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It is our privilege to gather this coming Lord’s Day before the presence of the true God who is. We are the humble recipients of such remarkable grace through Jesus Christ. We boldly and reverently enter the presence of the Holy One with the name of Jesus Christ upon us. Let us do with thanksgiving and joy.

The prayer service this Sunday will continue our exploration of the use of prayer in Luke’s Gospel. For October, I’m introducing to the hymn “Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven.” This is a hymn many probably already know, but it needs to be part of our church’s regular vocabulary. This hymn is actually a metricized setting of Psalm 103. (If you’d like to read a contemplation about different ways of setting Psalm 103 in English, see this post by Anna Staples.)

This Lord’s Day, the sermon will conclude the exposition of 1 Corinthians 13. I will especially focus on the “then” of verses 12-13. Love continues on into eternity where our present knowledge does not. This passage gives us a great glimpse of the glory in store for us through Jesus Christ. This is the order of service:

Call to Worship: Colossians 3:16-17

Hymn 310 [Red] Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise

Congregational Reading: Psalm 144:1-6, 9-10, 15

Doxology: Doxology, Red 437

Hymn 263 [Red] O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

Hymn 154 [Red] O Come with Thanks, God’s Goodness Praising

Prayer

Offering

Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 30:16-31 & 2 Corinthians 5:11-21

Hymn 363 [Red] Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart The hymn “Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart” once again captures the themes of 1 Corinthians 13. The love and knowledge we will have when we see our Lord “face to face” is well captured in the last stanza: “And then from death awaken me that these mine eyes with joy may see, O Son of God, Thy glorious face, My Savior and my Fount of grace. Lord Jesus Christ, my prayer attend, and I will praise Thee without end.” When we see Christ, our knowledge will be completed and fulfilled, for we will no longer know our God indirectly through the spiritual gifts that have been so useful to us in this present age. Instead, we will the “glorious face” of our Savior, the Son of God. At that moment, our praise–and our love–will never end.    

Sermon: Now and Then, Part 3 from 1 Corinthians 13:8-13

Hymn 126 [Blue] Rock of Ages

Prayer

Benediction

​In ​the afternoon service following the fellowship dinner, we will join around the Lord’s Table to remember our Savior’s death for our sins. I will be preaching from John 19:26-27 and the third word of Jesus from the cross. In this communion service, we will be singing “Jesus, What a Friend for Sinners” (Red 259), “Father, We Thank Thee Who Hast Planted” (Red 206), “There is a Fountain Filled with Blood,” and “The Song of Simeon” (Red 425).