PROVIDENCE CHURCH

October 3, 2021

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 hosts;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Call to Worship:   Psalm 11

 

Leader:  In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to my soul,

“Flee like a bird to your mountain,

Congregation:  for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the    string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;

Leader:   if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

Congregation:  The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven;

his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.

Leader:   The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.

Congregation:  Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.

ALL:    For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds;

the upright shall behold his face.

 

Songs of Praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Reginald Heber, 1800; tune John Dykes, 1861)

1.Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!

Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.

Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty!

God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

 

2.Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,

Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;

Cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,

Who wert , and art, and evermore shalt be.

 

3.Holy, holy, holy! Through the darkness hide thee,

Though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,

Only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,

Perfect in pow’r, in love, and purity.

 

4.Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!

All thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea.

Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty!

God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

 

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)

 

Holy Spirit (Bryan and Katie Torwalt, 2011)

There’s nothing worth more that could ever come close,

No thing can compare, you’re our living hope:

Your presence, Lord.

 

I’ve tasted and seen of the sweetest of loves,

Where my heart becomes free and my shame is undone:

Your presence, Lord.

 

Holy Spirit, you are welcome here;

Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere.

Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for—

To be overcome by your presence, Lord,  *(2nd time to next section)

Your presence, Lord.

(Repeat all)

 

*Holy Spirit, you are welcome here;

Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere.

Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for—

To be overcome by your presence, Lord,

Your presence, Lord…your presence—

Your presence, Lord…

 

Let us become more aware of your presence,

Let us experience the glory of your goodness. (4X)

 

Holy Spirit, you are welcome here;

Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere.

Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for—

To be overcome by your presence, Lord.

 

Confession/Assurance    

 

​Lord God,
    we have sinned against you;
    we have done evil in your sight.
    We are sorry and repent.
    Have mercy on us according to your love.
    Wash away our wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin.
    Renew a right spirit within us
    and restore us to the joy of your salvation,
    through Jesus Christ our Lord.
    Amen.

 

 

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

 

 

Scripture Reading:    Matthew 14:1-13

 

The Death of John the Baptist

14 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, 2 and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3 For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,[a] 4 because John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. 6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, 7 so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. 10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.

 

13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.

 

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

Sermon:  “When Troubles Come”               

 

Communion Hymn

 

Seek Ye First (Karen Lafferty, 1972)

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,

And all these thangs shall be added unto you—Allelu, Alleluia

 

Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and ye shall find,

Knock and the door shall be opened unto you—Allelu, Alleluia

 

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word

That proceeds from the mouth of the Lord—Allelu, Alleluia

 

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,

And all these thangs shall be added unto you—Allelu, Alleluia

 

Lord’s Supper

 

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 (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.  Thom and Pastor Edward will alternate teaching a study this semester.   Will/Christina are leading a study of The Risen Lord for couples/singles. Bill/Jerry are leading the Youth SS in a classic book by CS Lewis.

Fellowship Time: Between the end of our worship service and before SS, please enjoy coffee and snacks and conversation in the Fellowship Hall.

Children of all ages are invited to participate in the entire service of worship.  We will have

childcare for children up to 6 years of age, in our downstairs Christian Ed wing (on the left) at the end of the hallway.

 

GROW

Pastor Bible Study – meets each Tuesday at noon in the fellowship hall to discuss the previous week’s sermon as well as the upcoming sermon.   Bring your Bible and a bagged lunch if you would like.

 

Wed. Night Bible Study:  Wednesday Night Bible study for men and women meets in Fellowship Hall from 6:30-8:00 pm.  Currently we are studying the book of Philippians.

 

Would you like to grow in the joy and work of prayer? Join our women on Tuesday mornings at 10:15am or our men on Thursday mornings at 6:45am. These seasons of weekly prayer are rich in fellowship and in prayers. Want to know more about Women’s Prayer? Contact Linda Roberts. Want to know more about Men’s Prayer?  Contact Sam Mitchell.

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Open Door Soup Kitchen: This is an ongoing commitment of Providence Church to the least, the last, the lost and the lonely of our community.  While Open Door is no longer able to serve meals, we are still volunteering to cook the meals on the first Friday of each month.  If you can serve in this way, please let Linda Wilson know at 901-230-7178.  Thanks for your faithfulness.

 

Prayer Requests: Healing: Judd and Susanne Harriot, Robbie Hargrove, Mike Lear, Chuck & Carole Torpy; Glenn & Laura Glad; Thom Morgan’s mother; Lisa Rhodarmer’s mother Ruth and brother Michael; Sarah Altman’s brother-in-law Dan