The Lord Strikes Down Rulers Who Mock Him

The Lord blinds, hardens, and strikes down evil rulers who mock Him. We see this pattern repeatedly in Scripture.

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Call to Worship

Sunday School

Holy War
by John Bunyan

Sunday Service

Pastoral Reading

Psalm 2

Why do the nations rage
    and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
    and the rulers take counsel together,
    against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart
    and cast away their cords from us.”

He who sits in the heavens laughs;
    the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
    and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“As for me, I have set my King
    on Zion, my holy hill.”

I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
    today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
    and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron
    and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
    be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
    and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son,
    lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
    for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Opening Song

Like a River Glorious (TH #699)

1 Like a river glorious is God’s perfect peace,
over all victorious in its bright increase;
perfect, yet it floweth fuller ev’ry day,
perfect, yet it groweth deeper all the way.

Refrain
Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest,
finding, as he promised, perfect peace and rest.

2 Hidden in the hollow of his blessed hand,
never foe can follow, never traitor stand;
not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,
not a blast of hurry, touch the spirit there. [Refrain]

3 Ev’ry joy or trial falleth from above,
traced upon our dial by the Sun of Love.
We may trust him fully all for us to do;
they who trust him wholly find him wholly true. [Refrain]

Installation of Elder

Prayer

Focus this week: Jude Crippen, age 2 1/2

Song

Oh, What a Savior (CRC #27)

Verse 1
Lift your eyes to the Lord your God
Father of goodness and grace
All of your burdens and gifts of praise
Come lay them down in this place
Chorus
For His arm is mighty and His love will endure
His plan is perfect His victory is sure
And His anger is righteous but His grace is free
Oh what a Saviour is He
Oh what a Saviour is He
Verse 2
Lift your souls to the Lord your god
Maker of heaven and earth
Sun and moon bow before His throne
Praise Him for all He is worth
Verse 3
Lift your minds to the Lord your God
He will fulfil all your needs
Seek His wisdom attend His words
Follow wherever He leads

CCLI Song # 6467948 CCLI License # 108183
© 2012 De Blieck, Gregory

Song

He will Keep You (CRC #38)

Verse 1
I lift my eyes and see
I need not be afraid
All my help comes from the Lord
Who the earth and sky has made

Chorus
He will keep you from all evils
Behind you and before
He will sustain you through this journey
From now and evermore

Repeat Verse 1 and Chorus

Verse 2
The Lord will never sleep
My steps He has ordained
For the One Who holds the night
Is the Sovereign of my days

CCLI Song # 7190364, CCLI License # 108183
Bob Kauflin | David Zimmer
© 2021 Sovereign Grace Praise
For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com

Scripture Reading

2 Peter 3

This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. 15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Preaching the Word

The Lord Strikes Down Rulers Who Mock Him

1 Kings 22:18-22
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” 19 And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left;20 and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ 22 And the Lordsaid to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’

Closing Song

Keep Watching and Be Ready (CRC #55)

1)We do not know if Christ will come when life is rough or steady;
we only know that Jesus said, “Keep watching, and be ready.”

2)”Keep watching!” For Christ will appear at night or some bright morning,
like lightning flashing through the sky without a moment’s warning.

3)”Be ready!” When the Lord descends to render final judgment,
when men shall rise to heaven’s joy or suffer dreadful torment.

4)So watch with care; in grace abound. Get ready soon to greet him,
that when you hear the trumpet’s sound you’ll be prepared to meet him.