Fairlawn Christian Reformed Church
Morning Worship
January 27, 2008 10:15 A.M.
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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:
“Joyful, Joyful, We Adore
Thee” Manz
“Come, Christians, Join to Sing”
(Psalm 92)
Tucker
Welcome and
Announcements
Silent Prayer and
Preparation
* Call to
Worship:
Psalm 145
I will exalt you, my
God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I
will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. Great is the
Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.
One generation
will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.
They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty; they will tell
of the power of your awesome works; they will celebrate your abundant
goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
* Hymn: PH 48
“Great Is the Lord our
God”
Diademata
* 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:
Grant us, O Lord
our God, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to set our hearts
on that which is above; and even now, while we live among things that
are passing away, may we hold fast to that which shall endure, through
Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
The Sacrament of Baptism
Baptism of Ian,
Sarah, and Nathan Haire, children of Campbell and Tara Haire
Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Let us hear our Lord’s command concerning the
sacrament of holy baptism. After he had risen victorious from the
grave, Jesus said to his disciples: “All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of
the age” (Matt. 28:18-20). In obedience to this command, the church
baptizes believers and their children.
The
Promise of Scripture
Let us
hear the promises of God which are confirmed to us in baptism.
The Lord made this great promise to Abraham in the
covenant made with him: “I will establish my covenant as an
everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after
you for generations to come, to be your God and the God of your
descendants after you” (Gen. 17:7).
After Jesus had risen from the dead, the apostle
proclaimed: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name
of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your
children and for all who are far off, for all whom the Lord our God
will call” (Acts 2:38, 39).
The apostle Paul writes, “In Christ you were also
circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a
circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done
by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with
him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the
dead” (Col. 2:11, 12).
The
Teaching of Scripture
Let us
also remember the teaching of Scripture concerning the sacrament of
baptism.
In baptism God seals the promises he gave when he
made his covenant with us, calling us and our children to put our
trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
God graciously includes our children in his covenant,
and all of his promises are for them as well as for us. Jesus
himself embraced little children and blessed them, and the apostle
Paul said that children of believers are holy unto the Lord. So,
just as children of the old covenant received the sign of
circumcision, our children are given the sign of baptism. We
therefore teach little ones that they have been set apart by baptism
as God’s own children. Baptism is a means of grace in which our
children receive the covenant blessings of our God that lead them to
put their trust in Christ.
The Prayer of Preparation
Almighty God our Father, we pray that you will never destroy us in
our sin as with the flood, but save us as you saved believing Noah
and his family, and spare us as you spared the Israelites who walked
safely through the Red Sea on dry ground. We pray that Christ Jesus,
who went down into the Jordan River and came up to receive the Holy
Spirit, who sank deep into death and was raised up as the Lord of
life, will always keep us and our little ones in the grip of his
hand. We pray, O holy Father, that your Spirit will separate us from
sin and openly mark us with a faith that can stand the light of day
and endure the dark of night. Prepare us now, O Lord, to respond
with glad hope to your promises so that we, and all entrusted to our
care, may drink deeply from the well of living water, through the
name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The
Baptismal Vows
To the parents:
In presenting these children unto the Lord for holy
baptism, you are called upon to affirm these vows in the presence of
God and his congregation.
Do
you confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, accept the
promises of God, and affirm the truth of the faith which is revealed
in Scripture and confessed in this church of Jesus Christ? We
do.
Do
you believe that your children, though sinful by nature, are
received by God in Christ as members of his covenant, and therefore
ought to be baptized? We do.
Do
you, on behalf of these children, renounce the devil and all of his
works and vain glory, and the sinful desires of the flesh, so that
you will not follow or be led by them? We
do.
Do
you promise, in reliance upon the Holy Spirit and with the help of
the Christian community, to do all in your power to instruct these
children in the faith and to lead them by your example to be
Christ’s disciples? We do, God helping
us.
To the congregation:
Do
you, the people of God, promise to receive these children in love,
pray for them, help instruct them in the truth of Scripture, and
encourage and sustain them in the fellowship of this community? We
do, God helping us.
The
Sacrament of Baptism
Our Lord said, “Let the little children come to me,
and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as
these.”
Ian Richard Haire, in obedience to the command of our
Lord Jesus, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sarah
Ann Haire, in obedience to the command of our Lord Jesus, I baptize
you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
Nathan
Campbell Haire, in obedience to the command of our Lord Jesus, I
baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit. Amen.
Response: PH
269 “Baptized in
Water”
Bunessan
Confession and Prayer
Prayer of
Confession:
Psalm 25, adapted
To you, O Lord, we
lift up our soul; in you we trust, O Lord our God. No one whose hope is
in you will ever be put to shame. Show us your ways, teach us your
paths, guide us in your truth and teach us, for you are God our Savior,
and our hope is in you all day long. Remember your great mercy and
love, for they are from of old. Remember not the sins of our youth and
our rebellious ways; according to your love remember us, for you are
good, O Lord. For the sake of your name forgive our iniquity, for it is
great. Look upon our affliction and our distress and take away all our
sins. Guard our lives and rescue us; let us not be put to shame for we
take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness protect us, because
our hope is in you. Redeem your people, O God, from all their troubles!
Silent Prayer and
Confession
Minister: Amen.
Assurance of Pardon:
I John 2
Choral Anthem:
“Be Thou My
Vision”
Parker
Congregational
Prayer
The Service Of The Word
* Hymn: PH 556
“Great Is Thy
Faithfulness”
Faithfulness
[Children age 3 -
grade Pre-K may leave during the hymn.]
Reading from the Old
Testament:
Genesis 12:1-4
This is the Word of
the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Reading from the
New Testament: Hebrews
11:8-16
Sermon:
Educating Father Abraham, Part III
Prayer
* Hymn: PH 477,
stanzas 1-3 “You Servants of God, Your Master Proclaim”
Hanover
The Offering of Tribute
* Offertory Prayer
Offerings:
Fairlawn General Fund
Faith Promise for Missions
Offertory: “Baptized
in
Water”
Eckhardt
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: “Great
Is Thy Faithfulness
Doran
*Indicates
congregation stands
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