March 1, 2020
Before We Worship
Psalm 34 was written at a very desperate point in David’s life. The superscription reads: “Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.” In other words, David wrote this psalm after the events we read about in 1 Samuel 19-22. There we read that David had fallen out of Saul’s favor, but not because of any wrong things he had done. David succeeded in everything he did more than Saul because God’s favor was upon David. Saul in turn became deeply jealous and tried repeatedly kill David. At last, David had to flee to Gath in order to escape Saul’s rage.
The thing is, Gath is a Philistine town. But not just any Philistine town. It was the hometown of Goliath whom David had killed in battle. But before David went to Gath, he retrieved the sword of Goliath, carrying it as his only possession and weapon.Needless to say, David received a chilly reception. And when Abimelech/Achish their king tried to kill David, David acted like a mad man and barely escaped with his life.
Can you imagine the kind of desperation David was facing? How bad was the situation if his only option was to flee to Goliath’s hometown, with Goliath’s sword reminding them exactly who David was and what he had done? Psalm 34, in other words, was written out of a terribly desperate time in David’s life. And the God we find in Psalm 34 is the Savior of those who cry out to him in desperation.
Indeed, it is easy enough to quickly read through Psalm 34 without much reflection. Its overall tone is very cheerful. But when we remember its setting, the confident tone of this psalm is utterly baffling. Baffling, that is, until we remember who God is. God ordained all of David’s trials to teach him that even when the whole world is against David, God is for him, and therefore David will be safe. Indeed, “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.”
In time, we all got to see how utterly God is for us. Ps 34:20 appears in John 19:36 as the fulfillment of messianic promise: “He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.” Ultimately, Jesus is the reason we cheerfully worship God when desperate, and have confidence when our every option seems bad and worse. God is with us in Jesus Christ, and through him will protect us. Let cheerful praise rise up to our Savior, then, and let us give thanks!
Order of Worship
Call to Worship
‡ Psalm 34 (p. 463)
‡ Bulletin Insert #14 “Hallelujah Praise Jehovah”
‡ Trinity Hymnal #731 “Doxology”
Prayer of Invocation
The Reading and Exposition of the Law
Matthew 5:38–42 (p. 810)
Prayer of Confession
The Proclamation of the Gospel
“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)
Bulletin Insert #13 “My God My Father Blissful Name”
Confession of Faith — The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Presentation of Gifts and Offering
Pastoral Prayer
The Proclamation of God’s Word
1 Peter 3:8–12 (p. 1015)
Blessing and Blessed
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 Trinity Hymnal #647 “How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds” stanzas 1–3, and stanzas 4–6 during the distribution of the cup.
Trinity Hymnal #252 “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”
Benediction
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Growth Resources
Family Devotion for the Week
The February 23, 2020 sermon, 1 Peter 3:7. "The Gospel Comes Home (Part 3)" 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 20” as we read 12 great books in the year 2020. In March we are reading “The Christian Life: A Doctrinal Introduction” by Sinclair Ferguson.
March 1 (Lord's Day): Please join us as we continue our study of covenant theology.
March 8 (Lord’s Day): Please adjust your clock for Daylight Saving Time. We spring forward one hour.
March 8 (Lord’s Day): Please join us for our monthly fellowship potluck lunch after the worship service.
March 22 (Lord’s Day): Please join us as we discuss Sinclair Ferguson’s “The Christian Life: A Doctrinal Introduction”.
March 29 (Lord’s Day): All members are requested to attend the annual Congregational Meeting for the purpose of presenting and adopting the new budget for the fiscal year 2020–21.
Nursery Volunteers
March 1: Michelle Kay
March 8: Yoori Han