PROVIDENCE CHURCH

October 24, 2021

 

Welcome    New Members – Cecil Caldwell, the Dale family and Linda Wilson

 

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:   Psalm 9:7-11

Leader:  But the Lord sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice,
Congregation: and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness.

Leader:  The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
Congregation: And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

ALL:   Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion!  Tell among the peoples his deeds!

 

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!

 

Amazing Love (You Are My King) (Billy James Foote, 1999)

I’m forgiven because You were forsaken

I’m accepted, You were condemned

I’m alive and well, Your Spirit is within me

Because You died and rose again

(Repeat, first time only)

 

Chorus:

Amazing love, how can it be,

That You my King would die for me?

Amazing love, I know it’s true—

It’s my joy to honor You;

In all I do, I honor You.

(Repeat all)

 

You—are my King

Jesus, You—are my King

Jesus, You—are my King

Jesus, You—are my King

 

Chorus:

Amazing love, how can it be,

That You my King would die for me?

Amazing love, I know it’s true—

It’s my joy to honor You;

In all I do, I honor You,

In all I do, I honor You,

In all I do, I honor You.

 

Jesus, Lover of My Soul (Charles Wesly, 1740; tune Joseph Parry, 1879)

Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to thy bosom fly,

While the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high:

Hide me, O my Savior, hide, till the storm of life is past;

Safe into the haven guide, O receive my soul at last!

 

Other refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on thee;

Leave, ah! leave me not alone, still support and comfort me!

All my trust on thee is stayed, all my help from thee I bring;

Cover my defenseless head with the shadow of thy wing.

 

Thou, O Christ, art all I want; more than all in thee I find:

Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, heal the sick, and lead the blind.

Just and holy is thy name; I am all unrighteousness;

False and full of sin I am, thou art full of truth and grace.

 

Plenteous grace with thee if found, grace to cover all my sin;

Let the healing streams abound; make and keep me pure within:

Thou of life the fountain art, freely let me take of thee;

Spring thou up within my heart, rise to all eternity.

 

Confession/Assurance    

 

Psalm 130

 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!

2  O Lord, hear my voice!

Let your ears be attentive

    to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

 

3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,

    O Lord, who could stand?

4 But with you there is forgiveness,

    that you may be feared.

 

5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

    and in his word I hope;

6 my soul waits for the Lord

    more than watchmen for the morning,

    more than watchmen for the morning.

 

7 O Israel, hope in the Lord!

    For with the Lord there is steadfast love,

    and with him is plentiful redemption.

8 And he will redeem Israel

    from all his iniquities.

Respond in Praise:

 

You Have Been Good (Twila Paris, 1988 CCLI #59452)

Oh Lord, You have been good,

You have been faithful to all generations.

Oh Lord, your steadfast love

and tender mercy have been our salvation.

For by your hand—we have been fed,

And by your Spirit—we have been led. (Repeat all)

 

Oh Lord, Almighty God, Father unchanging, upright and holy,

Oh Lord, you have been good, you have been faithful, you have been good.

 

For by your hand—we have been fed,

And by your Spirit—we have been led.

 

Oh Lord, you have been good, you have been faithful, you have been good.

You have been faithful, you have been good,

You have been faithful, you have been good.

 

Scripture Reading:    Matthew 15:1-20

 

Traditions and Commandments

15 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”[a] 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word[b] of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

 

8 “‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me;

9 in vain do they worship me,

teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

 

What Defiles a Person

10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides.[c] And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?[d] 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

 

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

Sermon:  “What’s In Your Heart”               

 

Hymn of Dedication

 

We All Bow Down (Kenny LeBlanc)

Princes and paupers, sons and daughters

Kneel at the throne of grace.

Losers and winners, saints and sinners:

One day will see his face.

 

And we’ll all bow down;

Kings will surrender their crowns

And worship Jesus,

For He is the love, unfailing love,

He is the love of God.

 

Summer and winter, the mountains and rivers

Whisper our Savior’s name.

Awesome and holy, a friend to the lonely,

Forever his love will reign. (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

Jesus, What a Friend for Sinners (Charles Wesley, 1744; tune Rowland Pritchard, 1855)

Jesus, what a friend for sinners! Jesus! Lover of my soul;

Friends may fail me, foes assail me, He, my Savior, makes me whole.

 

Chorus:

Hallelujah! What a Savior! Hallelujah, what a friend!

Saving, helping, keeping, loving, He is with me to the end.

 

Jesus! What a strength in weakness! Let me hide myself in him;

Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing, he, my strength, my vict’ry wins.

(Chorus)

 

Jesus! What a help in sorrow! While the billows o’er me roll,

Even when my heart is breaking, he, my comfort, helps my soul. (Chorus)

 

Jesus! What a guide and keeper! While the tempest still is high,

Storms about me, night o’ertakes me, he, my pilot hears my cry. (Chorus)

 

Jesus! I do now receive him, more than all in him I find;

He hath granted me forgiveness, I am his, and he is mine. (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.  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