Here is the link to download the manuscript if anyone is interested:

Order of Worship—John 12.20-36 Part 2—The Application

Prelude

Announcements and Graduate Recognition

Call to Worship

(Ps. 138:1-8) I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise;  ² I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.  ³ On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.  ⁴ All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O LORD, for they have heard the words of your mouth,  ⁵ and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD, for great is the glory of the LORD.  ⁶ For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar.  ⁷ Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me.  ⁸ The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Song—Hymn #5 “How Great is Our God”

Welcome and Pastoral Prayer

Indeed, Lord, you are great! You dwell in unapproachable light! At the sound of your voice, you spoke into existence the heavens and the earth. As the Potter forms the clay, you made all things good. But we are but clay…weak vessels, for sure. We rebelled against your one clear command and fell into sin and death. We hid ourselves among the bushes and attempted to cover our shame. But you found us and clothed us in your mercy. And you made a promise to send a child that would crush the dead of the deceiver.

By your grace, we discover a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins. And by your grace, we sinners are plunged beneath that flood and lose all our guilty stains. Though as vile as the thief on the cross, the blood of the Innocent One washed all our sins away. And yet the wonder of the cross bids us to come and die so that we may truly live.

Oh, that our neighbors would know this good news! Indeed, we are your witnesses to such a great salvation. Give us boldness as we engage those who cross our paths throughout our days to tell them the wondrous story. We are mere beggars telling other beggars where to find bread. May we direct them to the Bread of Life that they may never hunger again.

But one day, our time here will be over and into your presence we will be.

And… When this poor, lisping, stamm’ring tongue
Lies silent in the grave,
Then in a nobler, sweeter song,
I’ll sing Thy pow’r to save.

“May the Lamb who was slain receive the reward of his suffering.”
In Christ’s name we pray, amen.

(A brief bio on William Cowper): We are about to sing a song written by William Cowper. His life is marked with many tragedies and difficulties including what was described as melancholy. This was a result of losing his mother when he was 6 years old. His relationship with his father was terrible. He sent him off to boarding school where he was bullied in awful ways. And then maybe the final straw was a broken relationship with a girl he had fallen in love with. But Cowper’s life was marked by friends who pointed him to Jesus and helped him learn to follow Jesus. From the doctor at the asylum who shared to the gospel with Cowper and left the scriptures for him to read. The Lord also placed John Newton, the slave-trader who repented and believed and eventually wrote Amazing Grace, into his life. Cowper’s life is marked by other believers with whom he lived and depended on for the rest of his life. The point is, are we dying to self to help others to walk by faith like many did with Cowper? We might not be able to write hymns but we can love and encourage those who can.

Song—Hymn #224 “There is a Fountain”

(Phil. 3:7-11)  ⁷ But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  ⁸ Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ  ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith–  ¹⁰ that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,  ¹¹ that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Song—Hymn #234 “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”

Sermon—John 12:20-36 “What does it look like to serve and follow Jesus?” (This is a follow up sermon to help us to think and apply the text)

Song—Hymn #534 “Take my life, and Let it Be Consecrated”

Benediction

(Heb. 12:1-2) Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  ² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

It’s available here to download:

Here was the Order of Worship at Union Hill Baptist Church:

Order of Service—Revelation and Response

Prelude

Welcome and Pastoral Prayer

(The scripture readings will follow the story of Joseph because the plot to kill Jesus follows this similar story. Who would have thought that the evil plot of Joseph’s brothers would end up saving them? What the brothers [or religious leaders in our story] meant for evil, God meant for good.)

(This first reading and song acknowledge that God was at work long beforehand in the birth of Joseph and that He most often works in ways that we would never expect. Rachel was barren but the Lord heard the pleas of Rachel and opened her womb.)

Scripture Reading—(Gen. 30:1-2) When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!”  ² Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” Gen. 30:22-24  ²² Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.  ²³ She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.”  ²⁴ And she called his name Joseph, saying, “May the LORD add to me another son!”

Song—Hymn # 56 “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”

(This song responds to the scripture reading in a way that says, no matter how things seem and though God is invisible, He is at work behind the scenes and God only wise is at work in His perfect wisdom for good.)

Prayer of Confession and Hope

¹² [We] thank him who has given [us] strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged [us] faithful, appointing [us] to his service,  ¹³ though formerly [we] were a blasphemers, persecutors, and insolent opponents. But [we] received mercy because [we] had acted ignorantly in unbelief,  ¹⁴ and the grace of our Lord overflowed for [us] with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.  ¹⁵ The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom [we] am the foremost.  ¹⁶ But [we] received mercy for this reason, that in [us], as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.  ¹⁷ To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (1 Tim. 1:12-17)

(This next reading continues the story of Joseph. We hear the brothers’ [compared to the chief priests in our story] hatred of Joseph. He had this dream or vision that he would rule over them. So, coupled with their father loving Joseph more than all his brothers and this vision that he would someday rule over them, they plotted to kill him [it will sound very similar to our story]. As the story continues, we see an opportunity for the brothers to get rid of Joseph. So, they throw him into a pit but end up selling him off as a slave.)

Scripture Reading—(Gen. 37:4-8)  ⁴ But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.  ⁵ Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more.  ⁶ He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed:  ⁷ Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.”  ⁸ His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

(Gen. 37:17-27) So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.  ¹⁸ They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him.  ¹⁹ They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer.  ²⁰ Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”  ²¹ But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.”  ²² And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”– that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father.  ²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore.  ²⁴ And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.  ²⁵ Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt.  ²⁶ Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?  ²⁷ Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him.

(The next song affirms, that just like Joseph’s brothers, we are wretches in need of amazing grace. His brothers were blind but now they see. Their fear, we hope, was grounded in this amazing grace that taught them to fear. God’s good promises always come to pass no matter how crazy it looks. He used the plot to kill Joseph which turned into selling him as a slave to save those who got rid of him. They were responsible for their evil deed but God used their evil deed to save them. In the next reading, Joseph comforts and provides for his brothers which ties into the line “He will my shield and portion be as long as life endures.”)

Song—Hymn # 104 “Amazing Grace”

(This finishes the story. We finally hear those famous words, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.”)

Scripture Reading—(Gen. 50:17-21) ⁷ ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”‘ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him.  ¹⁸ His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.”  ¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?  ²⁰ As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.  ²¹ So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

(This next song most closely fits the outcome of our text. It asks the obvious question, “And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior’s blood? Died he for me who caused his pain? And concludes that it was “amazing love, how can it be, that Thou, my God should die for me?” After seeing the story of Joseph and we compare that to our story this morning, we see very well why we should be asking this question and rejoicing that we have gained salvation like this.)

Song—Hymn #250 “And Can It Be”

Sermon—John 11:45-57

(We end with the clear understanding that this plot to kill Jesus ends up, like Joseph’s story, saving we children of weakness and changing our leprous spots and melting our stone hearts. Indeed, Jesus paid it all and all to him I owe.)

Song—Hymn #249 “Jesus Paid it All”

Benediction: (1 Pet. 2:24-25)  ²⁴ He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.  ²⁵ For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.