CALL TO WORSHIP
WELCOME and THANKS
The theme this week is God’s response to human need.
Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19; Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7; Romans 5:1-8; Matthew 9:35-10:8
- The Old Testament reading from Genesis recounts Abraham’s and Sarah’s responses to God fulfilling his promise of a son.
- The call to worship Psalm is a prayer of thanksgiving for God’s response to human need.
- In the Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus is proclaiming the gospel while healing out of his compassion for the crowd, and he commissions the disciples to do the same.
- The epistolary text in Romans expresses confidence and trust in the God who provides justification, peace, and grace through Jesus Christ.
OPENING SONG
- LIKE A SHEPHERD … Don Moen et al …
FIRST READING
My voice and my supplications.
2 Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
For all His benefits toward me?
13 I will take up the cup of salvation,
And call upon the name of the Lord.
14 I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people.
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of His saints.
16 O Lord, truly I am Your servant;
I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant;
You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And will call upon the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people,
19 In the courts of the Lord’s house,
In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
Yes, our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.
7 Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
8 For You have delivered my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
And my feet from falling.
9 I will walk before the Lord
In the land of the living.
10 I believed, therefore I spoke,
“I am greatly afflicted.”
11 I said in my haste,
“All men are liars.”
SERMONETTE
- Title: Calling 911
- Presenter: Greg Williams, GCI President
- Text: Psalm 116:1-2
Have you ever had to call 9-1-1? I hope not, but if you have, it was probably because you were in a serious situation that needed an immediate response. That’s why we call 9-1-1 here in the US. It’s the one number we know will be answered immediately and we will get a quick response to our needs. Could you imagine calling 9-1-1 and getting a recording or being put on hold? Hopefully, that will never happen to you. When an emergency occurs, there is a bit of peace knowing we can depend on someone answering us when we dial 9-1-1.
For those who have grown to know the Lord, 9-1-1 is likely the second call we make because our first cry for help is to the Lord himself. Like so many other believers, we have learned that the Lord is even more reliable than 9-1-1. He is always there to answer our call for help. Experience teaches us we can always turn to the Lord with our troubles, great or small because he has proven to be faithful to hear our call time and time again. Here is the beginning of a Psalm that expresses this trust:
I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.
Psalm 116:1-2 (ESV)
If you are watching this video, you probably don’t need to call 9-1-1. But I’m guessing many of you are facing troubles and trials. I encourage you to follow the wisdom of the one who wrote this psalm. Know and be confident in the truth that whatever troubles you are facing, either now or later, you can call on the Lord.
Even when it seems he hasn’t answered, or answers in a way different than you desired, you can be sure you are not getting a recording or being put on hold. He hears you and always responds with the right answer at the right time.
I’m Greg Williams, Speaking of Life.
SECOND READING
18 Then the Lord appeared to him by [a]the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, 3 and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. 4 Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.”
They said, “Do as you have said.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. 8 So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.
9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?”
So he said, “Here, in the tent.”
10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.”
(Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and[b]Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”
15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid.
And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”
Genesis 21:1-7
21 And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac.[a]4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, “God has [b]made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.” 7 She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.”
SHARING TIME
- THE LIVING YEARS … Mike and The Mechanics …
THIRD READING
5 Therefore, having been justified by faith, [a]we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces [b]perseverance; 4 and perseverance, [c]character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
6 For when we were still without strength, [d]in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
SPECIAL MUSIC
SERMON
- The disciples were chosen … John 6:70 … John 15:16 …
- We were chosen … 1 Thessalonians 1:4 … 1 Peter 2:9 …
- But WHY? Why did God choose them? Why did God choose us?
- Why does God choose disciples? Do they just follow Jesus Christ? And, if that’s all they need to do, WHY do they follow??
- Our text today should shed some light on that topic … and give an answer to those questions?
Chosen to be More Than Just Followers
Matthew 9:35-10:8
10 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,[b] cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.
SONG OF RESPONSE
- HERE I AM, LORD … John Michael Talbot …
CLOSING SONG
CLOSING PRAYER
BENEDICTION