The Righteousness of God

This is Reformation Sunday on which we remember Luther's posting of his 95 theses and the official start of the Protestant Reformation and the casting off of the darkness of the false Roman church.

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Call to Worship

Sunday School

The Mayflower Pilgrims
Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Luther and His Message for Today
Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Sunday Service

Pastoral Reading

Psalm 1

Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

Opening Song

Holy God, We Praise Your Name (TH #103)

1 Holy God, we praise your name;
Lord of all, we bow before you;
all on earth your scepter claim,
all in heav’n above adore you.
Infinite your vast domain,
everlasting is your reign.

2 Hark, the glad celestial hymn
angel choirs above are raising;
cherubim and seraphim
in unceasing chorus praising,
fill the heav’ns with sweet accord:
“Holy, holy, holy Lord.”

3 Lo! the apostolic train
join your sacred name to hallow;
prophets swell the glad refrain,
and the white-robed martyrs follow;
and from morn to set of sun,
through the church the song goes on.

4 Holy Father, Holy Son,
Holy Spirit, Three we name you;
while in essence only One,
undivided God we claim you,
and adoring bend the knee,
while we sing this mystery.

Prayer

Focus this week:  Henry Mears

Song

All My Boast is in Jesus (CRC #43)

Verse 1
What wonder of wonders what love is this that Christ would die for me
His goodness His merit His righteousness this sinner’s only plea.
O foolish pride be crucified, the work is finished.

Chorus 1
All my boast is in Jesus, all my hope is His love
And I will glory forever, in what the cross has done

Verse 2
Now fully forgiven my life is filled with graces undeserved
For mercy that flowed down that sacred hill, let praises now return
Rise up my soul and bless the Lord, who else is worthy?

Bridge
O praise the One forever blessed, Him alone my heart adores
And I will boast in nothing less than the love of Christ my Lord.

Verse 3
I boast not in riches in strength or might, but in the grace of God
I glory in weakness to live is Christ, in plenty or in want.
That I may know that all may see, His pow’r within me.

Chorus 2
Now I stand in His freedom, ransomed clean in His sight,
And I cannot be ashamed for my boast is Jesus Christ
My boast is Jesus Christ, forever my boast is Jesus Christ

CCLI Song # 7222132
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For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI License # 108183

Song

Where He Leadeth Me (CRC #75)

Verse 1
Where Thou leadest me
I dare not find complaint
For Thou hast never left
Nor will for all my days
Thy presence is my good
And it shall ever be
I will go where Thou leadest me

Verse 2
Sovereign is Thy hand
To guide me when I’m worn
Thy good and perfect will
Holds fast through every storm
What time I am afraid
My faith looks up to Thee
I will trust where Thou leadest me

Chorus
On the mountain high
Through the vallеy deep
I will go where Thou leadеst me

Verse 3
O Shepherd keep me near
For I am prone to stray
The frailty of my flesh
Seeks refuge in Thy grace
This promise is my peace
My soul is safe in Thee
I will rest as Thou leadest me

Chorus
On the mountain high
Through the valley deep
I will go where Thou leadest me
On the mountain high
Through the valley deep
I will go where Thou leadest me

Verse 4
Savior light my path
Until that final day
If Thou art Lord of life
Why should I fear the grave?
Proud death has lost its sting
For all eternity
I will rise where Thou leadest me
Home with Christ where Thou leadest me

Chorus
On the mountain high
Through the valley deep
I will go where Thou leadest me (oh)
On the mountain high
Through the valley deep
I will go where Thou leadest me
I will go where Thou leadest me

Scripture Reading

Romans 4

What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
    and whose sins are covered;
blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.

16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Preaching the Word

The Righteousness of God

Romans 1:16-17

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Closing Song

Approach My Soul, the Mercy Seat (TH #507)

1 Approach, my soul, the mercy seat
where Jesus answers prayer;
there humbly fall before his feet,
for none can perish there.

2 Thy promise is my only plea;
with this I venture nigh:
thou callest burdened souls to thee,
and such, O Lord, am I.

3 Bowed down beneath a load of sin,
by Satan sorely pressed,
by war without, and fears within,
I come to thee for rest.

4 Be thou my shield and hiding place,
that, sheltered near thy side,
I may my fierce accuser face,
and tell him thou hast died.

5 O wondrous love! to bleed and die,
to bear the cross and shame,
that guilty sinners, such as I,
might plead thy gracious name!