This Sunday's Church Bulletin

I have been keeping copies my church bulletins and sermon notes for a number of years. Overtime, they've become another pile of stuff attractive only to dust and no one else. Not even to their owner collector. The advent of the PDA (personal digital assistance) provides me a timely, hi-tech way to record and manage the worship contents each sunday.

A lot can be discovered about the life of a church by the contents of its worship bulletin. With respect to my rambling discourse on Church Music and Worship, I thought to illustrate a day in the life our presbytarian church. Its membership is about 400. We have two morning services. What follows then, is an outline of today's worship service, 15 May, 2005. My annotations are highlighted in red.

______
Reaching out in Christ's Love...Building Up in Christ's Love...Sending Out in Christ's Love
______
*asterisk denotes a time for those wishing to stand (there are elderly and or handicapped members in the service who have difficulties rising and sitting)

The Preparation

Preparing Our Hearts for Worship

Prelude Rondo Campana
Choir: Echoes of Joy Handbell Chor
Arranger/Composer: Wilson

Giving God the Glory

Words of Welcome and Life of the Church

Call to Meditation
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's Will is-His good, pleasing and perfect Will." -- Romans 12:2-3 (NIV, New International Version)

Call to Worship

Leader: Give thanks to the Lord, call on His Name; make known among the nations what He has done!

Ministers (the congregation): My soul rejoices in You and delights in Your salvation! I sing praise to You and tell of all Your wonderful acts! I give You glory and my heart rejoices in You!

Leader: Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always. Remember the wonders He has done. His miracles, and the judgments He pronounced.

Ministers (the congregation): You are my God! I adore You and Your faithfulness to Your Covenant! You are upon my heart even as I am upon Yours! I give You glory and my heart rejoices in You!

*Hymn 551 O to be like Thee!
(cf: Galatians 4:19; Walking with God; Aspiration and Consecration)

*God's Children in Confession (unison)
Dear God, I acknowledge and confess before You my sinful nature. I have at times in ignorance cut myself off from You. I have alienated myself from You, the root of my being. My life has turned empty, inane, meaningless, and without purpose. Forgive me and renew my mind in Your Truth, that my life might demonstrate and reflect Your Love, Your Will and Your Grace. May others see in me that Jesus in the only way and only answer to our needs and only Lord of life. Make me into the person You want me to be. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

*Assurance of Pardon - Ephesians 1:7
"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses."
(NIV)

*Gloria Patri (Hymn 813)
(Organ accompaniment; cf. Psalm 96:8; Ascribing to the Lord the glory due His name)

The Praise

Anthem The Holy Trinity
Choir: The Koinonia Choir
Arranger/Composer: Ellingboe
(Piano accompaniment)

Minute for Purpose Evangelism/Mission (Innder City Los Angeles)

Praise through Tithes and Offerings

Offertory (Organ accompaniment) Festival Capriccio
Arranger/Composer: Kinyon

*Doxology (Hymn 815)
(Organ accompaniment: cf. Ephesians 1:3)

*Hymn 554 Give Me Jesus
(Organ accompaniment: Aspiration and Consecration)

The Proclamation

God's Written Word Ephesians 4:17-32
God's Word Proclaimed (Senior Pastor)

Put off the Evil Side of the Force...Put On the New Side of the Force...
Our Senior Pastor often uses the current cultural or media event to illustrate one or more Biblical principles. Today's sermon's was on Ephesians 4:17-32. He used the latest Star War episode to illustrate this portion of Scripture. Today's message was there is only ONE reality in life. That reality is Jesus. In Him only is the new and true side of the "force."

The Prayer

*Hymn 588 All for Jesus
(cf. Roman 12:1; Walking with God, Assurance and Trust)

*Benediction
(Today's benediction is also our Senior Pastor's opening remarks before he delivers every sermon. It's is from Psalm 19:14)

"Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is veing renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." (NIV)

*Postlude (Organ accompaniment) Symphony No. 1 Finale (Excerpts)
Composer/Arranger: Vierne
_______

The end of WORSHIP - the beginning of SERVICE