Worship from Home 1.24.21

HELPFUL LINKS

Blacknall Worship from Home
January 24, 2021

Invocation

Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!... When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? (Psalm 8: 1, 3-4) We marvel, Lord, that you are mindful of us. Though the moon and stars reflect your glory--indeed, your lamp burns in all creation-- you have made us, human beings, to bear your image and sing your praise. What a mercy! We present ourselves for worship this day,  trusting that Jesus,  the true human at Your right hand, intercedes for us. We present ourselves for worship trusting that Your Holy Spirit will help us. May Your Mercy be magnified in us; we pray in Christ’s name, Amen.

Song | “How Great Thou Art!”

O Lord, my God!  When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

And when I think that God His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die; I scarce can take it in,
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration
And there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art!

Swedish Hymn “O Store Gud”; English words by Stuart Hine, 1949.

Scripture Reading | Genesis 2:18-25

18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

23 The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones

    and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called ‘woman,’

    for she was taken out of man.”

24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.      

Song | “From Depths of Woe”

From depths of woe I raise to Thee the voice of lamentation;
Lord, turn a gracious ear to me, and hear my supplication:
If Thou iniquities dost mark our secret sins and misdeeds dark,
O who shall stand before Thee?
O who shall stand before Thee?

To wash away the crimson stain grace, grace alone availeth;
Our works, alas! Are all in vain, in much the best life faileth.
No man can glory in Thy sight, all must alike confess Thy might,
And live alone by mercy,
And live alone by mercy.

Therefore my trust is in the Lord and not in my own merit.
On Him my soul shall rest, His Word upholds my fainting spirit.
His promised mercy is my fort, my comfort, and my sweet support;
I wait for it with patience,
I wait for it with patience. 

Though great our sins and sore our woes, His grace much more aboundeth;
His helping love no limit knows, our utmost need it soundeth.
Our Shepherd good and true is He who will at last His Israel free
From all our sin and sorrow,
From all our sin and sorrow,
From all our sin and sorrow.

Words by Martin Luther (originally in German), early 1500s, based on Psalm 130.  Music by Christopher Miner, 1997.

Call to Confession

When Adam beheld the first other human, he said, “This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh!” But we know how Adam’s story unfolds. As Adam faltered, so we, too, behold our fellow humans with suspicion, not recognition, as threats, not “flesh of my flesh.” We cannot receive one another in delight and love--even when the human before us is Jesus, God’s own son. Come, let us kneel before Him and confess our sins.

Prayer of Confession

Heavenly Father, Your Son commanded us to love You with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matt. 22). We confess our failure to love. We have not loved You with our whole hearts; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves; our way of self-love is destructive. But we trust that  our hard heartedness is no match for You, Christ Jesus, who  endured the depth of human alienation and was made alive again.  Help us, now! Forgive us, and by Your Holy Spirit, heal us. Enlarge our hearts to the full measure of Your self-giving love. We pray in the strong name of Jesus, Amen.

Assurance of Pardon

Beloved,  this is true: in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!

Passing the Peace

May the peace of the Lord be with you.

            Response: And also with you

Affirmation of Faith | Apostles Creed               

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, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall 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.

Children’s Blessing

With Leslie Petree.

Children’s Worship

If you would like to receive the Children’s Worship video email, please contact Beth Solie.

Proclamation of the Word | Pastor David Dunderdale

Ephesians 5.21-33

21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Song of Response | “Great is Thy faithfulness”

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God, my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee.
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not --
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!  Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning, new mercies I see.
All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided --
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow --
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Words and Music by T.O Chisholm and W. M. Runyan  © 1951 Hope Publishing Company.  CCLI #43066.

Presenting Our Gifts | Online Giving

You are invited to respond to God’s Word by giving to the mission God has called us to at Blacknall.  

Prayers of Thanksgiving & Intercession | Share your prayer request here

(As you pray the following petitions, you are encouraged to pause and lift to the Lord particular concerns or people or events. Read prayer requests from Blacknall members and ministry partners here.)

Christ Jesus, You are the head of the church;
we praise You for Your self-giving love that called us together;
we rest in the assurance of your continued care;
and we hope in the promise of your eternal reign.

We pray for Your church to be holy and blameless;
wash us, cleanse us, as we hear Your word together today.
Show us how we may submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
How would you have us engage one another, and brothers and sisters beyond the bounds of Blacknall?

We pray for those in our congregation who are married; may they reflect Your steadfast love. Help us: Release forgiveness. Bring healing to long-time wounds. Bear good fruit.

We pray for those who are unmarried; may they reflect your undivided heart. Provide for them as they have material needs. Give friendship and affection in great measure. Bear good fruit.

In Your mercy, make Blacknall a place where a new kind of family is made; help us to bear the burdens and share the joys of our earthly families without envy or shame.

Make us mindful of our membership in the Communion of Saints, even as we give thanks for peace in our nation’s Capitol on Wednesday and pray for leaders in every level of government.

We pray together for those who are sick or suffering.

We mourn with those who mourn.

We remember the poor.

We pray for an end to this global pandemic and its wide-ranging effects.

We rejoice in every good gift that you have given to us or to others.

We thank you for the commitment of those who share your good news, at home and abroad.

We thank you for the men and women who established our church; we thank you for our leaders, current and past.

Help us to be faithful, as we pray

Our Father...

The 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.

Benediction  

Song | “Salvation Belongs to Our God”