Worship Notes and Bulletin for Sunday, March 23, 2014

Our passage this morning from Luke 17 includes the cry of the lepers for Christ to have mercy on them. This is an important reminder during this season of Lent as we walk in repentance and in the faith that has made us well.The Call to Worship from Psalm 116 expresses love to the Lord because He has heard our cries for mercy, He has delivered us from death, and we shall pay our vows to the Lord for He has loosed our bonds. We respond by singing Holy, Holy Holy for He is merciful and mighty and is forever blessed. We continue by singing the words of Psalm 89: My Song Forever and the faithfulness and mercy of the Lord that endures and we will praise Him in the sanctuary. With Psalm 138: With Grateful Hearts, we sing of gratitude and thanksgiving for His truth and grace as displayed in His Word as well as in His saving grace. “Forever mercy dwells with Thee.”

The Prayer of Confession from Ephesians 5 confronts our lack of thanksgiving and our tendency towards empty talk and unfruitful works. Christ calls us to arise from the dead for He will shine upon us.

The Profession of Faith from I Peter 1 affirms our living hope in the Lord Jesus Christ according to His mercy that is expressed in the outcome of our faith, the salvation of our souls. The first Communion Hymn, There Is No Greater Portrait, walks through the suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ that is cause for worship as His mercy and forgiveness through His blood is poured out on us. Approach My Soul, the Mercy Seat sings of the healing of the separation between God and man through Christ and His promised grace.

We conclude by singing Jesus, Draw Me Ever Nearer as a prayer for His sustaining grace to give us the wings of faith that cause us to rise in His likeness.

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