PROVIDENCE CHURCH

      May 1, 2022

 

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:   Psalm 96:1-9

Leader:  Sing a new song to the Lord! Sing it everywhere around the world!

Congregation:  Sing out his praises! Bless his name. Each day tell someone that he saves.

Leader:  Publish his glorious acts throughout the earth. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.

Congregation:  For the Lord is great beyond description and greatly to be praised. Worship only him among the gods!

Leader:  For the gods of other nations are merely idols, but our God made the heavens!  Honor and majesty surround him; strength and beauty are in his Temple.

Congregation:  O nations of the world, confess that God alone is glorious and strong.

Leader:  Give him the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come to worship him.  

ALL:  Worship the Lord with the beauty of holy lives

Songs of Praise:

To God Be the Glory (Fanny Crosby, 1875)

To God be the glory, great things he has done!

So loved he the world that he gave us his Son,

Who yielded his life an atonement for sin,

And opened the life-gate that we may go in.

 

Chorus: Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

Let the earth hear his voice!

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

Let the people rejoice!

O come to the Father through Jesus, his Son,

And give him the glory—great things he has done.

 

O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood!

To every believer the promise of God;

The vilest offender who truly believes,

That moment from Jesus forgiveness receives. (Chorus)

 

Great things he has taught us, great things he has done,

And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;

But purer and higher and greater will be

Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see. (Chorus)

 

Come, Now is the Time to Worship (Brian Doerksen, 1998   CCLI #2430948)

Come, now is the time to worship.

Come, now is the time to give your heart.

Come, just as you are, to worship.

Come, just as you are, before your God, come.

 

One day ev’ry tongue will confess you are God,

One day ev’ry knee will bow;

Still the greatest treasure remains for those who gladly choose you now. (Repeat)

 

Come, now is the time to worship.

Come, now is the time to give your heart.

Come, just as you are, to worship.

Come, just as you are, before your God, come.

 

How Great is Our God (Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves and Ed Cash, 2004   CCLI#4348399)

1.The splendor of the King, clothed in majesty,

Let all the earth rejoice, all the earth rejoice.

He wraps himself in light, and darkness tries to hide,

And trembles at his voice, trembles at his voice.

 

How great is our God! Sing with me, how great is our God!

And all will see how great, how great is our God.

 

2.Age to age he stands, and time is in his hands,

Beginning and the end, beginning and the end.

The God-head, three in one: Father, Spirit, Son,

The Lion and the Lamb, Lion and the Lamb.

 

How great is our God! Sing with me, how great is our God!

And all will see how great, how great is our God.

 

Cause you’re the Name above all names,

You are worthy of all praise,

And my heart will sing: How great is our God.

You’re the Name above all names,

You are worthy of all praise,

And my heart will sing: How great is our God.

 

How great is our God!

Sing with me, how great is our God!

And all will see how great, how great is our God. (Repeat)

 

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee:

How great thou art, how great thou art.

Then sing my soul, my Savior God to thee:

How great thou art, how great—thou—art.

 

Confession/Assurance    Isaiah 1:18

Come let us reason together says the Lord Your God. Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow. Though they be crimson they shall be as whitest wool. If you are willing then come to me and you shall feast on the abundance of the land.

 

 

Respond in Praise: 

Speak, O Lord (Gettys/S. Townsend)

1 Speak, O Lord, as we come to You

to receive the food of Your Holy Word

Take Your truth, plant it deep in us

Shape and fashion us in Your likeness

 

That the light of Christ might be seen today

In our acts of love and our deeds of faith

Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us

All Your purposes for Your glory

 

2 Teach us, Lord, full obedience

Holy reverence, true humility

Test our thoughts and our attitudes

In the radiance of Your purity

 

Cause our faith to rise; cause our eyes to see

Your majestic love and authority

Words of pow’r that can never fail—

Let their truth prevail over unbelief

 

3 Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds

Help us grasp the heights of your plans for us

Truths unchanged from the dawn of time

That will echo down through eternity

 

And by grace we’ll stand on your promises

And by faith we’ll walk as you walk with us

Speak, O Lord till your church is built

And your church is filled with your glory

 

 

Apostles Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth;

and in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, dead and 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 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

 

 

Scripture Reading:   Nehemiah 2

 

Report from Jerusalem

1-2 One day in April, four months later, as I was serving the king his wine he asked me, “Why so sad? You aren’t sick, are you? You look like a man with deep troubles.” (For until then I had always been cheerful when I was with him.) I was badly frightened, 3 but I replied, “Sir,[a] why shouldn’t I be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been burned down.”

 

4 “Well, what should be done?” the king asked.

 

With a quick prayer to the God of heaven, I replied, “If it please Your Majesty and if you look upon me with your royal favor, send me to Judah to rebuild the city of my fathers!”

 

5-6 The king replied, with the queen sitting beside him, “How long will you be gone? When will you return?”

 

So it was agreed! And I set a time for my departure!

 

7 Then I added this to my request: “If it pleases the king, give me letters to the governors west of the Euphrates River instructing them to let me travel through their countries on my way to Judah; 8 also a letter to Asaph, the manager of the king’s forest, instructing him to give me timber for the beams and for the gates of the fortress near the Temple, and for the city walls, and for a house for myself.”

 

And the king granted these requests, for God was being gracious to me.

 

9 When I arrived in the provinces west of the Euphrates River, I delivered the king’s letters to the governors there. (The king, I should add, had sent along army officers and troops to protect me!) 10 But when Sanballat (the Horonite) and Tobiah (an Ammonite who was a government official) heard of my arrival, they were very angry that anyone was interested in helping Israel.

 

11-12 Three days after my arrival at Jerusalem I stole out during the night, taking only a few men with me; for I hadn’t told a soul about the plans for Jerusalem that God had put into my heart. I was mounted on my donkey and the others were on foot, 13 and we went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal’s Well and over to the Dung Gate to see the broken walls and burned gates. 14-15 Then we went to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but my donkey couldn’t get through the rubble. So we circled the city, and I followed the brook, inspecting the wall, and entered again at the Valley Gate.

 

16 The city officials did not know I had been out there or why, for as yet I had said nothing to anyone about my plans—not to the political or religious leaders, or even to those who would be doing the work.

 

17 But now I told them, “You know full well the tragedy of our city; it lies in ruins and its gates are burned. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and rid ourselves of this disgrace!”

 

18 Then I told them about the desire God had put into my heart, and of my conversation with the king, and the plan to which he had agreed.

 

They replied at once, “Good! Let’s rebuild the wall!” And so the work began.

 

19 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard of our plan, they scoffed and said, “What are you doing, rebelling against the king like this?”

 

20 But I replied, “The God of heaven will help us, and we, his servants, will rebuild this wall; but you may have no part in this affair.”

 

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

Sermon:  “ I Am–The Difference”                                                                                                  

 

Communion Hymn

 

Behold the Lamb (Keith & Kristyn Getty, Stuart Townend   CCLI #5003372)

Behold the Lamb who bears our sins away, slain for us,

And we remember

the promise made that all who come in in faith find forgiveness at the cross.

So we share in this bread of life and we drink of his sacrifice

As a sign of our bonds of peace, around the table of the King.

 

The body of our Savior Jesus Christ, torn for you,

Eat and remember

The wounds that heal, the death that brings us life paid the price to make us one.

So we share in this bread of life and we drink of his sacrifice

As a sign of our bonds of grace around the table of the King.

 

The blood that cleanses every stain of sin, shed for you,

Drink and remember

He drained death’s cup that all may enter in to receive the life of God.

So we share in this bread of life and we drink of his sacrifice

As a sign of our bonds of love around the table of the King.

 

And so with thankfulness and faith we rise to respond,

And to remember

Our call to follow in the steps of Christ as his body here on earth.

As we share in his sufferings, we proclaim: Christ will come again!

And we’ll join in the feast of heav’n, around the table of the King.

 

Communion

 

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

It is Well With My Soul (Horatio Spafford, 1873; tune Philip Bliss, 1876)

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,

“It is well, it is well with my soul.”

 

Chorus:

It is well…

With my soul…

It is well, it is well with my soul.

 

2.Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

let this blest assurance control:

that Christ has regarded my helpless estate

and has shed his own blood for my soul. (Chorus)

 

3.My sin—O the bliss of this glorious thought!—

my sin, not in part, but the whole,

is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more;

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! (Chorus)

 

4.And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,

the clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

the trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend:

“Even so”—it is well with my soul. (Chorus)

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 at 11:15. Paula Rhodarmer will be teaching.   Will/Christina are leading a study of The Risen Lord for couples/singles. Bill/Jerry are leading the Youth SS in a classic book by CS Lewis.

Fellowship Time: Between the end of our worship service and before SS

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.

Nursery Worker Needed –     Providence is looking to hire a part time nursery worker for each Sunday from 9:45 to 12noon.  Please contact Edward Brouwer 828-550-4615, or Linda Wilson, 901-230-7178, providencechurchassistant@gmail.com, if you are interested or know of anyone that might be.  Also, please be in prayer that God will guide this process. Thank you!

 

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GROW

 

Pastor Bible Study – meets each Tuesday at noon in the fellowship hall to discuss the previous week’s sermon as well as the upcoming sermon.   Bring your Bible and a bagged lunch if you would like.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY – From 6:30pm until 8:00pm, we are excited to hold our Wednesday night bible study. The study will be on selections from the book of John. We will also have a short praise and prayer time. Childcare provided if needed. Contact the Allsbrooks or the Mitchells with any questions.

Women’s Prayer Group – 10:15am Tuesday mornings, contact Linda Roberts for more info

Men’s Prayer Group – 6:45am Thursday mornings, contact Sam Mitchell for more info.

 

 

 

GO

 

Open Door Soup Kitchen: This is an ongoing commitment of Providence Church to the least, the last, the lost and the lonely of our community.  While Open Door is no longer able to serve meals, we are still volunteering to cook the meals on the first Friday of each month.  If you can serve in this way, please let Linda Wilson know at 901-230-7178.  Thanks for your faithfulness.

 

Prayer Requests: For Mercy and Grace: Glenda White, Judd and Susanne Heriot, Robbie Hargrove, Mike and Rhonda Lear, Chuck & Carole Torpy; Lisa Rhodarmer’s mother Ruth