After Pentecost – 14th Sunday: 11 Sep 2022
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
O God, because without you we are not able to please you,
mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit
may in all things direct and rule our hearts;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
There is more joy in heaven over
one lost sinner who repents and returns to God
than over ninety-nine others who are righteous
and haven’t strayed away!
(Luke 15:7)
__________
Mighty to Save – Hillsong | Hadleigh Baptist Church
__________
OT Reading: Ex 32:1,7-14 (NLT)
The Gold Calf
32:1 When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.”
32:7 The Lord told Moses, “Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”
Then the Lord said, “I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are. Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation.”
But Moses tried to pacify the Lord his God. “O Lord!” he said. “Why are you so angry with your own people whom you brought from the land of Egypt with such great power and such a strong hand? Why let the Egyptians say, ‘Their God rescued them with the evil intention of slaughtering them in the mountains and wiping them from the face of the earth’? Turn away from your fierce anger. Change your mind about this terrible disaster you have threatened against your people! Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You bound yourself with an oath to them, saying, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven. And I will give them all of this land that I have promised to your descendants, and they will possess it forever.’”
So the Lord changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had threatened to bring on his people.
__________
Psalms Reading: Psalm 51 – Wisdom in the Secret Heart (Sojourn Worship)
Behold I was brought forth in iniquity
And in sin did my mother conceived me
Behold You delight in the truth and the inward me
And You teach me, wisdom in the secret heart
My sins are not far but right in front of me
Against You and You alone, God, I am guilty
Wash me thoroughly, cleanse me from iniquity
And teach me, wisdom in the secret heart
Create in me a clean heart, oh God
Renew a right spirit within me, oh God
Cast me not away from Your presence
Take not Your Holy Spirit
Restore in me the joy of Your salvation
And teach me, wisdom in the secret heart
Send me the chief of sinners to proclaim
Come be forgiven the sin of the Lamb of God was slain
Open my lips and my mouth will declare Your endless praise
And teach me, wisdom in the secret heart
Create in me a clean heart, oh God
Renew a right spirit within me, oh God
Cast me not away from Your presence
Take not Your Holy Spirit
Restore in me the joy of Your salvation
And teach me, wisdom in the secret heart
Wisdom in the secret heart
The Lord is gracious
Slow to anger
Rich in love, He is good to all
The Lord is gracious
Slow to anger
Rich in love, He is good to all
The Lord is gracious
Slow to anger
Rich in love, He is good to all
The Lord is gracious
Slow to anger
Rich in love, He is good to all
Good to all
Good to all
Good to all
Create in me a clean heart, oh God
Renew a right spirit within me, oh God
Cast me not away from Your presence
Take not Your Holy Spirit
Restore in me the joy of Your salvation
And teach me, wisdom in the secret heart
Wisdom in the secret heart
__________
NT Reading: 1 Tim 1:12-17 (NLT)
Paul’s Gratitude for God’s Mercy
1:12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus.
This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.
__________
His Mercy Is More – Shane & Shane
The Central Collective
__________
Gospel Reading: Luke 15:1-10 (NLT)
Parable of the Lost Sheep
15:1 Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!
So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!
Parable of the Lost Coin
“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”
__________
“Amazing Grace” – Judy Collins Gloria Franchi
__________
+ Almighty God, you have not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities; grant that we, who for our evil deeds deserve to be punished, by the might of your grace may mercifully be relieved; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
+ Merciful God, you desire not the death of sinners, but rather that they should turn to you and live; and through your only Son you have revealed yourself as the God who pardons iniquity. Have mercy on the unrepentant and those who do not believe. Awaken in them, by your Word and Holy Spirit, a deep sense of their sinfulness and peril. Take from them all ignorance, hardness of heart, and contempt of your Word. Grant them to know and feel that there is no other Name under heaven given among men by which they must be saved, but only the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so bring them home and number them among your children, that they may be yours for ever; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.
Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch
O good shepherd, seek me out,
and bring me home to thy fold again.
Deal favorably with me according to thy good pleasure,
till I may dwell in thy house all the days of my life,
and praise thee for ever and ever with them that are there.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Peanut Gallery 