Below is the liturgy for our online “gathered” worship.
There are several video/audio segments throughout. They should start to play when you point and click your computer mouse on the arrow in the box/video.
If you’re willing, please take a moment either now, during the “Peace”, or after you finish the service to let us know you joined us by either sharing a comment at the end of this liturgy or texting Pastor Troy at 717-203-9675. Thank you!
Here is our first video:
GOD IS HOLY
DOXOLOGY: All Creatures of Our God and King
Let all things their Creator bless, and worship him in humbleness,
O praise him, alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, and praise the Spirit, three in one,
O praise him, O praise him, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
PRAYER OF PREPARATION: Merciful Lord, you sent your Son to be our peace. Help all who suffer pain or grief to find in him strength and peace, so that their trust in your promises may be renewed; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (from Occasional Services, A Companion to Lutheran Book of Worship)
CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 20:7; 124:8; 95:6-7
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
PRAYER OF ADORATION AND THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
OPENING HYMN: Psalm 91, Who with God Most High Finds Shelter, Trinity Psalter Hymnal 91B
Who with God Most High finds shelter, lives in God Almighty’s shade.
I will say to God, “My God, my fortress where my trust is stayed.”
From the fowler’s snare he’ll save you, from the deadly pestilence;
cover you with outspread pinions, make his wings your confidence.
God’s truth is your shield and buckler; you will fear no ill by night,
nor the shafts in daylight flying, nor disease that shuns the light,
nor the plague that wastes at noonday. At your side ten thousand fall;
you will only see the judgment which the wicked will befall.
You have made the LORD your refuge, God Most High your dwelling place.
Nothing evil shall befall you; near your tent no scourge you’ll face.
He will angels charge to keep you, guard you well in all your ways,
bear you up with hands that hold you, lest your foot a stone should graze.
You shall trample serpents, lions, tread on all your deadly foes.
“Since he loves me, I will save him, keep him, for my name he knows;
I will honor, I will save him; when he calls, I will reply.
I will show him my salvation, with long life will satisfy.”
CORPORATE PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Lord, you said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”
Forgive us for our lukewarm love and our disobedience.
[pause for personal confession]
Lord, you said, “Love one another as I have loved you.”
Forgive us for our failure to love one another and our neighbors.
[pause for personal confession]
Lord, you said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
We confess that our lives are often consumed by worry and anxiety.
[pause for personal confession]
Lord, you said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”
In this and in so many other ways, we confess our iniquities, our failures and shortcomings.
For the sake of your name, have mercy on us O Lord, and forgive our sins. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
JESUS RECONCILES US
Gospel of Christ: Psalm 130
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption.
And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities.
Believe in Jesus Christ, you are free from the guilt and power of sin and death.
People: Thanks be to God.
ASSURANCE HYMN: He Will Hold Me Fast
When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast
When the tempter would prevail, He will hold me fast
I could never keep my hold, Through life’s fearful path
For my love is often cold, He must hold me fast
He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast
For my Savior loves me so, He will hold me fast
Those He saves are His delight, Christ will hold me fast
Precious in His holy sight, He will hold me fast
He’ll not let my soul be lost, His promises shall last
Bought by Him at such a cost, He will hold me fast
He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast
For my Savior loves me so, He will hold me fast
For my life He bled and died, Christ will hold me fast
Justice has been satisfied, He will hold me fast
Raised with Him to endless life, He will hold me fast
Till our faith is turned to sight, When he comes at last
He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast
For my Savior loves me so, He will hold me fast
THE PEACE OF GOD
John 20:19-21
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
And also with you.
We are God's people, the chosen of the Lord,
Born of His Spirit, established by His Word;
Our cornerstone is Christ alone, And strong in Him we stand:
O let us live transparently And walk heart to heart and hand in hand.
We are the Body of which the Lord is Head,
Called to obey Him, now risen from the dead;
He wills us be a family, Diverse yet truly one:
O let us give our gifts to God, And so shall his work on earth be done.
You can click here to give online if you so desire. It will say: for Debruin, Troy - Proclamation PC, Mount Joy, PA. All giving online is tithe to Proclamation (not to Troy!). His name is listed simply to distinguish and clarify the giving (there is another church in the PCA with same church name).
Alternatively, you can mail in your offering to:
Proclamation PCA,
PO BOX 526,
Mount Joy, PA, 17552.
Please take a moment to pray for those in need.
In Christ alone my hope is found, He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All Here in the love of Christ I stand.
In Christ alone! - who took on flesh, Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness, Scorned by the ones He came to save
Till on that cross as Jesus died, The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid Here in the death of Christ I live.
There in the ground His body lay, Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious day Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine Bought with the precious blood of Christ
No guilt in life, no fear in death, This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.
O God, my joy, You reign above, In radiant splendor and beauty.
Your Word has drawn my heart to love, The awesome sight of Your glory.
Your blazing light and gospel grace, Shine brightly from my Savior’s face.
No other wonder would I see, Than Christ enthroned in His glory!
Sustained by joy in trial and pain, I trust Your wisdom and mercy.
Through suff'ring that Your love ordains, More like Your Son You will make me.
For Christ embraced the cross of shame, Beholding glorious joys to come.
O give me faith like His to see, That suff’ring lifts me to glory!
Compelled by joy, I fight the sin, That turns my gaze from Your glory.
Your Holy Spirit dwells within; His presence arms me for vict’ry.
Let death and hell against me rise; Through death I'll gain eternal joys.
All pow'rs of hell will bend the knee, Before my great King of glory!
JESUS SENDS US WITH HIS SPIRIT
Confession of Faith: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 1, 26-28
What is your only comfort in life and in death?
That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—
to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.
He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,
and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.
He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head
without the will of my Father in heaven;
in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.
Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life
and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.
What do you believe when you say: I believe in God the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth?
That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and all that is in them, and who still upholds and governs them by His eternal counsel and providence, is, for the sake of Christ His Son, my God and my Father.
In Him I trust so completely as to have no doubt that He will provide me with all things necessary for body and soul, and will also turn to my good whatever adversity He sends me in this life of sorrow.
He is able to do so as almighty God, and willing also as a faithful Father.
What do you understand by the providence of God?
God's providence is His almighty and ever present power, whereby, as with His hand,
He still upholds heaven and earth and all creatures, and so governs them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, food and drink, health and sickness,
riches and poverty, indeed, all things, come not by chance but by His fatherly hand.
What does it benefit us to know that God has created all things and still upholds them by His providence?
We can be patient in adversity, thankful in prosperity, and with a view to the future
we can have a firm confidence in our faithful God and Father
that no creature shall separate us from His love;
for all creatures are so completely in His hand that without His will
they cannot so much as move.
THANKSGIVING HYMN: GIVE PRAISE TO GOD
Creation, life, salvation too, and all things else both good and true,
come from and through our God always, and fill our hearts with grateful praise.
Come, lift our voice to heav'n's high throne, and glory give to God alone!
SENDING
Let us prayerfully go forth as one body, empowered by the Spirit, to praise God, love people, and proclaim the risen Christ until he comes.
People Thanks be to God.
Benediction: Numbers 6:24-26
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
JESUS IS COMING FOR US
REMINDER: If you are willing, please take a moment to let us know you joined us by either sharing a comment below or texting Pastor Troy at 717-203-9675. Thank you!
Also, you are welcome to join us tonight (Sunday, March 29) at 6:30pm for a live church-wide meeting using Zoom (an online video conference platform). Click here to join us. Or, you can join us by phone by calling: +1 646 558 8656. The meeting ID for both is: 332 300 3198.