HELPFUL LINKS

Blacknall Worship from Home
November 8, 2020

Prelude | “Gracious Spirit, Dwell With Me”

(Choir - Listen as they lead you in prayer.)

Gracious Spirit, dwell with me!
I would gracious be;
Help me now Thy grace to see,
I would be like Thee;
And with words that help and heal
Thy life would mine reveal;
And with actions bold and meek
For Christ my Savior speak.

Truthful Spirit, dwell with me!
I would truthful be;
Help me now Thy truth to see,
I would be like Thee;
And with wisdom kind and clear
Thy life in mine appear;
And with actions brotherly
Speak Christ’s sincerity.

Holy Spirit, dwell with me!
I would holy be;
Show Thy mercy tenderly,
Make me more like Thee;
Separate from sin, I would
And cherish all things good,
And whatever I can be
Give Him who gave me Thee!

Mighty Spirit, dwell with me!
I would mighty be;
Help me now Thy pow’r to see,
I would be like Thee;
Gainst all weapons hell can wield
Be Thou my strength and shield;
Let Thy word my weapon be,
Lord, Thine the victory.

Words (v1-3) by Thomas Lynch, approx. 1860, and K. Lee Scott (v4).
Gregorian chant, setting by K. Lee Scott, 1984.

Invocation

Christ our Lord, you have descended to the depths and been raised higher than the heavens. As we come before you, we marvel at the glory of our crucified and risen Lord. We trust that you would not despise us for our weakness but would raise us up with you. Do this, by your Holy Spirit, as we worship together. We pray in Christ’s name, Amen.

Song | “O Worship the King”

O worship the King, all glorious above,
O gratefully sing His power and His love;
Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.

O tell of His might, O sing of His grace,
Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space.
His chariots of wrath the deep thunder clouds form,
And dark is His path on the wings of the storm.

Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
In You do we trust, nor find You to fail;
Your mercies how tender, how firm to the end,
Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer and Friend!
Words based on Psalm 104, by Robert Grant, 1833. Music attributed to Johann Michael Haydn, 18th Century.

Scripture Reading | Psalm 115

Not to us, Lord, not to us
but to your name be the glory,
because of your love and faithfulness.

2 Why do the nations say,
    “Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven;
    he does whatever pleases him.
4 But their idols are silver and gold,
    made by human hands.
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
    eyes, but cannot see.
6 They have ears, but cannot hear,
    noses, but cannot smell.
7 They have hands, but cannot feel,
    feet, but cannot walk,
    nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
8 Those who make them will be like them,
    and so will all who trust in them.

9 All you Israelites, trust in the Lord—
    he is their help and shield.
10 House of Aaron, trust in the Lord—
    he is their help and shield.
11 You who fear him, trust in the Lord—
    he is their help and shield.

12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us:
    He will bless his people Israel,
    he will bless the house of Aaron,
13 he will bless those who fear the Lord—
    small and great alike.

14 May the Lord cause you to flourish,
both you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

16 The highest heavens belong to the Lord,
    but the earth he has given to mankind.
17 It is not the dead who praise the Lord,
    those who go down to the place of silence;
18 it is we who extol the Lord,
    both now and forevermore.

Praise the Lord.

Song | “Wonderful, Merciful Savior”

Wonderful, merciful Savior,
Precious Redeemer and Friend;
Who would have thought that a Lamb could
Rescue the souls of men?
Oh, You rescue the souls of men.

You are the One that we praise,
You are the One we adore.
You give the healing and grace our
Hearts always hunger for,
Oh, our hearts always hunger for.

Counselor, Comforter, Keeper,
Spirit, we long to embrace;
You offer hope when our hearts have
Hopelessly lost the way,
Oh, we hopelessly lost the way.

Almighty, infinite Father,
Faithfully loving Your own;
Here in our weakness You find us
Falling before Your throne,
Oh, we’re falling before Your throne.

Words and Music by Dawn Rodgers and Eric Wyse
© 1989 Word Music and Dayspring Music. CCLI #43066

Call to Confession

“What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” (1 Cor. 10:7) As we come to confession, may the Spirit of Jesus expose our boasting and self-deception and make us rejoice in God’s mercy and kindness. Let us kneel and confess our sins. [ time of silent confession ]

Prayer of Confession

Apart from You, Lord, we are nothing. You have given us life, and you have given us hope. You have made us and redeemed us through the life and death of your Son. Yet we go about as self-made men and women; we do not love ourselves or our neighbors apart from the talents and treasures in which we boast. Show each of us, and show us together, those things in which we boast. By Your Holy Spirit, help us to see ourselves in a new way, as objects of God’s mercy and kindness, and so free us to love. We ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Assurance of Pardon

Friends, 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 4:7-16

7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says:

“When he ascended on high,
he took many captives
and gave gifts to his people.”

9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Song of Response | “Speak, O Lord”

Speak, O Lord, as we come to You
To receive the food of Your holy word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us
All Your purposes, for Your glory.

Teach us Lord full obedience,
Holy reverence, true humility.
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
In the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise
Cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority.
Words of power that can never fail;
Let their truth prevail over unbelief.

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds;
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us.
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time,
That will echo down through eternity.
And by grace we’ll stand on Your promises;
And by faith we’ll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, ‘til your church is built
As You fill the earth with Your glory.

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.)

We praise you, Lord, for Your many gifts: for life, for forgiveness, and for the hope of glory.

This morning, we thank you for the gifts that you have given our congregation to equip us for works of service.

During this time of trial, we trust you, Lord, to give us the gifts that we need to grow up and become mature.

Teach us to speak the truth in love.

In love, move us towards one another, especially those among us who are sick and sad, poor and grieving [add your own intercessions here].

Enable us to recognize the gifts that you have given our ministry partners and partner churches; allow us to feel our need for them.

We pray for your body throughout the world, including those missionaries whom we support [you may add your own intercessions here] and those saints who suffer or undergo persecution.

We pray for the church in this nation. In the midst of political turmoil and uncertainty, show Your people Christ enthroned on high, and shatter our idols. Help us to trust You together and to intercede for our neighbors. We pray now for peace; we pray against suspicion and violence. We pray for an outpouring of wisdom and self-sacrificial love.

We pray as you taught us..

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 | “He Who Watches Over You”

He who watches over you
Will never slumber nor sleep;
He who watches over you
Will never slumber nor sleep.
O My child, lay your burdens down,
Lay them at My feet.
He who watches over you
Will never slumber nor sleep.