At EP Church we believe worship is important. So, though we have canceled service for corporate worship on the Lord’s Day, we have put together a worship guide in order to help equip individuals and families to worship in their homes during this time.
Also, if you have young children, don’t miss this week’s worship guide activities that Mrs. Freer put together.
You can download the guide in PDF format here if you’d prefer to print or view it on a tablet or mobile device.
If you choose to use the PDF version of the guide, the sermon video and the music (There Is a Higher Throne; Jesus Shall Reign) can be streamed.
Worship Guide
March 29, 2020
Sermon Scripture Text
Jude 20–25 (ESV)
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
God invites us to worship Him. In order to respond you cannot set your trust in anything or anyone in whom there is no salvation. You can only worship the Triune God and be blessed this morning if your hope is in the LORD your God.
Call to Worship
Psalm 95:1–3, 6, 7
Reader: Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Response: Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
Reader: For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
Response: Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
Reader: For he is our God,
Response: And we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
Prayer of Invocation
Almighty and everlasting God, who has given grace to us Your servants, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of the Divine Majesty to worship Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We come into your presence with thanksgiving because You are the LORD and a great King above all gods. WE ask You to keep us steadfast in the faith, that we may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of our lives, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in His temple, that our worship and lives may glorify You; through the merits of Jesus Christ our LORD. Amen.
Let Us Sing to the Glory of God
Song—There Is A Higher Throne
1. There is a higher throne than all this world has known,
Where faithful ones from ev’ry tongue will one day come.
Before the Son we’ll stand, made faultless through the Lamb;
Believing hearts find promised grace; salvation comes.
Refrain
Hear heaven’s voices sing; their thund’rous anthem rings.
Through em’rald courts and sapphire skies their praises rise.
All glory, wisdom, pow’r, strength, thanks, and honor are
to God our King who reigns on high forevermore.
2. And there we’ll find our home, our life before the throne.
We’ll honor him in perfect song where we belong.
He’ll wipe each tear-stained eye as thirst and hunger die.
The Lamb becomes our Shepherd-King; we’ll reign with him.
CCLI Song # 3994672
Keith Getty | Kristyn Getty
© 2002 Thankyou Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)
For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com
CCLI License # 162703
The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of his Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God,
begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father;
by whom all things were made;
who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven,
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary,
and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried;
and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures,
and ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father;
and he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living and the
dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son;
who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified;
who spoke by the prophets;
and we believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church;
we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins;
and we look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
praise him, all creatures here below;
praise him above, ye heav’nly host:
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Old Testament Reading
Psalm 121
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
Prayer of Confession
Dear Father in heaven, You are the God of an everlasting covenant and the LORD over all things. We are indeed the people of your pasture, and the sheep of your hand, and You are our God, showing mercy constantly, and without scolding. You have delivered us from the consequences of our follies multiple times, according to Your covenant mercies. We ask You now to do so again. We ask You in the name of Your Son, the seal of our covenant with You.
We confess our corporate and individual sins before You and before one another. Our speech during these days has not always been gracious, seasoned with salt in our answers to one another. Too often we have set our minds on things that are on earth instead of on things that are above. We humbly acknowledge our many sins and ask You to give us the strength and courage to seek forgiveness from those we have wronged. Hear us we pray for Christ’s sake. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Titus 2:14
Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own.
Prayer of Petition
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, do not let our minds wander in the presence of the King of kings. Enable us LORD to not worry about our troubles but to cast our anxieties on you for you care for us better than we care for ourselves. Teach us to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable in your sight. Show us by your grace more and more of your glory in all its fullness. May it never be said of us here at EPC “Icabod”–“the glory has departed.”
As we continue in this pandemic time, we acknowledge you are the Lord of reformations, revivals and renewals. In the past you have delighted to visit your people again and again, and we plead You to do the same now. As a nation we are in your hands LORD and you will do what is right. Help us to see the origin of our cultural troubles and spiritual troubles has its origin in us your church, yet we have the solutions in the Word of God not in the wisdom of the world. May our church and the churches of our country and the world be known as men and women of the Bible, God’s inerrant, unchanging Word of truth, and as those who continue steadfastly in prayer.
We pray for those who are in high positions in our country for wisdom in their decisions that we may lead peaceful and quiet lives, free from the coronavirus and all its byproducts. As a result of the Fall, we all struggle throughout our lives with our physical wellness and sickness. We pray for many of our congregation who have ongoing health issues that you Lord as the Great Physician would heal them in your time as you enable them to depend on you. We pray especially for those who have been exposed or contracted the coronavirus. May those who are alone during this time find their rest and encouragement in their faithful Savior. Protect our nation and our people from those who would seek to destroy us. We pray for the protection of those in the womb who cannot defend for themselves and for the salvation of our covenant children.
As we begin this new time in the life of EPC, we pray for Pastor Chad, his wife Brooke and their children Savannah, Luke and Ryan as they adjust to a new environment and new friends. We thank you for our staff who have been faithfully working during this transition time as they looked forward to working with Pastor Chad. Finally, LORD, thank you for raising up and calling Elders and Deacons to serve in our church. May you equip them and use them during this unsettling time to minister in Word and deed to this congregation as faithful servants of our sovereign LORD. To You, O LORD God Almighty, we render all glory and praise in the name of our Redeemer King, Jesus Christ. Who taught us to pray,
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.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
We Give to the One Who Gave Us Everything
Part of our worship is giving. The church is a community of people committed to Christ and to one another. We share in God’s grace collectively and individually. During these unusual times, EPC still has many expenses and commitments to missionaries, staff and operating expenses. We show grace to one another as we share with those in need. In addition to your tithes, we would encourage you to give once a month to the Deacon’s Fund because we are helping those in our own body as well as people in our community. We can relinquish our resources for the sake of others because Christ has relinquished Himself for us.
During this time of social distancing, you can give online on our website, through the app GivePlus, or mail a check to the office (if it is for the Deacon’s Fund, please note on the memo).
Let us pray:
LORD Jesus Christ, forgive us for focusing too much on ourselves and on our personal rights. Renew our minds so that we may behave in such a way that would be foolish to most of our society. Teach us to give up things that we could rightfully claim for the sake of others who would be disadvantaged if we were to exercise those rights. Through the power of Your Holy Spirit, make our first impulse generosity and not judgment. In Christ’s Name we pray. Amen.
God Exhorts Us Through His Word
Sermon: A Belly Full of God’s Grace and a Hunger for the Kingdom
Pastor Anthony Gorsuch
We Respond with Praise
Hymn (Trinity #441)—Jesus Shall Reign
1. Jesus shall reign where'er the sun does his successive journeys run;
his kingdom stretch from shore to shore, till moons shall wax and wane no more.
2. To him shall endless prayer be made, and praises throng to crown his head;
his name, like sweet perfume, shall rise with every morning sacrifice.
3. People and realms of every tongue dwell on his love with sweetest song;
and infant voices shall proclaim their early blessings on his name.
4. Blessings abound where'er he reigns; the pris'ner leaps to lose his chains,
the weary find eternal rest, and all the sons of want are blest.
5. Let every creature rise and bring peculiar honors to our King,
angels descend with songs again, and earth repeat the loud amen!
Benediction
Hebrews 13:20–21
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.