PROVIDENCE CHURCH

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

 

Welcome

Passing of the Peace: Though we are separated by distance our hearts are one in Christ. The peace of Christ be with you!  And also with you!

 

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,

Praise him all creatures here below,

Praise him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Amen

 

 

Call to Worship:   Revelation 7:14-17

Leader:    Then he said to me, “These are the ones who have survived the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

 

Congregation:  “That is why they stand before the throne of God and worship him day and night in his temple, and the one who sits on the throne will shelter them.

 

Leader:  They will never again experience hunger or thirst, nor will the sun or any scorching heat cause them discomfort.

 

Congregation:  For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne will be their shepherd.

 

All:  He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

 

 

Songs of Praise:

All Creatures of Our God and King (Francis of Assisi, 1225)

All creatures of our God and King, lift up your voice and with us sing alleluia, alleluia!

Thou burning sun with golden beam, thou silver moon with softer gleam,

O praise him, O praise him, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

 

Thou rushing wind that art so strong, ye clouds that sail in heav’n along, O praise him, alleluia!

Thou rising morn in praise rejoice, ye lights of evening, find a voice,

O praise him, O praise him, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

 

All ye who are of tender heart, forgiving others, take your part, O sing ye, alleluia!

Ye who long pain and sorrow bear, praise God and on him cast your care,

O praise him, O praise him, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

 

Let all things their Creator bless, and worship him in humbleness, O praise him, alleluia!

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, and praise the Spirit, three in one,

O praise him, O praise him, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

 

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms (Elisha Hoffman, 1887; tune Anthony Showalter, 1887)

What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms;

What a blessedness, what a peace is mine, leaning on the everlasting arms.

 

Chorus:

Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;

Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

 

O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way, leaning on the everlasting arms;

O how bright the path grows from day to day, leaning on the everlasting arms. (Chorus)

 

What have I to dread, what have I to fear, leaning on the everlasting arms?

I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms. (Chorus)

 

I’ll Fly Away (Albert Brumley, 1932)

Some glad morning when this life is o’er, I’ll fly away

To a home on God’s celestial shore, I’ll fly away

Chorus:

I’ll fly away, O glory, I’ll fly away

When I die, hallelujah, by and by, I’ll fly away

When the shadows of this life have gone, I’ll fly away

Like a bird from prison bars has flown, I’ll fly away

(Chorus)

Just a few more weary days and then, I’ll fly away

To a land where joys shall never end, I’ll fly away (Chorus X2)

 

 

 

Amen

Behold, Jehovah, seated on the throne,

Abba, Father, the wealth that overflows,

The God who was and is and shall be forevermore: Holy is the Lord

 

Chorus:

Amen, Amen! Blessing and honor and glory and power, Amen!

Amen, Amen! Blessing and honor and glory and power, Amen.

 

Behold, the Way, the Truth and the Life,

Perfect Savior, the blood that washed us white,

The God who was and is and shall be forevermore: Holy is the Lord (Chorus)

 

Bridge:

Holiness has a name, and it’s Jesus.

Victory has a name, and it’s Jesus.

The Word has a name, and it’s Jesus.

Redemption has a name, and it’s Jesus (Repeat)

 

Chorus:

Amen, Amen! Blessing and honor and glory and power, Amen!

Amen, Amen! Blessing and honor and glory and power, Amen!

Amen, Amen! Amen, Amen.

 

Confession/Assurance    Psalm 103: 8-14

 

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in kindness.

He will not always rebuke, nor will he remain angry forever.  He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our offenses.  As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his kindness toward those who fear him.  As far as the east is from the west,  so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.  For he knows how we were formed; he remembers that we are only dust.

 

Respond in Praise: 

 

At the Cross

(Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash, Jonas Myrin, Matthew Armstrong, Matt Redman; CCLI # 7017786)

 

There’s a place where mercy reigns and never dies;

There’s a place where streams of grace flow deep and wide,

Where all the love I’ve ever found

Comes like a flood, comes flowing down…

 

Chorus:

At the cross, at the cross, I surrender my life.

I’m in awe of you, I’m in awe of you.

Where your love ran red and my sin washed white,

I owe all to you, I owe all to you, Jesus.

 

There’s a place where sin and shame are powerless,

Where my heart has peace with God and forgiveness,

Where all the love I’ve ever found

Comes like a flood, comes flowing down…

 

Chorus:

At the cross, at the cross, I surrender my life:

I’m in awe of you, I’m in awe of you.

Where your love ran red and my sin washed white,

I owe all to you, I owe all to you…. (last time: “Jesus”)

 

Bridge:

Here—my hope is found, here—on holy ground,

Here I bow down, here I bow down.

Here—arms open wide, here—you saved my life,

Here I bow down, here I bow…(Chorus 2x)

 

Scripture   Revelation 7    

The 144,000 of Israel Sealed

 

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree.   Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”   And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

 

12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,

12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,

12,000 from the tribe of Gad,

12,000 from the tribe of Asher,

12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,

12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,

12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,

12,000 from the tribe of Levi,

12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,

12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,

12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,

12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

 

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”   And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

 

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?”   I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

 

“Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them,    nor any scorching heat.  For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

 

This is the Word of the Lord.   Thanks be to God!

 

Sermon “Salvation Belongs to Our God”                                      

 

Hymn of Dedication

O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus (Samuel Francis; tune Thomas Williams, 1890)

O the deep, deep love of Jesus! Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free;

Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me.

Underneath me, all around me, is the current of thy love;

Leading onward, leading homeward, to thy glorious rest above.

 

O the deep, deep love of Jesus! Spread his praise from shore to shore;

How he loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, nevermore;

How he watches o’er his loved ones, died to call them all his own;

How for them he intercedeth, watcheth o’er them from the throne.

 

O the deep, deep love of Jesus! Love of ev’ry love the best:

‘tis an ocean vast of blessing, ‘tis a haven sweet of rest.

O the deep, deep love of Jesus! ‘Tis a heav’n of heav’ns to me;

And it lifts me up to glory, for it lifts me up to thee.

 

Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil:

for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory.  Amen

 

Hymn of Thanksgiving

Living Hope (Brian Johnson, Phil Wickham, 2019; CCLI #7106807)

1.How great the chasm that lay between us,

How high the mountain I could not climb

In desperation, I turned to heaven

And spoke your name into the night.

Then through the darkness your lovingkindness

Saw through the shadows of my soul.

The work is finished, the end is written,

Jesus Christ, my Living Hope.

 

2.Who could imagine so great a mercy,

What heart could fathom such boundless grace?

The God of Ages stepped down from glory

To wear my sin and bear my shame.

The Cross has spoken, I am forgiven,

The King of kings calls me his own.

Beautiful Savior, I’m yours forever,

Jesus Christ, my Living Hope

 

Chorus: Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free,

Hallelujah, Death has lost its grip on me!

You have broken every chain,

There’s salvation in your name,

Jesus Christ, my Living Hope!

 

3.Then came the morning that sealed the promise,

Your buried body began to breathe.

Out of the silence, the roaring Lion

Declared the Grave has no claim on me. (Repeat verse 3)

Jesus, yours is the victory!

 

Chorus: Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free,

Hallelujah, Death has lost its grip on me!

You have broken every chain,

There’s salvation in your name,

Jesus Christ, my Living Hope! (Repeat Chorus)

Jesus Christ, my Living Hope,

O God you are my Living Hope!

 

 

Benediction 

 

KNOW

Welcome to Providence Church! We are glad that you are here, joining us in person or via Zoom!.

Sunday School:   Adult and Youth Sunday School is right after service today because of Potluck. Paula Rhodarmer will be teaching.   Will/Christina are leading a study in Exodus.  Children’s Sunday School – K-3 downstairs and 4-6 upstairs at the end of the hall.

Children of all ages are invited to participate in the entire service of worship.  Childcare for children up to 6 years of age, in our downstairs Christian Ed wing (on the left) at the end of the hallway.

Installation/Ordination of Elders – Today is the installation/ordination of our new elders, Luke Allsbrook – Class of 2024, Sam Mitchell – Class of 2023, Jeffery Alt – Class of 2025

Church wide Baby Shower Pot Luck–   TODAY directly following Sunday School for a Church wide Potluck Luncheon to celebrate the upcoming arrival of baby Taylor Roberts. Please note that Taylor’s gender is still a surprise even to Mom and Dad!

Dessert and Beverages will be provided so bring a main dish, fruit/veggie, salad, etc. to share as we fellowship together. Christina and Will Roberts are registered at

babylist ( https://www.babylist.com/utyfcanyh) and

Buy Buy Baby ( https://www.buybuybaby.com/store/giftregistry/viewregistryguest/551733141).

 

GROW

Women’s Retreat “The God Who Restores”  – On March 10-11 Christ Community Church-Montreat is holding a women’s retreat on the study of Haggai.  Please join Glenda Brouwer in         attending this year.  If you are interested, please contact Glenda via text or email (828-713-6115 or glendajbrouwer@gmail.com) or contact Linda Wilson (901-230-7178, providencechurchassistant@gmail.com) no later than Tuesday, February 28.  Once we have an idea of how many are planning to attend, we can discuss whether to drive over there both days or if we want to find accommodations in Montreat for that Friday night  (preferred).   If you do plan to attend, in addition to letting us know, please go online and register at www.cccmontreat.org.

Women’s Prayer Group – 10:15am Tuesday mornings, contact Linda Roberts,  828) 506-3101

Men’s Prayer Group – 6:45am Thursday mornings, contact Sam Mitchell,        (828) 734-1392

 

GO

Prayer Requests

For Mercy and Grace:  Bill Silverthorne, Robbie Hargrove