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June 23, 2024
Resources and content for this Sunday.
*Call to Worship | Jeremiah 31:31-34 | Rev. Blake Arnoult
God invites and calls us into his presence to worship him.
31 Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
*Song of Adoration | Arise O God
We begin by responding with praise to God for who he is and for what he does.
Arise O God and shine
in all Thy saving might
And prosper each design
to spread Thy glorious light
Let healing streams of mercy flow
That all the earth Thy truth may know
Bring distant nations near
To sing Thy glorious praise
Let every people hear
and learn Thy holy ways
Reign mighty God assert Thy cause
And govern by Thy righteous laws
Send forth Thy glorious pow'r
That all the world all may see
And earth present her store
in converts born to Thee
God our own God Thy church O bless
And fill the world with righteousness
To God the only wise
the one immortal King
Let hallelujahs rise
from every living thing
Let all that breath on every coast
Praise Father Son and Holy Ghost
Music and Lyrics: William Hurn
*Confession of Faith | based on Ephesians 1:3-18
With the church in history we confess a basic statement of what Christians believe.
All glorious God, we give you praise:
In your Son, Jesus Christ,
You have given us every spiritual blessing
In the heavenly realms.
You chose us, before the world was made,
To be your holy people, without fault in your sight.
You adopted us as your children in Christ.
You have set us free by his blood;
You have forgiven our sins.
You have made known to us your secret purpose,
To bring heaven and earth into unity in Christ.
You have given us your Holy Spirit,
The seal and pledge of our inheritance.
All praise and glory be yours, O God,
For the richness of your grace,
For the splendor of your gifts,
For the wonder of your love.
*Song of Confession | From The Depths Of Woe
Psalms, hymns, spiritual songs are simply prayers that are sung. We respond in repentance and praise for God’s redemptive work in Christ.
From the depths of woe I raise to Thee the voice of lamentation;
Lord, turn a gracious ear to me and hear my supplication;
If Thou iniquities dost mark our secret sins and misdeeds dark,
O who shall stand before Thee? (Who shall stand before Thee?)
O who shall stand before Thee? (Who shall stand before Thee?)
To wash away the crimson stain, grace, grace alone availeth;
Our works, alas! Are all in vain; in much the best life faileth;
No man can glory in Thy sight, all must alike confess Thy might,
And live alone by mercy (Live alone by mercy)
And live alone by mercy (Live alone by mercy)
Therefore my trust is in the Lord, and not in mine own merit;
On Him my soul shall rest, His word upholds my fainting spirit;
His promised mercy is my fort, my comfort and my sweet support;
I wait for it with patience (Wait for it with patience)
I wait for it with patience (Wait for it with patience)
Though great our sins and sore our woes,
His grace much more aboundeth;
His helping love no limit knows, our upmost need it soundeth.
Our Shepherd good and true is He, who will at last His Israel free
From all their sin and sorrow (All their sin and sorrow)
From all their sin and sorrow (All their sin and sorrow)
Music and Lyrics: Martin Luther and Richard Massie
Confession of Sin | based on Deuteronomy 6 and Hebrews 7
We fight the temptation to hide our sin and instead acknowledge it openly to God, but we do so in light of the grace offered in Jesus.
O great and everlasting God, who dwells in unapproachable light, who searches and knows the thoughts and intentions of the heart; we confess that we have not loved you with all our heart, nor with all our soul, nor with all our mind, nor with all our strength; nor our neighbors as ourselves. We have loved what we ought not to have loved; we have coveted what is not ours; we have not been content with your provisions for us. We have complained in our hearts about our family, about our friends, about our health, about our occupations, about your church, and about our trials. We have sought our security in those things which perish, rather than in you, God. Chasten, cleanse, and forgive us, through Jesus Christ, who is able for all time to save us who approach you through him, since he always lives to make intercession for us. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon | Romans 8:3-4 | Rev. Blake Arnoult
The good news of the gospel is that we are forgiven in Jesus Christ. This assurance is based on God’s words of promise and it is therefore certain.
3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
*Song of Response | Grace Alone
We respond in repentance and praise for God’s redemptive work in Christ.
I was an orphan lost at the fall
Running away when I'd hear you call
But Father you worked your will
I had no righteousness of my own
I had no right to draw near your throne
But Father you loved me still
And in love before you laid the world's foundation
You predestined to adopt me as your own
You have raised me up so high above my station
I'm a child of God by grace and grace alone
You left your home to seek out the lost
You knew the great and terrible cost
But Jesus your face was set
I worked my fingers down to the bone
But nothing I did could ever atone
But Jesus you paid my debt
By Your blood I have redemption and salvation
Lord you died that I might reap what you have sown
And you rose that I might be a new creation
I am born again by grace and grace alone
I was in darkness all of my life
I never knew the day from the night
But Spirit you made me see
I swore I knew the way on my own
Head full of rocks a heart made of stone
But Spirit you moved in me
And at your touch my sleeping spirit was awakened
On my darkened heart the light of Christ has shone
Called into a kingdom that cannot be shaken
Heaven's citizen by grace and grace alone
So I'll stand in faith by grace and grace alone
I will run the race by grace and grace alone
I will slay my sin by grace and grace alone
I will reach the end by grace and grace alon.
Music and Lyrics: Dustin Kensrue
Prayer of Thanksgiving
We offer our gratitude to God in prayer in response to his gifts and blessings to his people and ask that he make us faithful managers of these gifts.
Song of Thanks | All I Have Is Christ
As we offer our prayers so we also offer up our thanks in song.
All I Have is Christ
I once was lost in darkest night
Yet thought I knew the way
The sin that promised joy and life
Had led me to the grave
I had no hope that You would own
A rebel to Your will
And if You had not loved me first
I would refuse You still
But as I ran my hell bound race
Indifferent to the cost
You looked upon my helpless state
And led me to the cross
And I beheld God’s love displayed
You suffered in my place
You bore the wrath reserved for me
Now all I know is grace!
Hallelujah all I have is Christ
Hallelujah Jesus is my life
Now Lord I would be Yours alone
And live so all might see
The strength to follow Your commands
Could never come from me
O Father use my ransomed life
In any way You choose
And let my song forever be
My only boast is You
Chorus
Music and Lyrics: William M. Runyan
Prayer for Christ’s Church
We lift up our requests to God knowing that he hears us when we pray.
*Reading of Scripture | selections from Deuteronomy | Rev. Blake Arnoult
God reveals himself and his work and speaks to us his people through his Word.
1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab… 3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the LORD had given him in commandment to them… 5 Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law, saying…
6:1 “Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the LORD your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, 2 that you may fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey…
30:19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
Pastor: The Word of the Lord
People: Thanks be to God
The Preaching of the Word | Rev. Blake Arnoult
“Deuteronomy: The Law of Israel Renewed”
Christ in the Old Testament
Pastoral Prayer
Sacrament of Communion
Sacraments are visible signs of the invisible grace of God - what Christ does by his Holy Spirit within us. Communion (also called the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist), as the distribution of the elements of bread and wine, symbolizes a meal. Communion is a sign of fellowship. That sign signifies more than just the future heavenly fellowship that is to come. The outward sign signifies the inner reality that sinners already experience fellowship with God in the Spirit because of Jesus. Communion is not a meal for good people. It functions as a renewing seal to desperate sinners of that fellowship we have with our holy and gracious God.
You will be invited to come forward. If you are not a Christian we encourage you to spend this time in reflection on what you’ve seen and heard in the worship. Children who have not received their first communion are welcome and encouraged to come forward with their families to witness their partaking. We invite children who are ready to make a public profession of faith in Christ to arrange a meeting with the elders, and thus become “communicants” at the Lord’s Table.
Pastor: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Pastor: Lift up your hearts!
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Pastor: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give him thanks and praise.
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Words of Institution
Pastor: Let us proclaim the mystery of the faith:
People: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Hallelujah!
Pastor: Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed for us. Hallelujah!
People: Therefore, let us keep the feast.
Pastor: The gifts of God for the people of God.
Please let an usher know if it is difficult for you to come forward. We would be happy to serve you at your seat. All communion bread is gluten-free. All communion wine is made from grape juice.
A communion prayer for those searching for the truth:
Lord Jesus, you claim to be the way, the truth and the life. If what you claim is true, please guide me, teach me, and open to me the reality of who you are. Give me the ability to follow you no matter what it might cost me. Give me an understanding for you that is coherent, convincing, and leads to the life that you promise. Amen.
Communion Song | Come Boldly To The Throne Of Grace
We celebrate our communion in faith and song.
Come boldly to the throne of grace
Ye wretched sinners come
And lay your load at Jesus' feet
And plead what He has done
"How can I come?" some soul may say
"I'm lame and cannot walk
My guilt and sin have stopped my mouth
I sign but dare not talk"
He makes the dead to hear His voice
He makes the blind to see
The sinner lost He came to save
And set the prisoner free
Come boldly to the throne of grace
Though lost and blind and lame
Jehovah is the sinner's Friend
And ever was the same
Poor bankrupt souls who feel and know
The hell of sin within
Come boldly to the throne of grace
The Lord will take you in
Chorus
Music and Lyrics: D. Herbert, Brian T. Murphy, and Clint Wells
Departing Song | All Must Be Well
We begin to end in faith and song.
Through the love of God our Savior, All will be well
Free and changeless is His favor, All is well
Precious is the blood that healed us
Perfect is the grace that sealed us
Strong the hand stretched forth to shield us
All must be well
Though we pass through tribulation, All will be well
Ours is such a full salvation, All is well
Happy still in God confiding
Fruitful if in Christ abiding
Steadfast through the Spirit's guiding
All must be well
We expect a bright tomorrow; All will be well
Faith can sing through days of sorrow, All is well
On our Father's love relying
Jesus every need supplying
Yes in living or in dying
All must be well
On our Father's love relying
Jesus every need supplying
Yes in living or in dying
All must be well
Music and Lyrics: Mary Bowly Peters, Matthew S. Smith
*Benediction | Hebrews 13:20, 21 | Rev. Blake Arnoult
God sends us out with his blessing. A benediction is not a prayer. We don’t bow our heads. We lift them up and even lift up our hands to receive his blessing as we are sent out as participants in his mission to the city of man.
20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Adult Teaching Series
Wednesday, June 26, 7pm
Adults are invited to join us Wednesday, June 26 at the home of Neal and Marion Wade for the second lesson in our 3-part adult teaching series this summer!
Bible Studies
Women’s Evening Study: Thursday, July 11
Our women’s evening study will meet on Thursday, July 11 for our last lesson in our Eschatology series! Join us at the home of Susan Arnoult at 7pm on July 11.
Men’s Morning Study: Friday, July 12
Our men’s study will meet on Friday, July 12 at 7am at Bean and Bottle for our last lesson in our Eschatology series! 9655 Katy Freeway Suite 100.
Kids and Youth Pool Party
Saturday, July 20, 1:30-3:30pm
All Cornerstone kids, youth, and parents are invited to join us at the West University Colonial Park Pool on July 20 for some fun and fellowship! 4130 Byron, Houston, TX 77005