Song of Worship – “Hosanna”

Praise is rising, eyes are turning to you
We turn to you
Hope is stirring, hearts are yearning for you
We long for you

‘Cause when we see you we find strength to face the day
In your presence all our fears are washed away
Washed away

Hosanna! Hosanna!
You are the God who saves us
Worthy of all our praises
Hosanna! Hosanna!
Come have your way among us
We welcome you here Lord Jesus

Hear the sound of hearts returning to you
We turn to you
In your kingdom broken lives are made new
You make us new

Call to Worship – 1 Peter 2:4-10

If you are meeting with others, read the following responsively with one person (or group) reading the plain print and the other reading the bold.

As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”

and also,

“A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Song of Worship – “Thy Mercy”

Thy mercy, my God, is the theme of my song
The joy of my heart and the boast of my tongue;
Thy free grace alone, from the first to the last,
Hath won my affections, and bound my soul fast

Without Thy sweet mercy I could not live here
Sin would reduce me to utter despair;
But, through Thy free goodness, my spirits revive,
And He that first made me still keeps me alive

Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart
Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart;
Dissolved by Thy goodness, I fall to the ground
And weep for the praise of the mercy I’ve found

Great Father of mercies, Thy goodness I own
And the covenant love of Thy crucified Son;
All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine
Seals mercy, and pardon, and righteousness mine
All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine
Seals mercy, and pardon, and righteousness mine

Confession and Assurance – 1 Peter 2:24

He personally carried our sins
    in his body on the cross
so that we can be dead to sin
    and live for what is right.
By his wounds
    you are healed.

This time of confession of our sin is God’s will and a blessing for us. Jesus bore our sins on the cross so that we might die to our sin and live righteously. Confession is an integral part of dying to sin in order to embrace righteousness.

Take a few moments to confess whatever you need to before God. If you’d like some music to accompany your time of prayer, play the instrumental track below.

1 Peter 2:24 ends by saying “by his wounds you have been healed.” Recognize the finality of this statement. Jesus has already died on the cross to set you free. The price has already been paid. Live into the freedom that is yours! Amen.

Kid Minute

Offering

Kid’s – if you still have your gratitude journals, take a few minutes to write down or draw some pictures of something your are grateful for today.

Pray this prayer as you prepare for the offering:

When we have heard the word of God, we respond with song and prayer, and also with witness and money, for all things we are and have are small yet tangible offerings of ourselves to the Lord. We desire that this offering express careful and willing sharing on our part, with fruitful blessing on God’s part, as together we seek to build God’s kingdom among the nations and God’s will among the peoples, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Scripture Reading – 1 Peter 1:3-12

Sermon – 1 Peter 1

Song of Worship – “We’re Praising You”

When we see the wonder, the beauty of each day
For all that you’ve provided and how you’ve made a way
We’re praising You, God we’re praising You
Oh, our Lord and God, we’re praising You

And when we see Your glory, in those who call You friend
Yes we are reminded Your love it never ends
We’re praising You, Oh God we’re praising You
Oh, our Lord and King, we’re praising You

And when we are discouraged and trouble rules the day
We have not forgotten, that You are here to stay
We’re praising You, we’re praising You
Oh, our Lord and God , we’re praising You

Benediction – Jude 24-25

There is One Who can keep you from falling and can bring you before Himself free from all sin. He can give you great joy as you stand before Him in His shining-greatness. He is the only God. He is the One Who saves from the punishment of sin through Jesus Christ our Lord. May He have shining-greatness and honor and power and the right to do all things. He had this before the world began, He has it now, and He will have this forever. Let it be so. Amen.

Missional Challenge – 1 Peter 2:15-17

For it is God’s will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of the foolish. As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil. Honor everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

The last verse will form our missional challenge for the week. It has instructions to 4 groups. Use your Kingdom Imagination to try to live this verse out with colour and vibrancy. Here are some examples to get you thinking.

Honour Everyone – perhaps let people have the spot in line ahead of you or drive with extra courteousness. Go out of your way to thank those essential service workers that often go unnoticed (the gas station attendant, cart collector at grocery store or server in the drive-thru window. Be intentional!

Love the family of believers – do something loving or kind for someone in the church family. Run an errand, bake something, help with someone’s yard. Be creative!

Fear God – this is maybe better expressed as living in awe filled reverence. Begin or end your day in prayer and Scripture. Serve the poor out of fear of God. Listen to the Wednesday Bible Convo podcast and do your own reflecting. Sing the Doxology after each time you go to the bathroom. Be imaginative!

Honour the Emperor – pick a local, provincial, federal or world leader that you don’t like and pray for him/her! Make extra effort to live by laws or rules that you normally dismiss as a way of honouring leaders. This might be the toughest one of all for us…