ORDER OF WORSHIP
Call To Worship
Psalm 47 : 1 – 2
1 Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. 2 For the Lord Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth.
詩篇 47 : 1 – 2
6 萬民哪，你們都要拍掌，要用誇勝的聲音向神呼喊！2 因為耶和華至高者是可畏的，他是治理全地的大君王。
Worship Through Songs
Good day family of God. May this day find us carried by the winds of grace and freedom in Christ Jesus our Lord—for he whom the Son sets free is free indeed.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox wrote a poem ‘Tis The Set Of The Sail’ that portrayed how our lives are like ships with sails. She highlighted how the setting of the sails determines which direction the ship will go—regardless of which way the wind blows…
But to every mind there openeth,
A way, and way, and away,
A high soul climbs the highway,
And the low soul gropes the low,
And in between on the misty flats,
The rest drift to and fro.
But to every man there openeth,
A high way and a low,
And every mind decideth,
The way his soul shall go.
One ship sails East,
And another West,
By the self-same winds that blow,
‘Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales,
That tells the way we go.
Like the winds of the sea
Are the waves of time,
As we journey along through life,
‘Tis the set of the soul,
That determines the goal,
And not the calm or the strife.
Indeed, it is the inclination of each heart—the set of each soul—that determines the choice made and the path taken—not merely the circumstances that befall us. The same hardship that takes one soul a certain direction may take another soul the other way—depending on the ‘set of the sail’. Depending on the predilection of each heart, the trials in life can either draw us closer to God, or away from him; either make us hold on tighter or turn the other way. It all depends on the set of the soul. The heart of the matter is still the matter of the heart.
Adversity has a sanitizing and clarifying effect in our lives— especially as far as our relationship with God is concerned. For adversity tends to cut through our contented religiosity and exposes the true state of our inner man—whether we are, in our heart of hearts, living a self-ward or a God-ward life. The most difficult, and thus, the most refining and purifying of these times, strip us of any delusions over our own spiritual condition; humbles us; expose us for the weak, struggling disciples that we often are, and make us run more desperately to the arms of divine grace—ever more convinced that apart from Christ, we truly can do nothing.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus is still the vine and we, the branches. He is still the head, and we, the body. He is the still the light and we, the reflection. He is the still the treasure. Let us once again, run to him, draw near to him, hold on to him, and abide in him. Let us set the sail of our lives to move ever closer to him—fixing our eyes and our hearts on our Dear Savior and Lord—the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. So that, whatever comes our way, we would never leave his side, even as He promised never to leave ours. Let us worship him this day.
‘Almighty God and Loving Heavenly Father, we humbly acknowledge our complete dependence upon You. Where would we be apart from your daily mercies and constant provision; your sufficient grace and steadfast faithfulness; your boundless power and everlasting love? You are everything to us. You are the forgiver of our sins; the healer of our diseases; and the lifter of our heads. You are our rock of refuge; our sun and our shield; our God in whom we trust. You are our Shepherd who leads us to quiet pastures and tranquil waters; our King who defends and provides for us; and our Abba who has compassion on us and seeks our highest good. In fact, You are our highest good; our portion and our exceedingly great reward. In your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures evermore.
Abba, as Jesus said, blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see You, make our hearts more and more pure. Forgive us once more of our sins and cleanse us from any unrighteousness. Though these sins no longer define us because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, these can cause us to lose our intimacy with You—and we do not want that, for your presence is heaven to us. Help us once again to hold on to the righteousness of Christ which is ours by faith and help us not to doubt your complete pardon and acceptance which are ours due to his finished work. Search us, know us, mold us, fill us, transform us, until Christ is formed in us. For your glory and his Name’s sake. Amen.’
Anthem
The Symphony of Praise
Scripture Reading
Matthew 5 : 17 – 20
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
馬 太 福 音 5 : 17 – 20
17 莫 想 我 來 要 廢 掉 律 法 和 先 知 。 我 來 不 是 要 廢 掉 ， 乃 是 要 成 全 。
18 我 實 在 告 訴 你 們 ， 就 是 到 天 地 都 廢 去 了 ， 律 法 的 一 點 一 畫 也 不 能 廢 去 ， 都 要 成 全 。
19 所 以 ， 無 論 何 人 廢 掉 這 誡 命 中 最 小 的 一 條 ， 又 教 訓 人 這 樣 作 ， 他 在 天 國 要 稱 為 最 小 的 。 但 無 論 何 人 遵 行 這 誡 命 ， 又 教 訓 人 遵 行 ， 他 在 天 國 要 稱 為 大 的 。
20 我 告 訴 你 們 ， 你 們 的 義 若 不 勝 於 文 士 和 法 利 賽 人 的 義 ， 斷 不 能 進 天 國 。
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
