HELPFUL LINKS

Blacknall Worship from Home
November 22, 2020

Invocation

Lord, Your mercies are new every morning. Today, in Your mercy, help us to worship You. By Your Holy Spirit, lead us. As we are alone, or on Zoom, or with a few brothers and sisters, may the power that raised Christ from the dead would be at work among us:Turn our hearts to You. Loosen our lips to sing Your praise. Send us forth with the gospel of peace. We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Song | “Now Thank We All Our God”

Now thank we all our God with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things hath done, in whom His world rejoices;
Who, from our mother’s arms hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
With ever-joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us;
And keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed,
And free us from all ills in this world and the next.

All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given,
The Son, and Him who reigns with Them in highest heaven,
The one eternal God, whom earth and heaven adore;
For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.

Words by Martin Rinkart, 1636; translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1858.
Music by Johann Crüger, 1647; harmonized by Felix Mendelssohn, 1840.

Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 8.10-18

10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

Song | “Forever”

Give thanks to the Lord our God and King,
His love endures forever
For He is good, He is above all things,
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise

With a mighty hand and outstretched arm,
His love endures forever
For the life that’s been reborn.
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise

Forever God is faithful, forever God is strong
Forever God is with us, Forever, Forever

From the rising to the setting sun,
His love endures forever
And by the grace of God we will carry on
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise

Call to Confession

We heard the warning in Deuteronomy, “Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God…” Yet, who among us can say, “I have never forgotten”? Who lives in uninterrupted gratitude for God’s past gifts and in unwavering confidence in God’s present faithfulness? Let us kneel and confess our forgetfulness to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who always remembers us with mercy and love. [ time of silent confession ]

Lord, you warn us to remember, but we forget. We eat and are satisfied. We are settled in fine homes. We have many, promising resources. We forget you; we trust in our power and strength. As You warned us, our hearts our proud. But the weakness of God is stronger than human strength; in the name of Jesus, our Crucified Lord, we ask you to forgive us. Help us to remember your steadfast love for us and to trust that your power is at work, even--and especially--in our weakness. In Christ’s name, Amen.

Assurance of Pardon

Friends, 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 Allan Poole

The sermon is provided above in video and audio format.

Ephesians 4.22-32
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Song of Response | “My Soul Finds Rest in God Alone”

My soul finds rest in God alone,
My Rock and my salvation;
A fortress strong against my foes,
And I will not be shaken.
Though lips may bless and hearts may curse,
And lies like arrows pierce me,
I’ll fix my heart on righteousness,
I’ll look to Him who hears me.

O praise Him, hallelujah, my delight and my reward!
Everlasting, never failing, my Redeemer, my God.

My soul finds rest in God alone,
Amid the world’s temptations;
When evil seeks to take a hold,
I’ll cling to my salvation.
Though riches come and riches go,
Don’t set your heart upon them;
The fields of hope in which I sow
Are harvested in heaven.

I’ll set my gaze on God alone
And trust in Him completely;
With every day pour out my soul,
And He will prove His mercy.
Though life is but a fleeting breath,
A sigh too brief to measure,
My King has crushed the curse of death,
And I am His forever.

Words and Music by Aaron Keyes and Stuart Townend.
© 2007 Thankyou Music. 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

(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.)

Lord, we praise you for the riches of your glorious grace that You have lavished on us.
We marvel at Your will to make Your wisdom known through the church.
We pray that you would mature us for this task:

Teach us how to talk to one another.
Help us to put off falsehood- false modesty, manipulation, and outright lies. Enable us to speak truthfully.

May our words be helpful for building others up. Help us to know what others need. Make us sensitive to unwholesome talk.

Release forgiveness among us because we have been forgiven. Help us to let go of our grudges. Move us to reconcile with the brother or sister who has something against us. Help us to love our enemies.

We remember many who are lonely, especially this week.
Give us a sense of your nearness; even when You seem absent, help us to be faithful.
Show us how to minister to one another.

We pray not only for our congregation but for Christ’s church throughout the city and throughout the world.

We intercede for ourselves and our neighbors, as we pray: Almighty God, restrain the Coronavirus. Have mercy on those who are suffering. Heal our bodies; humble our hearts. Bring an end to this trial.

With Jesus, 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”

Salvation belongs to our God,
Who sits upon the throne,
And unto the Lamb....

Praise and Glory, Wisdom and Thanks,
Honor and Power and Strength
Be to our God forever and ever! (3x)
Amen!

And we the redeemed shall be strong
In purpose and unity,
Declaring aloud....