PSALM 134 (BLESS THE LORD
Call to Worship: Psalm 84
God is present everywhere, always. But at the time of this Psalm, the presence of God dwelt among his people in the temple. But now, because of the life, death, resurrection, ascension, and sending of the Holy Spirit - the presence of God dwells in the heart of every follower of Christ. And perhaps we are never more aware of the presence of God because He is uniquely present when the people of God gather because he inhabits our praises, he is in our midst by the power of the Spirit. With our feet on the ground here in North Carolina, because of Christ we stand in the very presence of God, and God is in our midst right here and right now. We sing to a God who is not far from us, but has drawn near to us in and through Christ and the Holy Spirit. Let’s sing about who he is and what he’s done…
REJOICE
THIS I BELIEVE (THE CREED)
Sermon: Ephesians 2:19-22
If you are here this morning as a follower of Christ, you have not been saved to be a person, you have been saved to be a people. The people of God, the family of God, the dwelling place of God, the temple of God. And together we’ll remind ourselves of who we were, what Christ has done, and who has called us to be. Let’s read from Ephesians 2…
LEADER:
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world,
following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
ALL:
among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—LEADER:
by grace you have been saved—ALL:
and raised us up with him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace
in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.LEADER:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.ALL:
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Let’s sing a song that has been on the lips of the Church for generations…
DOXOLOGY
IS HE WORTHY
Benediction