GOOD GOD
Call to Worship: Psalm 68:4-6, 19-20
Good morning and welcome to worship on this Lord’s Day, and this fifth Sunday in the season of Lent. During Lent, we remember our death and the sin that has won for us death. But more than that, we remember the life of Christ - the life that is ours through Christ - because God is a God of salvation.
GRACE ALONE
TRISAGION
BCP Corporate Confession
Sermon: Galatians 4:4-7
If you want to know what God the Father is like - look to the Son. Scripture says we see the glory of God in the face of the Son, and Jesus says in the gospels: if you know me you know the Father, because I have done nothing that I have not first heard and seen from the Father. And if you want to know the Son, look to the Spirit - who leads us into all truth, which is Jesus, who seals and guarantees our salvation, and who reminds us of who we are. Let’s use these next few songs as prayers of invitation, inviting the Spirit to move the truth we may know in our heads, down into our hearts, and to be embodied in our lives.
HOLY (JESUS YOU ARE)
HOW DEEP THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR US
Benediction
Set List
10 March: Liturgy & Set List
TRISAGION
Call to worship: Psalm 150
Welcome to this fourth Sunday during Lent, and this family worship weekend. Throughout the Psalms, the Psalmist speaks to his own heart reminding it of what is true, because our hearts do not always tell us the truth we need to tell them what to believe. This next song is a new one that speaks to our hearts about who God is, what He has done, and who he has called us to be…
GOOD GOD
HOLY FOREVER
Every week during the season of Lent we have taken time to confess our sins to God and to one another. Many times people believe they only need to confess their sin to God when they first accept they need a rescuer in Jesus. But the act of confession is not a one-time act, but the continual act of followers of Jesus. The Bible tells us that we are to confess our sins to God so that we might be forgiven and to our brothers and sisters so that we might be healed. Let’s confess our sins to God and one another:
LEADER:
Merciful God, for the wrong things that we have done,
ALL:
Forgive us
LEADER:
For the right things that we have failed to do,
ALL:
Forgive us
LEADER:
For the times we have acted without love
ALL:
Forgive us
LEADER:
For the times we have reacted without thought
ALL:
Forgive us
LEADER:
For the ways we have not loved You with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength
ALL:
Forgive us
A prayer of confession, especially mindful of Children, The Worship Sourcebook
Brothers and sisters, hear the Good News: if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Praise the Lord, amen.
Sermon: John 17:24
In the 1700s, Jonathan Edwards said:
God is the fountain of love, as the sun is the fountain of light. And therefore the glorious presence of God in heaven fills heaven with love, as the sun, placed in the midst of the visible heavens in a clear day, fills the world with light.
The apostle tells us that "God is love"; and therefore, seeing he is an infinite being, it follows that he is an infinite fountain of love.
Seeing he is an all-sufficient being, it follows that he is a full and overflowing, an inexhaustible fountain of love. And in that he is an unchangeable and eternal being, he is an unchangeable and eternal fountain of love.
There, even in heaven, dwells the God from whom every stream of holy love, yea, every drop that is, or ever was, proceeds. There dwells God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit, united as one, in infinitely dear, and incomprehensible, and mutual and eternal love...
And there this glorious fountain forever flows forth in streams, yea, in rivers of love and delight, and these rivers swell, as it were, to an ocean of love, in which the souls of
the ransomed may bathe with the sweetest enjoyment, and their hearts, as it were, be deluged with love.
Would you stand if you’re able as we sing to the fountain of all love…
DOXOLOGY (English/Spanish)
HYMN OF HEAVEN
Benediction
3 March: Liturgy & Set List
TRISAGION
Call to Worship: Psalm 119:25-34
Good morning, welcome to worship on this Lord’s Day, and this third Sunday in the season of Lent. Often one of the ways people observe this season is through fasting. Giving up temporary pleasures, small comforts, little places we seek to find life - but we also feast on the place we find true and abundant life - God’s Word. So let’s sing God’s word, read, pray, preach, and live God’s Word…
THE SOLID ROCK
KING OF KINGS
BCP Corporate Confession
Sermon: 2 Peter 1:16-21
The Apostles’ Creed
Communion
I STAND AMAZED (HOW MARVELOUS)
Benediction
25 February: Liturgy & Set List
GLORIOUS DAY
Call to Worship:
Welcome to worship on this Lord’s Day, and this second Sunday in the season of Lent. During Lent we reflect upon and repent of our sin, we reflect on te cross, and look with joy to the hope of the resurrection. So if you are here as a follower of Jesus you can sing words like ‘I ran out of the grave…’ not because of something you have done, but because of Christ’s completed work on your behalf. Let’s celebrate who Jesus is and what he’s done as we sing:
O PRAISE THE NAME (ANASTASIS)
TRISAGION
Take a few moments now to name and confess your sin to the Lord, turning from your sin, and turning toward Christ…
Let’s confess our sin to God and to one another:
Book of Common Prayer Corporate Confession
Sermon: Mark 15:40-16:8
Would you stand if you’re able? Buried with Christ in baptism into death, raised to newness of life - this is what we witness in baptism. And if you’re here as a follower of Christ, we are going to confess what we believe about our faith in the words of the Apostles’ Creed.
The Apostles’ Creed
Baptism Affirmations
Baptisms
NO BODY
Benediction
18 February: Liturgy & Set List
REJOICE
Call to Worship: Psalm 24
Welcome to this Lord’s Day and this first Sunday in the season of Lent. Lent is the forty days leading up to Resurrection Sunday - a time of reflection, repentance, and renewal where we consider our sins and the cross. So every week in the Lenten season we will confess our sins to God and one another in prayer and in song. Let’s sing these truths together:
TRISAGION
THE GREATNESS OF OUR GOD
When we glimpse the glory, holiness, and otherness of God, we become all the more aware of our own sin, brokenness, and unholiness. So let’s take a few moments now to confess our sins to God and one another:
Book of Common Prayer Corporate Confession
Would you take a few moments in the quiet of your own heart to confess your sin to God…
Brothers and sisters, hear the good news: God does not treat us as our sins deserve.
Sermon: Nehemiah 8
Baptism
We have seen our sister confess and profess her faith through Baptism, and now together we will confess and profess our faith in the words of the Apostles’ Creed:
The Apostles’ Creed
I SHALL NOT WANT
BE THOU MY VISION
Benediction
11 February: Liturgy & Set List
HOLY HOLY HOLY
Call to Worship: Psalm 96
We ascribe to the Lord his value and worth, not because our recognition makes it any more or less true - not because God needs to be reminded of His own character, but because we forget these things are true. Let’s sing about the heart, character, and worth of our God:
PSALM 134 (BLESS THE LORD)
LAMB OF GOD
Sermon: Mark 15:1-39
Before sin was in the world, salvation was already present. God had sewn redemption and rescue into the story of humanity before the foundation of the world. And even into eternity - if you are a follower of Jesus - we will spend celebrating and worshiping in response to Christ’s completed work on the cross. Let’s put language to that reality as we sing together now. Would you stand if you’re able:
THANK YOU JESUS FOR THE BLOOD
ALL HAIL KING JESUS
Benediction
4 February: Liturgy & Set List
ALL I HAVE IS CHRIST
Call to Worship: Psalm 25:1-15
We gather we after week to gaze upon the Lord, to follow the path of steadfast love and faithfulness that is ours in Christ. But that is not something we can do in our own strength, we need the empowering of the Spirit in us, but we also need one another. So as we sing this morning, don’t just look at the screen, don’t just close your eyes, look around at your brothers and sisters - sing encouraging them to keep to the path of steadfast love and faithfulness.
CHRIST BE MAGNIFIED
THANK YOU JESUS FOR THE BLOOD
Sermon: Mark 14:53-72
Whether you are here this morning feeling the weight of sin and shame for your denial of Christ, or you are here this morning feeling like you have only ever followed Jesus at a distance, the invitation is the same: to draw near to the One who has first drawn near to us in Christ. Would you stand if you’re able, we’ll sing together.
THERE IS A REDEEMER
IS HE WORTHY
Benediction
21 January: Liturgy + Set List
PSALM 134 (BLESS THE LORD)
Call to Worship: Psalm 139:1-6, 15-18
God who created everything takes thought for you. And part of the reason we gather is to turn our thoughts, our attention, and our affection upon the Creator of all things.
HOW GREAT THOU ART
WHAT YOU SAID
All sin is rooted in unbelief - that God is not who he says he is, that he is holding out on you. We need to sing words like: ‘You are good, and everything you do is good, you are kind and everything you do is kind, you don’t fail, you haven’t and you never will,’ first, because it’s true - it is who God has revealed himself to be in his word and in his son. But even on my best day, and in my own strength I don’t believe these things - I need the Holy Spirit to remind me of these truths, I need my brothers and sisters to remind me of these truths when I don’t believe. We’re going to take a few moments now to confess our sin to God and to one another:
Merciful God,
We confess that we have sinned against You
in thought, word, and deed,
By what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved You with our whole heart and mind and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.In Your mercy forgive what we have been,
help us amend what we are,
And direct what we shall be,
So that we may delight in your will and walk in Your ways, To the glory of Your holy name.Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Brothers and sisters hear the good news: The Lord who loves you says in his word that his anger is for a moment, but his favor is for a lifetime. Amen.
Sermon: Mark 14:10-25
The Lord’s Supper
The Apostles’ Creed
A THOUSAND HALLELUJAHS
Benediction
14 January: Liturgy + Set List
PSALM 134 (BLESS THE LORD
We have sung the words to this Psalm, now let’s hear God call us to worship through His word in Psalm 134:
Call to Worship: Psalm 134
We raise our hands in worship for many reasons - hands raised are a sign of victory - not our, but the victory and triumph of Jesus over satan, sin, and death. But hands raised is also a sign of surrender, a sign of dependence, a posture of receiving. And I wanted to let you know, if you’re here this morning as a born and bred Baptist, you can still raise your hands and STILL be Baptist.
BEFORE THE THRONE
KING OF KINGS
You cannot encounter Jesus - the King of kings and remain neutral. Encountering Christ requires a response - even in our passage today we will see three groups of people encounter Christ and respond in very different ways. Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Jr Day - a day our country sets aside to remember the life and work of Dr. King. Like you and me, Dr. King was an imperfect person, putting an imperfect faith into practice in an imperfect world - but I hope what we truly see in the life and work of Dr. King was someone who had encountered Christ and could not remain neutral. Dr. King encountered the God who justified sinners by the blood of Christ, the God who showed mercy to those deserving of wrath, and the God who welcomes enemies as friends. So we are going to spend a few moments praying that we too would encounter Christ, and live on mission. I will read these words and then I will invite you to pray them with me.
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.
A Prayer For Social Justice
The Book of Common Prayer
Sermon: Mark 14:1-11
Worship does not begin and end, your affections do not turn on and off - they are aimed. And part of the reason we gather week after week is because we desperately need to aim our worship and our affection on the only one worthy of our affection and our worship. Let’s treasure Christ together, would you stand if you’re able, we’ll sing…
SON OF SUFFERING
HOLY IS OUR GOD
Benediction
7 January: Liturgy + Set List
PROMISES
Call to Worship: Psalm 16
Good morning and welcome to worship on this first Sunday of the new year. We are here to set the Lord always before our mind’s attention and our heart’s affection. We look to the one who leads us in the way of life, and regardless of the year ahead will not abandon you. Let’s sing of his heart and character together:
THE GREATNESS OF OUR GOD
ABIDE
Sermon: Mark 13:1-37
Christ has come, and he is coming again. Let’s not grow indifferent toward our sin, but use this time to once again set Christ before our gaze, and confess our sins to God and one another. Would you stand if you’re able:
BCP Corporate Confession
Brothers and sisters, hear the good news. God does not treat you as your sins deserve. Christ has come and He is coming again. Let’s sing to him now…
HYMN OF HEAVEN
YET NOT I, BUT THROUGH CHRIST IN ME
Benediction
31 December: Liturgy + Set List
WONDER AND GIFT
The Church calendar says that Christmas is more than a day, it is a season. So we are still in the season of Christmas, remembering Christ’s coming, and anticipating His return. As we sing together this morning, I want to encourage you to look back over the past year and search for ebeneezers - remembrances of God’s care, help, and provision. Hold those things in your heart and mind, and sing from that place, sing from that remembrance this morning.
BEHOLD
HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING
Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarate Word: Grant that this light, kindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one god, now and for ever. Amen.
ONLY A HOLY GOD
Readings: Luke 1:26-33, Matthew 1:1, 12-16
This is the word of the LORD. The kind of people Jesus came from reveals the kind of people Jesus came for. Thanks be to God. Thanks be to God.
Sermon: Luke 1:26-56
Writer Frederick Buechner says, ‘The grace of God means something like: "Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are, because the party wouldn't have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us... I love you." If you are here this morning as a follower of Jesus, as you look back over 2023 and as you look ahead to 2024 you have nothing to fear, because the Lord who loves you says in His Word: ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ God is so kind, so good, so gracious, he can work all things for our greater good, and His greater glory. As we close out our morning and our year, we’re going to sing about God’s glory with a song that will have a familiar melody, but maybe words which are unfamiliar. Would you stand if you’re able…
All Glory Be To Christ
24 December: Liturgy + Set List
WONDER AND GIFT
O COME LET US ADORE HIM
O COME O COME EMMANUEL
If you have been with us this Advent season you know that we have been looking at the mothers of Jesus - women in the genealogy of Jesus. And we have said throughout this series, ‘The kind of people Jesus came from reveals the kind of people Jesus came for.’ And what Scripture tells us is that Christ came to win for Himself, to purchase with His blood, a bride made up of people from every tribe, tongue, nation, and language on the earth. This is part of what the angels say to the shepherds, ‘This is good news of great joy which will be for all the people.’ And this morning we get to hear some of our people - who call Life Church home - read us the story of this good news in a few of the languages representing the people Jesus came for:
Luke 2:1-7 (in Spanish), Luke 2:8-13 (in Vietnamese), Luke 2:14-20 (in English)
COME THOU LONG-EXPECTED JESUS
Sermon: 2 Samuel 11:1-27
I love what the Psalmist says - even the darkness is not dark to you, for the night is as bright as the day. This is Jesus, the Light of the World illuminating the darkness of our sin, the darkness of our lives, the darkness of the world. Let’s sing about Him, and to Him, and to one another - would you stand if you’re able…
LIGHT OF THE WORLD (SING HALLELUJAH)
Reading: John 1:9-18
We light a candle to remember that Jesus is the Light of the World. And if you are here this morning as a follower of Jesus, you carry the very life and light of Christ in you and with you as you walk into a darkened world.
SILENT NIGHT (SON OF GOD, SON OF MAN)
O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL