The Church has a Sacred Trust

The church has been entrusted with a treasure - the gospel - which must be guarded carefully and faithfully. Otherwise we will be found unfaithful when Christ comes again. We are stewards of this pearl of great price and we must never alter it no matter how much pressure people with itching ears crave another gospel.

Download PDF Text

Call to Worship

Sunday School

The Holy War
by John Bunyan

Sunday Service

Pastoral Reading

Psalm 96

Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
    tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
    he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
    but the Lord made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him;
    strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
    bring an offering, and come into his courts!
Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
    tremble before him, all the earth!

10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
    Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
    he will judge the peoples with equity.”

11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
    let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12     let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13     before the Lord, for he comes,
    for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
    and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Opening Song

Praise to God Who Reigns Above (TH #4)

1 All praise to God, who reigns above,
the God of all creation,
the God of wonders, pow’r, and love,
the God of our salvation!
With healing balm my soul he fills,
the God who every sorrow stills.
To God all praise and glory!

2 What God’s almighty pow’r hath made
his gracious mercy keepeth;
by morning dawn or evening shade
his watchful eye ne’er sleepeth;
within the kingdom of his might,
lo, all is just and all is right.
To God all praise and glory!

3 I cried to him in time of need:
Lord God, O hear my calling!
For death he gave me life indeed
and kept my feet from falling.
For this my thanks shall endless be;
O thank him, thank our God, with me.
To God all praise and glory!

4 The Lord forsaketh not his flock,
his chosen generation;
he is their refuge and their rock,
their peace and their salvation.
As with a mother’s tender hand
he leads his own, his chosen band.
To God all praise and glory!

5 Ye who confess Christ’s holy name,
to God give praise and glory!
Ye who the Father’s pow’r proclaim,
to God give praise and glory!
All idols underfoot be trod,
the Lord is God! The Lord is God!
To God all praise and glory!

6 Then come before his presence now
and banish fear and sadness;
to your Redeemer pay your vow
and sing with joy and gladness:
Though great distress my soul befell,
the Lord, my God, did all things well,
To God all praise and glory!

Prayer

Focus this week:  Mack

Song

O Church Arise (CRC #25)

Verse 1
O church arise and put your armour on
Hear the call of Christ our Captain
For now the weak can say that they are strong
In the strength that God has given
With shield of faith and belt of truth
We’ll stand against the devil’s lies
An army bold whose battle cry is Love
Reaching out to those in darkness

Verse 2
Our call to war to love the captive soul
But to rage against the captor
And with the sword that makes the wounded whole
We will fight with faith and valour
When faced with trials on every side
We know the outcome is secure
And Christ will have the prize for which He died
An inheritance of nations

Verse 3
Come see the cross where love and mercy meet
As the Son of God is stricken
Then see His foes lie crushed beneath His feet
For the Conqueror has risen
And as the stone is rolled away
And Christ emerges from the grave
This victory march continues till the day
Every eye and heart shall see Him

Verse 4
So Spirit come put strength in every stride
Give grace for every hurdle
That we may run with faith to win the prize
Of a servant good and faithful
As saints of old still line the way
Retelling triumphs of His grace
We hear their calls and hunger for the day
When with Christ we stand in glory

Keith Getty/Stuart Townend
@2005 Thankyou Music

Song

Lord From Sorrows Deep I Call (CRC #32)

1 All praise to God, who reigns above,
the God of all creation,
the God of wonders, pow’r, and love,
the God of our salvation!
With healing balm my soul he fills,
the God who every sorrow stills.
To God all praise and glory!

2 What God’s almighty pow’r hath made
his gracious mercy keepeth;
by morning dawn or evening shade
his watchful eye ne’er sleepeth;
within the kingdom of his might,
lo, all is just and all is right.
To God all praise and glory!

3 I cried to him in time of need:
Lord God, O hear my calling!
For death he gave me life indeed
and kept my feet from falling.
For this my thanks shall endless be;
O thank him, thank our God, with me.
To God all praise and glory!

4 The Lord forsaketh not his flock,
his chosen generation;
he is their refuge and their rock,
their peace and their salvation.
As with a mother’s tender hand
he leads his own, his chosen band.
To God all praise and glory!

5 Ye who confess Christ’s holy name,
to God give praise and glory!
Ye who the Father’s pow’r proclaim,
to God give praise and glory!
All idols underfoot be trod,
the Lord is God! The Lord is God!
To God all praise and glory!

6 Then come before his presence now
and banish fear and sadness;
to your Redeemer pay your vow
and sing with joy and gladness:
Though great distress my soul befell,
the Lord, my God, did all things well,
To God all praise and glory!

CCLI Song # 7127376
Matt Boswell | Matt Papa
© 2018 Getty Music Hymns and Songs (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)
Getty Music Publishing (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)
Love Your Enemies Publishing (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)
Messenger Hymns (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.
For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI License # 108183

Scripture Reading

1 Timothy 6

Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. 2 Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.

Teach and urge these things. 3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, 4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession,14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,15 which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

20 O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” 21 for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.

Grace be with you.

Preaching the Word

The Church Has a Sacred Trust

1 Corinthians 4:1-5

This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

Closing Song

Loved With Everlasting Love (TH #703)

1 Loved with everlasting love,
drawn by grace that love to know,
Spirit went from Christ above,
thou dost witness it is so.
O this full and precious peace
from his presence all divine;
in a love that cannot cease,
I am his and he is mine;
in a love that cannot cease,
I am his and he is mine.

2 Heav’n above is deeper blue,
earth around is sweeter green,
that which glows in every hue
Christ-less eyes have never seen.
Birds in song his glories show,
flow’rs with richer beauties shine
since I know, as now I know,
I am his and he is mine;
since I know, as now I know,
I am his and he is mine.

3 Taste the goodness of the Lord:
welcomed home to his embrace,
all his love as blood out-poured
seals the pardon of his grace.
Can I doubt his love for me,
when I trace that love’s design?
By the cross of Calvary
I am his and he is mine.
By the cross of Calvary
I am his and he is mine.

4 His forever, only his –
who the Lord and me shall part?
Ah, with what a rest of bliss
Christ can fill the loving heart.
Heav’n and earth may fade and flee,
first-born light in gloom decline,
but while God and I shall be,
I am his and he is mine;
but while God and I shall be,
I am his and he is mine.