Bulletin 3.15.26
"You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, O God our Savior. You are the hope of everyone on earth, even those who sail on distant seas." Psalm 65:5
Reflection Before The Service
Reflection Before The Service
I want to say to you, about myself, that I am a child of this age, a child of unfaith and skepticism, and probably (indeed I know it) shall remain so to the end of my life. How dreadfully has it tormented me (and torments me even now) this longing for faith, which is all the stronger for the proofs I have against it. And yet God gives me sometimes moments of perfect peace; in such moments I love and believe that I am loved; in such moments I have formulated my creed, wherein all is clear and holy to me. This creed is extremely simple; here it is: I believe thatthere is nothing lovelier, deeper, more sympathetic, more rational, more manly, and more perfect than the Savior; I say to myself with jealous love that not only is there no one else like Him, but that there could be no one.
- Fyodor Dostoevsky in Letters of Fyodor Michailovitch
Dostoevsky to his Family and Friends(1914), p. 71
Q: What is faith in Jesus Christ?
A: Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him
alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel.
- Westminster Shorter Catechism (1547) Question 86
And this is one of the most crucial definitions for the whole of Christianity: that
the opposite of sin is not virtue but faith.
- Søren Kierkegaard, The Sickness Unto Death(1849)
Faith consists not in doingsomething but in receivingsomething. To say that we are justified by faith is just another way of saying that we are justified not in slightest measure by ourselves, but simply and solely by the One in whom our faith is reposed... faith means receiving something, not doing something or even being something... At bottom, faith is in one sense a very simple thing; it simply means that, abandoning the vain effort of earning one's way into God's presence, we accept the gift of salvation which Christ offers so full and free.
- J. Gresham Machen, What is Faith? (1925)
The Call To Worship
The Call To Worship
Psalm 65.8 (NLT)
What mighty praise, O God, belongs to You in Zion. We will fulfill our vows to You, for You answer our prayers. All of us must come to You. Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, You forgive them all. What joy for those You choose to bring near, those who live in Your holy courts. What festivities await us inside Your holy Temple.
You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, O God our Savior. You are the hope of everyone on earth, even those who sail on distant seas. You formed the mountains by Your power and armed Yourself with mighty strength. You quieted the raging oceans with their pounding waves and silenced the shouting of the nations.
Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your wonders. From where the sun rises to where it sets, You inspire shouts of joy.
(Prayer)
Reflection Before The Service
I want to say to you, about myself, that I am a child of this age, a child of unfaith and skepticism, and probably (indeed I know it) shall remain so to the end of my life. How dreadfully has it tormented me (and torments me even now) this longing for faith, which is all the stronger for the proofs I have against it. And yet God gives me sometimes moments of perfect peace; in such moments I love and believe that I am loved; in such moments I have formulated my creed, wherein all is clear and holy to me. This creed is extremely simple; here it is: I believe thatthere is nothing lovelier, deeper, more sympathetic, more rational, more manly, and more perfect than the Savior; I say to myself with jealous love that not only is there no one else like Him, but that there could be no one.
- Fyodor Dostoevsky in Letters of Fyodor Michailovitch
Dostoevsky to his Family and Friends(1914), p. 71
Q: What is faith in Jesus Christ?
A: Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him
alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel.
- Westminster Shorter Catechism (1547) Question 86
And this is one of the most crucial definitions for the whole of Christianity: that
the opposite of sin is not virtue but faith.
- Søren Kierkegaard, The Sickness Unto Death(1849)
Faith consists not in doingsomething but in receivingsomething. To say that we are justified by faith is just another way of saying that we are justified not in slightest measure by ourselves, but simply and solely by the One in whom our faith is reposed... faith means receiving something, not doing something or even being something... At bottom, faith is in one sense a very simple thing; it simply means that, abandoning the vain effort of earning one's way into God's presence, we accept the gift of salvation which Christ offers so full and free.
- J. Gresham Machen, What is Faith? (1925)
The Call To Worship
Psalm 65.8 (NLT)
What mighty praise, O God, belongs to You in Zion. We will fulfill our vows to You, for You answer our prayers. All of us must come to You. Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, You forgive them all. What joy for those You choose to bring near, those who live in Your holy courts. What festivities await us inside Your holy Temple.
You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, O God our Savior. You are the hope of everyone on earth, even those who sail on distant seas. You formed the mountains by Your power and armed Yourself with mighty strength. You quieted the raging oceans with their pounding waves and silenced the shouting of the nations.
Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your wonders. From where the sun rises to where it sets, You inspire shouts of joy.
(Prayer)
15/03/26