ORDER OF WORSHIP
Call To Worship
Psalm 95 : 6 – 7
6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; 7 for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care. Today, if only you would hear His voice.
詩篇 95 : 6 – 7
6 來啊，我們要屈身敬拜，在造我們的耶和華面前跪下！7 因為他是我們的神，我們是他草場的羊，是他手下的民。唯願你們今天聽他的話：
Worship Through Songs
Good day people of the Lord, precious flock of our Good Shepherd, children of the Living God. May this day find you filled with the love and goodness of our Heavenly Father who bestows favor and honor, and eagerly supplies all that we need for life and godliness.
Many times over in Scripture are we exhorted to ‘Give thanks to the LORD [YHWH] for He is good, his loving kindness, faithful love and compassionate mercy endures forever. Whatever the circumstance, whatever the season of our lives, his goodness has never changed and his love has never left. Why? Because He is the Great I AM—‘YHWH’—the Eternal, Self-existent, Self-sufficient, Completely Autonomous, Immutable God. He needs absolutely nothing from anything and anyone, and therefore nothing in all creation can impose, demand or pressure him to vary from himself and act differently. A.W. Tozer wrote, “God being who He is, cannot cease to be what He is, and being what He is, He cannot act out of character with Himself. He is at once faithful and immutable, so all His words and acts must be and remain faithful. Men become unfaithful out of desire, fear, weakness, loss of interest, or because of some strong influence from without. Obviously none of these forces can affect God in any way. He is His own reason for all He is and does. He cannot be compelled from without, but ever speaks and acts from within Himself by His own sovereign will as it pleases Him.”
That is why David can declare in Psalm 23, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” “God has a celebration meal with us not after we finally get out of the dark valley but in the middle of it, in the presence of our enemies. He wants us to rejoice in him in the midst of our troubles. Is our shepherd out of touch with reality? Hardly. Jesus is the only shepherd who knows what it is like to be a sheep (John 10:11). He understands what we are going through and will be with us every step of the way, even through death itself, where “all other guides turn back (Romans 8:39)” wrote Timothy Keller about our Good Shepherd Jesus Christ who promised to be with us until the very end.
Truly, it is the life-infusing and joy-giving presence of our Risen Lord that sustains us through the most difficult of times—like right now, in this pandemic with its new normal. With his peace in our hearts and his grace in our lives; his truth in our minds and his power in our souls, we can be still and know that He is God—all-powerful, absolutely sovereign and utterly good. Thus we can sincerely and confidently say like David that even in the valley of the shadow of death—even then—‘surely goodness and mercy runs after me all the days of my life’. Let us adore our good God this day.
‘Dear Lord Jesus, precious Savior, Master, Friend. You are the One who knows all things about us, as well as all things going on inside us. You discern our thoughts and understand the inner workings of our hearts. You know it all—the good, the bad and the ugly. No secret is hidden from You; no private life unexamined. Our lives are an open book to You—our sins ever exposed. And yet in your mercy, our exposure and our shame moved You to compassion in that You graciously took our sin and our guilt on the cross, and clothed us in your righteousness. Washing us, cleansing us, renewing us, You made us worthy to stand in the presence of a Holy God, welcomed and accepted.
You laid down your life for us even while we were your enemies. You gave your all to make us worthy to become your friends and your beloved. Truly there is no friend like You, dear Lord—the lowly Jesus, the humble King, the comrade who stays closer than a brother, the One who will never leave nor forsake. Cause us to love You even as You first loved us—to be loyal to You as You are faithful to us. Give us wholehearted devotion and single-minded focus on You as we navigate through these tempestuous times and may we experience in increasing measure your goodness and mercy that has followed, and will follow, us all the days of our lives. In your Name we pray. Amen.’
Anthem
The Love of God with Think About His Love
Scripture Reading
John 15 : 9 – 17
9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
約 翰 福 音 15 : 9 – 17
9 我 愛 你 們 ， 正 如 父 愛 我 一 樣 ； 你 們 要 常 在 我 的 愛 裡 。
10 你 們 若 遵 守 我 的 命 令 ， 就 常 在 我 的 愛 裡 ， 正 如 我 遵 守 了 我 父 的 命 令 ， 常 在 他 的 愛 裡 。
11 這 些 事 我 已 經 對 你 們 說 了 ， 是 要 叫 我 的 喜 樂 存 在 你 們 心 裡 ， 並 叫 你 們 的 喜 樂 可 以 滿 足 。
12 你 們 要 彼 此 相 愛 ， 像 我 愛 你 們 一 樣 ； 這 就 是 我 的 命 令 。
13 人 為 朋 友 捨 命 ， 人 的 愛 心 沒 有 比 這 個 大 的 。
14 你 們 若 遵 行 我 所 吩 咐 的 ， 就 是 我 的 朋 友 了 。
15 以 後 我 不 再 稱 你 們 為 僕 人 ， 因 僕 人 不 知 道 主 人 所 做 的 事 。 我 乃 稱 你 們 為 朋 友 ； 因 我 從 我 父 所 聽 見 的 ， 已 經 都 告 訴 你 們 了 。
16 不 是 你 們 揀 選 了 我 ， 是 我 揀 選 了 你 們 ， 並 且 分 派 你 們 去 結 果 子 ， 叫 你 們 的 果 子 常 存 ， 使 你 們 奉 我 的 名 ， 無 論 向 父 求 甚 麼 ， 他 就 賜 給 你 們 。
17 我 這 樣 吩 咐 你 們 ， 是 要 叫 你 們 彼 此 相 愛 。
Sermon
Rev. Vicente Sia
謝國智牧師
Communion
Song of Reflection
English:
中文:
Tithes And Offering
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Benediction Song
