SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY
February 16th, 2025 Ten Thirty in the morning
Minister: Rev. Dr. Martha Robson
Liturgist: Jeremy Moore
Please silence all cell phones.
Bold face indicates congregational participation.
THE PEOPLE ARE GATHERED IN
PROCESSIONAL HYMN [Blue#][GTG#353] My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less
- 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.
Refrain:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand; all other ground is sinking sand.
- When darkness seems to hide his face, I rest on his unchanging grace; in every high and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the veil. [Refrain]
- 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. [Refrain]
- When he shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in him be found, dressed in his righteousness alone,
WORDS OF WELCOME
ADORATION
CALL TO WORSHIP 1 Cor. 15:12, 20
ONE: This is the hope that we proclaim:
MANY: that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Almighty God,
you gave the law to guide our lives. May we never shrink from your commandments, but, as we are taught by your Son Jesus, fulfill the law in perfect love; through Christ our Lord and Savior, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
HYMN [Blue#][GTG#749] Come! Live in the Light!
1 Come! Live in the light! Shine with the joy and the love of the Lord! We are called to be light for the kingdom, to live in the freedom of the city of God.
Refrain:
We are called to act with justice; we are called to love tenderly;
we are called to serve one another, to walk humbly with God.
2 Come! Open your heart! Show your mercy to all those in fear! We are called o be hope for the hopeless so hatred and violence will be no more. Refrain.
3 Sing! Sing a new song! Sing of that great day when all will be one! God will reign, and we’ll walk with each other
as sisters and brothers united in love. Refrain.
REPENTANCE
CALL TO CONFESSION
SILENT CONFESSION
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Eternal God, our judge and redeemer,
We confess that we have tried to hide from you, for we have done wrong. We have lived for ourselves, and apart from you. We have turned from our neighbors, and refused to bear the burdens of others. We have ignored the pain of the world, and passed by the hungry, the poor, and the oppressed. In your great mercy forgive our sins and free us from selfishness, that we may choose your will and obey your commandments; through Jesus Christ our Savior.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
GLORIA PATRI [Blue#579[ [GTG581]
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning,
THE WORD READ AND PROCLAIMED
1st SCRIPTURE Jeremiah 17:5-10
Thus says the Lord: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord. They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit. The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse— who can understand it? I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings.
2nd SCRIPTURE Luke 6:17-26
He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.
Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. “Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. “Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
ONE: The Word of the Lord
MANY: Thanks be to God
SERMON “Expectations of the Kingdom” Rev. Martha Robson
RESPONSE
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH Apostle’s Creed
I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
RECEIVING OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
DOXOLOGY [GTG#609]
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise God, all creatures here below;
Praise God above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE 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; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
HYMN [Blue #][GTG#753] Make Me a Channel of Your Peace
1 Make me a channel of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me bring your love.
Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord,
and where there’s doubt, true faith in you.
2 Make me a channel of your peace. Where there’s despair in life, let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness, only light, and where there’s sadness, ever joy.
3 O, Master, grant that I may never seek so much to be consoled as to console, To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love with all my soul.
4 Make me a channel of your peace. It is in pardoning
that we are pardoned, In giving of ourselves that we receive, and in dying that we’re born to eternal life.
PARTING PRAYER
Heavenly Creator,
Your faithfulness to your covenant frees us to live together in the security of your powerful love. Amid all the changing words of our generation, speak your eternal word that does not change. Then may we respond to your gracious promises by living in faith and obedience; through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
RESPONSE [Blue#][GTG#649] Amazing Grace
4 The Lord has promised good to me,
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.
POSTLUDE Open the Eyes of My Heart arr. Paul Baloche
*Note: the hymn lyrics in the bulletin and on the projection screen are from the Glory To God Hymnal (© 2013 Westminster John Knox Press), which we are transitioning to. Words in the “Blue” Presbyterian Hymnal (© 1990) in your pew may differ slightly. The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved.
STAFF |
Church Office 504.888.1375
Playschool Office 504.888.1378
Briana Mayfield – Church Office Assistant
Lauren Oufnac – Playschool Director
Stephanie Galliano – Playschool Admin. Asst.
For more information, visit our website at www.JohnCalvinChurch.org
or find us @JohnCalvinMetairie on Facebook and Instagram.