June 28, 2020
This Sunday is Psalm 103 and week three of this year’s Christ in the Psalms. In this ongoing series, we’ve gone psalm-by-psalm through about ten psalms per year, dating back to 2012.
Our artwork for Psalm 103 is an acrylic & ink piece by Beth Dreyer. See the piece and read about the art and artist here! To learn more about the weekly Christ in the Psalms artwork pieces and see them all (they go back as far as Psalm 41!), click here.
Here’s how you can prepare for this Sunday!
1. Read our text, Psalm 103.
Of David.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless His holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the people of Israel.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide,
nor will He keep His anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does He remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to His children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him.
For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him,
and His righteousness to children’s children,
to those who keep His covenant
and remember to do His commandments.
The Lord has established His throne in the heavens,
and His kingdom rules over all.
Bless the Lord, O you His angels,
you mighty ones who do His word,
obeying the voice of His word!
Bless the Lord, all His hosts,
His ministers, who do His will!
Bless the Lord, all His works,
in all places of His dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
In Psalm 103, David begins by calling his soul three times to bless God and not forget His benefits. He spends the vast majority of the psalm reminding his forgetful soul of all God is and all He has done, both for himself personally and for the people of God. This psalm has much to teach us today about our personal practice of worship and also invites us to take a fresh look at Jesus and all the ways He fulfilled this psalm.
2. Read, pray, and sing through the service:
Don’t use Spotify? Click the song title below to see song on YouTube.
CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 103:1–5:
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless hHs holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Is He Worthy? (Andrew Peterson, Ben Shive arr. Shane & Shane)
CONFESSION: From The Worship Sourcebook:
Merciful God,
in Your gracious presence
we confess our sin and the sin of this world.
Although Christ is among us as our peace,
we are a people divided against ourselves
as we cling to the values of a broken world.
The profit and pleasures we pursue
lay waste the land and pollute the seas.
The fears and jealousies that we harbor
set neighbor against neighbor
and nation against nation.
We abuse Your good gifts of imagination and freedom,
of intellect and reason,
and turn them into bonds of oppression.
Lord, have mercy upon us;
heal and forgive us.
Set us free to serve You in the world
as agents of Your reconciling love in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Yet Even Now (Joel Limpic) / The Medicine (Dee Wilson)
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Psalm 103:10–13
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does He remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him.
PASSING THE PEACE
(Click to Read)
When we’ve met as a large group on Sundays, we’ve always had a time of greeting one another after singing. Many churches call this time “passing the peace.” In some church traditions, one person will say to another, “The peace of Christ be with you” to which the other person responds, “And also with you.”
While potentially unfamiliar for some, we felt that “passing the peace” during greeting times at home could be a powerful act in this age marked by very little external peace. In Isaiah 9, Jesus is described as the Prince of Peace. He wants His kingdom to be marked by this very peace! We want to “pass” to one another this peace that only Jesus can give, especially at a time like this.
It might feel a bit cheesy, but we encourage you to actually pray the peace of God over each other during our times. We encourage you to look into each other’s eyes as you say, “The peace of Christ be with you!” and have others respond with, “And also with you.” Be open-hearted to Jesus, asking Him to fill you with His peace.
SERMON & COMMUNION
O Praise The Name (Anástasis) (Benjamin Hastings, Marty Sampson, Dean Ussher)