Sunday Worship March 22, 2020

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WORSHIP NOTES

All songs used by permission. CCLI license #120927. 
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the English Standard Version (ESV).

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CALL TO WORSHIP

Psalm 95:1-3

 

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.

 

 

 

All Hail The Power of Jesus' Name

 

 

 10,000 Reasons

 

 

 

  

READING OF GOD'S WORD

Matthew 25

 

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the
bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their
lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the
bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry,
‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their
lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to
the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came,
and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.
11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered,
‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the
hour.
14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his
property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his
ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with
them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents
more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's
money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with
them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more,
saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His
master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I
will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents
came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents
more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful
over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had
received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping
where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went
and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him,
‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I
scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my
coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him
and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he
will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.’31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his
glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one
from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on
his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you
who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a
stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited
me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord,
when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we
see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick
or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it
to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire
prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty
and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did
not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did
not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do
it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal
punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

 

 

 

Pastoral Prayer

Father, we come to You in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God, the Savior of the world, the one mediator between God and man, our great high priest, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.

We acknowledge that we are sinners and that we have absolutely no merit of our own with which to approach Your throne.  And yet, in Christ, we’ve been given access – through His death and resurrection on our behalf.  We praise You, oh God, that in Your justice and in Your mercy You have reconciled sinners like us to Yourself through the gospel of Your Son.  Indeed, we come only by the blood of Christ, and only through His righteousness.

Lord, we ask that You would forgive us, for we are people who are all too easily given to anxiety, worry, and fear.  We know from Your word that You’ve created the entire universe and everything in it; we know from Your word that Your Son upholds the entire universe – from the largest galaxy to the smallest particle – by the word of His power.  Lord, we pray that You would allow our restless minds and our frantic hearts to be still, and know that You are God.  To truly trust that You are sovereign and that You have ordained everything that has come to pass.  That our God is in the heavens and He does all that He pleases!  Lord, we know that this current state of affairs is no exception to Your sovereignty.  And so we pray that You would give us an exceptional peace that surpasses all understanding in this time as we trust in You.

Lord, we pray for our church.  We pray that You would protect us, and especially the most physically vulnerable among us, from any sickness.  We pray that You would equip us to be salt and light in the world, that You would give us many opportunities to witness the grace of Your gospel to the confused world around us in this time.  We pray that You would use this trial to strengthen the faith of Your saints, that we might be more and more conformed to the image of Your Son. 

Lord we’re reminded in this season of how easy it is for us to take for granted the amazing gift of grace that is the fellowship of the saints.  Oh, how we long to see one another again.  We’re reminded of how the apostle Paul yearned for the Philippians with the affection of Christ Jesus, or how he had great desire to see the Thessalonians face to face.  In the meantime, Lord, we pray for wisdom in our congregation for how we might serve one another well and continue to love and exhort and encourage one another even while we are physically separated.

Lord, we continue to pray for our leaders.  Lord we pray that You would grant them wisdom on how to lead our nation and our society well.  God, we pray that You would save their souls through Your gospel.

Lord, we know that You are working through this situation.  We pray for the rest of our time of worship this morning, that we would not be distracted by the strangeness or the newness of the format.  We pray that You would give us an extraordinary focus on Your word in this time, that we might be well-fed by feasting on Your truth.

We pray all of this in Christ’s name.  Amen.

 

 

 

My Shepherd Will Supply My Need

 

Good and Gracious King

 

 

 

 

THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

Philippians 3:3-8

3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.

 

 

Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery

 

 

WORSHIP THROUGH GIVING

If you are someone who normally gives by check or cash, please consider beginning to give online through https://www.firstnyc.org/giving.  You can give directly through your bank account or through a debit card.  Or you may still mail checks to the church.

 

 

 

 

 

Children's Church

  • Review the memory verse: Philippians 4:4-7
  • Read about the triumphal entry from Luke 19:28-40
  • Discuss the different reactions that the Pharisees and the disciples had to Jesus.  What does it mean that Jesus is king?
  • Coloring sheet craft: Download Here