The Lord’s Day ~ September 26, 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 – Micah 4:2
*Psalm of Praise – Psalm 135A, ARP Psalter (vv. 1-2)
Speaker: The LORD is in His holy temple,
All: Let all the earth keep silence before Him. (Habakkuk 2:20)
*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 64, vv. 1-2, 5
(God, the Lord, a King Remaineth)
The New Testament Reading – Acts 13:14-33
*The Response of Praise (Holy, Righteous)
Holy, righteous, clothed in his shining light.
Yahweh, I am, for us was crucified.
This chosen One, (this chosen One)
Is the King of Kings.
This spotless Lamb, (this spotless Lamb)
Is the Lord of Lords.
The Confession of Sin
The Call to Repentance – Joel 2:12-14
“Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him — A grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your God?
The Prayer of Confession (a moment of silent confession)
LORD God, we are ashamed and embarrassed to lift up our face to You, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown even to the heavens. Now, O God, what shall we say? For we have forsaken your commandments, which You have commanded by Your servants the prophets. After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, shall we again break Your commandments? Would You not be angry with us to the point of destruction, until there is no remnant nor any who escape? O LORD God of Israel, You are righteous; behold, we are before You in our guilt, for no one can stand before You because of this. In Jesus name. Amen. (Ezra 9)
The Assurance of Pardon – Isaiah 55:7 "Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon."
*The Hymn of Gratitude – Hymn 649
(More Love to Thee, O Christ)
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 13:1-14
The Sermon – A Man After God's Own Heart
The Response and Blessing
*The Hymn of Consecration – Hymn 644
(May the Mind of Christ My Savior)
*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.
Continuing our look at the reign of King Saul, we come today to 1 Samuel 13, which describes a key turning point in God’s dealings with the first king of Israel. First Samuel 13 focuses on Saul’s first fight against the Philistines after he began ruling over Israel. Battling the Philistines was one of the purposes for which Saul was anointed king (9:16), but what stands out in this chapter is that Saul did not strike the initial blow against Philistia. Instead, his son Jonathan was the first to defeat the Philistines (13:3, 16). Here we have another indication that all was not going to be well with Saul. Though he did well in fighting the Ammonites (chap. 10), he did not take the initiative against the enemies he was specifically appointed to defeat. Add this to Saul’s hiding from his own anointing (10:20–23), and it is clear that this king left a lot to be desired.
But the most striking proof that Saul would not live up to the ideal was his disobedience of an explicit order from the Lord. When the time came to fight the Philistines, Saul was supposed to go to Gilgal and wait seven days for Samuel to come and offer sacrifices before Israel headed into battle (13:8). But when Saul went to Gilgal, he did not wait long enough but took the initiative to offer the sacrifices himself. Because of this blatant disobedience to a revealed command, God rejected Saul’s kingdom. That is, the Lord determined not to give Saul’s family a lasting dynasty to reign over His people (vv. 8–15).
God is most gracious, but we should never think that disobeying His explicit commands will be without consequence. Saul disobeyed the Lord and lost the opportunity to have a lasting dynasty of sons to reign over Israel. If we are in Christ, we cannot lose our salvation, but our disobedience can cause us to lose earthly blessings. Let us seek to obey God’s revealed will so that we do not miss out on divine blessings. (ligonier.org)
Lessons from 1 Samuel 13 (Matthew Henry)
(1.) He shows that there is no sin little, because no little god to sin against.
(2.) He shows that disobedience to an express command, though in a small matter, is a great provocation.
(3.) We are taught hereby how necessary it is that we wait on our God continually Saul lost his kingdom for want of two or three hours' patience.
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 – Micah 4:2
*Psalm of Praise – Psalm 135A, ARP Psalter (vv. 1-2)
Speaker: The LORD is in His holy temple,
All: Let all the earth keep silence before Him. (Habakkuk 2:20)
*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 64, vv. 1-2, 5
(God, the Lord, a King Remaineth)
The New Testament Reading – Acts 13:14-33
*The Response of Praise (Holy, Righteous)
Holy, righteous, clothed in his shining light.
Yahweh, I am, for us was crucified.
This chosen One, (this chosen One)
Is the King of Kings.
This spotless Lamb, (this spotless Lamb)
Is the Lord of Lords.
The Confession of Sin
The Call to Repentance – Joel 2:12-14
“Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him — A grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your God?
The Prayer of Confession (a moment of silent confession)
LORD God, we are ashamed and embarrassed to lift up our face to You, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown even to the heavens. Now, O God, what shall we say? For we have forsaken your commandments, which You have commanded by Your servants the prophets. After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, shall we again break Your commandments? Would You not be angry with us to the point of destruction, until there is no remnant nor any who escape? O LORD God of Israel, You are righteous; behold, we are before You in our guilt, for no one can stand before You because of this. In Jesus name. Amen. (Ezra 9)
The Assurance of Pardon – Isaiah 55:7 "Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon."
*The Hymn of Gratitude – Hymn 649
(More Love to Thee, O Christ)
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 13:1-14
The Sermon – A Man After God's Own Heart
The Response and Blessing
*The Hymn of Consecration – Hymn 644
(May the Mind of Christ My Savior)
*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.
Continuing our look at the reign of King Saul, we come today to 1 Samuel 13, which describes a key turning point in God’s dealings with the first king of Israel. First Samuel 13 focuses on Saul’s first fight against the Philistines after he began ruling over Israel. Battling the Philistines was one of the purposes for which Saul was anointed king (9:16), but what stands out in this chapter is that Saul did not strike the initial blow against Philistia. Instead, his son Jonathan was the first to defeat the Philistines (13:3, 16). Here we have another indication that all was not going to be well with Saul. Though he did well in fighting the Ammonites (chap. 10), he did not take the initiative against the enemies he was specifically appointed to defeat. Add this to Saul’s hiding from his own anointing (10:20–23), and it is clear that this king left a lot to be desired.
But the most striking proof that Saul would not live up to the ideal was his disobedience of an explicit order from the Lord. When the time came to fight the Philistines, Saul was supposed to go to Gilgal and wait seven days for Samuel to come and offer sacrifices before Israel headed into battle (13:8). But when Saul went to Gilgal, he did not wait long enough but took the initiative to offer the sacrifices himself. Because of this blatant disobedience to a revealed command, God rejected Saul’s kingdom. That is, the Lord determined not to give Saul’s family a lasting dynasty to reign over His people (vv. 8–15).
God is most gracious, but we should never think that disobeying His explicit commands will be without consequence. Saul disobeyed the Lord and lost the opportunity to have a lasting dynasty of sons to reign over Israel. If we are in Christ, we cannot lose our salvation, but our disobedience can cause us to lose earthly blessings. Let us seek to obey God’s revealed will so that we do not miss out on divine blessings. (ligonier.org)
Lessons from 1 Samuel 13 (Matthew Henry)
(1.) He shows that there is no sin little, because no little god to sin against.
(2.) He shows that disobedience to an express command, though in a small matter, is a great provocation.
(3.) We are taught hereby how necessary it is that we wait on our God continually Saul lost his kingdom for want of two or three hours' patience.
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.
