APRIL 7, 2024

Prelude     Fanfare on "Llanfair"          Raymond H. Haan

Hail the day that sees him rise, Alleluia! 

to his throne beyond the skies. Alleluia!

Welcome and Greeting

Preparation of Our Hearts

Call to Worship

Our help is in the name of the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

O come, let us sing to the Lord

and shout with joy to the rock of our salvation!

Let us come into God’s presence with thanksgiving,

singing joyful songs of praise.

Hymn     Insert     Come Praise and Glorify

Prayer of Confession and Assurance of Pardon

Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 60:

Q. How are you righteous before God?

A. Only by true faith in Jesus Christ.

Even though my conscience accuses me of having grievously sinned against all God’s commandments, of never having kept any of them, and of still being inclined toward all evil, nevertheless, without any merit of my own, out of sheer grace, God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner, and as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me.

All I need to do is accept this gift with a believing heart.

Psalter     Psalm 133     (NRSVUE)          Ron Smith

1How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!

2It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes.

3It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion.  For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life forevermore.

Prayer for Illumination                                                           

Old Testament Reading     Genesis 15:1-6   

       15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, 

for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” 4But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” 5He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6And he believed the Lord, and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

Congregation: Thanks be to God for His Word.

Anthem     Christ Our Hope in Life and Death

What is our hope in life and death?

Christ alone, christ alone

What is our only confidence

That our souls to him belong?

Who holds our days within his hand?

What comes apart from his command?

And what will keep us to the end?

The love of Christ in which we stand

What truth can calm the troubled soul?

God is good, God is good

Where is his grace and goodness known

In our great redeemer’s blood?

Who holds our faith when fears arise?

Who stands above the stormy trial?

Who sends the waves that bring us nigh? 

Unto shore, the rock of Christ

O sing hallelujah

Our hope springs eternal

O sing hallelujah

Now and ever we confess

Christ our hope in life and death

Christ is our hope

Unto the grave what will we sing?

Christ, he lives! Christ, he lives!

And what reward will heaven bring?

Everlasting life with him

There we will rise to meet the Lord

Then sin and death will be destroyed

And we will feast in endless joy

When Christ is ours forevermore

O sing hallelujah

Our hope springs eternal

O sing hallelujah

Now and ever we confess

Christ our hope in life and death

Christ is our hope in life and death

Children’s Sermon

Hymn     # 556     Great Is Thy Faithfulness          (Gray Psalter Hymnal)

New Testament Reading     John 8:31-47

       31Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?”

       34Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. 36So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. 37I know that you are descendants of Abraham, yet you look for an opportunity to kill me because there is no place in you for my word. 38I declare what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father.”

       39They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, you would do what Abraham did, 40but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41You are indeed doing what your father does.” They said to him, “We are not illegitimate children; we have one Father, God himself.” 42Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God, and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me. 43Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word. 44You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God.”

Sermon          Pastor Andrew Winter