your offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities. 4 Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. 5 For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. 6 For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. 7 For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. 8 In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer. 9 This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you. 10 For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you. 11 O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires. 12 I will make your pinnacles of agate, your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall of precious stones. 13 All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children. 14 In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you. 15 If anyone stirs up strife, it is not from me; whoever stirs up strife with you shall fall because of you. 16 Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and produces a weapon for its purpose. I have also created the ravager to destroy; 17 no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord. Barren and Fruitful -Reverend Matthew Koerber 5
Additional Scripture Isaiah 52:13, 53:3 Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted...he was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Mark 10:29-30 Jesus said, Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. Philippians 2:12-13 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Revelation 21:1-3 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. Scriptural Response: John 15:1-5 [Jesus said,] I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6
Please stand for the final songs if you are able. Songs of Thanksgiving: Abide With Me Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide. When other helpers, fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, abide with me. Thou on my head, in early youth didst smile; And, though rebellious, and perverse meanwhile, Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee, On to the close Lord, abide with me. I need Thy presence, every passing hour. What but Thy grace, can foil the tempter s power? Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be? Through cloud and sunshine, abide with me. I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless Ills have no weight, tears lose their bitterness Where is thy sting death? Where grave thy victory? I triumph still, abide with me. Hold Thou Thy cross, before my closing eyes; Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies. Heaven s morning breaks, and earth s vain shadows flee; In life, in death, Lord, abide with me. Psalm 51:10-12 (Create In Me A Clean Heart) Create in me a clean heart, oh God, And renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, oh Lord. Take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. And renew a right spirit within me song Prayer Announcements *At the beginning of announcements parents are dismissed to get their children from nursery. Benediction Tonight s Evening Service: Reverend Joseph Bianco will preach For This Purpose: The King s Glory on John 12:27-50. 7