March 19, 2023
Call to Worship
Psalm 100
A PSALM FOR GIVING THANKS.
Leader: Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
All: Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
The Love Of The Father
CityAlight
Lift up your voices and lift up your praise
Join with the heavens declaring the wonders
Of His faithfulness forever
Sing of the victory, the hope of the world
The Savior has risen, the Spirit has come to
Bring us into love forever
Chorus:
Oh, we are the people of God
With the freedom of hope in our hearts
How great is the love of the Father
Lifted from darkness and into the light
The sons and the daughters are loved at a price
Our God has made us His forever
Bridge:
This is the song of the redeemed, the ransomed and the free
Given life at such a price; this is love, this is love
And when the Father calls us home and we see Him on the throne
Hear the voices sing as one, “This is love, this is love”
Thy Mercy
By John Stoker and Sandra McCracken
Thy mercy, my God is the theme of my song
The joy of my heart and the boast of my tongue
Thy free grace alone from the first to the last
Has won my affections and bound my soul fast
Without Thy sweet mercy I could not live here
Sin would reduce me to utter despair
But through Thy free goodness, my spirits revive
And He that first made me still keeps me alive
Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart
Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart
Dissolved by Thy goodness, I fall to the ground
And week for the praise of the mercy I found
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Great Father of mercies, Thy goodness I own
And the covenant love of Thy crucified Son
All praise to the Spirit whose whisper divine
Seals mercy and pardon and righteousness mine
All praise to the Spirit whose whisper divine
Seals mercy and pardon and righteousness mine
Prayer of Confession
2 Peter 1:5-9
Leader: …make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,
All: and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
Leader: For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
All: For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.
Silent Prayers
God’s Assurance of Forgiveness
2 Peter 3:3-4, 8-9
Leader: …knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, "Where is the promise of [the Lord’s] coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation."
All: But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
Hold Thou My Hand
Lyrics: Fanny Crosby, 1874; Music: Nathan Partain, 2015
Hold Thou my hand; so weak I am and helpless
I dare not take one step without Thy aid
Hold Thou my hand, for then, O loving Savior
No dread of ill shall make my soul afraid
Hold Thou my hand and closer, draw me closer
To Thy dear self, my hope, my joy, my all
Hold Thou my hand, lest happily I should wander
And missing Thee, my trembling feet should fall
Hold Thou my hand; the way is dark before me
Without the sunlight of Thy face divine
But when by faith I catch its radiant glory
What heights of joy, what rapturous songs are mine
Hold Thou my hand, that when I reach the margin
Of that lone river Thou didst cross for me
A heavenly light may flash along its waters
And every wave like crystal bright shall be
Hold Thou my hand; so weak I am and helpless
I dare not take one step without Thy aid
I dare not take one step without Thy aid
Family Life
† During a brief intermission, children can go with their teachers for a lesson.
The musicians will call us back with a song reprised.
Pastoral Prayer
Elder Bill Kennedy, Christ Community Church, Carmel
Sermon Passage
Genesis 19:1-29
The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth 2 and said, "My lords, please turn aside to your servant's house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way." They said, "No; we will spend the night in the town square." 3 But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them." 6 Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, 7 and said, "I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8 Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof." 9 But they said, "Stand back!" And they said, "This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them." Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11 And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.
12 Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. 13 For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it." 14 So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, "Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city." But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.
15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city." 16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 And as they brought them out, one said, "Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away." 18 And Lot said to them, "Oh, no, my lords. 19 Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. 20 Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there- is it not a little one?- and my life will be saved!" 21 He said to him, "Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 28 And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. 29 So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.
Pastor: The grass withers and the flower fades...
All: ...but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8)
Sermon
"The Grace of God’s Judgement"
Pastor Mike McBride
Goodness of God
By Ed Cash and Jenn Johnson
I love You, Lord Oh, Your mercy never fails me
All my days, I’ve been held in Your hands
From the moment that I wake up until I lay my head
I will sing of the goodness of God
Chorus: All my life You have been faithful
All my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
I will sing of the goodness of God
I love Your voice You have led me through the fire
In darkest night, You are close like no other
I’ve known You as a Father, I’ve known You as a friend
I have lived in the goodness of God
Bridge:
Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me
Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me
With my life laid down, I’m surrendered now, I give You everything
Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me
I will sing of the goodness of God
I will sing of the goodness of God
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.
King of Love
Henry Williams Baker. arr. I Am They.
The King of love my Shepherd is whose goodness faileth never
I nothing lack if I am His and He is mine forever, and He is mine forever
Where streams of living water flow my ransomed soul He leadeth
And where the verdant pastures grow with food celestial feedeth
CHORUS:
Never failing ruler of my heart
Everlasting lover of my soul
On the mountain high or in the valley low
The King of love my Shepherd is
The King of love my Shepherd is
Lost and foolish oft I strayed but yet in love He sought me
And on His shoulder gently laid and home, rejoicing, brought me
In death's dark vale I fear no ill with Thee, dear Lord, beside me
Thy rod and staff my comfort still, Thy cross before to guide me
BRIDGE:
Oh——— Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Oh——— Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
And so through all the length of days, Thy goodness faileth never
Good Shepherd, may I sing Your praise within Your house forever. Within Your house forever
Benediction
Psalm 100
A PSALM FOR GIVING THANKS.
Leader: Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
All: Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
The Love Of The Father
CityAlight
Lift up your voices and lift up your praise
Join with the heavens declaring the wonders
Of His faithfulness forever
Sing of the victory, the hope of the world
The Savior has risen, the Spirit has come to
Bring us into love forever
Chorus:
Oh, we are the people of God
With the freedom of hope in our hearts
How great is the love of the Father
Lifted from darkness and into the light
The sons and the daughters are loved at a price
Our God has made us His forever
Bridge:
This is the song of the redeemed, the ransomed and the free
Given life at such a price; this is love, this is love
And when the Father calls us home and we see Him on the throne
Hear the voices sing as one, “This is love, this is love”
Thy Mercy
By John Stoker and Sandra McCracken
Thy mercy, my God is the theme of my song
The joy of my heart and the boast of my tongue
Thy free grace alone from the first to the last
Has won my affections and bound my soul fast
Without Thy sweet mercy I could not live here
Sin would reduce me to utter despair
But through Thy free goodness, my spirits revive
And He that first made me still keeps me alive
Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart
Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart
Dissolved by Thy goodness, I fall to the ground
And week for the praise of the mercy I found
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Great Father of mercies, Thy goodness I own
And the covenant love of Thy crucified Son
All praise to the Spirit whose whisper divine
Seals mercy and pardon and righteousness mine
All praise to the Spirit whose whisper divine
Seals mercy and pardon and righteousness mine
Prayer of Confession
2 Peter 1:5-9
Leader: …make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,
All: and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
Leader: For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
All: For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.
Silent Prayers
God’s Assurance of Forgiveness
2 Peter 3:3-4, 8-9
Leader: …knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, "Where is the promise of [the Lord’s] coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation."
All: But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
Hold Thou My Hand
Lyrics: Fanny Crosby, 1874; Music: Nathan Partain, 2015
Hold Thou my hand; so weak I am and helpless
I dare not take one step without Thy aid
Hold Thou my hand, for then, O loving Savior
No dread of ill shall make my soul afraid
Hold Thou my hand and closer, draw me closer
To Thy dear self, my hope, my joy, my all
Hold Thou my hand, lest happily I should wander
And missing Thee, my trembling feet should fall
Hold Thou my hand; the way is dark before me
Without the sunlight of Thy face divine
But when by faith I catch its radiant glory
What heights of joy, what rapturous songs are mine
Hold Thou my hand, that when I reach the margin
Of that lone river Thou didst cross for me
A heavenly light may flash along its waters
And every wave like crystal bright shall be
Hold Thou my hand; so weak I am and helpless
I dare not take one step without Thy aid
I dare not take one step without Thy aid
Family Life
† During a brief intermission, children can go with their teachers for a lesson.
The musicians will call us back with a song reprised.
Pastoral Prayer
Elder Bill Kennedy, Christ Community Church, Carmel
Sermon Passage
Genesis 19:1-29
The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth 2 and said, "My lords, please turn aside to your servant's house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way." They said, "No; we will spend the night in the town square." 3 But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them." 6 Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, 7 and said, "I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8 Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof." 9 But they said, "Stand back!" And they said, "This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them." Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11 And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.
12 Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. 13 For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it." 14 So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, "Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city." But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.
15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city." 16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 And as they brought them out, one said, "Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away." 18 And Lot said to them, "Oh, no, my lords. 19 Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. 20 Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there- is it not a little one?- and my life will be saved!" 21 He said to him, "Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 28 And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. 29 So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.
Pastor: The grass withers and the flower fades...
All: ...but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8)
Sermon
"The Grace of God’s Judgement"
Pastor Mike McBride
Goodness of God
By Ed Cash and Jenn Johnson
I love You, Lord Oh, Your mercy never fails me
All my days, I’ve been held in Your hands
From the moment that I wake up until I lay my head
I will sing of the goodness of God
Chorus: All my life You have been faithful
All my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
I will sing of the goodness of God
I love Your voice You have led me through the fire
In darkest night, You are close like no other
I’ve known You as a Father, I’ve known You as a friend
I have lived in the goodness of God
Bridge:
Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me
Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me
With my life laid down, I’m surrendered now, I give You everything
Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me
I will sing of the goodness of God
I will sing of the goodness of God
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.
King of Love
Henry Williams Baker. arr. I Am They.
The King of love my Shepherd is whose goodness faileth never
I nothing lack if I am His and He is mine forever, and He is mine forever
Where streams of living water flow my ransomed soul He leadeth
And where the verdant pastures grow with food celestial feedeth
CHORUS:
Never failing ruler of my heart
Everlasting lover of my soul
On the mountain high or in the valley low
The King of love my Shepherd is
The King of love my Shepherd is
Lost and foolish oft I strayed but yet in love He sought me
And on His shoulder gently laid and home, rejoicing, brought me
In death's dark vale I fear no ill with Thee, dear Lord, beside me
Thy rod and staff my comfort still, Thy cross before to guide me
BRIDGE:
Oh——— Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Oh——— Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
And so through all the length of days, Thy goodness faileth never
Good Shepherd, may I sing Your praise within Your house forever. Within Your house forever
Benediction
† We invite you to stretch out your hands as you receive the Lord’s blessing.
Posted in Worship Guide