Everything Beautiful
Chapel Worship Guide 1.20.2013
Service Order for 9:00 AM Sunday, January 20, 2013
Nemmers Family Chapel at Advocate Condell
Welcome–Barbara Shafer, Christ Church Highland Park
Worship in Song
Prayer– Bill Slater, http://billslaterministries.wordpress.com/
Scripture Reading (NIV):
Psalm 91:1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” 3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. 8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. 9 If you make the Most High your dwelling– even the LORD, who is my refuge– 10 then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. 11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; 12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. 14 “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'” 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'” 11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him
Sermon: “The Temptation of Jesus Christ”—by Bill Slater
Songs of Response:
Benediction – Bill Slater
His Ways are Higher
When God seems to make no sense and His ways seem to lead us in a direction we don’t want to go, it helps to know that His ways always align with His character; His plan never deviates from His revealed will; His directions are always perfect; and His thoughts and actions toward us are always loving.
Blessing
Be Strengthened
Near to God
Do you ever get homesick? Maybe you’ve been on the road and you’re yearning for home so you can rest your head at the end of a long journey. Or perhaps you’ve been looking for a space that feels so comfortable that you can finally let your guard down. Or could it be you’ve been scared or vulnerable and all you want is some place where peace reigns and safety and security rule?
Near to God is such a place.
It is a place Christians can call home because certainly we feel like aliens and strangers on this earth. Near to God is a space where we can take comfort in knowing that we are fully known and yet there is no judgment for the shortcomings we have. It is a place where we experience the rest and peace of God –we can dwell with absolute safety and security because God tells us that He is our refuge in times of trouble.
I always enjoyed watching the show Cheers! but it was more for the opening song and less, I suppose, because the plot was excellent or the acting was believable. The theme song touched a sentiment of comfort for the weary:
“Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.
Wouldn’t you like to get away?
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see, our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where you can see, our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows Your name.”
Being near to God is better than that. He knows our names, intimate details of how many hairs are on our head, and moreover, He knows our hearts.
Being Near to God is comfort food for the soul.
The LORD is My Shepherd
Chapel Worship Guide 1.13.2013
Service Order for 9:00 AM
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Nemmers Family Chapel at Advocate Condell
Prelude
Welcome — Barbara Shafer, Christ Church Highland Park
Invocation—Pastor Rick Sutton, Lakeview Presbyterian Church
Prayer
Worship in Song
Hymn 288
Hymn 224
Scripture Reading:
Isaiah 42:1-7 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
The Servant, a Light to the Nations
42 Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
3 a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 He will not grow faint or be crushed
until he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
5 Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
6 I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
a light to the nations,
7 to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
Psalm 2:7-9
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
7 I will tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron,
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Message –The Baptism of Jesus, Pastor Rick Sutton
Hymn of Response
Hymn 344
Benediction—Pastor Rick Sutton
Those Who Wait Upon the LORD
Waiting isn’t most people’s favorite activity. As a matter of fact, I hate waiting. I will take alternate routes to avoid waiting at stoplights or being stuck in traffic. I will treat the checkout lanes like a NASCAR event in which I–like so many others–rapidly scan all the lanes to assess which has the shortest line and develop a quick algorithm to determine which clerk is the fastest and whose items are the smallest quantity. Then, to make matters worse, I get in a lane and second-guess myself as I watch my competitors achieve checkout status sooner than I do. Waiting is something that seems to be a waste of time.
Waiting upon the LORD is different. That’s because the results aren’t up to people. The results are up to God. When we wait upon people, we encounter price checks and coupons and no UPC codes. When we wait upon God, we wait upon One whose timing is always perfect. What seems to us as a delay is actually the parenthesis in which God continues His work unseen to us. While He continues to work, He tells us that we will regain our strength. We will be renewed, refreshed, and recharged. Frankly, the battle many of us face on a daily basis is beyond our ability to endure. But when we wait upon the LORD, He fights the battle because these spiritual battles are His to fight. Yet, there are useful activities we can do during the parenthesis of God’s solo effort which will refresh us until we can rejoin Him in the work He is doing. We can worship God in song, read Scripture, pray, or engage in other spiritual disciplines such as fasting while we wait upon Him. He needs no parenthesis of refreshment because He is God. Our humanity makes us frail but a testimony to God’s love and grace is that He refreshes us when we wait upon Him.
