ORDER OF WORSHIP
Call To Worship
Psalm 138 : 1 – 2
1 I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; before the “gods” I will sing Your praise. 2 I will bow down toward Your holy temple and will praise Your name for Your unfailing love and Your faithfulness, for You have so exalted Your solemn decree that it surpasses Your fame.
詩篇 138 : 1 – 2
1 我要一心稱謝你，在諸神面前歌頌你。2 我要向你的聖殿下拜，為你的慈愛和誠實稱讚你的名；因你使你的話顯為大，過於你所應許的。
Worship Through Songs
Blessed day dear people of the Lord—blood-bought saints of the Living God.
God has many designations in the Bible. Scripture records multiple occasions where God’s excellencies are revealed thru special titles in various situations. In the Old Testament we see a sweeping array of names that reveal his nature and character. He is called Elohim of Elohim, the God of gods; El Olam; the Eternal Mighty one; El Shaddai, God Almighty; Jehovah-Jireh, The Lord who provides; Jehovah Nissi, The Lord my Banner; Jehovah Roi, The Lord my Shepherd; to name but a few.
Yet when Jesus came and revealed God in a manner like never before He drew his disciples, not only before the throne of the King of the Universe—the Holy One of Israel, but right to the very heart of his Abba—who, by grace, is also their Abba. It is the tenderest, most intimate designation of God—and as some have rightly enthused, his favorite name.
Writing about the term Abba, Ann Spangler wrote…
“The Hebrew Scriptures normally depict God, not as the Father of individuals but as Father to his people Israel. Pious Jews, aware of the gap between a holy God and sinful human beings, would never have dared address God as Ab (Hebrew) or Abba, the Aramaic word for “Daddy,” which gradually came to mean “dear father.”
Jesus shocked and offended the religious leaders of his day by claiming that he had a Father-Son relationship with the God whose name they feared even to pronounce outside of the temple. Rather than depicting God as a typical Middle Eastern patriarch who wielded considerable power within the family, he depicted him primarily as a tender and compassionate father who extends grace to both the sinner and the self-righteous.
The first recorded words of Jesus, spoken to his earthly parents, are these: “Didn’t you realize that I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49). In John’s Gospel, Jesus calls God his Father 156 times. The most frequent term for “father” in the New Testament is the Greek word pater.
The expression “Abba, Pater” is found three times in the New Testament, all in prayer. It is the form Jesus used in his anguished cry in Gethsemane: “Abba! Father! You can do anything. Take this cup of suffering away from me. But let your will be done rather than mine” (Mark 14:36).
By inviting his followers to call God “Father,” Jesus made this the primary name by which God is to be known to those who follow him. Because of Jesus, we can boldly pray the prayer he taught his disciples, “Our Father who art in heaven. . .” (Matthew 6:9 ASV).”
God is not just like any father. He is a good a father—in comparison to whom, the best and kindest human fathers are but hazy reflections. In fact, in the absolute sense, He is truly the only Good Father. As Jesus declared in Matthew 7… ‘Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!’ This is who He is. This is what He does.
So, from the depths of our hearts to the top of our lungs, let us give praise and adoration to the Lord our God, King of the Universe who, through Jesus Christ, made it possible for us to forever call him Abba.
‘Oh to be like Thee, full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
Oh to be like Thee, lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer, others to save.
Oh to be like Thee, Lord, I am coming,
Now to receive thy anointing divine;
All that I am, and have, I am bringing,
Lord, from this moment all shall be Thine.’*
In your name, for the glory of God. Amen *[Thomas O. Chisolm]
Anthem
Faith To Carry On
Scripture Reading
Matthew 18 : 10 – 14 (ESV)
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
馬 太 福 音 18 : 10 – 14 (CUV)
10 你 們 要 小 心 ， 不 可 輕 看 這 小 子 裡 的 一 個 ； 我 告 訴 你 們 ， 他 們 的 使 者 在 天 上 ， 常 見 我 天 父 的 面 。 （ 有 古 卷 在 此 有
11 人 子 來 ， 為 要 拯 救 失 喪 的 人 。 ）
12 一 個 人 若 有 一 百 隻 羊 ， 一 隻 走 迷 了 路 ， 你 們 的 意 思 如 何 ？ 他 豈 不 撇 下 這 九 十 九 隻 ， 往 山 裡 去 找 那 隻 迷 路 的 羊 麼 ？
13 若 是 找 著 了 ， 我 實 在 告 訴 你 們 ， 他 為 這 一 隻 羊 歡 喜 ， 比 為 那 沒 有 迷 路 的 九 十 九 隻 歡 喜 還 大 呢 ！
14 你 們 在 天 上 的 父 也 是 這 樣 ， 不 願 意 這 小 子 裡 失 喪 一 個 。
Sermon
Dr. Ricky Recodo
中文翻譯
Tithes And Offering
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Response Song
