June 9, 2019

Please note that the location and the time of our worship service has changed. We now worship at Zion Lutheran Church, 1405 E. Fallbrook Street, Fallbrook CA 92028 at 11 AM.

Before We Worship

Evangelical Christians often say “We are saved by faith.” It is a perfectly fine statement as long as we understand that it is actually highly compressed statement of convenience. There are, indeed, some people who believe in “the power of faith.” They believe that forcing or compelling ourselves to believe something has the power to change the very reality itself. We usually encounter this kind of thinking in prosperity-gospel circles, where, if one believes strongly enough, life can change accordingly. What do they believe in, by the way? Their faith is a self-directed affirmation of their own worth, a statement declaring their entitlement to wealth and health. For such people, faith is the power, and power is in faith. But this is absolutely not what Bible believing Christians mean when we say “We are saved by faith.”

What, then, do we understand by faith? Faith is not a self-affirming statement or our worth or entitlement. Our faith has no power to accomplish anything. Rather, faith is what unites us to Jesus Christ who alone has the power to save. Speaking strictly and accurately, we are not saved by faith. We are saved by Jesus Christ, to whom we are united by faith. Our faith, then, is a most heart-felt affirmation of who Jesus is and what he has done. We do not by faith claim what we are entitled to. Rather, by faith, we acknowledge ourselves to be, according to the Scripture’s teachings, that we are only deserving of wrath and judgment, that we have so thoroughly forfeited and disqualified ourselves from God’s blessing. Faith, then, is boldly approaching God in Jesus Christ, not because we deserve to do so, but because we believe God’s gracious promises are made sure for us in Jesus Christ. Faith unites us to Jesus Christ. This is what we mean by “We are saved by faith.”

Christians, in other words, are the people who are in Christ and Christ is in them. This union between Christ and the believer is the realest thing we will ever know. Being united to Christ, all that happens to us, Jesus says happens to him. So we remember the profound words of Christ to Paul, who was persecuting the believers, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And, just as truly, what happened to Christ must happen also to us. Jesus suffered and entered into glory. We will also suffer before we enter into glory. Jesus died and rose from the dead. We will also die. But more than that, we will also rise just as Jesus did. This is the fellowship that Jesus has with his people. This is our union with Christ.

So we are confidently assured of our own resurrection. This is not positive thinking against the horrors of mortality. Rather, by faith we take hold of our identity — Christ in me the hope of glory! We are in Christ and he is in us. We are one with him. We will rise to the same glory, vindication, and blessing as Jesus did. And in view of this, we say, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Call to Worship

‡ Isaiah 57:14–21 (p. 617)

‡ Trinity Hymnal #691 “It Is Well with My Soul”

‡ Trinity Hymnal #731 “Doxology”

Prayer of Invocation

The Shorter Catechism Q. 38

The Reading and Exposition of the Law

1 John 3:1–10 (p. 1022)

Prayer of Confession

The Proclamation of the Gospel

“By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.” (1 John 3:19–20 ESV)

Trinity Hymnal #319 “Day of Judgment! Day of Wonders!”

Presentation of Gifts and Offering

Pastoral Prayer

The Proclamation of God’s Word

Luke 24:1–12 (p. 884)

Jesus Rose Again from the Dead

Rev. Ken Han

The Sacrament of The Lord’s Supper

We participate in the Lord’s Supper weekly. We welcome to the Lord’s Table all baptized believers who have sincere faith in Jesus Christ, and regularly worship in a Reformed or evangelical church.

The Lord’s Supper is a sign and a seal of the new covenant blessings. When we participate in the Lord’s Supper with faith, it strengthens our bond with our covenant Lord, Jesus Christ. Thus we participate properly when we come to our Savior with faith and repentance as we renew our resolve to forsake sin and live for his glory.

The Lord’s Supper also renews our bonds with God’s covenant community, the body of believers in the local church. As we receive the Lord’s Supper, we renew our pledge to give ourselves away in loving service.

During the distribution of the bread we will sing TH #647 “How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds” stanzas 1–3, and stanzas 4–6 during the distribution of the cup.

Trinity Hymnal #286 “Worship Christ, the Risen King!”

Benediction

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Growth Resources

Family Devotion for the Week

The June 2, 2019 sermon, Luke 23:26–56. “Jesus Crucified, Died, and Buried” is available on our church website. You can also catch up on older sermons from our Sermon page and subscribe to sermon podcast here.

Upcoming Events and Notices

Join us for “12 for 19” as we read 12 great books in the year 2019. For June we will read “Honest Evangelism: How to Talk About Jesus Even When It’s Tough” by Rico Tice and Carl Laferton.

Please note that the catechism lessons will resume in the fall.

June 9 (Lord’s Day): Please join us for our monthly fellowship potluck lunch after the worship service.

June 23 (Lord’s Day): Please join us as we discuss the book “Honest Evangelism: How to Talk About Jesus Even When It’s Tough.”

Nursery Volunteers

June 9: Kelly Rogers

June 16: Liza Beede