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Worship
Service - Sundays, 9:45AM - 311 W. Yale Loop, Irvine,
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Sermon information & Archive | |
Worship is a response! God has accomplished great things! The worship of God -- which reflects our love for the God proclaimed in the Scriptures, our longing to participate in the sacraments whereby we remember our spiritual union with Jesus Christ and fellow believers, and the desire for total discipleship as members of His spiritual kingdom -- THESE are important to us! Worship requires us to bow in humility so that we can lift all of our attention upon the creator, sustainer, and redeemer of the universe. You are invited to join us as we seek the face of our great God and Savior. Below you will find the contents of a Sunday morning Order of Worship. Many of the songs listed below are linked to sites to assist in hearing the tunes (provided as a reference, but many times, not exactly as we play them, and sometimes with images that we don't endorse!) The Scripture references are also linked and can be heard online. Past worship folders are accessible by linking to the PDF archive file on the right (along with some past sermon quotes). Please read beyond the following Order of Worship listed below to read about our “philosophy” of worship. Beyond that are some notes from a recent sermon. Thank you for visiting! IF you have more interest in learning about our ENTIRE Sunday morning service, please link here: SUNDAY MORNING SCHEDULE ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Order of Service - July 25 - Rev. Kent Moorlach Preaches NOTE: Sorry for the underlined portion down below! Anyone who knows the new Dreamweaver can send us a note to fix it!! Peace! • We welcome
you to our service today! It is a blessing when God’s people
gather to Preparation for Worship with Prayer and Songs of Ascent *Opening Hymn — We Shall From All Our Sins Be Free (Lenox) In God we put our trust: if we our sins confess, The Word of God is sure, and never can be moved; Then let us gladly bring our sacrifice of praise;
Psalm 122:3—4 Elder — Jerusalem — built as a city that is bound firmly together, All — To which the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. *Confession and Cleansing Prayer of Adoration
Corporate Confession “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth..” Psalm 124:8 Song of Praise — Give Thanks (His Love Endures Forever) Give thanks to the Lord our God and King -- His love endures forever! Sing praise, sing praise… With a mighty hand outstretched arm -- His love endures forever! Sing praise, sing praise Sing praise, sing praise... Forever, God is faithful; forever God is strong, From the rising to the setting sun -- His love endures forever! Consecration by the Word Old Testament Law — Exodus 19:1 — 6 Old Testament Prophet — 1 Chronicles 9:1 — 34 Reader — The words of the Lord. Congregation — Thanks be to God. Psalm — 48:12 — 14(Coronation) Encircle Zion, walk about, and mark her towers well, Consider her protective walls, behold her citadels. Consider her protective walls, behold her citadels. Thus, you may generations tell, for what a God is He! He is our God forevermore, Who guides eternally. He is our God forevermore, Who guides eternally. New Testament Gospel — Luke 24:44 — 53 New Testament Epistle — Hebrews 12:22 — 24 Reader — The words of the Lord. Congregation — Thanks be to God. *Song — May Jesus Christ Be Praised When morning gilds the skies my heart awaking cries: My tongue shall never tire of chanting with the choir, In Heav’n’s eternal bliss the loveliest strain is this,
Sermon: “The Choir Gave Thanks” (Message by: Rev. Kent Moorlach; text: Nehemiah 11 & 12)
Coming Together as the Church Elder’s Response Affirmation of Faith — Scott’s Confession Of the Kirk (Church); Chapter 16 (ed.) Elder — As we believe in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, so we firmly believe that from the beginning there has been, now is, and to the end of the world shall be, one Kirk, All — That is to say, one company and multitude of men chosen by God, who rightly worship and embrace Him by true faith in Jesus Christ, who is the only Head of the Kirk, even as it is the body and spouse of Christ Jesus. Elder — This Kirk is catholic, that is, universal, because it contains the chosen of all ages, of all realms, nations, and tongues, be they of the Jews or be they of the Gentiles, who have communion and society with God the Father, and with His Son, Christ Jesus, through the sanctification of His Holy Spirit. All — It is therefore called the communion, not of profane persons, but of saints, who, as citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, have the fruit of inestimable benefits, one God, one Lord Jesus, one faith, and one baptism. Offertory — [Please pass the offering baskets through your section toward the back. If you have a special prayer request, please fill out a prayer card (available at the entry table) and place it in the offering basket. Thank you.] Congregational Prayer & The Lord’s Prayer Communion Through the Sacraments *Sursum Corda Minister: Communion of Christ, we are gathered in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. People: Amen! *Sanctus Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! Sacrament of The Lord’s Table Commissioning of the Church *Closing Prayer; Song of Simeon; Benediction & 3-fold Amen Lord, bid Your servant go in peace, Your word is now fulfilled. These eyes have seen salvation’s dawn, this child so long foretold. This is the savior of the world, the nations’ promised light. God’s glory dwelling in our midst, the joy of Israel!
*Those who are able, please stand. — CCLI #2831635 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Think of all that God has done; think of who He is! Creator and sustainer of the universe; Provider and Protector of His people; Righteous judge and loving Redeemer! If these concepts have any connection with our souls, we will lift up to God our thoughtful praise and offer to Him all that we value – for it all rightly belongs to Him alone. The simple truth of worship is this: everybody is doing it! Even those who never attend church spend their time, devotion, money, planning, and daydreaming on earthly pursuits – and for what purpose? To possess something of value, something significant, something that will provide purpose for living. Worship of earthly pursuits equally illicit a response – but the focus of human worship is, “Look at what I have accomplished,” rather than, “Thank God for what He has done! From beginning to end, thank God for His purposes. His purposes are greater than mine!” The purpose of our worship then is to honor and glorify God by gratefully offering back to Him all the good gifts, and all the knowledge of His greatness and grace. It involves praising Him for who He is and desiring His glory above our own. This kind of worship however is not merely a personal invention. Even though we are awestruck in wonder of God and long to participate in a grateful celebration, our zeal is also accompanied with the knowledge that God alone has proscribed the type of worship that is acceptable to Him. “The basis of worship is the covenant relationship whereby God has bound himself to those whom He has saved and claimed. This was true of Old Testament worship as it is now of Christian worship. The spirit of covenant worship, as the Old Testament models it, is a blend of awe and joy at the privilege of drawing near to the mighty Creator with radical self-humbling and honest confession of sin, folly, and need. Since God is holy and we humans are faulty, it must ever be so in this world. As worship will be central in the life of heaven (Rev. 4:8-11, 5:9-14; 7:9-17; 11:15-18; 15:2-4; 19:1-10), so it must be central in the life of the church on earth, and it should already be the main activity, both private and corporate, in each believer’s life (Col. 3:17).” – John Piper (Worship: God Gives a Liturgical Pattern) Our worship is dedicated to God as an act of service to the One who has ordered all of life. To that end, our “liturgy” includes: prayer; singing; the reading of Scripture; preaching of the Word; and the administration of the sacraments. From the beginning of the Christian church, these elements have been regarded as an appropriate response to the saving work of the Triune God. Families, including young children, are encouraged to worship together in the main service. We recognize God's gracious activity of saving whole households documented in the Scriptures; therefore, we place a value on entire families participating in our service. However, we also acknowledge that some of our youngest need special attention during an hour long service! For those who wish (or need), there is also a wonderful childcare facility available. The ARPC Book of Worship encourages family worship, and so do we! From the Book of Worship, Chapter 2: "Family worship should be biblical and instructive: made interesting and inspiring to high ideals of Christian living and service. Participation by all should be encouraged. Subjects to discuss, materials to use, and activities of this worship period may be suggested by any member of the group. Ordinarily, the head of the home should assume the leadership responsibility." And again, from the ARP Book of Worship, Chapter 3, section B: "Equally necessary for spiritual growth is daily worship, privately as an individual, and as a family in the home. There should be the reading of Scriptures and prayer. Other materials and activities may enhance the worship experience. Christian families should set aside some time each day to worship God. The Head of the home should see that this is done." The Lord's Supper is celebrated at most services--signifying the primary importance of Christ's atoning work to present us holy and acceptable unto God. The Lord’s Table is open to those who claim Christ as their Lord, having been baptized (or have indicated a desire to be baptized), who have expressed a desire to repent of their sins, and who are not under the discipline of a Bible-believing church. Children may partake if they can clearly express their faith and their understanding of the Table. If visitors to our church wish to partake in the Lord's Supper, we ask that they listen carefully to the admonitions of our presiding pastors. Those seeking to participate in the "full communion" of our church through membership should seek out an elder to discuss this process. A detailed guide to the ARP's purposes for public worship can be found at this link: http://www.arpsynod.org/pdf/Standards/Directory%20of%20Public%20Worship.pdf May God be glorified in our praise and service of Him.
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Sunday ---)------------ Listen to sermons
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Folders: SORRY FOR MISSING MANY RECENT ISSUES>>> April 4, 2010 (Resurrection Sunday) March 28, 2010 (Palm
Sunday) March 21, 2010 (Rich Park) March 14, 2010 (Dean of Trinity Law School, Donald McConnell) March 7, 2010 (Lindsay Brooks) February 28, 2010 (Christopher Neiswonger) ---)------------ Sunday Morning
Readers: The simplest theological term for
how the Holy Spirit connects us to the holiness of God is the word, “applies.” The
Spirit applies to us the very life and law-keeping of Christ.
The Spirit
applies to us the finished work of Christ upon the cross, the Spirit
applies to us all the promises of God to us in Christ – so
that in every possible way, in God’s sight we are regarded
as holy, righteous, beloved, and free from condemnation – we
are cherished by God as God cherishes His own Son, Jesus Christ – and
the Holy Spirit makes it all "stick" to us; and no power in the universe
can steal it from us because it is all the work of God upon us, and
not the work of our hands. ---)------------ ...But something
happened to John the Baptist; he had serious questions about whether
Jesus really understood
the goals of the Kingdom – and while Jesus reassures John
about his ministry; Jesus eventually gathering his followers,
AFTER HIS RESURRECTION in Acts 1:3 …appearing to them during
forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying
with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to
wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, "you heard
from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized
with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." ---)------------ And that is the question, isn’t it – Even IF I am a
member of a Christian Household – one that is spiritually “set
apart” from the rest of the world which is under God’s
wrath – what benefit is it to me if I can still somehow forfeit
my final redemption? ---)------------ Adam and Eve in all their strength could not merit their own redemption – so God provided a covering for them, and a promise! Likewise, not one of us, from the youngest to the oldest, to the strongest, wisest, or richest, could ever perform what would be required to redeem our lives – So God in His grace has provided a covering for us in our baptism – that all of the Trinity would provide for us all the righteousness of Christ and provide us with a promise: never to leave us or forsake us – this is the sure hope for all who long to be faithful disciples. ---)------------ This leads me to a primary principle. A kingdom must have a king,
and a people and a boundary. For the Christian today, everything
is related to these boundaries: ---)------------ And this is our real struggle isn’t
it – it
is against our Creator. We have chosen to not live up to what
He created us
to be – We are suppoed to be people who love justice and
beauty and goodness and purity. BUT We love shortcuts instead
of integrity.
We choose earthly influence over eternal significance. We are
constantly seeking after “the life;” but are hell
bent on destroying ourselves as we do it. ---)------------ This just happens to be the Christmas story. God
sending His savior king to a hostile world to overthrow the tyranny
of the Devil and
his seed. But Satan does not like it. Like a wicked dragon, he seeks
to devour the seed of the woman – always attacking the descendants
of Abraham. And finally when the King is born in Bethlehem, Herod
the Great seeks to destroy this child by murdering all the young
boys of that small town – but God intervenes to protect this
Savior King. ---)------------ Prophecy cannot predict anything! prophecy cannot be fulfilled if there is no gameplan in place! More than that, the plan may be in place, but it does no good unless you have the absolute ability to carry out the plan! And this is exactly what God does! God can fortell elements of the Christmas story hundreds of years before the prophesied events happen because God has a plan for this world, and He has the ability to accomplish His purposes. ---)------------ God promised Abraham a line of inumerable
descendants – and that Kings would come from his fruitfullness.
But his wife Sarah was barren, The way of women had ceased in her
body, she was worn out. She could still cook in the kitchen, but
HER own oven had lost its fire. ---)------------ It’s ironic to realize that the Christmas story is carried along by two women of note: One was a woman who couldn’t get pregnant, and the other was a woman who shouldn’t have been pregnant. ---)------------ And this is where the plans and prophesy of
Christmas impact our present. Dare I say, with the weight of prophetic
wisdom, that there must now be certain things we can completely
affirm because of Christmas! ---)------------ Christianity is a trip! When I say
this, I mean two things primarily. (1) God is a mover! God created
everything,
and He likes it moving – everything in creation is spinning,
or flying, or gravitating, or floating, or growing, or dying – it
all has momentum, and it is going in a some direction! When we
evaluate all of life from both a scientific and a Biblical perspective – we
really can say with our best 60’s voice “Life’s
a trip, man.” I think the details of the Christmas
story again teach us the obvious: God wants to move people from
their current
location – and
now I am speaking primarily in a spiritual context (stop moving away
from California!) – and take them to a place where people will
see His Glory! ---)------------ This again is the Christmas story – distance being covered
in order to reveal the glory of God. Our obvious application of the
Christmas story is this – will we trust God to lead us in a
direction that will reveal His glory? At the end of our “ride” will
we be convinced that we will be publicly glorifying God for His grand
design? This has been the theme of our current Advent
series – It
appears that those people who have some degree of “earthly
glory,” are the most threatened by the gift of God, they refuse
the gift and the relationship that the gift provides. ---)------------ Jesus didn’t come to earth
at Christmas time to simply offer peace and justice, He came to
demand it, to require it, and to command
it from every being in the universe. Jesus came to establish His
dominion so that everyone would live according to His kind of peace – that's
the kind of “PEACE ON EARTH” that Jesus brings at Christmas!
He is going to get it HIS WAY!! ---)------------ ---)------------ At the end of the day, I find it hard to know peace and justice
when I seem to be struggling with myself as enemy. The struggle against
myself is also never helped when I hang out with the wrong people,
and in the wrong places. ---)------------ I furthermore believe that this God
made me in such a way that I could comprehend Him in some way.
That He
equipped me with a sound
enough mind that could conclude that everything existing on earth,
in the solar system, in the galaxy, arrived here by more than just
a random collision of gaseous clouds (Which was Carl Sagan’s
answer to Why Am I Here? “We owe our existence to a random
collision of gaseous clouds.”) ---)------------ My faith tells me that there is a
huge reality that I cannot see – Angels,
and warfare, and heavenly realms. I don’t see it, but I believe
it, and I want to act like I believe it by living boldly, offering
my body as a living sacrifice, trusting that the very words of God
that
I speak will not return void. ---)------------ This leads me to the next aspect
of FAITH, it rests on a testimony. Now lots of churches love to
hear people’s testimony. It is
such a regular occurrence in so many churches – "Brother Bob,
come here and tell the congregation your testimony!" And then Brother
Bob explains how important he was, or how sinful he was, and how
he had a miraculous encounter with Jesus, and how now he’s
a happy, faithful follower of Christ – Now it’s wonderful
to hear the redeemed of the Lord say so, But you know what? My faith
is never to be placed in a mere man’s testimony. There are
only two testimonies we are to build our faith upon! Do you know
them? |
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