ORDER OF WORSHIP
Call To Worship
Psalm 84 : 1 – 2
1 How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! 2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
詩篇 84 : 1 – 2
1 萬軍之耶和華啊，你的居所何等可愛！ 2 我羨慕渴想耶和華的院宇，我的心腸、我的肉體向永生神呼籲。
Worship Through Songs
Describing the different conditions of the soil in Jesus’ Parable of the Sower, author Ken Gire wrote in ‘Moments with the Savior’…
‘But as the parable indicates, the human heart is no easy field to cultivate. It is hard and rocky and full of weeds.
In the parable Jesus described the spiritual fields that make up the landscape of northern Galilee. In doing so, he explained to his disciples how he could spread the word of his kingdom throughout the land and there be such a varied response to his message.
Throughout the hills and valleys of the northern coast, there were hearts impervious to truth—the hearts of the scribes and Pharisees, for example, trodden by tradition and packed hard by the proud feet of their own righteousness.
There were hearts that embraced the truth, and sudden sprigs of spiritual life sprang up around the countryside like wildflowers after a rain. But with only a shallow commitment to the truth, their roots never grew very deep. And under the heat of testing, their faith withered. The leather-faced sailor, for example, who believed but whose faith buckled under the ridicule of his shipmates.
Then there were hearts where the roots ran deep. They sent up sturdy stalks that survived the sun. But a few seeds of worldliness were overlooked, their creeping vines tolerated, and before long the life of that sturdy stalk became stunted. The businessman from Korazin, for instance, who not only embraced the truth but followed Jesus all around the hill country, asking questions, learning, helping out whenever he could. But he finally decided it was time to get back to business. After all, his customers were depending on him, his competitors were catching up with him, and his creditors were coming after him. Besides, there was the mortgage on his vacation villa, the new boat he wanted to buy, and the comfortable life on the beach that beckoned him. Slowly, imperceptibly, the vines won out.
Then there were those patches of ground that every farmer lives for—a few hearts that were fertile and receptive to the truth, cleared of any obstacles to their commitment, weeded of any competing loves. In these hearts God’s Word germinated, quietly sent out its roots, and steadily grew. First the blade, then the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.
In each case in the parable, the productivity of the seed is dependent upon the receptivity of the soil.’
It all depends on the receptivity of the soil—on the condition of the heart. No amount of sowing the seed of truth can generate the prospect of a bountiful harvest if the ground is unprepared. The field needs to be cleared, and the soil cultivated. That is why we need a new heart—one of flesh, no longer of stone—able to receive that truth and allow it to take root. A heart able to listen and hear the voice of God and respond in love and joyful submission. ‘Above all things, guard your heart’ the proverb says, ‘for it is the wellspring, the fountainhead, the very core of life.’ As we prepare to encounter God through his word, may we pray as David prayed, ‘Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me’.
‘Dear Lord of the Harvest, why is it that so little of the seed that is sown in my heart ever reaches maturity, let alone, fruition?
Why is it that your Word has such a hard time implanting itself in my life? Why do I wilt when my faith comes under heat? Why is it that week after week I’m hacking away at the same old weeds?
Come into my garden, Lord. Take your plow and furrow the hardness out of my life. Dig up the obstacles that keep the roots of my faith from growing deeper. Pull out the worldly preoccupations that tendril their thorns around my heart and squeeze out my spiritual life.
Cultivate my heart, Lord, so I may catch every word that falls from heaven. Every syllable of encouragement; every sentence of rebuke. Every paragraph of instruction; every page of warning. Help me to catch these words as the soft, fertile soil catches seeds.
Help me to watch over that heart with all diligence, realizing that the harvest of my heart not only helps to feed a generation now but to seed the harvests for generations to come.’ For Christ’s sake, amen. [Ken Gire]
Anthem
It’s About The Cross
Scripture Reading
Matthew 13 : 9 (ESV)
9 He who has ears, let him hear.”
馬 太 福 音 13 : 9 (CUV)
9 有 耳 可 聽 的 ， 就 應 當 聽 ！
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
