Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. (Psalm 145:3)

While we’re unable to meet, we encourage you all to seek the Lord together as families (or on your own) using the following liturgy. One person may lead by reading Scriptures and praying. Or, everyone may read together in unison.

Pastor Carter’s sermon this week is on Psalm 84. The video of this sermon is embedded below. Click here to find the audio on Sermonaudio.

All Scripture read or quoted is from the English Standard Version (read it online here).

For the Trinity Psalter Hymnal, click here. Links to the psalms, hymns, and creeds are provided below.

For a PDF of this Family Worship Guide that you can print, click here.

May God bless you and continue to sustain your faith through his word and Spirit!

Family Worship Guide // Sunday, April 5, 2020

opening Scripture - Isaiah 26:3-4

3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
4 Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.

the lord’s prayer

Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 
Give us this day our daily bread. 
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors. 
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Psalm of Praise - “i was filled with joy and gladness” (Trinity Psalter Hymnal, Ps. 122A)

The law of god - Ephesians 5:15-21

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Prayer of confession - Psalm 130

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!
2 O LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,
O LORD, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.
5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the LORD
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption.
8 And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities.

A word of grace and pardon - Ephesians 2:8-10

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

The doxology: (Trinity Psalter Hymnal, 567)

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Supplication

Give thanks to the Father for the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. Pray for the Lord’s continuing work in your life, and in the lives of others. Pray to grow in faith, hope, and love. Pray for your family’s physical and spiritual needs and well-being. Pray especially for Sovereign Grace and the church in the midst of this uncertain time. The best way to do this is to use the Prayer List (emailed out to members).

Reading from the new Testament - Ephesians 2:11-22

11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Reading from the Gospels - John 14:1-6

1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Sermon Passage - Psalm 84

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever singing your praise! Selah

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion.
8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah

9 Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!
10 For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
12 O LORD of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Sermon: “With the lord with each other”

Point: It is our highest good and greatest desire to be with the Lord with each other.

Outline: This Psalm helps us to:

1. Long to be with God and his people

2. Rest in his power and mercy

Additional Scriptures Referenced in the Sermon:

• John 4:23-24

• Revelation 7:9-10

• Romans 6:1-11

• Acts 2:42-47

• Philippians 3:20

For an audio-only version of the sermon, click here.

confession of faith: Heidelberg confession, Qs 54-55 - Trinity Psalter hymnal, p. 880

Q.What do you believe concerning “the holy catholic church”?

A. I believe that the Son of God
through his Spirit and Word,
out of the entire human race,
from the beginning of the world to its end,
gathers, protects, and preserves for himself
a community chosen for eternal life
and united in true faith.
And of this community I am and always will be
a living member.

Q. What do you understand by “the communion of saints”?

A. First, that believers one and all,
as members of Christ the Lord,
have communion with him
and share in all his treasures and gifts.
Second, that each member
should consider it a duty
to use these gifts
readily and joyfully
for the service and enrichment
of the other members.

closing hymn: “how sweet and awesome is the place” (Trinity psalter hymnal, 425)

Closing prayer and Scripture - hebrews 13:20-21

20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.