Good Morning Great Valley
Due to the forecasted winter storm, all in person activities at Great Valley Presbyterian Church—including both worship services—are canceled on Sunday, January 25. Here are some resources to help you worship at home.
Call to Worship - Isaiah 43:1-3a
1 But now thus says the LORD,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Prayer of Confession
Merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you
with our whole heart and mind and strength.
​We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
In your mercy forgive what we have been,
help us amend what we are,
and direct what we shall be,
so that we may delight in your will
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your holy name.
Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Affirmation of Forgiveness
Hear the good news!
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God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8)
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Know that in Jesus,
God embraces you, forgives you,
and strengthens you to live a renewed life.
Thanks be to God!
Prayers of the People
Here is a prayer guide that may be helpful as we take some time to seek our Father.
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Please take a moment and read Psalm 147 aloud, and as you do, please look for any special relevance to our time of worship today!
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1 Praise the LORD!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.
2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars;
he gives to all of them their names.
5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.
6 The LORD lifts up the humble;
he casts the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on the lyre!
8 He covers the heavens with clouds;
he prepares rain for the earth;
he makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He gives to the beasts their food,
and to the young ravens that cry.
10 His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
11 but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love.
12 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
he blesses your children within you.
14 He makes peace in your borders;
he fills you with the finest of the wheat.
15 He sends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
16 He gives snow like wool;
he scatters frost like ashes.
17 He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs;
who can stand before his cold?
18 He sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.
19 He declares his word to Jacob,
his statutes and rules to Israel.
20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his rules.
Praise the LORD!
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In light of this Psalm, we invite you to take a moment and praise God for his faithfulness to us as a people and individually.
As the Psalm notes, our God is caring and powerful, and he delights in his people. We invite you to bring before our Father the things weighing on your heart and mind.
We’d also invite you to lift up those our church family in their time of need:
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For those with health challenges: Jim Waldron, Frank Long, Joanne Yurchick, Jessica and Mark Koschmeder, Bruce Chambers, Bruce Vessey, and many others.
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For those wrestling with addictions (and for their families).
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For safety for those traveling tomorrow, and those who are out caring for others in the storm like medical professionals and road & power crews.
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For our leaders in government- for wisdom, Christlike attitudes, and wise and winsome words.
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For opportunities to share the gospel with those we love- especially for Alpha!
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For wisdom and the Spirit’s leading in our pastoral search process.
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For our missionary, Jim Davis, director of City Gate, as they seek to care for homeless men in Coatesville. Pray that God might be pleased to work in the lives of these men whom he (and the folks at City Gate) know and love.
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Lets also remember our college students of the week: Hanako and Kiran Simelaro as they continue their studies at Montgomery Community College
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Other folks in our church (or outside our church) for whom our Father cares deeply!
We invite you to sing the Psalm 138 to the traditional tune of When I Survey The Wondrous Cross. God delights in the sound of his people praising him!
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Psalm 138:1-5
Hamburg L.M.
(When I Survey the Wondrous Cross)
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I’ll praise You, LORD, with all my heart;
before the “gods” I’ll praise impart.
I’ll bow down toward Your holy place,
and praise Your name for truth and grace.
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You have exalted o’er all things,
Your name and word, which true life bring.
The day I called, You answered me;
You made me bold and strong to be.
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May all the kings of earth praise You,
LORD, when they hear Your words so true.
May they sing of the ways of God;
the LORD’s great glory known abroad.
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Metrical version by Tim and Julie Tennet. psalms.seedbed.com/psalm-138
Lastly, we invite you to say the Lord’s Prayer aloud and be reminded that Our Lord Jesus cares for us in the midst of our worries and anxieties. It’s only through our neediness that our Father meets us with his grace!
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.
May the Lord bless you and keep you!
Old Testament Scripture - Proverbs 3:1-6
1 My son, do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commandments,
2 for length of days and years of life
and peace they will add to you.
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3 Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;
bind them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 So you will find favor and good success
in the sight of God and man.
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5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Matthew 6:25-34
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
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34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
A Greater Righteousness - Worry
I. Understanding the Main Point: Do Not Be Anxious
A) He Tells Us What He is Going to Tell Us (25a)
B) He Tells Us (31)
C) He Reminds us of What He Told Us (34)
II. Two Examples to Aid our Understanding (25b-32)
A) Our Daily Sustenance – Eat and Drink (25b-26)
~ reproof of anxiety (27)
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B) Our Clothing (28-29)
~reproof of anxiety (30-32)
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C) Note the Diagnostic Questions of vs. 25b,26b,27,30
III. He Calls us to A Far Greater Task – Seek God’s Reign (33)
~ reproof of anxiety (34)
IV. What This Call is Not and Is
Not a call to laziness – Pr. 10:4-5; 13:4; 19:15; 26:14
Not a call to cease planning – JC’s entrance in to Jerusalem
Not a denial that this is a fallen world – remember the cross
Is a call to remember that our Lord reigns and has secured our future
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Point to Ponder: When in this life do I feel my heart yielding to worry? Do I believe that my greatest future reality has been lost? Is the loss of things of worth in this life (wealth, friendship, reputation), have greater implications than the love revealed on the cross?
Next Week: We will continue our series Life in the Kingdom by considering Matthew 7:1-6 "A Greater Righteousness – Judging.”
Worship in Song
As you sing praise to our God this morning, here are some links to deepen your appreciation for the hymns chosen today
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Benediction - 2 Corinthians 13:14
14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Family Business
Here are a few important announcements for the week ahead. If you want all of our weekly announcements delivered to your inbox, sign up for Church News & Updates.
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