Evergreen Presbyterian Church

Morning Worship

Reflection
“What a blessed assurance, when faith is made thus not the ground of salvation, not the condition of salvation, but its evidence! It is here that the sweet herb of election begins to pour forth its refreshing cordial. Men may tell us, indeed, ‘Believe and you shall be saved,’ while still making faith the ground or the condition of salvation. And, then, with what dreadful solicitude will we pluck up our faith over and over again by the roots, to examine it with anxious fear. Is it the right faith? Is it a strong enough faith? Do I believe aright? Do I believe enough? Shall abide in my belief until the end? Dreadful uncertainty! Inexpressible misery of ineradicable doubt!” B.B. Warfield

Musical Prelude
Greeting and Announcements
Musical Meditation and Lighting of Candles

The Word
Call to Worship (congregation stands)
Psalm 59:16-17
But I will sing of your strength;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me a fortress, and a refuge in the day of my distress.
O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress,
The God who shows me steadfast love.

Song of Praise
#14 New Songs of Celebration Render

Call to Confession (congregation sits)
“If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9

Confession of Sin and Weakness
Righteous and Merciful God, we lack sufficient reason in ourselves to think highly of ourselves. We are to be pitied in our sinfulness, even punished for our rebellion against you and your holy laws. Why did you make us in your own image only to watch us fall into sin and death? Why have you graciously prolonged human misery and treachery? Why is your day of patience so long? Help us in our weakness as we ask you questions concerning our wretchedness. Do not allow us to slip into desperation and self-loathing. Cleanse us from our sins and situate us in virtuous life so that we might be restored in hope, love, peace, and joy.

Assurance of Pardon
God’s ways are not our ways. Yet God has made clear to us his way of redemption. He has restored us to hope through his Son, our Lord, Jesus of Nazareth, the hope of Israel and Lord of the nations. The problem of evil is significant, but the work of Christ Jesus is greater and richer in meaning and impact. The tragedy of humanity’s fall into sin and death is devastating but the death of Christ is restorative, effective for the atonement of all our sins. In Christ our way to God is open, an assured ascent into heaven and the eternal love of God. Amen.
Leader: May the peace of Christ be with you!
All: And also with you!

Confession of Faith (congregation stands)
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty
Maker of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Old Testament Reading (congregation sits)
Genesis 1:11-19
Reader: The Word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God!

Offering
At this time we will collect God’s tithes and gifts.

Song of the People (Congregation stands)
#114 Lord, Our Lord, Thy Gracious Name

The Prayers of the People (congregation sits)
Leader: Let us pray that all wars will cease, for the peace of Christ to rule in the hearts of humanity. (silent prayers of the people)
Leader: In the name of the Prince of Peace, we offer petitions for the reconciling of sisters and brothers in the Church. (silent prayers of the people)
Leader: Our Father in heaven, hear our prayers in the name of Jesus, our strong Advocate, our one and only Mediator. Our needs are many and we make our requests known to you believing that you shall answer according to your holy will.
(leader offers petitions for people in need)
Leader: We pray for our children and their generation. O Father and our Lord Jesus, pour out the Holy Spirit upon this generation so that your kingdom would come on earth as it is in heaven. We pray that in their day, if not in our day, our nation would value and protect the lives of the unborn. We pray that we might value and protect the lives of the aged and afflicted.
People: We pray that we might put the interests of others before our own interests. We pray that our choices would take into consideration what is best for others before we think of what would be best for ourselves. This is the way of Christ. Give to us the courage to follow him, to take up our cross daily and follow him.
Leader: Lord, in your mercy,
People: hear our prayers.
Leader: In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Song of Reflection (congregation remains seated)
#466 I Sought the Lord and Afterward I Knew

New Testament Reading
Mark 1:29-39
Reader: The Word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God!

Song of Preparation (congregation stands)
#355 We are God’s People

Sermon Text
I Corintians 1: 10-17
Minister: The Word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God!

Sermon
Pastor Nathan Lewis
The Fellowship of the Gospel

The Table
Invitation and Prayer
[Communion, also called The Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist, is the family meal of Christians. We invite all committed and baptized followers of Jesus Christ, who are at peace with God and with their neighbor, to partake of this sacrament. If you are not a Christian, or if you are not prepared to share in this meal, we encourage you to spend this time in prayer using the prayers provided on the back as guidelines. We hope that this time is helpful to you as you consider your relationship with Jesus Christ and with His people, the church.]

The Giving of the Bread and Cup
Psalm 139 sung during distribution

Doxology
Glory be to the Father;
And to the Son;
And to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning
Is now, and ever shall be,
World without end;
Amen, amen!

Benediction

Brief Explanation of Evergreen’s worship liturgy written by Carolyn Hopkins and Nathan Lewis:

The underlying importance of the liturgy we espouse is that it keeps God as the subject of our worship. Corporate worship offers opportunity to move away from everyday distractions into the presence of God. Worship in Spirit and in truth occurs on both the vertical and horizontal planes. Our focus is vertical, upon God, our only Creator, Sustainer, Savior, and Lord. Yet we worship corporately introducing a horizontal aspect to our worship. We not only hear the voice of God in his holy Word, but we hear the response of fellow worshippers responding to God in praise, thanksgiving, and faith. The Evergreen liturgy is structured dialogically so that the vertical and horizontal aspects are supported.

Kierkegaard once compared worship to the theater. Whereas many worship services allow congregants to be an audience viewing the pastor and the musicians as actors, genuine worship happens when everyone knows that God is the audience. Musicians and pastors are the prompters or coaches or stage managers, but all of us are the actors and all our worship acts are directed to God. And yet, paradoxically, because God is the subject of our worship, we must always remember that we can only be actors because he acted first. He is both the subject and the object of our worship.

Prelude and Meditation
The musical offering prior to the beginning of the worship service is not to “fill” or to be background music for a time of socializing. The social and fellowship time is better reserved for the front porch as we enter the sanctuary, or during the time following the morning service. The Prelude is an opportunity for us to settle into our seats and quiet our hearts before God. Children can learn early that this is time to read and pray during the prelude It is a time to view all aspects of our lives in light of a holy God who is present with us. The Meditation is a short musical offering following announcement. It provides opportunity to experience the feeling Habakkuk captured when he declared, “The Lord is in his holy temple, let all the earth be silent before him.” (2:20) Silence evokes feelings of transcendence. It puts us in touch with the Eternal.

Call to Worship
The Call to Worship comes as an invitation from word of God to corporately worship. The early church used the greeting “The Lord be with you” or “Peace be to you.” These greetings from Ruth 2:4 and John 20:19 came into use from the beginning of the Christian church and are found in the Christian literature from the second century.

Song of Praise
This hymn is designed to offer praise either to God the Father, God the Son or God the Holy Spirit. Often we sing praise to all three persons of the Godhead. Many of these selections are Trinitarian hymns. “Holy, Holy, Holy” is a good example of such a hymn – “God in three Persons, blessed Trinity. Often a setting of a Psalm is sung as the Song of Praise. The Psalter is the richest source of hymnody and has been used down through the centuries from Old Testament times until the present.

Call to Confession
A selection of God’s word reminds us of our sinful state, including original sin and of our human weakness. It moves us to corporate confession of sin and weakness.

Confession of Sin and Weakness
In the form of a prayer we corporately and individually acknowledge our sin and weakness imploring our holy God to apply his atonement of sin to forgiveness. When Isaiah stood before God and saw Him in the majesty of his holiness, his response was one of repentance. He cried, “Woe to me!”…”I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:5) Luther translated “I am ruined” as “I am annihilated”. In Luke 18:13 the tax collector beat his breast and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner”. As we speak the words of the Confession, we must do so in spirit recognizing our great need for God’s mercy.

Assurance of Pardon
The worship leader speaks in the stead of Christ, speaking the words and promises of God, declaring the removal of our sins. The assurance of forgiveness as expressed in I John 1:9 provides all the joy we need to give back our offerings of praise and thanksgiving to our God.

Old Testament Lesson
We hear God speak to us through His Holy Word. During the scripture lessons, we hear the word of God without comment or exposition. The lessons are read from the people’s lecturn by a man, woman, or a child. The lessons are not read with ecclesiastical authority but allow for the voice of church members to speak forth the word of God plainly and powerfully. When the reader speaks the words at the end of the reading, “the Word of the Lord,” we need to respond with great enthusiasm saying, “Thanks be to God”. Again those words are not just part of a rote liturgy. They are there so that we may communicate in spirit and truth with a God who is eager to speak to us.

Offering of Tithes and Offering
God has spoken through His Word. We now have the joy of responding by His many blessings to us realizing that we give back to Him only a portion of what He has given to us. In the Old Testament economy the people were required to give their best offering. A tenth of what God provided was to be given back to Him. Paul instructs the Corinthian church in II Corinthians 9:6-7 that if we sow sparingly we will reap sparingly. We are to purpose in our hearts what we are to give and then give cheerfully, joyfully, thankfully. Our offerings are to be a sacrifice of praise not given solely for the purpose of paying the bills of the church or because we belong to an organization. During the collection of the tithes and offerings a musical offering, vocal or instrumental is also lifted up to God. As such we need to consider the one or ones offering the music as our representatives and offer in spirit back to God what they are presenting. This is not an interlude in the worship service; it is not a time for a restroom break, it is not a time to let our minds wander to the week ahead. Along with those offering the music we need to be worshipping in spirit and in truth.

Prayers of the People
Prayer is central and vital part of the relationship between God and us. We are to assume a posture of dependence before God. Again, this is a posture of the spirit although we often express it through kneeling or bowing our heads. Five kinds of prayer have been recognized in the Scriptures and throughout the history of the church: adoration, confession, petition, praise and thanksgiving. The prayer our Lord prayed, known as The Lord’s Prayer, is the model for all our prayers. In worship all of these prayers are offered. Sometimes we offer them in music as we sing our adoration and praise; we offer the ultimate in thanksgiving when we mindfully partake of the Lord’s Supper; and as we join the worship leader in offering our petitions as a church body.

Song of Reflection
Often this song is a continuation of our corporate prayer. At times it is a meditation flowing from our prayers. Usually as we sing we stand to support volume and to communicate our solidarity with God. But during this song of reflection, we remain seated to quietly consider God and our relationship to him. We do so prayerfully.

New Testament Lesson
(See the notes above at “Old Testament Lesson.”) In these lessons we balance the reading between the two covenants to emphasize the importance of both the Old and the New Testaments. As we listen to both we discover the continuity between the two. As the history of redemption unfolds, there are interesting differences. However, the most striking observation is the never-changing message of our faithful God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Baptism
The two sacraments, baptism and the Lord’s Supper are celebrated during corporate worship. When a person professes faith in Christ, the minister baptizes this person in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When an infant of a believing parent is presented, the minister baptizes the baby in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the application of the water and the declaration that the baptism is applied in the name of the Triune God, we are listening to the promises of God, listening to his voice speak through the sacrament of baptism. All human voices and declarations are secondary and responsive.

Song of Preparation
Through this hymn our hearts are opened again to God with a prayer that the Word of Truth spoken through the sermon. We eagerly anticipate the gospel and the instruction flowing from it to help us to do what is required of us.

Sermon
We devote our attention to preaching of the word. The pastor is a minister of the gospel, preaching Christ crucified, risen, and exalted to the right hand of God. The work of Christ is proclaimed and applied to the lives of God’s people, thus equipping each of us to advance God’s Kingdom as we go forth each week into the world.

The Table
This second sacrament presents the drama of Christ’s work on the cross. Weekly we remember his completed work for us as we partake of the bread and wine. We look backwards to the historic event of the cross and meditate on the great sacrifice of our Savior that has effected our salvation. We look forward to our partaking of the feast in Heaven with our Lord and the saints from all ages. Our thoughtful singing during this time keeps our minds focused and our spirits in awe of all God has accomplished on our behalf.

The Doxology
With great joy and exuberance we offer the final corporate praise. Being mindful of the assurance of forgiveness, with an hour spent in the presence of the Holy God listening to His voice and responding, with the joy of celebrating worship with our church family and the body of Christ worldwide, this final expression must needs be one that will carry us through to the next time we gather together.

The Benediction
The pastor sends us forth with God’s blessing resting upon each of us.

The Postlude
This musical conclusion reflects the joy we have experienced by worshipping in Spirit and in truth. It sends us forth renewed in spirit and with a new determination to live according to God’s Word.