ORDER OF WORSHIP
Call To Worship
Psalm 34 : 3
Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together.
詩篇 34 : 3
你們和我當稱耶和華為大，一同高舉他的名。
Worship Through Songs
Good day people of the Living God. May this day find us, members of the Body of Christ, in close communion with our Lord and Savior—delighting in the joy of our salvation.
The Language of the Old Testament, Ancient Hebrew, is, comparatively speaking, a language of few actual words albeit very rich in meaning. One word we often encounter is the word hesed. In English Bibles, hesed is translated with a variety of words, including “kindness,” “love,” “steadfast love,” “loyalty,” “favor,” “devotion,” and “mercy.” This is the word we find in passages such as Exodus 34:6 where it states … “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love [hesed] and faithfulness.” One author described the word this way …
“Like other Hebrew words, hesed is not just a feeling but an action. It intervenes on behalf of loved ones and comes to their rescue … Because hesed is often active, it is translated as “mercy” or “loving-kindness,” but neither of these words fully conveys that hesed acts out of unswerving loyalty even to the most undeserving.
Hesed is a bone-weary father who drives through the night to bail his drug-addicted son out of jail. Hesed is a mom who spends day after thankless day spoon-feeding and wiping up after a disabled child. Hesed is an unsung pastor’s wife whose long-suffering, tearful prayers keep her exhausted husband from falling apart at the seams. Hesed is love that can be counted on, decade after decade. It’s not about the thrill of romance, but the security of faithfulness.” [Lois Tverberg]
More than an emotion, or a mental inclination, or a disinterested determination of the will, hesed entails the pouring out of the total person in affection and compassion to pursue what is good for the beloved. Although in Scripture it was used to refer to to people’s relationship with one another, the great majority of its occurrence pertains to God’s dealings with humankind—especially his covenant relationship with his people. It is a word that is particularly revealing of God’s heart.
It is hesed that made the Heavenly Father give his only begotten Son as the atonement for our sin. It is hesed that made the Eternal Son put on humanity to seek and save the lost. It is in the same hesed that the Holy Spirit has come to abode in, and abide with us, God’s children—never to leave and never to forsake. It is this unreserved and undeserved loving-kindness that ultimately leads sinners like us to repentance—as we can only truly begin to love God after we have genuinely grasped the magnitude of his mercy towards us.
“I have loved you with an everlasting love— out of hesed I have drawn you close.” [Jeremiah 31:3] Thus said the LORD to his people. Thus demonstrated Christ on the cross—where for the sake of the unclean, the unworthy, and the undeserving, He laid down his life. Hesed so amazing, so divine, demands our souls, our lives, our all. Let us remember this and worship him this day.
‘Dear Lord Jesus, Master, Savior, Friend. We make space for You in our schedules and in our hearts. We prepare for You the most special place—the highest place. We lay aside every distraction and command every competing allegiance to make way for the King of Glory to take his rightful throne. You are our Wonderful Counselor; our Almighty God; our Everlasting Father; our Prince of Peace. You are the Bread of Life; the Living Water; the Light of the world; the author and perfecter of our faith. You are the Atonement for sin; the Victor over death; the risen Lord; the soon and coming King. You are everything to us. Help us to remember that, and live it out each and every day. All that we have comes from You. All that we are is because of You. Strengthen our faith and steady our hearts that even when the days are long and the going gets tough and your answers take time, we will always set our eyes upon You and quietly wait upon You, for our hope is in You alone. We pray in your Name. Amen.’
Anthem
Still
Scripture Reading
For Rev. Rival:
Philippians 3 : 4 – 11 (ESV)
4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
腓 立 比 書 3 : 4 – 11
4 其 實 ， 我 也 可 以 靠 肉 體 ； 若 是 別 人 想 他 可 以 靠 肉 體 ， 我 更 可 以 靠 著 了 。
5 我 第 八 天 受 割 禮 ； 我 是 以 色 列 族 、 便 雅 憫 支 派 的 人 ， 是 希 伯 來 人 所 生 的 希 伯 來 人 。 就 律 法 說 ， 我 是 法 利 賽 人 ；
6 就 熱 心 說 ， 我 是 逼 迫 教 會 的 ； 就 律 法 上 的 義 說 ， 我 是 無 可 指 摘 的 。
7 只 是 我 先 前 以 為 與 我 有 益 的 ， 我 現 在 因 基 督 都 當 作 有 損 的 。
8 不 但 如 此 ， 我 也 將 萬 事 當 作 有 損 的 ， 因 我 以 認 識 我 主 基 督 耶 穌 為 至 寶 。 我 為 他 已 經 丟 棄 萬 事 ， 看 作 糞 土 ， 為 要 得 著 基 督 ；
9 並 且 得 以 在 他 裡 面 ， 不 是 有 自 己 因 律 法 而 得 的 義 ， 乃 是 有 信 基 督 的 義 ， 就 是 因 信 神 而 來 的 義 ，
10 使 我 認 識 基 督 ， 曉 得 他 復 活 的 大 能 ， 並 且 曉 得 和 他 一 同 受 苦 ， 效 法 他 的 死 ，
11 或 者 我 也 得 以 從 死 裡 復 活 。
For Rev. Reyes
Psalms 27 : 4 (ESV)
4 One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.
詩 篇 27 : 4
4 有 一 件 事 ， 我 曾 求 耶 和 華 ， 我 仍 要 尋 求 ： 就 是 一 生 一 世 住 在 耶 和 華 的 殿 中 ， 瞻 仰 他 的 榮 美 ， 在 他 的 殿 裡 求 問 。
Sermon
Rev. Alvin Rival:
林永健牧師:
English Translation:
Tithes And Offering
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Response Song
