PROVIDENCE CHURCH

September 26, 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:   Psalm 19

 

Leader:  The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows forth his handiwork.

Congregation:  Day unto day they pour forth speech, and night unto night they reveal knowledge.

Leader:   There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.

Congregation:  The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

Leader:  The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

Congregation:  The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

Leader:  More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Congregation:  Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping them there is great reward.

Leader:  Who can discern his errors?  Declare me innocent from hidden faults.

Congregation:  Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me!   Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.

ALL:    Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer..

 

Songs of Praise:

Worthy of Worship (Terry York, 1988; tune Mark Blankenship, 1988 CCLI #82869)

Worthy of worship, worthy of praise, worthy of honor and glory;

Worthy of all the glad songs we can sing, worthy of all of the off’rings we bring,

 

Chorus:

You are worthy, Father, Creator,

You are worthy, Savior, Sustainer,

Your are worthy, worthy and wonderful, worthy of worship and praise.

 

Worthy of rev’rence, worthy of fear, worthy of love and devotion;

Worthy of bowing and bending of knees, worthy of all this and added to these…

(Chorus)

 

Almighty Father, Master and Lord, King of all kings and Redeemer,

Wonderful Counselor, Comforter, Friends, Savior and Source of our life without end,

(Chorus)

 

Jesus, Only Jesus (CCLI Song #6517269)

(Nathan & Christy Nockels/Matt Redman/Kristian Stanfill/Chris Tomlin/Tony Wood, 2013)

 

1.Who has the power to raise the dead? Who can save us from our sin?

He is our hope, our righteousness—Jesus, only Jesus.

 

2.Who can make the blind to see? Who hold the keys that set us free?

He paid it all to bring us peace—Jesus, only Jesus.

 

Chorus: Holy King, Almighty Lord, saints and angels all adore;

I join with them and bow before Jesus, only Jesus.

 

3.Who can command the highest praise? Who has the name above all names?

You stand alone, I stand amazed—Jesus, only Jesus. (Chorus X2)

 

Bridge: You will command the highest praise;

Yours is the name above all names.

You stand alone, I stand amazed—Jesus, only Jesus…Jesus, only Jesus.

 

You will command the highest praise;

Yours is the name above all names.

You stand alone, I stand amazed—Jesus, only Jesus,

Jesus, only Jesus…I worship Jesus, only Jesus.

 

Amen

Behold, Jehovah, seated on the throne,

Abba, Father, the wealth that overflows,

The God who was and is and shall be forevermore: Holy is the Lord

 

Chorus:

Amen, Amen! Blessing and honor and glory and power, Amen!

Amen, Amen! Blessing and honor and glory and power, Amen.

 

Behold, the Way, the Truth and the Life,

Perfect Savior, the blood that washed us white,

The God who was and is and shall be forevermore: Holy is the Lord (Chorus)

 

Bridge:

Holiness has a name, and it’s Jesus.

Victory has a name, and it’s Jesus.

The Word has a name, and it’s Jesus.

Redemption has a name, and it’s Jesus (Repeat)

 

Chorus:

Amen, Amen! Blessing and honor and glory and power, Amen!

Amen, Amen! Blessing and honor and glory and power, Amen!

Amen, Amen! Amen, Amen.

 

Confession/Assurance    

 

Leader: Lord You are compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

Congregation:    You do not constantly chide us, nor remain angry forever.

Leader:  You do not punish us for our sins;  You do not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.

Congregation:  For Your unfailing love is toward us who fear You

Your love is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.

Leader:   You have removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.

Congregation:  The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.

Leader:   For You know how weak we are; You remember we are only dust.

Congregation:  Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die.

Leader:  The wind blows, and we are gone—as though we had never been here.

ALL:   But the love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear him.

 

Respond in Praise:

 

Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart (George Croly, 1823; tune Frederick Atkinson, 1870)

1.Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;

Wean it from earth, through all its pulses move;

Stoop to my weakness, mighty as thou art,

And make me love thee as I ought to love.

 

2.I Ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies,

No sudden rending of the veil of clay,

No angel visitant, no op’ning skies;

But take the dimness of my soul away.

 

3.Hast thou not bid us love thee, God and King?

All, all thine own, soul, heart, and strength and mind.

I see thy cross—there teach my heart to cling:

O let me seek thee, and O let me find.

 

4.Teach me to feel that thou art always nigh;

Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear,

To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh;

Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.

 

5.Teach me to love thee as thine angels love,

On holy passion filling all my frame;

The baptism of the heavn’-descended Dove,

My heart the altar and thy love the flame.

 

Scripture Reading:    Matthew 13: 24-52

 

The Parable of the Weeds

24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds[a] among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants[b] of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

 

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”  33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

 

Prophecy and Parables

34 All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:

“I will open my mouth in parables;

I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”

 

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

 

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

 

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

 

The Parable of the Net

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

New and Old Treasures

51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

 

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

Sermon:  “ Our Treasure: The King”                                             

 

Hymn of Dedication

 

Be Unto Your Name (Lynn De Shazo & Gary Sadler, 1998)

We are a moment, you are forever, Lord of the ages, God before time.

We are a vapor, you are eternal, Love everlasting, reigning on high.

 

Chorus:

Holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.

Highest praises, honor and glory be unto your name,

Be unto your name.

 

We are the broken, you are the healer:  Jesus, Redeemer, mighty to save.

You are the love song we’ll sing forever, bowing before you, blessing your name.

(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

Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us (Dorothy Ann Thrupp, 1836; tune William Bradbury, 1859)

Savior, like a shepherd lead us, much we need thy tender care;

in thy pleasant pastures feed us, for our use thy folds prepare:

Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, thou hast bought us, thine we are;

Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, thou hast bought us, thine we are.

 

We are thine; do thou befriend us, be the guardian of our way;

keep thy flock, from sin defend us, seek us when we go astray:

Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, hear, O hear us when we pray;

Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, hear, O hear us when we pray.

 

Early let us seek thy favor; early let us do thy will;

blessed Lord and only Savior, with thy love our bosoms fill:

Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, thou hast loved us, love us still;

Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, thou hast loved us, love us still.

 

Thou hast promised to receive us, poor and sinful though we be;

Thou hast mercy to relieve us, grace to cleanse, and power to free;

Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, let us early turn to thee;

Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, let us early turn to thee.

 

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.

 

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.

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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.  Please join us this Friday, October 1, 2021 to bless and be blessed.

 

 

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