March 17, 2024
Call to Worship
Revelation 5:1-5, 11-13
Leader: Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals." And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain… Then I looked, and I heard [a multitude of voices saying]
All: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" … "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!"
All My Ways Are Known to You
CityAlight
In days of peace and days of rest
In times of loss and loneliness
Though rich or poor, Your word is true
That all my ways are known to You
No trial has come beyond Your hand
No step I walk beyond Your plan
The path is dark outside my view
Still all my ways are known to You
CHORUS:
And oh what peace that I have found wherever I may be
For all my ways are known to You Hallelujah, they are known to You!
I do not fear the final night
For death will be the door to life
You take my hand and lead me through
For all my ways are known to You
BRIDGE:
Open up my eyes so I may see
That You have made these ways for me
Open up my eyes so I may see
That You my God, will walk with me
Come Thou Fount
Robert Robinson (1758); Alterer: Martin Madan (1760).
Come Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy, never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love
Here I raise my Ebenezer,
Hither by Thy help I come
And I hope by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood
O to grace how great a debtor,
Daily I'm constrained to be
Let Thy goodness like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it;
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, Lord take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above
O that day when freed from sinning
I shall see Thy lovely face
Clothed then in my blood washed linen,
How I'll sing Thy sovereign grace
Come, my Lord, do not tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away
Send Thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless days
Confession of Sin
Romans 3:9-18
Leader: What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin, as it is written:
All: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.
Leader: All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."
All: "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips."
Leader: "Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness."
All: "Their feet are swift to shed blood;
Leader: in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known."
All: "There is no fear of God before their eyes."
Silent Prayers
Assurance of Forgiveness
Romans 3:19-25
Leader: Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
All: But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it- the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.
Leader: For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
All: and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.
Psalm 116 (I Love You, Lord)
By Mission House
I love you, Lord, for You have delivered me
I love you, Lord, for You have delivered…
CHORUS:
My soul from death, my feet from stumbling
I will walk in the land of the living
My soul from death, my feet from stumbling
I will walk in the land of the living
I will bless You, Lord, for You heard my cry
I reached out my hand and You saved my life
I will bless You, Lord, for You heard my plea
And the God of Heaven turned His ear to me
I will bless You, Lord, for unending love
For Your grace and mercy raining down from above
I will bless You, Lord, to the very end
I will call on You as long as I may live
Pastoral Prayer
Thanksgiving and Petition
Family Life and Offerings
† Tithes and offerings can be given at fieldspres.org/give or in the offering box.
† During a brief intermission, children can go with their teachers for a lesson.
The musicians will call us back with song.
Sermon Passage
Ecclesiastes 7:15-29
15 In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. 16 Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? 17 Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time? 18 It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them. 19 Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.
20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
21 Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. 22 Your heart knows that many times you have yourself cursed others.
23 All this I have tested by wisdom. I said, "I will be wise," but it was far from me. 24 That which has been is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out?
25 I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness. 26 And I find something more bitter than death: the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her. 27 Behold, this is what I found, says the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things- 28 which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found. 29 See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.
Leader: The grass withers, the flower fades,
All: but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8)
Sermon
"The Search for a System"
Pastor Mike McBride
On Christ The Solid Rock
By Edward Mote (1834); Arr: Justin Cofield
My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
but wholly lean on Jesus' name
When darkness veils His lovely face
I rest on His unchanging grace
in every high and stormy gale
my anchor holds within the veil
CHORUS:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand
His oath, His covenant, His blood
support me in the whelming flood
When all around my soul gives way
He then is all my hope and stay
When He shall come with trumpet sound
O may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
faultless to stand before the throne (Chorus)
All my hope is in You, All my strength is in You
All my hope is in You, All my strength is in You
The Lord’s Supper
† Receive bread and juice from one of our section hosts near you. Gluten free wafers are available at the front table. We will all eat and drink together.
Let The Nations Be Glad
By Matt Boswell, Aaron Boswell, Matt Papa.
Let the glory of the Lord forever be our joy
May redemption be the theme of our song
For by grace we have been saved and by grace we shall proclaim
To the corners of the earth that Christ has come
CHORUS:
Let the nations be glad; Let the people rejoice
For salvation belongs to our God
Let the whole earth be filled with the praises of the Lord
For salvation belongs to our God; Let the nations be glad
Through the ages gone before; through the trial and the sword
Many saints and martyrs conquered though they died
Still we're holding out the cross, crossing oceans, suffering loss
Shall endure all things to win the crown of life (Chorus)
As Your holy church goes forth in the Holy Spirit's power
With the glories of the gospel to explain
Now we pray Your kingdom come, and we pray Your will be done
For the honor and the glory of Your Name (Chorus)
Benediction
† We invite you to stretch out your hands as you receive the Lord’s blessing.
Revelation 5:1-5, 11-13
Leader: Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals." And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain… Then I looked, and I heard [a multitude of voices saying]
All: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" … "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!"
All My Ways Are Known to You
CityAlight
In days of peace and days of rest
In times of loss and loneliness
Though rich or poor, Your word is true
That all my ways are known to You
No trial has come beyond Your hand
No step I walk beyond Your plan
The path is dark outside my view
Still all my ways are known to You
CHORUS:
And oh what peace that I have found wherever I may be
For all my ways are known to You Hallelujah, they are known to You!
I do not fear the final night
For death will be the door to life
You take my hand and lead me through
For all my ways are known to You
BRIDGE:
Open up my eyes so I may see
That You have made these ways for me
Open up my eyes so I may see
That You my God, will walk with me
Come Thou Fount
Robert Robinson (1758); Alterer: Martin Madan (1760).
Come Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy, never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love
Here I raise my Ebenezer,
Hither by Thy help I come
And I hope by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood
O to grace how great a debtor,
Daily I'm constrained to be
Let Thy goodness like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it;
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, Lord take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above
O that day when freed from sinning
I shall see Thy lovely face
Clothed then in my blood washed linen,
How I'll sing Thy sovereign grace
Come, my Lord, do not tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away
Send Thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless days
Confession of Sin
Romans 3:9-18
Leader: What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin, as it is written:
All: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.
Leader: All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."
All: "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips."
Leader: "Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness."
All: "Their feet are swift to shed blood;
Leader: in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known."
All: "There is no fear of God before their eyes."
Silent Prayers
Assurance of Forgiveness
Romans 3:19-25
Leader: Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
All: But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it- the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.
Leader: For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
All: and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.
Psalm 116 (I Love You, Lord)
By Mission House
I love you, Lord, for You have delivered me
I love you, Lord, for You have delivered…
CHORUS:
My soul from death, my feet from stumbling
I will walk in the land of the living
My soul from death, my feet from stumbling
I will walk in the land of the living
I will bless You, Lord, for You heard my cry
I reached out my hand and You saved my life
I will bless You, Lord, for You heard my plea
And the God of Heaven turned His ear to me
I will bless You, Lord, for unending love
For Your grace and mercy raining down from above
I will bless You, Lord, to the very end
I will call on You as long as I may live
Pastoral Prayer
Thanksgiving and Petition
Family Life and Offerings
† Tithes and offerings can be given at fieldspres.org/give or in the offering box.
† During a brief intermission, children can go with their teachers for a lesson.
The musicians will call us back with song.
Sermon Passage
Ecclesiastes 7:15-29
15 In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. 16 Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? 17 Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time? 18 It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them. 19 Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.
20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
21 Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. 22 Your heart knows that many times you have yourself cursed others.
23 All this I have tested by wisdom. I said, "I will be wise," but it was far from me. 24 That which has been is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out?
25 I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness. 26 And I find something more bitter than death: the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her. 27 Behold, this is what I found, says the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things- 28 which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found. 29 See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.
Leader: The grass withers, the flower fades,
All: but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8)
Sermon
"The Search for a System"
Pastor Mike McBride
On Christ The Solid Rock
By Edward Mote (1834); Arr: Justin Cofield
My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
but wholly lean on Jesus' name
When darkness veils His lovely face
I rest on His unchanging grace
in every high and stormy gale
my anchor holds within the veil
CHORUS:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand
His oath, His covenant, His blood
support me in the whelming flood
When all around my soul gives way
He then is all my hope and stay
When He shall come with trumpet sound
O may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
faultless to stand before the throne (Chorus)
All my hope is in You, All my strength is in You
All my hope is in You, All my strength is in You
The Lord’s Supper
† Receive bread and juice from one of our section hosts near you. Gluten free wafers are available at the front table. We will all eat and drink together.
Let The Nations Be Glad
By Matt Boswell, Aaron Boswell, Matt Papa.
Let the glory of the Lord forever be our joy
May redemption be the theme of our song
For by grace we have been saved and by grace we shall proclaim
To the corners of the earth that Christ has come
CHORUS:
Let the nations be glad; Let the people rejoice
For salvation belongs to our God
Let the whole earth be filled with the praises of the Lord
For salvation belongs to our God; Let the nations be glad
Through the ages gone before; through the trial and the sword
Many saints and martyrs conquered though they died
Still we're holding out the cross, crossing oceans, suffering loss
Shall endure all things to win the crown of life (Chorus)
As Your holy church goes forth in the Holy Spirit's power
With the glories of the gospel to explain
Now we pray Your kingdom come, and we pray Your will be done
For the honor and the glory of Your Name (Chorus)
Benediction
† We invite you to stretch out your hands as you receive the Lord’s blessing.
Posted in Worship Guide