Home Worship Guide

May 23, 2021

Welcome

Thank you so much for joining us! The following page will take you through the order of worship for this Sunday.

If you are new, welcome! We also want to invite you to learn more about us. You can do so by selecting the button below.
A few tips for parents:
  • Plan for your time – read through the guide and prepare the room where you are gathering
  • Make your time joyful – have fun!!!
  • Remember, it’s primarily about a relationship, not a task to scratch off
  • Have your kids participate in age and maturity appropriate ways – reading, singing, etc.
  • You are welcome to print out this week's Children's Bulletin here.

Time of Reflection

“What does not satisfy when we find it, was not the thing we were desiring.”
~C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) in Pilgrim’s Regress

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.”
~Steve Jobs (1955-2011) at Stanford commencement address

“In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don’t.”
~Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), French mathematician

“I freed thousands of slaves, but I would have freed hundreds more had they known they were slaves.”
~Harriet Tubman (1822-1913), key leader of the Underground Railroad

“When we submit our lives to what we read in scripture, we find that we are not being led to see God in our stories, but our stories in God’s. God is the larger context and plot in which our stories find themselves.”
~Eugene Peterson (1932-2018), pastor, scholar and author

“It is the identity that we ascribe to God out of doubt or faith in his Scriptures that will determine the identity we will give ourselves and ultimately the life that we inevitably live. If he is the Creator, then we are created. If he is Master, then we are servants. If he is love, then we are loved. If he is omnipotent, then we are not as powerful as we think. If he is omniscient, then there is nowhere to hide. If he cannot lie, then his promises are all true. It is faith in the truths of God’s character that has the power to completely revolutionize how our lives are lived out.”
~Jackie Hill-Perry, writer and hip-hop artist

“The first link between my soul and Christ is not my goodness but my badness; not my merit but my misery; not my riches but my need.”
~Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892), British preacher

Opening Prayer

(select someone from your group to open your service in prayer)

Call to Worship

Adapted from a common call to worship and Christ’s word in Matthew 11

LEADER: To all who are weary and need rest,

PEOPLE: To all who mourn and long for comfort,


LEADER: To all who feel worthless

PEOPLE: And wonder if God cares,

LEADER: To all who fail and desire strength,

PEOPLE: To all who sin and need a Savior,

LEADER: This church opens wide her doors with a welcome from Jesus Christ,

PEOPLE: For He is the Ally of his enemies, the Defender of the guilty, the Justifier of the inexcusable, the Friend of sinners.

LEADER: Indeed, listen as the Lord Jesus welcomes us all: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Songs & Liturgy

(sing as a group and/or sing along to recorded versions)
COME, THOU FOUNT OF EVERY BLESSING
(Robert Robinson & Asahel Nettleton, 1757)
Come, Thou Fount of ev’ry blessing,
Tune my heart to sing thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above;
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Here I raise mine “Ebenezer”;
Hither by Thy help I come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure;
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wand’ring heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for thy courts above.

Oh that day when freed from sinning
I shall see Thy lovely face
Full arrayed in blood-washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry
Bring Thy promises to pass
For I know Thy pow’r will keep me
Till I’m home with Thee at last.
PUBLIC DOMAIN
PSALM MEDITATION Psalm 2 (ESV)

LEADER: Why do the nations rage

PEOPLE: And the peoples plot in vain?

LEADER: The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,

PEOPLE: “Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”


LEADER: He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.

PEOPLE: Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,


LEADER: “As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”

PEOPLE: I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.

LEADER: Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.

PEOPLE: You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”


LEADER: Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.

PEOPLE: Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.


LEADER: Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.

ALL: Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

O LORD, MY ROCK AND MY REDEEMER
(Nathan Stiff)
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer,
Greatest treasure of my longing soul.
My God, like You there is no other;
True delight is found in You alone.
Your grace a well too deep to fathom.
Your love exceeds the heavens’ reach.
Your truth a fount of perfect wisdom,
My highest good and my unending need.

O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer,
Strong defender of my weary heart.
My sword to fight the cruel deceiver
And my shield against his hateful darts.
My song when enemies surround me,
My hope when tides of sorrow rise,
My joy when trials are abounding,
Your faithfulness my refuge in the night.

O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer,
Gracious Savior of my ruined life.
My guilt and cross laid on Your shoulders.
In my place, You suffered, bled, and died.
You rose the grave and death are conquered;
You broke my bonds of sin and shame.
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer,
May all my days bring glory to Your Name.
©2017 Sovereign Grace Worship (Admin. by Integrity Music) CCLI License #1791178

Special Offering

Missions Offering for Church Planting: Our quarterly offerings are special collections above and beyond our regular giving to the church. The largest portion of this offering will be used to support World Impact’s The Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI), which equips leadership for the urban church, especially among the poor. The remaining portions will go to a variety of our regional church planting efforts, as indicated below:

     70% to TUMI//World Impact Church Planting
     10% to CRC New London Building Fund
     10% to The Quechee Church Building Fund
     10% to CRC Church Planting Fund

If you want to designate a gift for this special offering, please write “church planting” in the memo section of your check or on your giving envelope. You can also give online using the button below. If you give online, please select “Special Missions Giving” from the dropdown menu.

Sharing

(as a lead into the Prayer Time, as a group share how you are feeling and what you are learning)

Prayer Time

(You may have an open time of prayer or select someone to pray)

  • Pray for our church’s short and long-term meeting place needs, that God would give us favor in the eyes of those in authority and that He would give us provision that would go far beyond all that we could ask or imagine.
  • Pray for our world – that the good news of Jesus Christ would flourish and that many would come to know God genuinely and personally.
  • Pray for those experiencing injustices; specifically, that God would bring hope, reconciliation, and restoration through the good news of His Son, and that we would be agents of this reconciliation.
  • Pray for those in authority at every level in our country, that they would govern wisely and justly.

Listen to Sermon

“A Sign of Faith: Desperate and Persistent”
John 4:43-54
preached by Pastor Don Willeman
We are experiencing technical difficulties uploading the sermon video this morning. We will post it as soon as we can. In the meantime, you can listen to the sermon audio below. We apologize for any inconvenience. 
Scripture Passage: 

John 4 (NIV)
43 After the two days he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, for they also had been there.

46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come [down] and heal his son, who was close to death.

48 “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”

49 The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

50 “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.”

The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”

53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed.

54 This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.

John 1 (ESV)
11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 2 (ESV)
23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

Confession of Faith

The Apostles’ Creed (circa 5th Century)

LEADER: Christian, what do you believe?

CONGREGATION: I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.
 
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
    Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
    born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,
    was crucified, dead, and buried;
He descended into hell*.
The third day He arose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
    and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
    from thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead.
 
I believe in the Holy Spirit;
    the holy catholic** church; the communion of saints;
    the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.
 
Amen.


*i.e. suffered under the judgment of God for His people
**i.e. “universal”

Song of Response

(sing as a group and/or sing along to recorded versions) 
IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL
(Horatio G. Spafford & Philip P. Bliss, 1873)
When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
It is well (It is well) with my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Tho’ Satan should buffet, tho’ trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
It is well (It is well) with my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul.

My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more;
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
It is well (It is well) with my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul.

And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll:
The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
It is well (It is well) with my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul.
PUBLIC DOMAIN

Benediction

(The leader or individual should read this aloud relishing in the confident assertion that Christ has conquered.)

Luke 12:29-32

LEADER: Do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

PEOPLE: Amen!

Worshipping God through Giving

God has called us to be generous. He has entrusted this earth and all that is in it to us, but it is, ultimately, His! The Father gave what was most precious to Him, His own Son, in order to die for our sins. He has given to us abundantly beyond all that we could possibly ask or imagine! He is a benevolent and generous Giver! So, we give.

First, we want to remind you to continue your regular giving to CRC. This supports the ongoing work and ministry here in the Upper Valley and around the world through our missions support. Second, please consider giving to our Benevolence Fund, which supports local community care, both inside and outside the church. This is vitally important right now! As we see needs sprouting up around the community, we want to be positioned to extend a loving hand of support to those in need.

Giving Numbers
Budgeted Giving: $242,280
Actual Giving to Date: $224,668
Difference: (-$17,612)
Missions Giving YTD: $42,140
updated as of 4/30/21