June 3, 2007, 11:00 AM
WE ENTER INTO GOD’S PRESENCE
Preparation for Worship
Call to Worship – Psalm 96:1-4
*Opening Praise – 253:1,4 “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty”
*God Greets Us
*We Greet Each Other
*Continuing Praise – “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You”
“The Joy of the Lord”Call to Confession – Exodus 1:11, 14; 3:7-8
Prayer of Confession
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and forgive our sins, for your name’s sake.
God of love, in the wrong we have done and in the good we have not done –
Lord, have mercy.We have sinned in ignorance; we have sinned in weakness; we have sinned through our own deliberate fault. We are truly sorry.
Christ, have mercy.We repent and turn to you. Forgive us, send a deliverer and renew our lives.
Lord, have mercy. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and forgive our sins, for your name’s sake. Amen.
Handbell Quintet Anthem – “Fantasy on ‘Go Down, Moses’”
Assurance of Pardon – Romans 5:8; Colossians 1:13-14; Romans 5:1
*Song of Assurance – 489:2-4 “It Is Well with My Soul”
WE HEAR GOD’S WORDChildren’s Time
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture Reading – Philippians 1:12-18
Message – “We Rejoice”
Prayer
WE RESPOND WITH THANKSGIVING
*Song – 620 “By the Sea of Crystal”
Offertory – “Holy God, We Praise Your Name” – Handbell duet
The Offering – General Fund
Sharing Joys and Concerns
Intercessory Prayer
WE ARE DISMISSED TO LOVE AND SERVE Opportunities for Ministry and Service
*God Blesses Us
*Parting Song – “God, We Sing Your Glorious Praises” (vs. 1-3)
Postlude
THIS WEEK IN THE LIFE OF VALLEY CHURCHToday we continue a three-week celebration of God’s blessings in the life of the Christian Reformed Church over the past 150 years. The theme for our celebration is “Grace through Every Generation”. It was in April, 1857 that five small congregations in west Michigan joined together to form what later became known as the Christian Reformed Church in North America. Our celebration will be shaped by three key words – remember, rejoice and rededicate. Our focus today is on rejoicing in what God has done and will continue to do through his church.
We extend a special welcome this morning to a handbell ensemble from the Congregational Church in Greene as they present special music to enhance our worship. There will be both a quintet and a duet. Thank you for willingly sharing your talents with us today.
Please join us after the service as we celebrate some special anniversaries of Valley Church couples this month. Greg and Sharyn Huck celebrate their 25th on June 7, Doug and Pat Aukema their 40th on June 17 and Jim and Ruth Giese their 45th on June 30. The refreshments served are in their honor.
The second offering next Sunday will be for Calvin Theological Seminary’s Ministry Incentive program. This assists seminary students with loans that are forgiven after several years of ministry in the Christian Reformed Church and offers significant financial help to people on their way to ministry.
The NYPENN Franklin Graham Festival is this weekend at the Binghamton University Event Center. Continue to be strong in prayer for this outreach to our area, asking God to bless all the plans that have been made and to give a special measure of the Holy Spirit to the speakers and music leaders. See the bulletin insert today for more information about event times, bus schedules, and other pertinent news.
Thursday, 7:00 PM Prayer meeting
Take note that we have postponed the date for the annual Spring Congregational meeting to Wednesday, June 27 at 7:30 PM. Please be in prayer as we are still working on nominations for elder and deacon. If you were asked and said no but are not at peace with your decision, it’s not too late to reconsider. Talk with the person who asked you in the first place.
Advance notice: We will be changing to our summer worship schedule (worship at 10:00 AM with no Sunday School classes) on Sunday, June 17. That will also be the day we honor our graduates.
Council notes: 1. Judy Crawford read from Matthew 6 and shared a devotional concerning the power and blessing of prayer. 2. We received updates on the Franklin Graham Festival and discussed our follow-up plans. 3. We continue to seek nominees for elder and deacon. Since we are still hoping for more people to accept nomination, the congregational meeting will be postponed two weeks until June 27. 4. The finance team recommended that we pay for the new upstairs windows by using $10,000 of our undesignated reserves and “borrowing” the other $10,000 from the Holmes memorial fund, with that money to be repaid through a fund drive. More details will follow.
Continue to pray for strength for Willis Thompson as he recovers from the procedure which has stopped the leaking aortic aneurysm which was discovered in other medical testing recently.
Delegates to the annual Synod of the CRC will be gathering later this week for their meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Pray for much wisdom as they do their work. There is also a Multi-ethnic Conference being held this week. Thank God that Pastor Michael Lapian is able to attend these meetings.
Next Sunday, June 10, 2007
SUNDAY SCHOOL: 9:30 AM Sunday School breakfast. Plan to join us for breakfast as we conclude another season of God’s blessings on our Sunday School program.
MORNING WORSHIP: 11:00 AM Our worship will be led by Pastor Gelder. The message this week will be “We Rededicate”, based on Ephesians 3:17b-21. We will continue to observe the 150th Anniversary of the Christian Reformed Church in North America as well as rejoicing in God’s blessings evident here at Valley Church. There is much reason to rejoice in “Grace through Every Generation.” We will also be celebrating Holy Communion at this service. If you have any questions concerning your participation in the sacrament, please talk with an elder or the pastor this week.
