PROVIDENCE CHURCH

April 18, 2021

 

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!

 

Call to worship:   Psalm 63

Leader: O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.

People:  So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.

Leader:   Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You.

People:   Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name

Leader:   My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

People:   When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches.

Leader:  Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.

ALL:         My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me. The king shall rejoice in God

 

Songs of Praise:

Here I Am to Worship (Tim Hughes, 2001  CCLI #3266032)

Light of the World, you stepped down into darkness,

opened my eyes, let me see.

Beauty that made this heart adore you, hope of a life spent with you…

 

Chorus: Here I am to worship, here I am to bow down, here I am to say that you’re my God.

You’re altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me.

 

King of all days, oh so highly exalted,

glorious in heaven above,

humbly you came to the earth you created, all for love’s sake became poor. (Chorus)

 

And I’ll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.

And I’ll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross. (Chorus X2)

 

Jesus, Messiah (Daniel Carson, Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash, Jesse Reeves CCLI #5183443)

He became sin who knew no sin,

that we might become his righteousness.

He humbled himself and carried the cross—

Love so amazing, love so amazing

 

Chorus: Jesus, Messiah, name above all names,

Blessed Redeemer, Emmanuel,

the Rescue for sinners, the Ransom from heaven:

Jesus, Messiah, Lord of all!

 

His body the bread, his blood the wine,

Broken and poured out all for love.

The whole earth trembled and the veil was torn—

Love so amazing, love so amazing (Chorus)

 

All our hope is in You, all our hope is in You!

All the glory to You, God, the Light of the world!

 

Chorus: Jesus, Messiah, name above all names,

Blessed Redeemer, Emmanuel,

the Rescue for sinners, the Ransom from heaven:

Jesus, Messiah, Lord of all!

Jesus, Messiah, Lord of all,

Lord of all—the Lord of all!

 

Gracious Spirit, Dwell with Me (Thomas Lynch, 1855; tune R. Redhead, 1853)

Gracious Spirit, dwell with me: I myself would gracious be;

And with words that help and heal

Would thy life in mine reveal,

And with actions bold and meek would for Christ my Savior speak.

 

Truthful Spirit, dwell with me: I myself would truthful be;

And with wisdom kind and clear

Let thy life in mine appear;

And with actions brotherly speak my Lord’s sincerity.

 

Mighty Spirit, dwell with me: I myself would mighty be;

Mighty so as to prevail

Where unaided man must fail;

Ever by a mighty hope pressing on and bearing up.

 

 

Confession/Assurance   

 

Respond in Praise:

 

Jesus Strong and Kind

(Rich Thompson, Jonny Robinson, Michael Farren, Colin Buchanan; CCLI #7139992)

Jesus said that if I thirst

I should come to him;

No one else can satisfy,

I should come to him.

 

Jesus said if I am weak

I should come to him;

No one else can be my strength,

I should come to him.

 

Chorus:

For the Lord is good and faithful,

He will keep us day and night.

We can always run to Jesus,

Jesus, strong and kind.

 

Jesus said that if I fear

I should come to him;

No one else can be my shield,

I should come to him. (Chorus)

 

Jesus said if I am lost

He will come to me.

And he showed me on that cross:

He will come to me. (Chorus 2X)

 

Scripture Reading:    Matthew 6:25-34

 

Do Not Be Anxious

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?[a] 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

 

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

 

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

Sermon:  “Seek God First”     

                         

 

Hymn of Dedication

 

Is He Worthy (Andrew Peterson, Ben Shive  CCLI #7108951)

Do you feel the world is broken? We do.

Do you feel the shadows deepen? We do.

But do you know that all the dark won’t stop the light from getting through? We do.

Do you wish that you could see it all made new? We do.

 

Is all Creation groaning? It is.

Is a new Creation coming? It is.

Is the glory of the Lord to be the light within our midst? It is.

Is it good that we remind ourselves of this? It is.

 

Is anyone worthy? Is anyone whole?

Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll?

The Lion of Judah, who conquered the grave,

He is David’s root and the Lamb who died to ransom the slave.

Is he worthy, is he worthy, of all blessing and honor and glory?

Is he worthy of this? He is.

 

Does the Father truly love us? He does.

Does the Spirit move among us? He does.

And does Jesus our Messiah hold forever those he loves? He does.

Does our God intend to dwell again with us? He does.

 

Is anyone worthy? Is anyone whole?

Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll?

The Lion of Judah, who conquered the grave,

He is David’s root and the Lamb who died to ransom the slave.

 

From every people and tribe, every nation and tongue,

He has made us a kingdom of priests to God to reign with his Son.

Is he worthy?

Is he worthy of all blessing and honor and glory?

Is he worthy? Is he worthy? Is he worthy of this?

He is!

Is he worthy, is he worthy? He is!

 

 

 

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:                                                                                                                       

How Firm a Foundation (Rippon’s Selection of Hymns, 1787)

How firm a foundation, you saints of the Lord,

Is laid for your faith in his excellent Word!

What more can he say than to you he has said,

To you for refuge to Jesus have fled?

 

“Fear not, I am with you, O be not dismayed;

for I am your God, and will still give you aid;

I’ll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand,

Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.”

 

“When through the deep waters I call you to go,

the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;

For I will be with you, your troubles to bless,

And will sanctify to you your deepest distress.”

 

“When through fiery trials your pathway shall lie,

my grace, all-sufficient, shall be your supply;

the flame shall not hurt you; I only design

your dross to consume and your gold to refine.”

 

“The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,

I will not, I will not desert to his foes;

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

I’ll never, no never, no never forsake…

That soul—though all hell—

Should endeavor to shake,

I will ne-ver, no ne-ver, no ne-ver forsake!”

 

Benediction 

 

 

 

 

KNOW

Welcome to Providence Church! We are glad that you are here, joining us in person or via Zoom! We invite you to stop by our Welcome Center where you can receive more information about our church.

Children of all ages are invited to participate in the entire service of worship.  We will have

childcare for children up to 6 years of age, upstairs in our new room.

Tithes and Gifts: An offering plate is not passed during the service.  Plates for your tithes and

offerings are located at the back of the sanctuary. If you are joining us via Zoom, your tithes and gifts can be mailed to P.O. Box 65, Clyde.  We thank you for your prayerful financial support for

our church.

 

 

GROW

Would you like to grow in the joy and work of prayer? Join our women on Tuesday mornings at 10:15 or our men on Thursday mornings. These seasons of weekly prayer are rich in fellowship and in prayers. Want to know more about Women’s Prayer? Contact Linda Roberts. Would you like to join our ZOOM prayer times at 7:30 am Thursday’s call Sam Mitchell and he will send you the link to the meeting.

 

Are you longing to grow in your connection with God through Scripture reading? Pastor Edward recommends Bible In One Year (by Alpha International), a 20 minute reading of Scripture and commentary written by Nicky Gumble leader of Alpha (an international evangelism ministry).  Just look it up under your apps on your phone/computer.

 

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 Phil and Pat know at 828- 476-5130. Thanks for your faithfulness.

 

 

Prayer Requests: Continued prayers for Cook family   Healing: Judd Heriot, Aiyla Altman, Malcolm Spink, Robbie Hargrove; Chuck & Carole Torpy; Glenn & Laura Glad; Thom Morgan’s mother; Caroline (Bev’s Mom); Sarah’s brother in law Dan – cancer; Lisa Rhodarmer’s brother Michael – cancer