Everlasting God
Words and Music by Brenton Brown and Ken Riley
© 2005 Thankyou Music

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord

Our God You reign forever
Our Hope our strong Deliv’rer

You are the everlasting God, the everlasting God
You do not faint, you won’t grow weary
You’re the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles

In 2001, Martin and Gracia Burnham, missionaries to the Philippines, spent just over a year in the jungle as captives of a rebel group. Tragically during a rescue attempt, Martin was killed with his wife at his side. Four days later she was back in Kansas, as more than 1,000 people crowded the main street of Rose Hill, Kansas, welcoming her home. “I think this must be one of the happiest moments of my whole life,” Gracia said after hugging her children and other family members. “We want everyone to know that God was good to us every single day of our captivity. Martin was also a source of strength to all the hostages. He was a good man, and he died well.”

The sovereignty of God is a truth that allows a widow to say such a thing after such an experience. Let's think this morning on our God who plans and executes all of our lives according to his purpose and plan. God, whom the New City Catechism claims is, “creator and sustainer of everyone and everything. He is eternal, infinite, and unchangeable in his power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisdom, justice, and truth. Nothing happens except through him and by his will.”

How Great Thou Art
Words by Carl Gustav Boberg; Music by Stuart K. Hine
© 1949, 1953 The Stuart Hine Trust

O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds thy hand hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy pow'r throughout the universe displayed;

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee;
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee;
How great thou art! How great thou art!

When through the woods and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze;

And when I think that God, his Son not sparing,
Sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
That on the cross my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin;

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration
And there proclaim, “My God, how great thou art!”

Psalm 104

LEADER:
Praise the Lord, my soul.

CONGREGATION:
Lord my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

LEADER:
The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent
and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.

CONGREGATION:
He makes the clouds his chariot
and rides on the wings of the wind.

LEADER:
He makes winds his messengers,
flames of fire his servants.

CONGREGATION:
He set the earth on its foundations;
it can never be moved.

LEADER:
You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.

CONGREGATION:
But at your rebuke the waters fled,
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
they flowed over the mountains,
they went down into the valleys,
to the place you assigned for them.

LEADER:
You set a boundary they cannot cross;
never again will they cover the earth.

CONGREGATION:
He makes springs pour water into the ravines;
it flows between the mountains.
They give water to all the beasts of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

LEADER:
The birds of the sky nest by the waters;
they sing among the branches.

CONGREGATION:
He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;
the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.

LEADER:
He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants for people to cultivate—
bringing forth food from the earth:
wine that gladdens human hearts,
oil to make their faces shine,
and bread that sustains their hearts.

CONGREGATION:
The trees of the Lord are well watered,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

LEADER:
There the birds make their nests;
the stork has its home in the junipers.

CONGREGATION:
The high mountains belong to the wild goats;
the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.

LEADER:
He made the moon to mark the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.

CONGREGATION:
You bring darkness, it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest prowl.

LEADER:
The lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.

CONGREGATION:
The sun rises, and they steal away;
they return and lie down in their dens.

LEADER:
Then people go out to their work,
to their labor until evening.

CONGREGATION:
How many are your works, Lord!
In wisdom you made them all;

LEADER:
All creatures look to you
to give them their food at the proper time.

CONGREGATION:
When you give it to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.

LEADER:
When you hide your face, they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.

CONGREGATION:
When you send your Spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.

LEADER:
May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works—
he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

CONGREGATION:

I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

Prayer

Let’s join with John Wesley in this prayer:

We believe, O sovereign Goodness, O mighty Wisdom, that you sweetly order and govern all things, even the most minute, even the most noxious, to thy glory, and the good of those that love you.

We believe, O Father of the families of heaven and earth, that you so disposes all events, so that they best magnify your goodness to all your children, especially those whose eyes wait upon you.

We most humbly beseech you to teach us to adore all your ways, though we cannot comprehend them. Teach us to be glad that you are king, and to give you thanks for all things that befall us, seeing that you have hast chosen that for us, and have thereby ‘set to thy seal that they are good.’

And for that which is to come, give us your grace to do in all things what pleases you; and then, with an absolute submission to your wisdom, to leave the issues of them in your hand.

You Are God Alone (Not A God)
Billy J. Foote and Cindy Foote
© 2004 Billy Foote Music and Integrity's Hosanna! Music

You are not a god created by human hands
You are not a god dependent on any mortal man
You are not a god in need of anything we can give
By your plan, that’s just the way it is

You’re the only God whose power none can contend
You’re the only God whose name and praise will never end
You’re the only God who’s worthy of ev’rything we can give
You are God that's just the way it is

You are God alone from before time began
You were on your throne, you are God alone
And right now in the good times and bad
You are on your throne, you are God alone

You’re unchangeable, you're unshakable
You’re unstoppable, that's what you are
You’re unchangeable, you’re unshakable
You’re unstoppable, that’s what you are

Offering Prayer

This is no time for fear
This is a time for faith and determination
Don’t lose the vision here
Carried away by the motion
Hold on to all that you hide in your heart
There is one thing that has always been true
It holds the world together

God is in control
We believe that his children will not be forsaken
God is in control
We will choose to remember and never be shaken
There is no power above or beside him we know
Oh God is in control
Oh God is in control

History marches on
There is a bottom line drawn across the ages
Culture can make its plan
Oh but the line never changes
No matter how the deception may fly
There is one thing that has always been true
It will be true forever

He has never let you down
Why start to worry now?
Why start to worry now?
He is still the Lord of all we see
And He is still the loving Father
Watching over you and me

Prayer of Illumination

Lord, open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit, that, as the Scriptures are read and your Word proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today. Amen.

Sermon

The Lord’s Supper

[instrumental music played or congregational singing]

The Mystery of the Faith

And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith.

Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again!

The Lord Is My Salvation
Words and Music by Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, Nathan Nockels, and Jonas Myrin
© 2016 Getty Music Publishing, Sweater Weather Music, Capitol CMG Paragon, and Son of the Lion

The grace of God has reached for me
And pulled me from the raging sea
And I am safe on this solid ground
The Lord is my salvation

I will not fear when darkness falls
His strength will help me scale these walls
I’ll see the dawn of the rising sun
The Lord is my salvation
Who is like the Lord our God?
Strong to save, faithful in love
My debt is paid and the vict’ry won
The Lord is my salvation

My hope is hidden in the Lord
He flow’rs each promise of his Word
When winter fades I know spring will come
The Lord is my salvation

In times of waiting, times of need
When I know loss, when I am weak
I know his grace will renew these days
The Lord is my salvation

And when I reach my final day
He will not leave me in the grave
But I will rise, he will call me home
The Lord is my salvation

Glory be to God the Father
Glory be to God the Son
Glory be to God the Spirit
The Lord is our salvation

Benediction

As we go, remember these words of the Lord, spoken by the prophet Isaiah (41:10):

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.