WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Exalting God in Dayton and in the World First Sunday in Lent February 21, 2021 We Gather for Worship Prelude Welcome and Life in the Church *Greeting One Another (Please remain where you are and greet those around you.) We Are Called to Praise Pastor: Lord, open our lips, People: and our mouth shall declare your praise. ALL: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. We Praise You, O God, Our Redeemer, Creator, No. 97 We praise you, O God, our Redeemer, Creator, in grateful devotion our tribute we bring. We lay it before you, we kneel and adore you; we bless your holy name, glad praises we sing. We worship you, God of our fathers, we bless you; through life's storm and tempest our Guide you have been. When perils o'ertake us, escape you will make us, and with your help, O Lord, our battles we win. With voices united our praises we offer, to you, great Jehovah, glad anthems we raise. Your strong arm will guide us, our God is beside us, to you, our great Redeemer, forever be praise. Julia Cady Cory | Edward Kremser, Public Domain Psalm 111, NLT Pastor: Praise the Lord! People: Praise the Lord! Pastor: I will thank the Lord with all my heart as I meet with his godly people. How amazing are the deeds of the Lord! All who delight in him should ponder them. People: Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty. His righteousness never fails. He causes us to remember his wonderful works. Pastor: How gracious and merciful is our Lord! He gives food to those who fear him; he always remembers his covenant. People: He has shown his great power to his people by giving them the lands of other nations. Pastor: All he does is just and good, and all his commandments are trustworthy. They are forever true, to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity. People: He has paid a full ransom for his people. He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever. What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has! Pastor: Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom. All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom. People: Praise him forever! 2 For the Beauty of the Earth, No. 116 For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies, Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise. For the beauty of each hour of the day and of the night, hill and vale, and tree and flow'r, sun and moon and stars of light, Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise. For the joy of ear and eye, for the heart and mind's delight, for the mystic harmony linking sense to sound and sight, Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise. For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child, friends on earth and friends above, for all gentle thoughts and mild, Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise. For each perfect gift of thine to our race so freely giv'n, graces human and divine, flow'rs of earth and buds of heav'n, Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise. Folliott S. Pierpont | Conrad Kocher | William H. Monk, Public Domain 3 We Bow in Humility Prayers of the People Pastor: Sovereign God, we thank you that “though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the Ruler yet.” We praise you today for who you are and all you have done. —silence— Pastor: Lord, in your mercy, People: hear our prayer. Pastor: We pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world. We especially remember those who are facing political chaos and the terrors of war. Strengthen your church in Myanmar today, Lord. Give peace and courage to your people. —silence— Pastor: Lord, in your mercy, People: hear our prayer. Pastor: We pray for our community, that the light of Christ might shine through us, through our families, and through our ministry partners such as The Care Center. —silence— Pastor: Lord, in your mercy, People: hear our prayer. Pastor: We pray for our WPC family, for those who are in trouble, sorrow, need, or sickness. —silence— Pastor: Lord, in your mercy, People: hear our prayer. Pastor: We pray for soft and teachable hearts, humbly repenting of our sins. —silence— Pastor: Lord, in your mercy, People: hear our prayer. 4 Pastor: We give thanks for the assurance of forgiveness, for all that is ours in Christ Jesus, for all the blessings of this life, and hope for the life to come. —silence— Pastor: Lord, in your mercy, People: hear our prayer. Hear Our Prayer Lord, in your mercy Lord, in your mercy Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer. Lord, in your mercy Lord, in your mercy Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer. Amen. Sally Powell © 2019, used with permission Blessed Be Your Name Blessed be Your name in the land that is plentiful Where Your streams of abundance flow Blessed be Your name Blessed be Your name when I'm found in the desert place Though I walk through the wilderness Blessed be Your name Chorus: Ev’ry blessing You pour out I’ll turn back to praise When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your name Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your glorious name 5 Blessed be Your name when the sun's shining down on me When the world's all as it should be Blessed be Your name Blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering Though there's pain in the offering Blessed be Your name (Chorus) You give and take away You give and take away My heart will choose to say Lord blessed be Your name You give and take away You give and take away My heart will choose to say Lord blessed be Your name Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your name Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your glorious name Beth Redman | Matt Redman © 2002 Thankyou Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing) | CCLI License # 423057 We Offer Gifts and Thanksgiving Gifts may be given online or placed in the collection plates located at the front of the sanctuary and in the narthex. *Doxology, Lasst Uns Erfreuen Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise him, all creatures here below: Alleluia, alleluia! Praise him above, ye heavenly host, Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: Alleluia, alleluia, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! Thomas Ken | © Public Domain 6 We Hear the Word of the Lord Isaiah 61:1-3, NLT Jackson Gravitt We Submit to the Word Who the Gospel is For—part 1, Luke 4:14-22 Pastor Carter Johnson We Sing the Good News O Praise the Name (Anástasis) I cast my mind to Calvary Where Jesus bled and died for me I see His wounds His hands His feet My Saviour on that cursed tree His body bound and drenched in tears They laid Him down in Joseph's tomb The entrance sealed by heavy stone Messiah still and all alone Chorus: O praise the Name of the Lord our God O praise His Name forevermore For endless days we will sing Your praise Oh Lord oh Lord our God Then on the third at break of dawn The Son of heaven rose again O trampled death where is your sting The angels roar for Christ the King [Chorus] 7 He shall return in robes of white The blazing sun shall pierce the night And I will rise among the saints My gaze transfixed on Jesus' face [Chorus] Benjamin Hastings | Dean Ussher | Marty Sampson © 2015 Hillsong Music Publishing Australia (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing) | CCLI License # 423057 We Are Sent *Benediction Pastor Carter Johnson Postlude *Please stand if you are able. NOTES ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ 8 What do we mean when we say, “Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer”? Believers are invited, because of Christ’s finished work on the cross, to “come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (Hebrews 4:16) So, when we say, “Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer,” we are not appealing to God based on His mercy to listen to us, but rather we are appealing to His mercy to answer our requests in the affirmative. We are asking Him to respond according to His character, recognizing the limits of our knowledge and wisdom and yielding to His sovereignty. We offer this prayer corporately in our gathered worship because we belong to one another as the family of God and the body of Christ. We bring our thanks, our global and local concerns, our church family, and ourselves into the presence of the Lord, in the language of unity Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer: our Father; give us; forgive us; lead us; deliver us. When we declare this to be our prayer, we both express and become community. What do we mean when we say, “Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer,”? We mean, “Merciful, listening Lord, in unity and submission to your wisdom and will, following Christ’s instruction, we bring our concerns to You, trusting You to answer according to Your character and what You know is best.” Amen! 9 CHURCH CALENDAR & ANNOUNCEMENTS Today Bible Study 6:00pm Dan & Laurie Gates’ Monday Men’s Group 7:00am Jennings Coffee & Tea Wednesday Youth Group 6:30pm Church Bible Study 6:45pm Carter & Gale Johnson’s BREAD BREAKERS—Signups are open for a new rotation of Bread Breakers, a ministry of Westminster with the purpose of deepening relationships of adults within our church community.