The Bible is full of greetings, and our worship leader greets us in God’s name.
2 Peter 1:1-2
To you 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 127
A song of ascents. Of Solomon.
1 Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain.
2 In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves.
3 Children are a heritage from the Lord,
offspring a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their opponents in court.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Dies sind die heil’gen zehn Gebot
(These are the Holy Ten Commandments)
Ruth Pfister, organ
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 127
Leader: People of God, enter the house of the Lord!
People: We will enter the house he has built with his own hands.
Leader: Citizens of Zion, assemble together as the city of the Lord.
People: We are his city, and he guards us and watches over us night and day.
Leader: Children of God, enter into the rest that your Lord has won for you!
People: We leave behind our toil, our vain early mornings, and our sleepless late nights, and we rest in him!
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 127
Father, we are gathered as your people to be formed into a community for your mission, as children in whom you delight. Watch over us now. Build us up. Place us, living stone upon living stone, upon the chief cornerstone that is our dear Lord Jesus Christ. None of your work is in vain, so please– do your good work among us as we gather in your presence. Teach us about your work and your rest. Give us delight and refreshment, by your Spirit, in one another, and in you. Claim us as your own heritage, and equip us to enter more fully into the family business: bringing honor to your name, and blessing the nations of the earth as we bear your name with joy and holy fear. We worship in Jesus’ name, and pray also in his name. Amen.
With our Song of Praise, we begin our worship by exalting God for who he is and what he has done.
Sing, All Souls, With Joy and Wonder (The Ten Commandments)
Text: Andy Stager (2020)
Tune: BEECHER by John Zundel (1870).
Ewa Soluch (piano), Ellie Stager (vocals), and Andy Stager (various).
(Musical Notation for the tune BEECHER [PDF])
Sing, all souls, with joy and wonder
Sing your Father’s very heart
Echo back his love and thunder
Never from his words depart
Sing! Your Lord for freedom saved you
From the Pharaoh of your sin
Sing! A way his grace has paved you
His own Promised Land to win
Sing the song of none but Jesus
He’s the Father’s chosen King
No one like our Lord has freed us
To no other praises bring
Sing! And serve no graven idol
Deaf and dumb: how can they save?
Sing! And serve alone your Sovereign
You’re his child and not a slave!
Sing his name with holy reverence
On your tongues its sweetness taste
Taste and savor all his goodness
Not a honeyed morsel waste
Sing each day as dawn is breaking
Sing from morn to eventide
Sing, the Sabbath not forsaking
In his house all day abide
Sing, all souls, with joy and wonder
Sing your Father’s very heart
Echo back his love and thunder
Never from his words depart
Sing! Your Lord for freedom saved you
From the Pharaoh of your sin
Sing! A way his grace has paved you
His own Promised Land to win