PROVIDENCE CHURCH

 February 21, 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 54

Leader:  Save me, O God, by Your name,

And vindicate me by Your strength.

 

People:   Hear my prayer, O God;

Give ear to the words of my mouth.

 

Leader:  For strangers have risen up against me,

And oppressors have sought after my life;

They have not set God before them.

 

People:    Behold, God is my helper;

The Lord is with those who upholds my life.

 

Leader:     I will freely sacrifice to You;

I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good.

 

ALL:     For He has delivered me out of all trouble

 

Songs of Praise:

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing (Robert Robinson, 1758; tune Asahel Nettleton, 1825)

Come, thou fount of ev’ry blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above;

Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it, mount of God’s unchanging love.

 

Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by thy help I’m come;

And I hope, by thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger, wand’ring from the fold of God:

He, to rescue me from danger, bought me with his precious blood.

 

O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be;

Let that grace now, like a fetter, bind my wand’ring heart to thee.

Prone to wander—Lord, I feel it—prone to leave the God I love:

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.

 

Waiting Here for You (Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves, Martin Smith, 2011  CCLI #5925663)

If faith can move the mountains, let the mountains move.

We come with expectation, waiting here for you. (2X)

 

Chorus: Waiting here for you, with our hands lifted high in praise.

And it’s you, we adore, singing Al-le-lu-ia.

 

You’re the Lord of all Creation, and still you know my heart.

You’re the Author of salvation, you’ve loved us from the start. (Chorus)

 

You are everything you’ve promised, your faithfulness is true.

We’re desperate for your presence; all we need is you. (Chorus X2)

 

As the Deer (Martin Nystrom, 1984  CCLI #1431)

As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after you.

You alone are my heart’s desire, and I long to worship you.

 

Chorus:  You alone are my strength, my shield.

To you alone may my spirit yield.

You alone are my heart’s desire and I long to worship you.

 

You’re my friend and you are my brother, even though you are a king.

I love you more than any other, so much more than anything. (Chorus)

 

I want you more than gold or silver; only you can satisfy.

You alone are the real joy giver and the apple of my eye. (Chorus)

 

Confession/Assurance   

 

Respond in Praise:

 

 

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross (Fanny Crosby, 1869; tune William Doane, 1869)

1.Jesus, keep me near the cross; there a precious fountain,

Free to all—a healing stream—flows from Calv’ry’s mountain.

Chorus:

In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever;

Till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.

 

2.Near the cross, a trembling soul, love and mercy found me;

There the Bright and Morning Star shed its beams around me. (Chorus)

 

3.Near the cross! O Lamb of God, bring its scenes before me;

Help me walk from day to day with its shadow o’er me. (Chorus)

 

4.Near the cross I’ll watch and wait, hoping, trusting ever,

Till I reach the golden strand just beyond the river. (Chorus)

 

 

 

Scripture Reading:    Matthew 5:21-26

 

21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca, is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

 

23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

 

25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

 

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

Sermon:  ” Upping the Ante“

 

Hymn of Dedication:

He Will Hold Me Fast (Ada Ruth Habershon, Matt Merker, 2019 CCLI #7016161)

1.When I feel my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast.

When the tempter would prevail, He will hold me fast

I could never give my hope through life’s fearful path

For my love is often cold; he must hold me fast

 

Chorus:

He will hold me fast, he will hold me fast,

For my Savior loves me so; he will hold me fast.

 

2.Those he saves are his delight, Christ will hold me fast;

Precious in his holy sight, he will hold me fast.

He’ll not let my soul be lost, his promises shall last,

Bought by him at such a cost, he will hold me fast. (Chorus)

 

3.For my life he bled and died; Christ will hold me fast.

Justice has been satisfied, he will hold me fast.

Raised with him to endless life, he will hold me fast,

Till my faith has turned to sight, when he comes at last. (Chorus X2)

 

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:                                                                                                                       Lord, With Glowing Heart I’d Praise Thee (Francis Scott Key, 1817; tune Gregorian chant)

Lord, with glowing heart I’d praise thee for the bliss thy love bestows,
for the pard’ning grace that saves me, and the peace that from it flows.
Help, O God, my weak endeavor; this dull soul to rapture raise;
Thou must light the flame, or never can my love be warmed to praise.

Praise, my soul, the God that sought thee, wretched wand’rer far astray;
found thee lost, and kindly brought thee from the paths of death away.
Praise, with love’s devoutest feeling, him who saw thy guilt-born fear,
and, the light of hope revealing, bade the blood-stained cross appear.

Praise thy Savior God that drew thee to that cross, new life to give,
held a blood sealed pardon to thee, bade thee look to him and live.
Praise the grace whose threats alarmed thee, roused thee from thy fatal ease;
praise the grace whose promise warmed thee, praise the grace that whispered peace.

Lord, this bosom’s ardent feeling vainly would my lips express:
low before thy footstool kneeling, deign thy suppliant’s prayer to bless.
Let thy love, my soul’s chief treasure, love’s pure flame within me raise;
and, since words can never measure, let my life show forth thy praise. (repeat line)

 

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.

Missions

Your missions committee is pleased to approve inclusion of Mountain Area Pregnancy Services (MAPS) in the Missions budget for 2021.  We hope everyone was able to see Kristi Brown’s very informative presentation a few weeks ago.  If you would like to partner with them in their very worthwhile endeavors, please take home a baby bottle bank as a vehicle to assist your giving.  We ask that you sign it out and return it on March 14th.  If you write a check please make it payable to MAPS.  The banks are located at the entrance to the sanctuary.

 

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: Healing: Wally, 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