The Lord’s Day ~ October 17, 2021
The Preparation for Worship
For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:36)
Prelude and Silent Prayer
Welcome and Announcements
The Adoration of God
Call to Worship – Isaiah 61:10
*Psalm of Praise – Psalm 143B, ARP Psalter
Speaker: This is the day the Lord has made,
All: We will rejoice and be glad in it! (Psalm 118:24)
*The Invocation and Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
*The Hymn of Exaltation – Hymn 107
(Praise Ye the Father!)
The Old Testament Reading – 1 Samuel 14:47-52
*The Response of Praise (Thank You Lord)
Thank you Lord, for saving my soul
Thank you Lord, for making me whole;
Thank you Lord, for giving to me
Thy great salvation so rich and free.
The Confession of Sin
The Call to Repentance – Romans 12:1-3
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
The Prayer of Confession (a moment of silent confession)
Almighty God, the message we have heard is that You are light and in You there is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with You and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as You are in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say we have not sinned, we make You a liar and Your word is not in us. Therefore, we confess our sins to You and ask You to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. In Jesus name. Amen. (1John 1:5-10)
The Assurance of Pardon – Psalm 103:12 "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."
*The Hymn of Gratitude – Hymn 521
(My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less)
The Means of Grace
The Pastoral Prayer
The Worship of Giving
*The Doxology Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise Him all creatures here below; praise Him above, ye heavenly host: praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
*The Prayer of Dedication
The Scripture – 1 Samuel 15:1-23
The Sermon – To Obey is Better than Sacrifice
The Response and Blessing
*The Hymn of Consecration – Hymn 562(All to Jesus I Surrender)
*The Benediction
*Congregation Standing
-------------------------------
Announcements
We welcome all who are visiting with us today. The Pastor and elders are available after the service to pray with you, to speak with you about salvation or church membership.
Prayer Meeting will meet this Wednesday at the church @ 7:00.
The Session will meet on Tuesday, October 19 @ 10:00 a.m.
The Importance of Obedience
Human beings are naturally religious, and part of that religious impulse involves following religious rituals. In most of the world’s religions, central importance is placed on the proper following of ritual while less attention is devoted to right belief. Biblical Christianity stands out as the exception. Various regulations and rituals have been important in church history, but Christian theology tends to focus more on getting our beliefs right than on enforcing adherence to a set of religious rituals.
Yet, God’s people have sometimes elevated external conformity over heart-motivated belief and obedience. King Saul committed that error when he disobeyed God’s command to annihilate the Amalekites and their livestock. He preserved the Amalekite king, Agag, and several of the best Amalekite animals. And when Samuel came to confront Saul for his disobedience, Saul explained that he spared the animals so as to make the best sacrifice to the Lord. Saul violated the Lord’s explicit will for dealing with the Amalekites. For this blatant disobedience, God rejected him as Israel’s king, pledging to give the throne to another.
It is important to get the externals right, and the intent to be faithful in the rituals is not a bad thing in itself. When Samuel said, under God’s inspiration, that obedience is better than sacrifice, he did not mean that the sacrificial system was optional or that offering quality sacrifices was unimportant. His point was that we cannot offer a proper sacrifice if we are not intent on following all of God’s commandments. Saul thought it would be fine if he gave the choicest Amalekite animals to the Lord even when that entailed disregarding what God had told him to do.
Going through the motions—even if they are the right motions-- is insufficient to fully please the Lord. He does not want our sacrifices if we do not obey Him in other matters. It is vital that we strive to do what the Lord wants us to do in all things and that we quickly and truly repent when we have failed to obey Him. (Ligonier.org)
The Preparation for Worship
For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:36)
Prelude and Silent Prayer
Welcome and Announcements
The Adoration of God
Call to Worship – Isaiah 61:10
*Psalm of Praise – Psalm 143B, ARP Psalter
Speaker: This is the day the Lord has made,
All: We will rejoice and be glad in it! (Psalm 118:24)
*The Invocation and Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
*The Hymn of Exaltation – Hymn 107
(Praise Ye the Father!)
The Old Testament Reading – 1 Samuel 14:47-52
*The Response of Praise (Thank You Lord)
Thank you Lord, for saving my soul
Thank you Lord, for making me whole;
Thank you Lord, for giving to me
Thy great salvation so rich and free.
The Confession of Sin
The Call to Repentance – Romans 12:1-3
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
The Prayer of Confession (a moment of silent confession)
Almighty God, the message we have heard is that You are light and in You there is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with You and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as You are in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say we have not sinned, we make You a liar and Your word is not in us. Therefore, we confess our sins to You and ask You to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. In Jesus name. Amen. (1John 1:5-10)
The Assurance of Pardon – Psalm 103:12 "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."
*The Hymn of Gratitude – Hymn 521
(My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less)
The Means of Grace
The Pastoral Prayer
The Worship of Giving
*The Doxology Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise Him all creatures here below; praise Him above, ye heavenly host: praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
*The Prayer of Dedication
The Scripture – 1 Samuel 15:1-23
The Sermon – To Obey is Better than Sacrifice
The Response and Blessing
*The Hymn of Consecration – Hymn 562(All to Jesus I Surrender)
*The Benediction
*Congregation Standing
-------------------------------
Announcements
We welcome all who are visiting with us today. The Pastor and elders are available after the service to pray with you, to speak with you about salvation or church membership.
Prayer Meeting will meet this Wednesday at the church @ 7:00.
The Session will meet on Tuesday, October 19 @ 10:00 a.m.
The Importance of Obedience
Human beings are naturally religious, and part of that religious impulse involves following religious rituals. In most of the world’s religions, central importance is placed on the proper following of ritual while less attention is devoted to right belief. Biblical Christianity stands out as the exception. Various regulations and rituals have been important in church history, but Christian theology tends to focus more on getting our beliefs right than on enforcing adherence to a set of religious rituals.
Yet, God’s people have sometimes elevated external conformity over heart-motivated belief and obedience. King Saul committed that error when he disobeyed God’s command to annihilate the Amalekites and their livestock. He preserved the Amalekite king, Agag, and several of the best Amalekite animals. And when Samuel came to confront Saul for his disobedience, Saul explained that he spared the animals so as to make the best sacrifice to the Lord. Saul violated the Lord’s explicit will for dealing with the Amalekites. For this blatant disobedience, God rejected him as Israel’s king, pledging to give the throne to another.
It is important to get the externals right, and the intent to be faithful in the rituals is not a bad thing in itself. When Samuel said, under God’s inspiration, that obedience is better than sacrifice, he did not mean that the sacrificial system was optional or that offering quality sacrifices was unimportant. His point was that we cannot offer a proper sacrifice if we are not intent on following all of God’s commandments. Saul thought it would be fine if he gave the choicest Amalekite animals to the Lord even when that entailed disregarding what God had told him to do.
Going through the motions—even if they are the right motions-- is insufficient to fully please the Lord. He does not want our sacrifices if we do not obey Him in other matters. It is vital that we strive to do what the Lord wants us to do in all things and that we quickly and truly repent when we have failed to obey Him. (Ligonier.org)
The ARP Church has published a Psalter in conjunction with Crown and Covenant Publications. Read here about the Preface and History of Psalm singing in the ARPC.
