Gathering Preview | February 5th, 2023
Gathering Preview | The Power of Prayer; Joshua 6:1-27
Call to Worship
Song | How Great Is Our God
Confession
Song | Come Thou Fount
Assurance
Song | Psalms 23 (I Am Not Alone)
Scripture Reading | Joshua 6:1-27
Sermon | The Power of Prayer (Jonathan Groves)
Communion
Song | Wood and Nails
Song | Jesus We Love You
Benediction
Gathering Preview | Zephaniah 4:14-20 | The Promise of Restoration
CALL TO WORSHIP -
The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty;
the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength;
indeed, the world is established, firm and secure.
Your throne was established long ago;
you are from all eternity.
The seas have lifted up, Lord,
the seas have lifted up their voice;
the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.
Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,
mightier than the breakers of the sea—
the Lord on high is mighty.
Your statutes, Lord, stand firm;
holiness adorns your house
for endless days.
Psalms 93: 1-5
Prayer
SONG | Hark The Herald Angel Sing
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.
James 5:16
SONG | Great is Thy Faithfulness
PRAYER OF ASSURANCE
And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. The one who has the Son has life. The one who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
1 John 5: 11-13
Prayer
SONG | Great Are You Lord
ADVENT SCRIPTURE - Philippians 4:4-5
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.
SCRIPTURE READING - Zephaniah 4:14-20
Sing, Daughter Zion;
shout aloud, Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.
On that day
they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”
“I will remove from you
all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,
which is a burden and reproach for you.
At that time I will deal
with all who oppressed you.
I will rescue the lame;
I will gather the exiles.
I will give them praise and honor
in every land where they have suffered shame.
At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bring you home.
I will give you honor and praise
among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes
before your very eyes,”
says the Lord.
THIS IS THE WORD OF THE LORD.
COMMUNION
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11.23-26)
Therefore we proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
(For the bread) “This is the body of Christ, broken for you.”
(For the juice) “This is the blood of Christ, shed for you.”
The Gifts of God for the People of God. Take them in remembrance that Christ died for you, and feed on him in your hearts by faith, with thanksgiving.
SONG | Silent Night
SONG | Holy Spirit
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND GIVING
BENEDICTION
And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful.
Colossians 3:15
PEACE BE WITH YOU. And also with you
Malachi 3:1-4 The Promise of the Messenger (Shane Mosby)
In ancient kingdoms there was a position known as a forerunner, which was a person responsible for clearing the path before traveling royalty to “pave the way” for those who were to come. This is the kind of person described in this passage, both the forerunner and the royal person who was to come. We know today that thisperson was John the Baptist, who was preparing the way for Jesus to come and proclaim truth to the world. As Christians today, we are also called to be forerunners for Christ.
Malachi lived 450 years before Jesus’ birth, and the people of this day had a particular idea of what/who they thought the Messiah should be like, namely a political and authoritarian leader. The first messenger that Malachi describes will make a way for the second, who is more significant. This description is also used in
Isaiah 40 as one who would “make straight” the paths for he who was to come. In Luke 7 Jesus identifies this messenger as John the Baptist. The second messenger was described as coming suddenly into the temple, which drives home the significance of his personhood as arriving in the religious center of the day. John the
Baptist identifies this coming Messiah as Jesus in John 3. John came to wake up the people spiritually, and Jesus delivered the message to those who were awake.
John’s work sought to complete two purposes: awakening the people to the reality of their sin and the need for salvation, and to point them to the one who would bring that salvation and in fact was the salvation. People of that day felt protected by their lineage to Abraham, though the account of Abraham describes that he was
only counted as righteous for his faithfulness. He urged the people to be generous, honest and full of content. In John 3 he describes clearly that he understands his role in relevance to Christ as the Messiah, priming the people to hear his words and receive them.
Just as John was a forerunner for Christ and his ministry, we are all forerunners today. With the same zeal we should lovingly level the path for the arrival of Jesus and highlight the importance of who he is. Jesus spoke clearly of his return, such as in Matthew 24 with the parable of the fig tree. Not only did Jesus give the
commandment to proclaim the gospel to the entire world, but he enabled us to do so with the gift of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:22). In the days of the Old Testament there was a select class of priests, but now we are all priests under the authority of Jesus (1 Peter 2:9).
Enabled with the Holy Spirit and equipped with love, we should act as John the Baptist did in his day. We should lovingly warn people of the many false senses of salvation that are prevalent in our culture. We should alert people of the need for repentance in the face of eternal judgement. We should express in our own lives
and in our words to others the need for faith in actions, not just words. In all that we do, we should point others to Jesus. How have you lived up to the calling to be a forerunner for Christ? Are you known more what you stand for than what you stand against? Do you complicate the message of Christ to sound morally superior or
intellectual? Do you use what God has given you for his glory above your personal gain? Is Jesus a part of your life, or is he the core of your life? As Christians serving as the forerunners for Christ’s second coming, we have a responsibility to live out the call as best we can. The world is watching, and our actions will be correlated with Christ for better or worse. This should not overwhelm us, as we ought to remind ourselves that we are equipped with the Holy Spirit to carry out every good work. We should strive to be like Christ in all that we do, with the humility to understand that we are imperfect, but that we serve a God who does not fail. If
there is any stumbling block to accepting the message of Christ, may it be the cross and not us. Let us take up the call to live as forerunners in our families, neighborhoods, places of work and anywhere that God places us.
Gathering Preview | Malachi 3:1-4 | The Promise of the Messenger
CALL TO WORSHIP -
Come, let’s shout joyfully to the Lord,
shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation!
Let’s enter his presence with thanksgiving;
let’s shout triumphantly to him in song.
For the Lord is a great God,
a great King above all gods.
Come, let’s worship and bow down;
let’s kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
the sheep under his care.
Psalms 95: 1-3, 6-7
Prayer
SONG | Let It Rise
SONG | How Great Tho Art
PRAYER OF ASSURANCE
My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous one. He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.
1 John 2: 1-3
Prayer
SONG | What Child Is This
ADVENT SCRIPTURE - Matthew 2:1-6
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born. “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah:
Because out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.”
SCRIPTURE READING - Malachi 3:1-4
“See, I am going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way before me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to his temple, the Messenger of the covenant you delight in—see, he is coming,” says the Lord of Armies. But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will be able to stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire and like launderer’s bleach. He will be like a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. And the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord as in days of old and years gone by.
THIS IS THE WORD OF THE LORD.
COMMUNION
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11.23-26)
Therefore we proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
(For the bread) “This is the body of Christ, broken for you.”
(For the juice) “This is the blood of Christ, shed for you.”
The Gifts of God for the People of God. Take them in remembrance that Christ died for you, and feed on him in your hearts by faith, with thanksgiving.
SONG | O Come, O Come Emmanuel
SONG | Hope in Jesus
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND GIVING
BENEDICTION
May the Lord of peace himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
2 Thessalonians 3:16
PEACE BE WITH YOU. And also with you