SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, STARKVILLE (EPC) FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER SEASON MOTHER’S DAY MAY 12, 2019 PRELUDE Michelle Rackley (8:30) All Things Bright and Beautiful, arr. L. Smith Marquita Beaty (11:00) WELCOME Martin Lifer CALL TO WORSHIP IN CHRIST’S NAME *Responsive Litany from Psalm 19:1 Reid Roberson Minister: The heavens declare the glory of God! ALL: And the sky above proclaims God’s handiwork! *PRAYER OF INVOCATION & PRAISE *HYMN 638 (vv. 1-4) For the Beauty of the Earth DIX *PRAYERS OF PRAISE, PENITENCE & PETITION Martin Lifer THE LORD’S PRAYER (Unison) Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy 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 Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen. THE GOOD NEWS OF GOD’S GRACE; AND INVITATION FOR YOUNG CHILDREN TO GATHER HYMN 652 (vv. 1-2) Jesus Loves Me CHINA GOD’S WORD FOR YOUNG CHILDREN Martin Lifer (8:30) Ashleigh Murdock (11:00) *AFFIRMING OUR FAITH – from The (Westminster) Larger Catechism, Q. 124 Reid Roberson Minister: To whom does “father and mother” refer in the fifth commandment? ALL: The words “father and mother” refer not just to our parents but also to everyone who is older or who is more talented than we are, and refers to those whom God has ordained to be in positions of authority over us – whether in our family, in the church, or in civil government. * HYMN 668 - THE DOXOLOGY *OFFERING: GOD’S TITHE AND OUR FURTHER OFFERINGS OFFERTORY Michelle Rackley (8:30) Near to the Heart of God, arr. C. Berry Marquita Beaty (11:00) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *The congregation is invited to stand. Having trouble hearing the service? We have portable units that are connected directly to our sound system for optimum audio. Please see an usher about these devices! Deacons of the Month: Joel Downey and Jason Ryder Today’s Ushers: (8:30) – Levette Johnson; (11:00) – Sonny Stuart, Wallace Cade Today’s Greeters: (8:30) – Peggy Johnson; (11:00) – Patsy Stuart, Gloria Cade A Rose for Each Woman in Worship Today: Mrs. Gerlene Lifer, Pastor Martin Lifer’s mother, has again provided roses, requesting that each woman (not only mothers but also all women) in worship on this special Sunday receive a rose – in thanksgiving to God for blessing us in all grace, including through each woman who is a part of our Christian ministry and fellowship. __________________________________________________________________ Visiting with Us? We warmly welcome you to our worship of God this Lord’s Day. Please complete a FIRSTConnect Card and place it in the Offering … or in a FIRSTConnect Box in the entranceways. To learn more about faith in Jesus Christ, as well as about church membership, your spiritual growth, and ways to learn & serve at FPC – please speak to Pastor Lifer following the service, or call him this week at the church office. You may also send a message to him via email ([email protected]). GOD’S WORD PROCLAIMED SCRIPTURE Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV Pew Bible p. 976) SERMON Redeeming Wrinkles: Martin Lifer God’s Grace for Imperfect Moms *SONG OF FAITH (11:00) Can You Count the Stars? Vivian Cade, Solo INVITATION TO TRUST AND FOLLOW JESUS CALLED, BLESSED AND SENT AS WITNESSES OF GOD’S WORD *HYMN 654 A Christian Home CHRISTIAN HOME *COMMISSION AND BENEDICTION Martin Lifer POSTLUDE Michelle Rackley (8:30) Walk Worthy of the Lord, arr. L. Smith Marquita Beaty (11:00) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *The congregation is invited to stand. The Sanctuary Flowers are given to the Glory of God by Jeff Foster in honor of his wife, Barbara Foster, and all the mothers in our church. Happy Mothers’ Day! Prayers for Reid and Madeleine – looking forward to their wedding this Saturday! Please join us in prayers and best wishes, seeking and trusting in the Lord’s blessings for the wedding and marriage of FPC Ministry Intern Reid Roberson and his fiancée, Madeleine Meilstrup, this Saturday. [The wedding will be celebrated at the First Baptist Church of Brookhaven,] FPC on Mission! God is doing great things. Come this Wednesday evening to hear how God can use FPC’s overseas mission to change & bless you, plant new congregations, and reach the souls of nations – all for God’s glory! Mission Meeting this Wednesday 5:15-6:30 p.m., Fellowship Hall Light Dinner will be served. Join Pastor Lifer, Members of our Mission Outreach Team, and Rev. Ed Norton of Independent Presbyterian Church (Memphis) and the UK Partnership to learn more about: - What God is doing through the new congregations FPC is helping sponsor with the Free Church of Scotland – The Haddington Community Church and The Charleston Church Plant. - - Pastor Lifer’s mission visit to those church plants, in preparation for bringing FPC members to visit & help in our upcoming October 11-19 Mission Trip to Scotland; - Plans for the October Mission Visit, and how you might participate. “Scotland is losing the equivalent of 10 dying churches a month. Many new churches that actually share the gospel and lead to new Christian disciples are needed to reverse this crisis and to share the gospel with present and future generations in Scotland." Rev. Neil MacMillan, Director of Training for Generation and the Pastor of Cornerstone Church in Edinburgh Rev. Ali & Julie Sewell and the Haddington Community Church: Rev. Andy & Caireen Robertson and the Charleston Church Plant in the Housing Project/Tenement district of Dundee known as “Charleston:” TODAY’S KEY SERMON & SCRIPTURE NOTES Motherhood in this World- From the Challenges of Glamor … Guilt, Gravity, and Graves …to the challenges of Moral Revolution, “Health Education” and Identity Education. False Ideals and Idolatry – of “Perfect” Motherhood Mothers Who Supposedly Can Justify Themselves and Their Children by Their Works Perfect Mom Syndrome Christina Fox, Idols of a Mother’s Heart control, comfort, achievement, and approval Melissa B. Kruger, Walking with God in the Season of Motherhood Parenting is not like making a cake! Our children’s salvation is not by works—theirs or ours. “I am a sinner raising sinners. As hard as I try, at some point, my sin will affect their lives.” _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Redeeming Wrinkles: God’s Grace for Imperfect Moms Ephesians 2:8a For by grace you have been saved through faith. Melissa Kruger - “More than anything else in my life, motherhood has exposed my need for grace. In the midst of my weaknesses, I need the soul-strengthening refreshment that can come only from time spent with Jesus.” 2:8b-9 And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. “In Jesus, the performance pendulum stops: both the pride of success and the despair of failure are absorbed by grace.” Christina Fox – “Moms, we have significant value and worth. But it’s not based on what we achieve - our success as a mother…. Our worth is grounded in who Christ is for us, and what He accomplished on our behalf. The truths of the gospel, of who Christ is and what He has done, are our confession of hope. They are our security; they anchor us in the storms of life and in the chaos of motherhood.” Ephesians 2:10 - For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. “By teaching our children about confession & repentance,...grace & forgiveness, we bless their lives for years to come.” Melissa Kruger - “My greatest hope is to be a mother who loves Jesus with a deep and abiding affection that joyfully overflows to my children.” Point toward and pray your children’s souls toward the New Birth, the Perfect Grace & Love, and the Father’s Home, which YOU cannot give – only God can give.