Worship Notes for Sunday, October 16, 2011
This week we move from the creative Word of God to the rival word—the lie—which corrupted what was made. Our Call to Worship from Psalm 51 and 71 remind us that we need God to open our lips in order that we may declare His praise and shout for joy. We respond by singing O For a Thousand Tongues to sing His praise and glories. Verse 5 reminds us that His voice is able to recreate us from death to life and cause broken hearts to rejoice. The new Psalm of the Month from Psalm 14 coincides with our focus on the Fall. The foolish in their hearts deny the Lord—“Corrupt are they, vile works have done, And doing good there is not one.” But God dwells with the righteous and provide refuge for His people.The New Testament Reading from James 1 explains what happens when foolish hearts are darkened and people follow their desires into sin and death. The Prayer of Confession follows from I John 2 and John 8 as we remind ourselves of how we have abandoned our love towards God in order to pursue the world and our fleshly desires. Our hymn of response is Come Ye Souls By Sin Afflicted. As we struggle with fruitless burdens, we find mercy, sweet obedience, and rest in the cross.
The first communion hymn, Come Ye Sinners, reminds us that we are “lost and ruined by the Fall” but that Jesus calls weak and wounded sinners to Himself. The second hymn, There is a Fountain Filled with Blood, tells us that the guilty stain of sin from our father Adam is cleansed in the blood of the second Adam, Christ. Hallelujah! What a Savior!
The final hymn, Come Thou Fount, sings of God mercy and unchanging love. And even though we are prone to wander, God will seal our hearts in His grace for all eternity.
