Call to Worship   Psalm 138:1-2

I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; 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.

Invocation  and The Lord’s Prayer

Hymn of Praise                     “Come, Christians, Join to Sing”             #108

Scripture Reading        Isaiah 42:1-9

Confession of Sin and Assurance of Pardon    Isaiah 53:4-5

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.

Hymn of Assurance              “Grace Greater Than Our Sin”                #201

Confession of Faith      Heidelberg Catechism #72-74

1. 72 Does this outward washing with water itself wash away sins?

No, only Jesus Christ’s blood and the Holly Spirit cleanse us from all sins.

1. 73 Why then does the Holy Spirit call baptism the washing of rebirth and the washing away of sins?

God has good reason for these words. He wants to teach us that the blood and Spirit of Christ wash away our sins just as water washes away dirt from our bodies. But more important, He wants to assure us, by this divine pledge and sign, that the washing away of our sins spiritually is as real as physical washing with water.

1. 74 Should infants, too, be baptized?

Yes. Infants as well as adults are in God’s covenant and are His people. They, no less than adults, are promised the forgiveness of sin through Christ’s blood and the Holy Spirit who produces faith. Therefore, by baptism, the mark of the covenant, infants should be received into the Christian church and should be distinguished from the children of unbelievers. This was done in the Old Testament by circumcision, which was replaced in the New Testament by baptism.

Pastoral Prayer

Choral Anthem             “I Am Not Ashamed to Own My Lord”

Presentation of Tithes and Offerings

The Preaching of God’s Word        “You Will Testify Before Kings”

                                                                         Acts 25:13-26:23

Hymn of Response      “All I Have Is Christ”                        Black Hymnal #4

Benediction        1 Timothy 1:17

To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.