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Order of Worship—John 13.1-11

Prelude

Announcements and Call to Worship

We are about to sing “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee.” There’s a line in the song that says, “teach us how to love each other.” So, our call to worship text comes from Philippians 2 where Paul instructs us on how to love each other in humility. So, let’s call ourselves to worship with this on our minds:

(Phil. 2:3-11) ³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  ⁴ Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.  ⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,  ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,  ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,  ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

May our lips sing for joy when we think of the humility and love of Christ towards us and may we learn to love and serve each other as we see Christ!

Hymn No. 13 “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee”

Welcome and Prayer

Indeed, Lord, we do adore you because your love is unmatched by any. As we are about to sing a song in which we are asking the question, “Amazing love, how can it be that thou, my God, should die for me?”  We know because (Rom. 5:7-8)…one will scarcely die for a righteous person– though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die–  ⁸ but Christ shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We were your enemies and yet you have adopted us into your family.

May we live as sons and daughters of the King! The One who came not to be served, but to serve and give his life as ransom for many. May we serve one another, gladly. May we humble ourselves, because you oppose the proud. When we are full of pride, we become defensive and we feel entitled to things that other people do not deserve. “Pride allows us to convince ourselves that we can step over your boundaries without any consequences. We are no longer afraid of you so we write our own rules.”

O Father, you give grace to the humble. Humble us Lord! Mold us into the image of Christ. We are free to be humble for we are sons of the King. We have nothing to prove. We have your favor and you love us just as you love your Son. Though we are of Adam’s helpless race, Jesus bled for us in his mercy. May we praise you, for your mercy has reached us. Amazing love!

Hymn No. 250 “And Can it Be”

(Highlight this line in the song in light of our text)

“And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us: the prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure, for lo his doom is sure: one little word shall fell him.”

Hymn No. 656 “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”

Sermon John 13:1-11

Hymn No. 229 “Are You Washed in the Blood”

Benediction

(Rev. 7:13-17) “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?”  ¹⁴ I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  ¹⁵ “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.  ¹⁶ They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.  ¹⁷ For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”