Preliminaries: Welcome and Announcements
Ridge Kids – see today’s Order of Worship online at (www.AutumnRidgeCommunityChurch.com) to access a Bible lesson, coloring sheet, and “welcome sign“!
Activity 1: Welcome Sign
Print off the attachment “Welcome Sign” and ask your kids to color/decorate it however they want to. As your kids work, talk about what kinds of things make them feel welcome. (Examples: a friendly greeting, a smile, treats such as drinks and snacks, and so forth) How can they be welcoming to visitors at their homes?Encourage kids to hang their sign on their own door.
SAY- You can use these welcome signs as a way to show others that they are welcome in your home. Today you are going to hear a Bible story about how people showed Jesus that He was welcome in their city.
Activity 2: Palm Branches
Have your kids trace their hands on several pieces of green construction paper and then cut them out. Make enough for them to be able to cross from one side of the room to the other without touching the floor.
SAY- In today’s Bible story, what did the people shout as Jesus rode into Jerusalem?(Hosanna!) Do you remember what hosanna means?(save now) Jesus was not the king people expected, but He had come to save them from their sins. People welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem as their King. Have you welcomed Jesus as your King? When we trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior, God forgives our sin and gives us eternal life.
Connect with Autumn Ridge Community Church!
- Stay connected with Autumn Ridge Community Church by liking our Facebook page. We will have devotional content, music, questions of the day, and more posted in order to keep us in community during this time.
- You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel.
- We’d love to hear from you via email at Info@AutumnRidgeCommunityChurch.com.
We Give Glory to God
Call to Worship: Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! 3 Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! 5 For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever,and his faithfulness to all generations.
Hymn of Acclamation: “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”
Martin Luther, 1527?
A mighty fortress is our God
A bulwark never failing
Our helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing
For still our ancient foe
Does seek to work us woe
His craft and power are great
And armed with cruel hate
On earth is not his equal
If we in our own strength confide
Our striving would be losing
Were not the right Man on our side
The Man of God’s own choosing
You ask who that may be
Christ Jesus it is He!
The Lord of Hosts His name
From age to age the same
And He must win the battle
And though this world with devils filled
Should threaten to undo us
We will not fear for God has willed
His truth to triumph through us
And though this world with devils filled
Should threaten to undo us
We will not fear for God has willed
His truth to triumph through us
Call: A Mighty Fortress is our God
Response: His Kingdom is forever (REPEAT)
His Kingdom is forever! (REPEAT)
If we in our own strength confide
Our striving would be losing
We Mourn the Reality of sin
Hymn of Confession: “Christ is Mine Forever More”
CityAlight, 2016
Mine are days that God has numbered
I was made to walk with Him
Yet I look for worldly treasure
And forsake the King of kings
But mine is hope in my Redeemer
Though I fall, his love is sure
For Christ has paid for every failing
I am His forevermore
Mine are tears in times of sorrow
Darkness not yet understood
Through the valley I must travel
Where I see no earthly good
But mine is peace that flows from heaven
And the strength in times of need
I know my pain will not be wasted
Christ completes his work in me
Mine are days here as a stranger
Pilgrim on a narrow way
One with Christ I will encounter
Harm and hatred for his name
But mine is armour for this battle
Strong enough to last the war
And he has said he will deliver
Safely to the golden shore
And mine are keys to Zion city
Where beside the King I walk
For there my heart has found its treasure
Christ is mine forevermore
Come rejoice now, O my soul
For his love is my reward
Fear is gone and hope is sure
Christ is mine forevermore!
And mine are keys to Zion city
Where beside the King I walk
For there my heart has found its treasure
Christ is mine forevermore
Christ is mine forevermore
Call To Confession: “1 John 2:15-16”
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life-is not from the Father but is from the world.
Prayer of confession
O God, Our Father
Forgive us for our many sins. Like Eve we are easily captivated by the objects that our eyes desire. We fall so often, and when we do, we run and hide in shame instead of running to you to confess our sin and find joy and forgiveness in the cross.
You have given us the ultimate treasure, yet we prize many other things more highly than Jesus. Forgive us for trusting in our own strength more than in His power to save us completely.
We live each day with hearts full of our own desires, minds full of our own agendas and plans for our own self promotion.
Forgive us Lord
Jesus, you are our strong salvation. Thank you for invading our world to rescue us from ourselves.
How can we ever thank you adequately?
Father, cause us to cherish Jesus above all our other desires, so that we will be satisfied in Him for all eternity.
Amen
We Celebrate Christ as Our Redeemer
Assurance of pardon: “Ephesians 1:3-10”
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
Hymn of Redemption: “How Deep the Father’s love for Us” Townend, 1990
How deep the Father’s love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory
Behold the man upon a cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
Reading: “Matthew 5:38-48”
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Prayer for the Proclamation of God’s Word
Sermon: “How Should I Respond When I am Wronged?”
Davis lacey – Matthew 5:38-48
How should we respond when we suffer wrongdoing? Jesus, in Matthew 5:38-48, alludes to three different steps:
- Think back on the grace of the past (vv. 38-42).
- Love in the present (vv. 43-45).
- Look forward to the day on which God will settle the score in the future (vv. 45-48).
We Respond to the Gospel
Hymn of Response: “His Mercy is More”
Papa and Boswell, 2016
CHORUS
Praise the Lord! His mercy is more!
Stronger than darkness, new every morn…
Our sins they are many, His mercy is more!
What love could remember, no wrongs we have done
Omniscient, all-knowing, He counts not their sum
Thrown into a sea without bottom or shore
Our sins they are many, His mercy is more
REPEAT CHORUS
What patience would wait as we constantly roam
What Father so tender is calling us home
He welcomes the weakest, the vilest, the poor
Our sins they are many, His mercy is more
REPEAT CHORUS
What riches of kindness He lavished on us
His blood was the payment His life was the cost
We stood ‘neath a debt we could never afford
Our sins they are many, His mercy is more
REPEAT CHORUS
Hymn of New Creation: “We Will Feast (In the House of Zion)” McCracken, 2015
CHORUS
We will feast in the house of Zion
We will sing with our hearts restored
He has done great things, we will say together
We will feast and weep no more
We will not be burned by the fire
He is the LORD our God
We are not consumed, by the flood
Upheld, protected, gathered up
REPEAT CHORUS
In the dark of night, before the dawn
My soul, be not afraid
For the promised morning, oh how long?
Oh God of Jacob, be my strength
REPEAT CHORUS
Every vow we’ve broken and betrayed
You are the Faithful One
And from the garden to the grave
Bind us together, bring shalom.
REPEAT CHORUS
