God Gathers Us
Call to Worship - Psalm 22:23-31
To be read aloud by someone in your home:
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you[a] I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!
Opening Prayer
This morning’s call to worship - Psalm 22 - is most well known for it’s opening line: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? From the cross, Jesus quoted this verse. And if you are familiar with the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion, then it is impossible to read Psalm 22 and not see the suffering of Jesus described there.
However, while the beginning of the psalm focuses on the suffering of Christ, the end of the Psalm - the verses above - focus on His triumph. Not in spite of His suffering, but BECAUSE of his suffering, God gives the Afflicted One a place of dominion, ruling over all the earth, with generation after generation declaring - He has done it! And so the pattern is given to us - first the cross, then the crown.
The life of Jesus sets the pattern for our lives too. First the cross, then the crown. We lose our lives, laying them down for Jesus, only to have Him give us new life. We go through suffering in this life and feel at times that God has forsaken us. But we do so with hope, knowing that Christ too suffered, all the while trusting in the Father - and He is now exalted to glory.
Take some time in prayer asking God to show you what areas of your life may need to be laid down, giving up your control in surrender to God; and pray for the areas in your life, or in your family or in our community, where you feel God-forsaken. Lift these up to God, asking for His grace and His help, as we seek to trust Him.
God Saves Us
Congregational Singing
We encourage you to sing - make a joyful noise! If you play an instrument, play! If you have some favorite hymns or choruses, pick one or two and sing! Or make use of other technology to play some music, and listen and sing along.
Below are some hymns you can make use of if these would be a help to you.
Offering
For everyone watching services online, we can still receive your offerings a couple of ways:
You can drop your offering in the locked mailbox outside the church office entrance
Or, you can mail them to the church at 393 Water Street, Augusta ME 04330.
Thank you for your continued support of Penney and its ministries!