PROVIDENCE CHURCH

October 17, 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!

 

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

Praise him all creatures here below;

Praise him above, ye heavenly hosts;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Call to Worship:   Isaiah 45 (selected verses)

Leader:  Truly, you are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.

Congregation:  Israel is saved by the Lord with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity.

Leader:  For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!):

Congregation:  “I am the Lord, and there is no other. “Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations!

Leader:  I am the Lord!  And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a

Savior;     there is none besides me.

Congregation:  “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!  For I am God, and there is no other.

ALL:  By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return:  ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’

 

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..

 

Great Are You, Lord (Steve & Vikki Cook, CCLI #26863)

Holy Lord, most holy Lord, you alone are worthy of my praise,

O holy Lord, most holy Lord, with all of my heart I sing:

 

Chorus:

Great are you, Lord, worthy of praise!

Holy and true, great are you, Lord, most holy Lord.

 

Holy Lord, most holy Lord, you alone are worthy of my praise,

O holy Lord, most holy Lord, with all of my heart I sing:

 

Chorus:

Great are you, Lord, worthy of praise!

Holy and true, great are you, Lord, most holy Lord. (2X)

 

My Faith Looks Up to You (Renee Allsbrook, 2008)

My faith looks up to you, O Lamb upon the cross;

There you exchanged righteous robes for my rags.

Nothing I feel or do can make it come untrue—

I am your child, I am your child.

 

Let your rich grace flow down and melt my heart of stone.

Kindle my love, since your love bled for me.

In me this flame will grow; our world your love will know—

a living fire, a living fire.

 

Anxious thoughts cloud my mind and grip my heart with fear;

Dark threats alarm, cold waves splash, gale winds blow.

My faith smiles up at you; your voice of hope is true—

Jesus, my peace, Jesus, my peace…

 

I will hold on; I will hold on; I will hold on to the One who’s holding me!

 

When shadows of this world fade in heaven’s light—

All my life long just the hour before dawn—

All things will be made new; I will be there with you

forevermore, forevermore.

Confession/Assurance    

 

Psalm 103(8-14)

 The Lord is merciful and gracious,

    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

9 He will not always chide,

    nor will he keep his anger forever.

10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,

    nor repay us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,

    so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

13 As a father shows compassion to his children,

    so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

14 For he knows our frame;

    he remembers that we are dust.

 

Respond in Praise:

 

Be Still, My Soul (Katharina von Schlegel, 1752; tune, Jean Sibelius, 1899)

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on your side;

Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;

Leave to your God to order and provide;

In ev’ry change he faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul: your best, your heav’nly Friend

Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

 

Be still, my soul: your God will undertake

to guide the future as he has the past.

Your hope, your confidence let nothing shake;

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul: the waves and winds sill know

His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.

 

Be still my soul: the hour is hast’ning on

When we shall be forever with the Lord,

When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,

Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.

Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past,

All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

 

Scripture Reading:    Matthew 14:22-33

 

Jesus Walks on the Water

22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way[a] from the land,[b] beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night[c] he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

 

28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind,[d] he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

 

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

Sermon:  “Jesus Saves”            

 

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 keep my hold 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 our faith is turned to sight, when he comes at last. (Chorus 2X)

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

Amazing Grace (John Newton, 1779; tune traditional American melody)

Amazing grace!—how sweet the sound—that saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.

 

Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved;

how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!

 

Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come;

‘tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.

 

When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun,

We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we’ve first begun.

 

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.  Thom and Pastor Edward will alternate teaching a study this semester.   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, please enjoy coffee and snacks and conversation in the Fellowship Hall.

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, in our downstairs Christian Ed wing (on the left) at the end of the hallway.

Operation Christimas Child Shoebox Collection –  It’s that time of year to build shoeboxes to carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth.  Providence Shoebox collection will be Nov 14.  What to pack info and materials are in the Narthex.  Please include $9 donation for shipping and discipleship material in each box.  Get packing!

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 are interested or know of anyone that might be.  Also, please be in prayer that God will guide this process. Thank you!

 

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.

 

Wed. Night Bible Study:  Wednesday Night Bible study for men and women meets in Fellowship Hall from 6:30-8:00 pm.  Currently we are studying the book of Philippians.

 

Would you like to grow in the joy and work of prayer? Join our women on Tuesday mornings at 10:15am or our men on Thursday mornings at 6:45am. These seasons of weekly prayer are rich in fellowship and in prayers. Want to know more about Women’s Prayer? Contact Linda Roberts. Want to know more about Men’s Prayer?  Contact Sam Mitchell.

.

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: Healing: Judd and Susanne Harriot, Robbie Hargrove, Mike Lear, Chuck & Carole Torpy; Glenn & Laura Glad; Thom Morgan’s mother; Lisa Rhodarmer’s mother Ruth and brother Michael; Sarah Altman’s brother-in-law Dan