Sunday of Praise - August 07, 2016

This service was not recorded because it involved the entire congregation - which is difficult to mic! :-) However, you can glimpse a little of what it was about if you read below.  Perhaps it will bless you!  When was the last time your group of believers united in focused praise?

Sometimes in the midst of our busy lives it is hard to remember to praise.  Sometimes in the midst of our trials it is easy to forget to praise.  Sometimes in the midst of our pain we cannot seem to praise at all.  In these moments it is important to be surrounded by the people of God and hear their praise and testimony: to be lifted together on the wave of worship; together to turn our hearts unto the God Who made us and Who knows all about us and our present circumstance.  Today, let us turn our hearts unto Him in worship and gratitude whatever may be around us.  Let us open our hearts to strengthening of His Spirit as we honor His word and work in our lives.

In a mingling of praise and prayer the Psalmist cried out to God:
Psalm 40:1-17
1 ¶ <> I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
 2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
 3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
 4 Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
 5 Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
 6 ¶ Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
 7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
 8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
 9 I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest.
 10 I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.
 11 ¶ Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.
 12 For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.
 13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help me.
 14 Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil.
 15 Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha.
 16 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified.
 17 But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.
(KJV)

Worship Sequence 1 – Paul Stence
    Ancient Words (Soundtrack)
    10,000 Reasons (Soundtrack)

A Time of Testimony & Praise – Congregation

Worship Sequence 2 – Paul Stence
Hymn 505 – Glorious Freedom
Hymn 507 – Love Divine All Loves Excelling

Psalm 107:1 ¶ O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
 2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
 3 And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
 4 They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
 5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
 6 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
 7 And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
 8 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
 9 For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

Testimony & Transition to Prayer

Prayer – In everything give thanks
Kidzone
Offering – This too is worship! 

Special Song – Pastor & Mrs. Alexander – He Giveth More Grace

Last Chance Testimony

Words of Praise – Pastor Rick
How can I say thanks?  How can I offer praise enough for what God through Jesus Christ His Son has done for me?  How can I bow low enough or lift my hands high enough?  How can I sing or shout loud enough to honor Him Who is worthy of far more than I can ever give?!  He has forgiven me of so much!  He has blessed me so much!  I have more than I deserve!  Even if I were to suffer every day of the rest of my life I can only have gratitude because of how much He has given me already!  Can I express to you what it means to be forgiven?  Can I exalt Him to you so that you know what it means to be redeemed?  Can I praise enough before you so that you understand what it means to be clean?!  Can I speak words that will express my thankfulness for His mercy and grace to me? 

I was a sinner of the worst sort – guilty of the greatest crimes against Heaven – yet He forgave me.  My soul was dark with sin – yet that did not stop Him from shining His light into me and giving me grace.  Day by day now He walks with me and whispers to my heart words of correction, words of grace, words of hope. 

He blesses materially, mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually.
A trip to the Outer Banks
A relief to the Mind
A strength to the emotions
Physical stamina day by day.
Spiritually He does not leave me when I seek His face.

This is just a little bit of His kindness to us.  There is oh so much more, but time fails me to tell all of His abundant grace!  Let me conclude my words of praise with these words of a familiar song:

How can I say thanks for the things
You have done for me?
Things so undeserved yet you gave
To prove your love for me
The voices of a million angels
Could not express my gratitude
All that I am, and ever hope to be
I owe it all to thee

To God be the glory, to God be the glory
To God be the glory for the things he has done
With his blood he has saved me
With his power he has raised me
To God be the glory for the things he has done
Just let me live my life and
Let it be pleasing Lord to thee
And if I gain any praise, let it go to Calvary
With his blood he has saved me
With his power he has raised me
To God be the glory for the things he has done

Let us conclude today with words of praise to the Living Son of God Who sits at the right hand of the Father interceding on our behalf and who has purchased our pardon from sin with His blood and provided our hope of eternal life with God our Maker!

Final Worship Sequence – Paul Stence
    Hymn 120 – Jesus, Name Above All Names
    Hymn 122 – Majesty
    Hymn 123 – All Hail King Jesus
    Hymn 120 – Jesus Name Above All Names
Benediction
Romans 15:13 ¶ Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

GLORY!

In this sermon, Pastor Rick reminds us what it is to glorify God teaching, "Ultimately, we are to view the glory of God on display all around us and be called to repent and return unto Him that His glory might be restored in us and that Christ may dwell in us and that His present glory dwelling in us might reside as the hope of glory to come!"

Pastor Rick concluded with a personal Exclamation of praise:

"I want to conclude by worshiping for a moment.  I cannot conjure some magical feeling of soulfulness that will convince you arbitrarily that God’s glory is present for you or that some emotional experience is His presence as is done so often in modern worship.  But I want simply to conclude with my words of worship to God....

Let me tell you about God.  God has been faithful to me all my life.  He was faithful to me as a child raising me up in an environment where God was preeminent.  He was faithful to me as a teenager when I nearly drowned, calling me from the precipice of sin back to Himself.  He was faithful to me as a young adult patient every moment with my questions and doubts.  He has been faithful to me as an adult amid my struggles and fears.  All my life He has been longsuffering and faithful in spite of my greatest sins; In spite of my unfaithfulness; in spite of my weaknesses; in spite of my failures; in spite of my pride; in spite of my unbelief; in spite of every darkness of my heart, he has been faithful to me.  The Apostle John wrote that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believed on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  I want you to know this morning that God gave His only Son for me: for me, a sinner who like Israel had forsaken and forgotten and abandoned the glory of God! He did not forsake me.  He did not forget me.  He did not abandon me.  He did not leave me alone in the darkness.  Instead He loved me and shone the light of His love around me and gave himself for me and prayed that I would let Him back into my heart to rediscover His glory!

And so this morning, I give Him praise! I glorify Him and magnify Him!  I worship Him! I lift Him up!  I am unworthy, but He is worthy! I cannot magnify Him or glorify Him enough but I worship Him and praise Him anyway!  I welcome Him and His presence and His glory to fill my heart and life!  I pray the same for you and ultimately that He will fill our church with His genuine presence always."

A Letter to Moms

At Water of Life Fellowship, we believe in mothers!  Whether you are able to be a full-time stay-at-home mom or you follow a less traditional path, each and every mother is immensely valuable.  Though we take you for granted far too often, you truly are the most important people the world has ever known.  Without you humanity wouldn’t exist!  Every human’s life begins with Momma (and as many are fond of reminding us, it could end with them too)! :-)

Sadly, our culture has devalued the role of mothers far too much.  It has tried to demean the many roles they play and hats they wear and imply that a mom is somehow less valuable than a woman who follows a professional career path.  These days it doesn’t even stop there.  Now the big debate in some circles is whether or not children need parents of both sexes at all.  This is all symptomatic of a larger underlying problem: Satan hates families and will do whatever he can to destroy them: and he is not a nice guy.  He won’t hesitate to make it hard on moms.  Satan recognizes something that many people have forgotten: there is no substitute for a mom who loves God, loves her husband, and shepherds her children.  Moms are in a position to build greatness, shape history, and change eternity. 

Don’t forget, every great human being had a mom: whether it was Isaac Newton, John Wesley, Abraham Lincoln, Irene Curie, Eileen Collins, or countless other people who changed history.  Even Jesus, the incarnate Son of God was granted a precious mother.  And for most of these people, mom was the single most important influence in their lives.  Think about it!  Even today when the camera pans to the celebrity or the crowd, what is the cliché response? That’s right.  You guessed it: “Hi Mom!” Why?  Because the inspiring assumption is that even if no one else is watching, Mom is.  And Mom matters!

That is what I want you to know today.  Moms, you matter.  Far more than you probably realize as you discover cheerios in the toilet, clean goo from your designer clothes, and sacrifice even the most basic rights to privacy on a daily basis, Y-O-U matter.  You matter to your husband who is likely clueless about how very much you have to do (until he has to babysit for all of two hours). :-) You matter to your children - who don’t know it now - to whom you are showing every day what it means to live and love and walk with faith.  You matter to God Who - by granting you the gift of children - has privileged you with the one of the highest callings of all time: the call to motherhood.  Please know how incredibly valuable you are, how much you matter, and how privileged we are to share your journey!  Water of Life Fellowship Salutes You!  May God’s richest blessings rest upon you today and always.  Happy Mother’s Day!

-        Pastor Rick

Bless the Lord (1)

 
Pastor Rick considers with us Psalm 104 looking at the magnificence of God to bless our souls and cause us to bless the Lord together!

HONOR YOUR PARENTS - The LAW Series #7

Listen as Pastor Rick begins the second section of the Ten Commandments with "Honor Your Father and Mother."  Drawing from the book "Written In Stone" by Dr. Ryken, Pastor Rick shares the importance of this commandment!   

THE SABBATH PRINCIPLE - The LAW Series #6

The culture at large and the church in general has greatly fallen away from the keeping of this commandment.  Listen as Pastor Rick shares the teachings of Dr. Ryken and explains what the commandment means both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, and applies how we should practice it in our world today.