PROVIDENCE CHURCH

      October 2, 2022

 

Welcome

Passing of the Peace: Though we are separated by distance our hearts are one in Christ. The peace of Christ be with you!  And also with you!

 

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,

Praise him all creatures here below,

Praise him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Amen

 

Call to Worship:   Revelation 5

Leader:  They sang a new song and these are the words they sang,

Congregation:   “You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us a kingdom of priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.”

Leader:  Then in my vision I heard the voices of many angels encircling the throne, the living creatures and the elders.

Congregation:  There were myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, crying in a great voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

Leader:  Then I heard the voice of everything created in Heaven, upon earth, under the earth and upon the sea, and all that are in them saying,

ALL:   “Blessing and honor and glory and power be to him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!”

 

 

Songs of Praise:

Like A River Glorious (Frances Havergal, 1878; tune james Mountain, 1890)

Like a river glorious is God’s perfect peace,

Over all victorious in its bright increase;

Perfect, yet it floweth fuller every day,

Perfect, yet it growth, deeper all the way.

 

 

Chorus:

Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed,

Finding, as he promised, perfect peace and rest.

 

Hidden in the hollow of his blessed hand,

Never foe can follow, never traitor stand;

Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,

Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there. (Chorus)

 

Every joy or trial falleth from above,

Traced upon our dial by the Sun of Love.

We may trust him fully, all for us to do;

They who trust him wholly find him wholly true (Chorus)

 

You Are My All in All (Dennis Jernigan, 1991 CCLI #825356)

You are my strength when I am weak, You are the treasure that I seek

You are my all in all

Seeking You as a precious jewel, Lord, to give up, I’d be a fool

You are my all in all

 

Chorus: Jesus, Lamb of God, worthy is your name!

Jesus, Lamb of God, worthy is your name!

 

Taking my sin, my cross, my shame, rising again, I bless Your name

You are my all in all

When I fall down You pick me up, when I am dry You fill my cup

You are my all in all (Chorus)

 

You are my strength when I am weak, You are the treasure that I seek

You are my all in all

Seeking You as a precious jewel, Lord, to give up, I’d be a fool

You are my all in all (Chorus 2X)

 

Be Enthroned (Jeremy Riddle, Brian Mark Johnson, Hunter Thompson, Kalley Anne Heiligenthal, 2015 CCLI #7054178)

We’ve come to join the song
Sung long before our lives
To raise our voice along
Heaven and earth alike

 

We’ve seen Your faithful hand
Your mercy without end
And a King who bled and died
A God who sacrificed

 

And be enthroned upon the praises of
A thousand generations
You are worthy, Lord of all
And unto You, the slain and risen King
We lift our voice with Heaven
Singing worthy, Lord of all (Lord of all)

 

All through this life we lead
And on to eternity
Our endless praise we cry
And Jesus be glorified (2X)

Jesus be glorified

 

Be enthroned upon the praises of
A thousand generations
You are worthy, Lord of all
And unto You, the slain and risen King
We lift our voice with Heaven
Singing worthy, Lord of all (2X)

 

And highest praises, Lord of all
Highest praises, Lord of all (4X)

Be enthroned upon the praises of
A thousand generations
You are worthy, Lord of all
And unto You, the slain and risen King
We lift our voice with Heaven
Singing worthy, Lord of all

Singing worthy, Lord of all

Singing worthy, Lord of all

 

Confession/Assurance    Select verses from 1 Corinthians 15

 

For this is what the Lord himself has said about his Table, and I Paul, have passed it on to you before: That on the night when Judas betrayed him, the Lord Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks to God for it, he broke it and gave it to his disciples and said, “Take this and eat it. This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”  In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and you that has been established and set in motion by my blood. Do this in remembrance of me whenever you drink it.”   For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup you are retelling the message of the Lord’s death, that he has died for you. Do this until he comes again.

 

So if any eat this bread and drink from this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, they are guilty of sin against the body and the blood of the Lord.   That is why each one should examine their heart carefully before eating the bread and drinking from the cup.    For if they eat the bread and drink from the cup unworthily, not thinking about the body of Christ and what it means, they are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon themself; trifling, as it were, with the death of Christ.    That is why many of you are weak and sick, and some have even died.

 

But if you carefully examine yourselves before eating you will not need to be judged and punished.   Yet, when we are judged and punished by the Lord, it is so that we will not be condemned with the rest of the world.    So, dear ones, when you gather for the Lord’s Supper—the communion service—wait upon each other.

​

Respond in Praise: 

Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee (Latin, 11th C., translated E. Caswall, 1849; tune J. Dykes, 1866)

Jesus, the very thought of thee

With sweetness fills my breast;

But sweeter far thy face to see,

And in thy presence rest.

 

Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame,

Nor can the memory find,

A sweeter sound than thy blest name,

O Savior of mankind.

 

O Hope of every contrite heart,

O Joy of tall the meek,

To those who fall, how kind thou art!

How good to those who seek!

 

But what to those who find? Ah, this

Nor tongue nor pen can show:

The love of Jesus, what it is

None but his loved ones know.

 

Jesus, our only joy be thou,

As thou our prize wilt be;

Jesus, be thou our glory now,

And through eternity.

 

Apostles Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth;

and in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, dead and buried;

He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead;

He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand

of God the Father Almighty.

From there he will come to judge the living and dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.   Amen

 

 

Scripture Reading:   1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11       

 

The Coming of the Lord

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.   For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.    For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.    For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.    Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.   Therefore encourage one another with these words.

 

The Day of the Lord

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you.    For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.    While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.   But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.   For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.   So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.   For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.    For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.    Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

 

This is the Word of the Lord.   Thanks be to God!

Sermon:  “ Living in Light of Christ’s Return”                                                                                                             

 

Communion Hymn

 

Behold the Lamb (Keith & Kristyn Getty, Stuart Townend   CCLI #5003372)

Behold the Lamb who bears our sins away, slain for us,

And we remember

the promise made that all who come in in faith find forgiveness at the cross.

So we share in this bread of life and we drink of his sacrifice

As a sign of our bonds of peace, around the table of the King.

 

The body of our Savior Jesus Christ, torn for you,

Eat and remember

The wounds that heal, the death that brings us life paid the price to make us one.

So we share in this bread of life and we drink of his sacrifice

As a sign of our bonds of grace around the table of the King.

 

The blood that cleanses every stain of sin, shed for you,

Drink and remember

He drained death’s cup that all may enter in to receive the life of God.

So we share in this bread of life and we drink of his sacrifice

As a sign of our bonds of love around the table of the King.

 

And so with thankfulness and faith we rise to respond,

And to remember

Our call to follow in the steps of Christ as his body here on earth.

As we share in his sufferings, we proclaim: Christ will come again!

And we’ll join in the feast of heav’n, around the table of the King.

 

Communion

 

Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil:

for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory.  Amen

 

Hymn of Thanksgiving

Jesus, Priceless Treasure (Johann Franck, 1655; tune and arr. by Renee Allsbrook)

Jesus, priceless treasure, source of purest pleasure, truest friend to me:

Lord, how long in anguish shall my spirit languish, yearning, after thee?

Yours I am, O spotless Lamb!  Quietly I wait alone for thee;

Nothing ask beside thee, nothing ask beside Thee.

 

In your arms I rest me; foes who would possess me cannot reach me here.

Though the earth be shaking, every heart be quaking, Jesus calms my fear.

Lightnings flash and thunders crash; yet, though sin and hell assail me,

Jesus will not fail me, Jesus will not fail me.

 

Satan, I defy you; death, I now decry you; fear, I bid you cease.

World, you shall not harm me, nor your threats alarm me while I sing of peace.

God’s great power guards every hour; earth and all its depths adore him,

Silent bow before him, silent bow before him.

 

Go, then, earthly treasure! Christ is all my pleasure, Jesus, all my choice.

Go, you empty glory!  Empty is your story, told with tempting voice.

Pain or loss or shame or cross shall not from my Savior move me,

Since he chose to love me, since he chose to love me.

 

Leave me, fear and sadness, for the Lord of gladness—Jesus—enters in.

Those who love the Father, though the storms may gather, still have peace within.

Yes, whate’er we here must bear, you are still my purest pleasure,

Jesus, priceless treasure, Jesus, priceless treasure.

 

Benediction 

 

KNOW

Welcome to Providence Church! We are glad that you are here, joining us in person or via Zoom!.

Sunday School:   Adult and Youth Sunday School is at 11:15. Paula Rhodarmer will be teaching.   Will/Christina are leading a study in Exodus.

Fellowship Time: Between the end of our worship service and before SS

Children of all ages are invited to participate in the entire service of worship.  Childcare for children up to 6 years of age, in our downstairs Christian Ed wing (on the left) at the end of the hallway.

Nursery Worker Needed –     Providence is looking to hire a part time nursery worker for each Sunday from 9:45 to 12noon.  Please contact Edward Brouwer 828-550-4615, or Linda Wilson, 901-230-7178, providencechurchassistant@gmail.com, if you are interested or know of anyone that might be.  Also, please be in prayer that God will guide this process. Thank you!

Potluck Sunday, TODAY

It’s time for a churchwide meal together! Today after the worship service we’ll gather in Fellowship Hall for an Oktoberfest-themed potluck. There will be no Sunday School that day. See you all there!

Nominating Committee–Each year at our congregational meeting in January we have the privilege of voting for elders to serve in leadership. Elders serve terms of 3 years, and Luke Allsbrook and Bruce Kingshill have served their terms and will be leading the search for a slate of men/ women to put before the members. Please be in prayer for this Nominating Committee that meets this coming Thursday. Pray that the Lord will lead them to capable and qualified people that are called to serve. As a member of Providence, you are welcome to put forth a suggestion of a fellow member for this committee to consider (but kindly get that person’s permission first). The members of this committee were chosen at our January 2022 meeting, and are Linda Roberts, Bill Allsbrook, Glenda Brouwer, Luke Allsbrook and Bruce Kingshill.

 

 

 

GROW

WEDNESDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY – From 6:30pm until 8:00pm, we are excited to hold our Wednesday night bible study. The study will continue every other week until Advent season.  We will also have a short praise and prayer time. Childcare provided if needed. Contact the Luke Allsbrook with any questions.

Women’s Prayer Group – 10:15am Tuesday mornings, contact Linda Roberts for more info

Men’s Prayer Group – 6:45am Thursday mornings, contact Sam Mitchell for more info.

 

GO

 

Prayer Requests:    For Mercy and Grace:  Bill Silverthorne, Glenda White, Judd and       Susanne Heriot, Robbie Hargrove, Mike and Rhonda Lear, Chuck & Carole Torpy; Lisa Rhodarmer’s mother Ruth