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Winsomely Weird Wednesdays
“Authority and Purpose”
September 25, 2019
Welcome & Dismiss Kids to Kids Club
Songs – #241 “To God Be the Glory” & #132 “Blessed Be the Name”
Testimonies – How can you encourage the church with something you’ve seen God do lately? [ABC]
Teaching –
Recap
Last week we introduced what will be our theme this fall – ‘Winsomely Weird’. We started by looking at Jesus’ prayer for his disciples in John 17, that they would not be of the world, in other words that they would stay weird/different/distinct. But he also prayed that at the same time they would still be in the world – that’s where the winsome idea comes from. I found out last week that there is no word in Chinese for winsome. My Oxford English Dictionary defines winsome as “attractive, engaging.” I want IBC people to think and act differently from the sinful world and not just be assimilated and take our cues from the world… BUT also to not be intimidated, secluded, self-righteous, calloused, or angry towards the world. It’s tough to do both, but that’s my prayer and hope for our time.
We saw last week that one of the ways we will be weird is by maintaining certain types of binary thinking in a world that wants to confuse us and blur lines and makes things more fuzzy. Have you noticed how the world tries to do that to you? But there is a radical and essential difference between a believer and a non-believer.
And as believers we are to be growing in conformity to Jesus, which means being winsomely weird; in the world, but not of it; going against the flow, yet gracious; holy AND happy. I’m reminded of C.S. Lewis’ quote about holiness. Sometimes we think that holiness means something like out of touch, cranky, and utterly dull. Lewis said, “How little people know who think that holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing (and perhaps, like you, I have met it only once) it is irresistible.”[i] That’s winsomely weird – a holiness that is irresistible. And we have only met it perfectly just once: in Jesus! But by the Holy Spirit we can become more and more like him.
Authority
So today I want to talk about two topics together where Christians are to be winsomely weird. The first is in the area of authority. Who says? Where are you getting that from? How do you know? Not in the full epistemological sense of all that entails, but in things like ethics, or platitudes you find online or out there. What are some examples of ‘truths’ people dogmatically assert that seem unfounded?…
J.I. Packer in his 1958 book “Fundamentalism” and the Word of God, sorts out the three possibilities when it comes to the topic of authority. He explains that you’re either:
(1) Evangelical
(2) Traditionalist
(3) Subjectivist[ii]
The Evangelical View, which I’ll explain in a moment is, you might guess, what we as Christians should be. The world operates within either the Traditionalist or Subjectivist views. The Traditionalist’s authority is Tradition. I believe this to be true because this is what has been passed down to me. This is our family’s practice. You can still see this kind of deference to ancestors in some eastern cultures. It’s found in smaller towns and less developed parts of the world. This is what it means to be a Sicilian or Nigerian; this is how we do things.
But by and large in the Modern West, especially in cities like ours, most people fall into the Subjectivist camp. We buck against traditional authority and go with what I personally think or feel to be true, what I like. So the Subjectivists have two forms or strands that people usually fall into and that history has seen vacillation between: Reason and Experience, the Rationalists and the Romantics. But both are at root a Subjectivist position – ME, I (either my rationalistic mind or my gut instinct feelings) are the authority. I think this is what we are mostly dealing with in our world. Would you agree?
Really, it means that the authority is SELF. I think. I feel. I believe what I want to believe and do what I want to do. Self. And it stems from the first sin in the Garden in Genesis 3. The temptation was to not trust God and listen to him define what is right and wrong, but to “be like God, knowing good and evil” for oneself. I don’t want to submit to God as my authority. I want to determine for myself. That’s what was going on in the decision to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That is part of the essence of sin – the enthronement of SELF.
Now, for those who have been transferred into the realm of the Second Adam and had their sins atoned for, we are to be unlearning the practice of having SELF be our authority and re-learning the practice of having God be our authority. If God tells me something I don’t like, I defer to God. If God says something is wrong and my SELF (my warped conscience, my urges, my desires, my self-conception…) tells me it is okay, I listen to God.
But stick with me. Where it gets tricky is where you’re dealing with people who claim to be religious or spiritual, but are really still functioning Traditionalists or Subjectivists. Historically speaking, the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox are claiming Christianity, but are finding their authority in Tradition. Liberal Protestantism (a syncretistic religion that sought to blend Christianity and Modernism) is really just a religious form of Subjectivism. The historic Evangelical View is the one that actually lets God be the authority, at least in theory (we are all constantly struggling with this).
God must be our authority, but how do we know that God is our authority? There must be an objective TEXT that has meaning. The Bible, as God’s self-revelation, must be our authority. Otherwise, we may be saying that God is our authority, but we’re really just listening to the voice inside our head and calling it God. That’s what is going on in Blue Ocean Faith. Throughout the author talks about an actual, living, personal relationship with a communicative God. But then he says this God is telling him it’s perfectly fine to be gay, for example. And he points people away from Scripture. What’s going on here? It’s really just SELF, Subjectivism, Experientialism that is the authority, not God. Because God has spoken here and won’t contradict himself.
So genuine Christians will submit to the Lordship of Christ; God is their authority. And he will tell you some things you don’t like, and things that the world (that collective thinking of Subjectivists that can ironically become a sort of new Tradition) doesn’t like. And this will make you weird. It make you do things that are weird, but just that instinct to distrust SELF and submit to Scripture itself is weird.
But how is it also winsome? It’s so freeing to not be your own boss. To not have to figure everything out yourself but take what you’ve been given. For reality and right and wrong to not be shifting all the time. It is actually arrogant to think of yourself as the final arbiter of truth – I think this and you should too! Why, where’d you get that from? Me! To submit to God should make you humble – I didn’t make this up. It’s really freeing and humbling.
Purpose
Okay, now let’s talk about purpose. Our world operates in a way that sets SELF up as the authority. It also sets SELF up as the purpose, or end goal of life. The sinful world doesn’t want to let God tell it what to do and doesn’t want to live for God. In my old nature, I don’t want to live for God’s glory and fame, I want to live for my own. How do we see this in the world’s slogans? (i.e. do what makes you happy)
What are your coworkers who don’t trust Christ living for?? What is the purpose of their life? Self-expression… Self-actualization… Self-gratification… Self-promotion…
Now, we need to be fair. Because of common grace, there are things the world knows and figures out that are true. And there are instances of altruism in the world, people doing selfless feats. But the general overarching telos or aim of the unregenerate person is to glorify SELF, to boost self-esteem or self-image, to get credit and recognition for SELF by being a good person, to take care of and protect number 1, to make yourself as fulfilled and comfortable as you can by yourself.
But the Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q 1 puts it so well and accurately summarizes the Bible – What is the chief end of Man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy him forever. The world tells you to chase self-fulfillment, to do what’s best for you. But the Bible calls us to live for the honor of someone else, namely God. Where? What passages of Scripture come to mind that reveal our purpose is to be God-centered instead of Self-Centered?
“To live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God” (1Pe. 4:2).
“He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2Cor. 5:15).
“For none of us lives to himself… For if we live, we live to the Lord” (Rom. 14:7-8).
“You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1Cor. 6:19-20).
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1Cor. 10:31).
What are you tempted to live for? What does it look like to live so that God is glorified?
So we are to be weird in a world that is living for SELF, full of “lovers of self” (2Tim. 3:2), but being lovers of God, giving up selfish dreams, dying to self and living for the Lord. That is weird. But how is it also winsome?
First, living for God’s glory turns out to actually be the best, most joyful, happiest, most fulfilling thing for yourself as well. John Piper tweaked the Westminster Shorter Catechism to say that the chief end of man is to glorify God, by enjoying him forever. He coined the term Christian hedonism. We glorify God by finding delight in him. And when we do we get delight and God gets glory. It’s a win – win! And so we see things like Paul in Philippians 1:20-21 saying, “It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Win – win. We show the world a better way, because living for self actually leaves you empty; living for God is the only thing that can fill you up.
And second, again living for God instead of SELF is so freeing. You don’t have to carve out your own identity. You don’t have to make your mark on the world or be successful to be somebody. That’s so exhausting and crushing. You don’t have to constantly be trying to make yourself someone. You can find yourself by losing yourself. That is extremely winsome in an empty world of narcissism and full of meaninglessness…
What’s Next?
So as God’s redeemed people in Christ, we are to be growing more like Christ. And that will mean being weird and winsome. And today we saw that we will be weird in the way we submit to God and not Self, but that this will make us strangely appealing to a world with constantly changing standards. And we will be weird in the way we live for God and not Self, but that will make us strangely appealing to a world with no grand purpose.
What do you want to do next? After last week I got the ideas sent to me of Speech: swearing and gossip; Fitness; Family: annoying in-laws, idolizing children. I had Drugs & Alcohol; Entertainment; Sexuality; Gender; Relationships & Conflict; Money & Possessions; Work; Bioethics…
Prayer – Get together in the Small Groups you’ve been in; make a new group(s) for all those who weren’t in a Small Group previously
Pray that we would be submissive to God as he has revealed himself in Scripture in everything…
Pray that we would live for God’s glory in all that we do…
Pray that the world would worship God because of our witness… Pray for specific non-believers by name…
PRELUDE – “Now Thank We All Our God” by The Cambridge Singers
WELCOME & CALL TO WORSHIP – Revelation 15:3-4
Great and amazing are your deeds,
O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
O King of the nations!
Who will not fear, O Lord,
and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.
Song –
“Holy, Holy, Holy” by John Bacchus Dykes and Reginald Heber
CONFESSION OF SIN – Isaiah 6:5
Woe is me!
For I am lost;
For I am a man of unclean lips,
and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
for my eyes have seen the King,
the LORD of hosts!
Song –
“Be Magnified” by Lynn DeShazo
ASSURANCE OF PARDON – Isaiah 6:7
Behold…
your guilt is taken away
and your sin atoned for.
Song –
“This Is Amazing Grace” by Jeremy Riddle, Josh Farro, and Phil Wickham
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH – The Apostles’ Creed
EVERYONE:
We 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.
We 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.
PRAYER
CHILDREN’S BLESSING & DISMISSAL
SCRIPTURE READING – Amos 6:1-14
SERMON – “Frivolity”
THE LORD’S TABLE
Songs –
“Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery” by Matt Boswell, Matt Papa, and Michael Bleecker
“O Great God” by Bob Kauflin
OFFERING
Song –
BENEDICTION & ANNOUNCEMENTS
POSTLUDE – “To the One” by Harvest Bashta
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/41B9BsmHvMGB43Rj5pigi8?si=KeKr9bmLQBidUecMbcznyQ
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Winsomely Weird Wednesdays
“Overview: In the World, Not of It”
September 18, 2019
Welcome & Dismiss Kids to Kids Club
Songs – #279 “How Firm a Foundation” & #164 “The Church’s One Foundation”
Testimonies – How can you encourage the church with something you saw God do this summer or that he’s doing now? [ABC – Audible, Brief, Christ-Centered]
Teaching –
Introduction: Jesus’ Prayer
Listen to how Jesus prayed for his disciples the night before he was killed; he said – “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world” (Jn. 17:14-18). Have you ever heard the phrase – “in the world, but not of the world?” It’s not technically from the Bible, but it’s from the Bible. I believe it comes from this passage and it’s a helpful phrase.
In the world – Jesus said, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world.” So he didn’t want his followers to be extracted from the world, isolated from non-believers. In fact, he said, “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” So Christians are supposed to be in the world, like Jesus was. How was Jesus part of this world? Jesus was part of a family. He went to parties. He attended weddings. He worked a trade. He inhabited a culture. He listened to the news. He participated in the secular government. He studied nature. He engaged with all kinds of people. He expected his followers to also do these things.
But yet not be of the world. Not a part of the fallen way of thinking or living. To be distinct, different, standing out, strange, WEIRD. Because believers have God’s word, it sets them apart – that’s the meaning of the word ‘sanctify’. They live in the world but according to different standards and with different purposes. And this holiness will often draw the hatred of the world. Christians are supposed to be not of the world, like Jesus was. Jesus didn’t put his family before his Heavenly Father. He didn’t get drunk at parties. He saw spiritual significance in everything. He was free of material attachments. He engaged other cultures and critiqued his own. He didn’t put his hope in government. He didn’t deify nature. He called people sinners. And he was eventually killed. And he expected his followers to also be like this.
A Christian is supposed to be growing in Christlikeness in both of these ways: in the world, but not of the world.
Radical and Essential Difference
But first and foremost, let’s think about what a Christian IS. A Christian is someone who is in Christ! And this implies a fundamental distinction, a radical separation. The Bible talks in places like Romans 5 of the two categories of people in the world: those in Adam | those in Christ. There is a line that divides.
Can you think of other passages in the Bible that talk about a line or crossing a line or imply a difference between the believer and the unbeliever?
I think of John 5:24 – ““Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (NIV). Dead | Alive
Slave | Free (i.e. Rom. 6)
Elect | Non-Elect (i.e. Rom. 9)
Kingdom transfer: Colossians 1:13-14 – “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Darkness | Light
Satan | God “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1Jn. 5:19).
What else? Lost | Found? ?
In the NT this all is supposed to be reflected in church membership and discipline. Using the keys of the kingdom to bind and loose (cf. Mt. 16:19, 18:18), we admit people into membership in the church based on a credible profession that all this stuff has happened, and we put people out of membership when that profession is no longer credible, thus trying to maintain the line.
This is very binary stuff and rests on what Francis Schaeffer called the methodology of antithesis,[i] which in some circles, especially in our city, is not very celebrated today. Holding to some level of binary thinking is one way that believers must be different than the world around us.
One of the books I read this summer is called Blue Ocean Faith by Dave Schmelzer.[ii] In it he talks about Bounded Set vs. Centered Set. Draw diagram…. There are some positives to centered-set thinking, but there ultimately are boundaries, as all of these passages show… You can’t get away from the Bible’s depiction of there being people in and out…
Our confessional statement – The New Hampshire Confession of Faith, which provides some theological boundaries, says it this way:
XVII. Of The Righteous And The Wicked
We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked; that such only as through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and sanctified by the Spirit of our God, are truly righteous in His esteem; while all such as continue in impenitence and unbelief are in His sight wicked, and under the curse; and this distinction holds among men both in and after death.
The most important question is: are you part of the righteous, through faith in Jesus Christ?
Sanctification: Weird
So there is something called positional sanctification, where someone is placed on this side of the line. But generally when we talk about sanctification we’re not talking about positional sanctification, but progressive sanctification – slowly but surely becoming more holy, more like Christ; becoming who you are.
And throughout Scripture that process is portrayed as thinking and behaving differently than the world. Can you think of examples?
Romans 12:1-2 – “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” Not conformed to the world. Not of the world. Redeemed believers are to think and act different than the world, not just going right along with the flow.
1 Peter 1:14-19 – “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’ And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”
James 1:27 – “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
James 4:4 – “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
1 John 2:15-17 – “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life – is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”
Titus 2:11-14 – “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”
1 Peter 4:2-5 – “Live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you.”
Christians are going to have to be thought weird by the world, because they don’t just go right along with it. They’ve been redeemed out of it and now march to the beat of a different drummer.
Further Sanctification: Winsome
So to recap, from Jesus’ prayer in John 17 for his followers we see that they are to be in the world, but not of the world. If you are a Christian you are fundamentally different from the world by right of being in Christ. And now that you’re in Christ positionally, you are growing to be more like Christ practically, becoming weirder and weirder as we recalibrate our thinking and acting to God’s holy standards. This will mean taking many different positions than the people around you.
But there’s more to being like Christ that we can often forget. Jesus was not of this world and as a result was murdered by this world. And yet, and yet… even though he was hated, there was something also attractive about him and disarming about his death that has won over millions through the ages. Jesus loved the lost world in a way that made him winsome. And his followers need to grow in this same kind of love and winsomeness.
We’re not supposed to just be weird for weirdness sake. We are weird in order to win the world. We don’t feel self-righteous and holier-than-thou – Hahahaha you suckers! If only you could be like me! But amazed by grace and secure in who we are in Christ, even if the world ridicules us, we can be appealing to the world and pique their interests. What Blue Ocean Faith is correctly putting its finger on is the sad reality of cranky, unloving so-called Christians.
Jesus said, “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you” (Lk. 6:26). But some people should speak well of you. What are some passages that teach this?
1 Timothy 3:7 says that pastors “must be well thought of by outsiders.”
Colossians 4:5-6 – “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”
1 Peter 3:15 – “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”
Matthew 5:14-16 – “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
1 Peter 2:9-12 – “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”
Conclusion
The vision statement at Immanuel when I got here was “to transform sinners into a holy people who find fulfillment for their hunger for beauty, meaning, and eternal satisfaction in the glory of Christ alone.” I want us to be a holy people, peculiar, set apart, not losing our saltiness, free to be weird… But I also want us to be winsome, kind, respectful, engaged, loving. I heard Tim Keller once say something like – Christians in the city should be getting praised and getting their teeth punched in all the time.
Jesus prayed that we would not be of the world, but would also be in the world, just like him. Another place where both of those realities are maintained is 1 Cor. 5:9-11 – “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people – not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.” The church is supposed to seek purity and keeping the line clear. But we’re also supposed to be out in the world with the sexually immoral and greedy and swindlers and idolaters, because the grace of God can move anyone over that line.
So that’s an overview of the concept of ‘Winsomely Weird.” Now, where are we going from here this fall? I want to go through a whole bunch of practical topics that we are faced with where the world is pressuring us to conform and think through how we should be winsomely weird in that area. So I’m thinking of things like: authority & purpose, drugs & alcohol, entertainment, sexuality, gender, relationships & conflict, family, money, work, bioethics… What ideas do you have?
Prayer – Get together in the Small Groups you’ve been in previously; make a new group for all those who weren’t in a Small Group previously
Pray that we would be aware of the ways that we can be worldly…
Pray that we would be engaged with the world… The three non-believers you identified at the Summer Retreat…
PRELUDE – “Higher Throne” by King’s Kaleidoscope
WELCOME & CALL TO WORSHIP – Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
Song –
“Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” by Joachim Neander
CONFESSION OF SIN – Isaiah 1:11-17
What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats.
When you come to appear before me,
who has required of you
this trampling of my courts?
Bring no more vain offerings;
incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations –
I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
When you spread out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil, learn to do good;
seek justice, correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON – Isaiah 1:18
Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD;
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
Song –
“Nothing But the Blood” by Robert Lowry
PRAYER
CHILDREN’S BLESSING & DISMISSAL
SCRIPTURE READING – Amos 5:18-27
SERMON – “Let Justice Roll Down”
THE LORD’S TABLE
Songs –
“Behold the Lamb (Communion Hymn)” by Keith & Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend
“Make Us One” by Twila Paris
OFFERING
Song –
“Great Are You Lord” by David Leonard, Jason Ingram, and Leslie Jordan
BENEDICTION & ANNOUNCEMENTS
POSTLUDE – “They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love” by Jars of Clay
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/39BYvcvLgVSrnMpAQ2wy75?si=J_KkWSjySniIWrfZqcKf7g
PRELUDE – “You Are My All In All” by Maranatha! Music
WELCOME & CALL TO WORSHIP – Psalm 63:1-4
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
Song –
“Holy Is the Lord” by Chris Tomlin and Louie Giglio
CONFESSION OF SIN – Isaiah 6:5
EVERYONE:
Woe is me!
For I am lost;
for I am a man of unclean lips;
for my eyes have seen the King,
the LORD of hosts!
ASSURANCE OF PARDON – Luke 19:10
The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
Song –
“Amazing Grace” by John Newton
CHILDREN’S BLESSING & DISMISSAL
PRAYER
SCRIPTURE READING – Amos 5:1-17
SERMON – “Seeking God”
THE LORD’S TABLE
Songs –
“Be Unto Your Name” by Gary Sadler and Lynn DeShazo
“O Praise the Name (Anástasis)” by Benjamin Hastings, Dean Ussher, and Marty Sampson
OFFERING
Song –
“You Are Holy (Prince of Peace)” by Marc Imboden and Tammi Rhoton
BENEDICTION & ANNOUNCEMENTS
POSTLUDE – “Psalm 27” by Donnie McClurkin
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1O29MG0UUCBIh9TdYSReFS?si=mc3lfraMRMazrtHB79Ti7g
PRELUDE – “Creation Song” by Fernando Ortega
WELCOME & CALL TO WORSHIP – Psalm 65:1-8
Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion,
and to you shall vows be performed.
O you who hear prayer,
to you shall all flesh come.
When iniquities prevail against me,
you atone for our transgressions.
Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,
to dwell in your courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple!
By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas;
the one who by his strength established the mountains,
being girded with might;
who stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples,
so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
Song –
“All Praise to Him” by Bob Kauflin and Matt Merker
CONFESSION OF SIN
ASSURANCE OF PARDON – 2 Chronicles 7:14
If me people who are called by my name
humble themselves,
and pray and seek my face
and turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven
and will forgive their sin.
Song –
“Lord I Need You” by Christy Nockels, Daniel Carson, Jesse Reeves, Kristian Stanfill, and Matt Maher
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH – New Hampshire Confession of Faith, Article VI.
EVERYONE:
We believe that the blessings of salvation are made free to all by the gospel;
that it is the immediate duty of all to accept them by a cordial, penitent, and obedient faith;
and that nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth,
but his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection of the gospel;
which rejection involves him in an aggravated condemnation.
CHILDREN’S BLESSING & DISMISSAL
PRAYER
SCRIPTURE READING – Amos 4:6-13
SERMON – “Yet You Did Not Return”
THE LORD’S TABLE
Songs –
“Have Mercy on Me” by Dale Bischof and Pat Sczebel
“Nothing But the Blood” by Robert Lowry
OFFERING
Song –
“All I Have Is Christ” by Jordan Kauflin
BENEDICTION & ANNOUNCEMENTS
POSTLUDE – “Every Praise” by Hezekiah Walker
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0RefjzqITvFz6wiWZ1CdUI?si=tyiTg_pUR6aX8Z0fp5qlGQ
Immanuel Blog 