The Bible is full of greetings, and our worship leader greets us in God’s name.
2 Peter 1:1-2
To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
We begin our worship with a silent meditation on our Psalm of the Day during the Prelude. Use this time to focus your hearts and minds on God as he speaks to us through his Word.
Psalm 50
For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
A psalm of Asaph.
1 The Mighty One, God, the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to where it sets.
2 From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
3 Our God comes
and will not be silent;
a fire devours before him,
and around him a tempest rages.
4 He summons the heavens above,
and the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 “Gather to me this consecrated people,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
6 And the heavens proclaim his righteousness,
for he is a God of justice.
7 “Listen, my people, and I will speak;
I will testify against you, Israel:
I am God, your God.
8 I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices
or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
9 I have no need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,
10 for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird in the mountains,
and the insects in the fields are mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 “Sacrifice thank offerings to God,
fulfill your vows to the Most High,
15 and call on me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
16 But to the wicked person, God says:
“What right have you to recite my laws
or take my covenant on your lips?
17 You hate my instruction
and cast my words behind you.
18 When you see a thief, you join with him;
you throw in your lot with adulterers.
19 You use your mouth for evil
and harness your tongue to deceit.
20 You sit and testify against your brother
and slander your own mother’s son.
21 When you did these things and I kept silent,
you thought I was exactly like you.
But I now arraign you
and set my accusations before you.
22 “Consider this, you who forget God,
or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:
23 Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me,
and to the blameless I will show my salvation.”
Prelude in F Major
Johann Kaspar Ferdinand Fischer (1656-1746)
Ruth Pfister, organ
Open Thou My Eyes
Text: Lancelot Andrews (1565) and Isaac Wardell (2008)
Music: John Rutter, alt. Isaac Wardell
Ellie Stager, Guitar and Vocals
Our Call to Worship draws us into conversation with our God, and is usually taken from our Psalm of the Day. We address one another and enter God’s presence together.
From Psalm 50
Leader: The LORD calls out: “Gather to me this consecrated people!”
People: Let us gather in his presence, and consecrate ourselves to him!
Leader: The LORD says: “Listen, my people, and I will speak. I , your God, will testify!”
People: Let us humble ourselves, hearing his voice with open ears and hearts!
Leader: The LORD says: “Sacrifice offerings of thanksgiving to me; fulfill your vows to me, the LORD Most High.”
People: Let us bring our sacrifices of praise, and offer our very selves as living offerings, holy and pleasing to our Savior!
Leader: Let us worship God!
Having called one another to God’s praise, we turn to God and ask for his presence and power.
From Psalm 50
Gracious God and Father, you declared through the psalmist that if we, your people, sacrifice with thanksgiving and come before you with blameless hearts, you will demonstrate to us your salvation. We have come in the name of Jesus to offer you our thanks, and to have our hearts changed by the power of your Word and Spirit. Receive our praise. Deal graciously with us, despite our sins. Give us upright and blameless hearts and lives. And above all, showcase to us once again your mighty hand and your strong arm of salvation, shown to us through our Savior and the Lord of all, our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we enter your presence and make our prayer. Amen!
With our Song of Praise, we begin our worship by exalting God for who he is and what he has done.
Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty
Text: Joachim Neander (1680)
Tune: Anonymous (1665)
Musical Notation (Page 1) (Page 2)
Praise ye the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
Praise Him in glad adoration!
Praise ye the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires ever have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?
Praise ye the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen sound from His people again,
Gladly for aye we adore Him.