Fairlawn Christian Reformed Church

Morning Worship

October 14, 2007        10:15 A.M.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Preparation And Praise

Upon entering the sanctuary please maintain silence and turn off all electronic devices

 for the sake of the congregation’s preparation for worship.

    Prelude:  “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty”                 Lohmeyer, Burkhardt/Jones

    Welcome and Announcements

    Silent Prayer and Preparation

*  Call to Worship:                                                                                                 Psalm 84

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty!  My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.  Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

*  Hymn:  PH 504, stanzas 1, 4      “Holy God, We Praise Your Name”    Grosser Gott

(The choir will sing stanzas 2 and 3.)

*  God’s Greeting:

Grace and peace be to you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

    Amen.

The Lord be with you.

    And also with you.

Our help is in the name of the Lord,

    Who made heaven and earth.

Blessed be God,

    And blessed is his kingdom, now and forever.  Amen.

*  Prayer of the Day: 

Almighty and merciful God, it is through your gift of grace that your faithful people offer you true and worthy service; grant that we may trust in your manifold mercies so that we may obtain your heavenly promises, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.


 

 * Response:  PH 635                         “Alleluia!  Alleluia!”                                  Ode to Joy

Alleluia, alleluia!  Glory be to God on high;

Alleluia! to the Savior, who has won the victory;

Alleluia! to the Spirit, fount of love and sanctity:

Alleluia, alleluia! to the triune Majesty.

Confession and Prayer

    Prayer of Confession:                                                                                                        

Lord God Almighty, who searches our hearts and knows our thoughts and intentions, we confess that we have not loved you with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength. And we have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. We have loved what we ought not to have loved, and we have coveted what is not ours. Our sins are too heavy to carry, to real to hide, and too deep to undo. Forgive what our lips tremble to name, what our hearts can no longer bear, and what has for us become a consuming fire of judgment. Set us free from a past we cannot change and open to us a future in which we can be changed, and grant us grace to grow in the likeness of Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we pray.

Silent Prayer and Confession

Minister: Amen.

    Assurance of Pardon:                                                                                       Psalm 86

    Choral Anthem:  “For the Beauty of the Earth”                                                    Rutter

    Congregational Prayer

The Service Of The Word

*  Hymn:  PH 181          “Exalt the Lord, His Praise Proclaim”                            Creation

    [Children age 3 - grade Pre-K may leave during the hymn.]

    Reading from the Psalms:                                                                            Psalm 135

          This is the Word of the Lord.

          Thanks be to God.

    Reading from the New Testament:                                                              I Timothy 3

    Sermon:  New Covenant, New Community, Part XXIV

                      The Ministry of Leadership

    Prayer

*  Hymn:  PH 477, stanzas 1-3       “You Servants of God, Your Master Proclaim”     

                                                Hanover

The Offering of Tribute

*  Offertory Prayer

    Offering:  Fairlawn General Fund

         Offertory:  “How Great Thou Art”                                                                     Jones


 

Blessing and Dismissal

*  Blessing:

May the Lord bless you and keep you.  May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you.  May the Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you and give you peace.  Amen.           

*  Doxology:  PH 477, stanza 4     “You Servants of God, Your Master Proclaim”       

                                                                                                                                        Hanover

Then let us adore and give him his right:

All glory and power, all wisdom and might,

All honor and blessing—with angels above—

And thanks never ceasing for infinite love.

    Postlude:  “Holy God, We Praise Your Name”                                             Burkhardt

*Indicates congregation stands

___________________________________________________________________________________