John Calvin Presbyterian Church

SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY

4th Sunday of Easter

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (USA)

                     Minister: The Reverend Aaron Ochart                   

                         Liturgist: Paula Palermo                          

Please silence all phones and beepers. 

Bold face indicates congregational participation.

GATHERING

WORDS OF WELCOME

PRELUDE    Offertoire sur les Grands Jeux (excerpt) –  François Couperin

ADORATION

CALL TO WORSHIP (responsive)                                   Psalms 23:1, 6

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever                                 

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Lord of justification, With great joy we receive the gift of salvation which is ours not because of our own efforts, but because of the saving work of Christ. Grant us full access to the glory of your salvation, an abundance that is more than enough for all humankind, for the sake of our redeeming Christ. Amen.

HYMN 438                   “Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me”   

1 Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

let me hide myself in thee.

Let the water and the blood

from thy wounded side which flowed

be of sin the double cure,

cleanse from guilt and make me pure.

can fulfill thy law’s demands.

Could my zeal no respite know,

could my tears forever flow,

all for sin could not atone.

Thou must save, and thou alone.

CALL TO CONFESSION        

SILENT CONFESSION                                                          

PRAYER OF CONFESSION (unison)

Almighty God, in raising Jesus from the grave, you shattered the power of sin and death. We confess that we remain captive to doubt and fear, bound by the ways that lead to death. We overlook the poor and the hungry, and pass by those who mourn; we are deaf to the cries of the oppressed, and indifferent to calls for peace; we despise the weak, and abuse the earth you made.

Forgive us, God of mercy. Help us to trust your power to change our lives and make us new, that we may know the joy of life abundant given in Jesus Christ, the risen Lord. Amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON               

GLORIA PATRI 579        

PROCLAMATION

FIRST LESSON                           Luke 18:9-14    

[Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’

           

MESSAGE FOR THE CHILDREN        “Choose the Right Reason”   

ANTHEM       

“In the Valley Flows A River”                                    Douglas Nolan

In the valley flows a river, gentle waters from the Lord,                             

and those who stop and drink there will never thirst for more.

In the valley flows a river, cooling stream that has no end.

In its grace we find forgiveness, cleansing water for our sins. 

From the mountain springs it cometh to the deserts to the plains,

Bringing life to all it touches, bringing peace where there is pain.

In the valley there is comfort where the peaceful waters flow,

In the valley flows a river fed by heaven’s gentle rain,

and all who stop and drink there will never thirst again.

          

Second Lesson             Galatians 1:6-17; 2:11-21

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed! As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed!

Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me, but I went away at once into Arabia, and afterwards I returned to Damascus.

 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood self-condemned; for until certain people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But after they came, he drew back and kept himself separate for fear of the circumcision faction. And the other Jews joined him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law. But if, in our effort to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! But if I build up again the very things that I once tore down, then I demonstrate that I am a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.               

Sermon      “One Gospel”

 RESPONSE 

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH                        Heidelberg Catechism: 4.001

What is your only comfort, in life and in death? 

THE LORD’S PRAYER               

HYMN 371                         “Lift High the Cross”

Refrain:

Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim

Till all the world adore His sacred name.

Bears on the brow the seal of Christ who died. (Refrain)

3 O Lord, once lifted on the glorious tree,

Your death has brought us life eternally. (Refrain)

4 So shall our song of triumph ever be:

PARTING PRAYER                                         St. Giles Cathedral (1637)

 O Lord our God, you are always more ready to bestow your good gifts than we are to seek them. You are more willing to give than we desire or deserve. Help us so to seek that we may truly find, so to ask that we may joyfully receive, so to knock that the door of your mercy may be opened for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.   

                                                  

POSTLUDE      Offertoire sur les Grands Jeux (excerpt) –  François Couperin