15 January: Liturgy + Set List

• THE GREATNESS OF OUR GOD

  Call to Worship: Psalm 40:5

• HOW GREAT THOU ART

• ABIDE

  That song is taken largely from John 15 - where Jesus says ‘I am the vine and you are the branches, abide in me, and I in you, because apart from me you can do nothing…’ 

  You and I are incapable of saving ourselves, and even beyond that, you and I are incapable of living the life God has called us to live apart from the ongoing work of Christ in us and through us. You and I cannot love God and love our enemies apart from Christ working in us and through us.

  Tomorrow is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. A day set aside to remember and celebrate the life and ongoing work of Dr. King. And remembering is right and good. But I think as followers of Jesus it is also right to be challenged by Dr. King’s faith in action. And as we remember, and are challenged by the ongoing work or racial justice in our country and around the world, and as we remember and are challenged by the counter-cultural life that God calls us to live as His followers, and as we are increasingly aware of our need for Christ to work in us and through us, we are going to pray. I will read this corporate prayer first so you can see and hear the words, and then we will pray this together.

  Corporate Prayer:

Almighty God, you created us in your own image: Grant us grace to contend fearlessly against evil and to make no peace with oppression; help us to use our freedom rightly in the establishment of justice in our communities and among the nations to the glory of your holy name; though Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. [Book of Common Prayer]

Sermon: Mark 1:14-28

Repent and believe the Gospel - that is the invitation of Christ in this passage, but it is also the invitation of Christ for every person here, whether you are a follower of Jesus or not. Let’s use these next songs as prayers of repentance and belief. Would you stand if you’re able, we’ll sing together…

• THERE IS A REDEEMER

• SON OF SUFFERING

  Benediction: Matthew 28:18-20

8 January: Liturgy + Set List

• ON CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK

Call to Worship: Psalm 119:17-20

My hope and prayer for this morning and the year ahead is that we will be people who have souls that are consumed with the things of the Lord, not just the things of the world. Let’s sing to that end:

• CHRIST BE MAGNIFIED

• THE GREATNESS OF OUR GOD

Sermon: Mark 1:1-14

Brothers and sisters, hear the good news - Christ has come and will come again. Let’s join in the ancient praise of all God’s people proclaiming that good news.

• RAISE UP THE CROWN (ALL HAIL THE POWER)

• GOD SO LOVED

Benediction: Hebrews 4:14-16

1 January: Liturgy + Set List

• BEHOLD

  Call to Worship: Psalm 118:14-17

  Welcome to worship with us on this final day of the Christmas season, and the first day of the year. We are glad you have joined us to do precisely what we have read in those verses - to declare the wondrous deeds of the Lord. A new year can bring excitement, anxiety, fear, or worry. But as followers of Christ, we can rest in the reality that there is no portion of the year ahead that God does not know deeply, intimately, and completely. And if you are here this morning as a follower of Christ, there is nowhere you will go this year that Christ will not go with you. We will spend some time praying together using Psalm 16 - I will read a portion of the passage, and then give you a prompt for prayer, and leave some time for you to pray silently in your own heart. Let’s continue in worship through prayer…

Psalm 16:

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
    I have no good apart from you.”

As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
    in whom is all my delight.

Take a moment to reflect, remember, and name evidences of God’s care and kindness to you in 2022.

The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;
    their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
    or take their names on my lips.

Will you take a moment to name and confess to God the places of fear, anxiety, worry, or uncertainty about the year ahead.

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
    you hold my lot.

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
    in the night also my heart instructs me.

I have set the Lord always before me;
    because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

Will you take a moment to invite the Holy Spirit to press these truths deeply into your heart in the year ahead.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
    my flesh also dwells secure.

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
    or let your holy one see corruption.

You make known to me the path of life;
    in your presence there is fullness of joy;
    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

• KING OF KINGS

• O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL

  Reading: Luke 2:41-52

  Sermon: John 20:1-18

  My only hope, your only hope in 2023 is not resolutions, but resting in the unchangeable character of God. All things are passing away - including you and me - but God’s Word never passes away - God never changes. So would you stand and sing these next two songs as prayers looking ahead to this year, and fixing our eyes on the Risen, Author, and Perfector of our faith…

• TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS

  You will recognize the melody of this next song, but the words may be new. Let’s sing together…

• ALL GLORY BE TO CHRIST

  Benediction: John 20:30-31

18 December: Liturgy + Set List

• HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING

  Call to Worship: Zechariah 13:1, Psalm 87:1-3, 7

  Advent is a season of longing, and something about this season highlights for me how many of the longings and desires of my heart go unfulfilled on this side of eternity. But every desire should be an arrow that points us to the source of our greatest desire: God Himself. As we sing these Advent and Christmas songs that speak to our longings, we can be honest with God and with one another, as we look to Jesus the One who is the fulfillment of our deepest longings. Let’s sing…

• COME THOU LONG-EXPECTED JESUS | JESUS WHAT A FRIEND FOR SINNERS

• I SHALL NOT WANT

  Reading: Luke 2:8-21

  Sermon: John 4:1-24

  Scripture tells us that no one seeks God. If you are here this morning as a follower of Jesus, you are not following Jesus because you went looking for Jesus, rather, like the woman at the well, you were searching for life, hope, and fulfillment on your own when Jesus moved toward you. He is the One that we adore because He has revealed himself to us. Would you stand if you’re able, let’s sing…

• O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL

• JOY TO THE WORLD (UNSPEAKABLE JOY)

  Reading: John 7:37-39

  Advent Candle Lighting/Benediction

11 December: Liturgy + Set List

• BEHOLD

  Call to Worship: Psalm 34:1-5

  Good morning and welcome to worship on this third Sunday of Advent. That is why we gather, to look to the One who is glorious, to look to the One who is fully God, and yet fully man. To the One who set aside His glory to take on our flesh in complete humility. We look to the One who made us, sustains us, redeems us, and loves us. Let’s sing…

• GRACE ALONE

• SILENT NIGHT (SON OF GOD, SON OF MAN)

  Reading: Luke 2:1-7

  Sermon: John 3:1-15

  So many stories in Scripture close and we are left to wonder, what happened next? Do you know we see Nicodemus one other time in Scripture? When Jesus is crucified, two men come to care for His crucified body - Joseph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus. My dad says often ‘No true encounter with Christ ever leaves us the same.’ Nicodemus encountered Jesus and it didn’t just make him a better version of Himself, it made him a new person. That is what we all need - to encounter Christ and be transformed from death to life. Let’s sing in response to God’s Word preached:

• O HOLY NIGHT (O HEAR THE GOSPEL STORY)

  Reading: Isaiah 9:2-7

  Advent Candle Lighting/Benediction

4 December: Liturgy + Set List

• JOY TO THE WORLD (UNSPEAKABLE JOY)

  Call to Worship: Isaiah 55:1-2,6-9

  Advent confronts us with the reality that from our physical needs to our spiritual needs, and our greatest need - to be made right with God the Father - you and I are incapable of saving ourselves. But Advent reminds us that God is with us, God is among us, God is for us, and God saves us. That is the good news of great joy - that we cannot save ourselves, but God, in and through Christ saves us. Let’s sing and celebrate together:

• GREAT THINGS/ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH

• TRISAGION

  Reading: Luke 1:39-45

  Sermon: John 2:1-12

  I think about how in the Old Testament, Moses - this towering figure, the servant of the Lord asks God, ‘Show me your glory.’ And God says, ‘No… but I will let my glory pass by you.’ A little later on King David - this man after God’s own heart says, ‘There is one thing I ask of the Lord, there is one thing I desire, one thing I seek after - gaze upon the beauty and glory of the Lord and to dwell in his house forever.’ The New Testament tells us that we see ‘the glory of God in the face of the Son.’ Brothers and sisters, if you are here as a follower of Jesus, you have seen and experienced the glory of God in a way that Moses and David never did. Let Advent be a reminder to you to cease striving, and simply receive. Let’s celebrate God’s revealed glory, would you stand if you’re able, we’ll sing together.

• A THOUSAND HALLELUJAHS

• BEHOLD

  Reading: John 1:9-14

• Benediction/Advent Candle Lighting

27 November: Liturgy + Set List

• CROWN HIM (CHRISTMAS)

  Call to Worship: Isaiah 40:3-8

  Welcome to this first week of Advent. This season of life in the Church is where we look back on the coming of Christ and look forward to His return. If Christ has come, He will come again. Every song we will sing this morning is looking back on Christ’s first coming and looking forward to His return. Let’s sing together:

• JESUS!

• O COME O COME EMMANUEL

  Reading: Luke 1:26-38

  Sermon: John 1:43-51

  The season of Advent is a reminder that God rarely comes to us in the way, we would expect. The Creator and Sustainer of the universe is born as a helpless baby. The One who is holy is also the One who moves near. Though He has all the riches of heaven, He lays aside His glory and takes the form of a servant. He is transcendent and immanent. Come and see brothers and sisters, come and see.

• HOLY (JESUS YOU ARE)

• COME THOU LONG-EXPECTED JESUS

  Reading: John 1:1-5

• Benediction/Advent Candle Lighting

20 November: Liturgy + Set List

• THIS I BELIEVE (THE CREED)

  Call to Worship: Psalm 33:20-22

  Brothers and sisters, God is trustworthy. I hope one of the byproducts of spending the last 14 weeks in the Apostles’ Creed reminds you and me that our faith does not rest in our feelings or experiences. Our faith rests on the eternal and unchangeable character of God. These truths have been passed down from generation to generation. Let’s sing about the heart and character of God:

• ABIDE

  Nothing to earn, nothing to prove, nothing to earn, simply resting, trusting, and abiding in the completed work of Christ. This is a song that we introduced last week, we’ll sing together:

• FORGIVEN FOREVER

  Sermon: 1 Corinthians 15:12-13, 20-22, 51-55; Revelation 21:1-5, 22-27

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, 

Maker of heaven and earth; 

and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, 

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, 

suffered under Pontius Pilate, 

was crucified, died, and was buried. 

He descended into hell. 

The third day he rose again from the dead. 

He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; 

from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit, 

the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, 

the forgiveness of sins, 

the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

• HYMN OF HEAVEN

  Baptisms

  Benediction: 2 Corinthians 15:58

13 November: Liturgy + Set List

• HOUSE OF THE LORD

  Call to Worship: Psalm 86:4-10

  Maybe you came in this morning singing ‘there is joy in the house of the Lord,’ and not feeling particularly joyful. If you are here this morning as a follower of Jesus, I have good news for you: joy is never tied to a circumstance but is tied to the person and completed work of Christ. We can have joy because we can come with boldness before the throne of grace to receive mercy from God because of Christ. We are people who have been forgiven not just partially, not just temporarily, but eternally and forever. This morning in our series in The Apostles’ Creed we will look at a line that is something we talk about often in church - that we have the forgiveness of sins. And this is something we should speak about regularly, but with all things that are familiar, we can often treat them casually. And this morning we’re going to teach you a new song that puts language around the reality that our forgiveness in and through the completed work of Christ is final, full, and forever…

• FORGIVEN FOREVER

• GRAVES INTO GARDENS

  Sermon: 1 John 1:5-2:2

  If we truly understood the depth of our forgiveness in Christ, how quick we would be to confess our sin to God, and one another, and seek forgiveness from God and one another. How quick we would be to forgive those who have sinned against us. Let’s confess what we believe about our faith through the words in the Apostles’ Creed:

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, 

Maker of heaven and earth; 

and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, 

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, 

suffered under Pontius Pilate, 

was crucified, died, and was buried. 

He descended into hell. 

The third day he rose again from the dead. 

He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; 

from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit, 

the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, 

the forgiveness of sins, 

the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

• COME THOU FOUNT

Benediction: Psalm 103:8-11

6 November: Liturgy + Set List

• CHRIST BE MAGNIFIED

  Call to Worship: Psalm 69:30-34

  We gather as a small expression of the diverse, global body of Christ. The Universal Church, made up of believers from every tribe, tongue, nation, language, and culture throughout time and history. And today is the day that has been marked out as the National Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Those brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who lose their lives and their livelihoods, lose their families, and the community, who are imprisoned and tortured for their faith. It is right and good for us as Americans to thank God for the freedoms that we have to worship and practice our faith. It is right and good for us as Americans to admit that we are quick to call many things persecution that is more like an inconvenience, more like opposition, more like a loss of power, influence, or cultural sway we may have previously enjoyed. And it is right and good for us to spend time praying for and on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who are suffering for the sake of Christ. We’re going to spend some time praying to that end now, I will lead us through this prayer, and we’ll give you some time to pray silently with a list of 50 countries facing extreme persecution at this time as well. Let’s pray:

Prayer for the Persecuted Church

Father, there is nothing that can separate us from Your love. 

Not tribulation or distress.

Not persecution or famine.

Not nakedness, danger or sword. 

And still, these realities are all too present for many of our brothers and sisters around the world who are persecuted because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus, you know the suffering of Your Bride - because You are the man of sorrows, the one acquainted with grief, You were despised and rejected, beaten, tortured, deserted, and killed. As our brother and sisters around the world share in Your sufferings, would You draw them near to Your glory? Would they count the loss of all things as nothing in comparison to knowing You? Would they live in the promise of Your words in Matthew:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account.”

Holy Spirit, let us not use our freedom to be free of the burden to pray, to think, to act on behalf of our brothers and sisters around the world who are in chains for the sake of the gospel. We take a moment now to silently pray on behalf of our brothers and sisters suffering for their faith….

Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayers. Thank you, that 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 can separate us from Your love in Christ Jesus. Amen and amen.

• IS HE WORTHY

• HOLY (JESUS YOU ARE)

  Sermon:

The Apostles’ Creed:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, 

Maker of heaven and earth; 

and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, 

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, 

suffered under Pontius Pilate, 

was crucified, died, and was buried. 

He descended into hell. 

The third day he rose again from the dead. 

He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; 

from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit, 

the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, 

the forgiveness of sins, 

the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Lord’s Supper

• I STAND AMAZED (HOW MARVELOUS)

  Benediction: Ephesians 3:20-21

30 October: Liturgy + Set List

• RAISE A HALLELUJAH

  Parent Commissioning

  Let’s be reminded of why we gather:

  Psalm 145:1-7

• PROMISES

  Scripture reminds us that God is faithful when we are faithless. You and I cannot save ourselves, we cannot try hard enough to be made right with God. We need to rest, trust, and abide in what Christ has done on our behalf. For the boys and the girls in the room, this next song is the song we sang together in the clubhouse last week. Let’s sing together:

• ABIDE

  Sermon: Ezekiel 36:24-28; Galatians 5:22-25

  The life of faith is not a life of doing more and being better. We cannot produce faith in and of ourselves, faith is worked in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the same way, we can confess our faith through the words of the Apostles’ Creed, but to confess these words with our hearts and lives requires the empowering of the Holy Spirit. So I want to invite you to stand if you’re able, and confess not just with your mouth, but with your life, by the power of the Holy Spirit what we believe about our faith. Let’s confess together:

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, 

Maker of heaven and earth; 

and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, 

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, 

suffered under Pontius Pilate, 

was crucified, died, and was buried. 

He descended into hell. 

The third day he rose again from the dead. 

He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; 

from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit, 

the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, 

the forgiveness of sins, 

the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

• YET NOT I BUT THROUGH CHRIST IN ME

  Benediction: 2 Corinthians 13:14

23 October: Liturgy + Set List

• THIS IS AMAZING GRACE

  Call to Worship: Psalm 130

  We are people who wait. We wait between two Advents, the Advent of Christ’s first arrival, and the Advent of His second coming. As we heard last week we wait between Christ’s ascension to be with God the Father, and as we’ll hear today we wait for Christ to return to judge the living and the dead. As we wait, we see in part, but when Christ comes again, we will see and know in full. We are going to teach you a new song this morning, and the verses of this song are really a confession of those who see in part. But the chorus is a declaration of those who see in full - the song that has been resounding around heaven for all of eternity - that God is holy, holy, holy. As we sing, I want to invite you to hold these two realities in tension, that we wait and know it part, and that one day we will know in full. Let’s sing…

• HOLY (JESUS YOU ARE)

• I LOVE YOU LORD

  Sermon: Revelation 19:11-20:15

  In many ways, Christ’s first coming was quiet and obscure. When he returns, there will be no denying that Christ has returned to rule and reign. Let Christ’s return fuel our response in humility, hope, and mission. Let’s confess what we believe about our returning King through the words of the Apostels’ Creed, would you stand if you’re able:

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, 

Maker of heaven and earth; 

and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, 

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, 

suffered under Pontius Pilate, 

was crucified, died, and was buried. 

He descended into hell. 

The third day he rose again from the dead. 

He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; 

from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit, 

the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, 

the forgiveness of sins, 

the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

• KING OF KINGS

• IN CHRIST ALONE

  Benediction: 2 Timothy 4:8