As we strive to encourage families and small groups to worship, we pray and hope this audio recording will encourage you on Sunday mornings in your homes.
As you use this order of worship, listen along with our pre-recorded order of worship and sermon.
May Scripture Memory
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. . — Philippians 3:20-21
Reflection Quote
The triune God is free – the Lord of creation and redemption can bring transformation however he chooses. But again and again, through the Old Testament and New, God chooses his Word as the instrument of transformation by the Spirit. Yet this Word is not an abstraction. When the psalmists show us the proper posture toward God’s Word, they do not simply speak of the Word giving a “correct theology,” and that “correct theology” leading to transformation. They long for God’s Word; they feed upon and ache for the Word. God chooses to transform his people as his people hear and taste God’s Word by the Spirit, longing and aching for God’s Word, finding their nourishment upon God’s Word in a parched land.
… A core instinct in Christian worship is that we need to do more than think about God’s Word; we need to hide it in our hearts. Enlivened by the Spirit, we soak in God’s Word, delight in it, attending to it, redirecting our deepest desires and affections in and through it.
J. Todd Billings, Remembrance, Communion and Hope
Welcome, Prayer, and Call to Worship
1 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. 2 Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. 3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. 4 One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. 5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. 6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. 7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. 8 The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. 10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! 11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, 12 to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. 13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works. — Psalm 145:1-13
Thine Be the Glory # 274
Verse 1. Thine be the glory, risen, conqu'ring Son; endless is the vict'ry thou o’er death hast won; angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away, kept the folded grave clothes where thy body lay.
Refrain: Thine be the glory, risen conqu'ring Son; endless is the vict'ry thou o’er death hast won.
Verse 2. Lo! Jesus meets thee, risen from the tomb; lovingly he greets us, scatters fear and gloom; let the church with gladness, hymns of triumph sing; for her Lord now liveth, death hath lost its sting. [Refrain]
Verse 3. No more we doubt thee, glorious Prince of life; life is naught without thee; aid us in our strife; make us more than conqu'rors, thro' thy deathless love; bring us safe thro' Jordan to thy home above. [Refrain]
Affirmation of Faith
Westminster Larger Catechism (Q. 53)
Q. 53. How was Christ exalted in his ascension?
A. Christ was exalted in his ascension, in that having after his resurrection often appeared unto and conversed with his apostles, speaking to them of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, and giving them commission to preach the gospel to all nations, forty days after his resurrection, he, in our nature, and as our head, triumphing over enemies, visibly went up into the highest heavens, there to receive gifts for men, to raise up our affections thither, and to prepare a place for us, where himself is, and shall continue till his second coming at the end of the world.
Prayer of Confession
Father, we want to acknowledge that it is your Spirit, and your Spirit alone, that enables us to see our sin and our need for you. If we were left to ourselves, we would never see the continual rebellion and self-love within. We would persist in doing what our selfish natures would want to do, rather than loving you.
Father, we acknowledge at the same time that it is your Spirit alone that enables us to see the beauty and perfect work of your Son. You have opened our eyes to the atoning sacrifice of your Son and all that he has accomplished in salvation.
Forgive me, Lord, for living like my salvation is based on my accomplishments and goodness. I can only understand your salvation and your truth because you have opened my heart and mind. Help me, Lord, to depend on you for everything.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Galatians 4:4-7 - But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
Thanks be to God!
Pastoral Prayer
IPC Family
Janis Eckenwiler
Richard & Jeanne Edmunds
DeLand Community
City of Deland Municipal Government
Nations
Good Samaritan Clinic
My Faith Looks Up to Thee # 528
Verse 1. My faith looks up to thee, thou Lamb of Calvary, Savior divine; now hear me while I pray, take all my guilt away, O let me from this day be wholly thine.
Verse 2. May thy rich grace impart strength to my fainting heart, my zeal inspire; as thou hast died for me, O may my love to thee pure, warm, and changeless be, a living fire.
Verse 3. While life's dark maze I tread, and griefs around me spread, be thou my guide; bid darkness turn to day, wipe sorrow's tears away, nor let me ever stray from thee aside.
Verse 4. When ends life's transient dream, when death's cold, sullen stream shall o'er me roll, blest Savior, then, in love, fear and distrust remove; O bear me safe above, a ransomed soul.
Sermon Text
Luke 24:50–53; Acts 1:1–11
50 And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51 While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple blessing God.
1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Prayer
Sermon Outline
King Jesus: Proclamation
Introduction
Recap (v. 1-3)
Wait (v. 4-5)
Power (v. 6-8)
Glory (v. 9-11)
I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
Verse 1. I heard the voice of Jesus say, "Come unto me and rest; lay down, O weary one, lay down your head upon my breast." I came to Jesus as I was, so weary and worn and sad; I found in him a resting place, and he has made me glad.
Verse 2. I heard the voice of Jesus say, "Behold, I freely give the living water, thirsty one; stoop down and drink, and live." I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life-giving stream; my thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in him.
Verse 3. I heard the voice of Jesus say, "I am this dark world's Light; look unto me, your morn shall rise, and all your days be bright." I looked to Jesus and I found in him my Star, my Sun; and in that light of life I'll walk, 'til trav'ling days are done.