Worship Notes for Sunday, September 15, 2013

With the theme of Abiding in Christ, this morning we emphasize the aspect of abiding in the love of Christ (v.9). The Call to Worship this morning is from Psalm 33 as we rejoice in the fact that the eye of the Lord is on those who “hope in his steadfast love.”  With Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, we sing of being fixed on the mount of “God’s unchanging love” even as we pray that He will keep us from wandering away from that love. In Come, Ye that Love the Savior’s Name, we pray that we would long to love Him even as the angels do and that He would bring to life our songs through His love.The New Testament Reading from I John 3 reminds us that we know what love is only if we look to Christ as our example—he who laid down his life for us. The Prayer of Confession from Psalm 31 sets the context of a God who knows the distress of our souls and our iniquity, yet He loves us, and we can rejoice in that love.

The following hymn, How Deep the Father’s Love for Us, resonates with the vastness and cost of God’s love—it is not a promiscuous love but rather a love that required the blood of Christ in order to bring reconciliation. This theme continues in our first Communion Hymn, O Love of God—a love that is beyond all knowledge and thought, that is changeless, eternal, and infinite. The second hymn is Approach My Soul the Mercy Seat and the “wondrous love” that bled and died and bore the cross and shame for our redemption.

It is fitting that we conclude with What Wondrous Love is This and the freedom from death and gift of eternity that are ours since our Savior has borne the dreadful curse for my soul.

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