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Begin your time this morning reading Psalm 148
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights above.
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, you highest heavens
and you waters above the skies.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for at his command they were created,
6 and he established them for ever and ever—
he issued a decree that will never pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
8 lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
stormy winds that do his bidding,
9 you mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,
10 wild animals and all cattle,
small creatures and flying birds,
11 kings of the earth and all nations,
you princes and all rulers on earth,
12 young men and women,
old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.
the praise of all his faithful servants,
of Israel, the people close to his heart.
Praise the Lord.
Along with all creation, we're called on to praise the Lord. At his command he created all things (v.5). Small and great, young and old are called on to praise him because his splendour is above the earth and the heavens.
Notice that the Psalm ends with calling us to praise, because God has raised up for his people a "horn" (v.14). As we've seen in the Book of Revelation "horns" symbolise strength and rule. They're often symbolic of a king.
The Psalmist is calling us to praise the Lord because he's raised up for us a king, the King we gather round this morning. Our Lord Jesus. Let's praise his name!
Sing Together
All Creatures of Our God and King
Confession and Assurance
We are God’s people. God has saved us and drawn us to himself. Yet as Scripture reminds us, we still sin. We still turn away from God's Word.
As John writes: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8)
Confession of sin both privately and corporately, is a great way to undeceive ourselves. It is so important for drawing near to God and enjoying him.
Please use this prayer of confession - either silently or "out loud" with those you're meeting with.
Heavenly Father,
you have loved us with an everlasting love,
but we have gone our own way
and broken your laws.
We are sorry for our sins
and turn away from them.
For the sake of your Son who died for us,
forgive us, cleanse us and change us.
By your Holy Spirit, enable us to live for you,
and to please you more and more;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hear the promise of Scripture
If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.(1 John 1:9)
Thanks be to God for his grace and his mercy through Jesus Christ.
Prayer of thanks and intercession
Glen will pray in thanks for God's goodness and provision, and also for a range of needs.
Bible Reading
Revelation 20
20 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They[a] had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
Sermon
Revelation 20: The Rule of Jesus
Sing Together
As Surely As the Dawn
As surely as the dawn will come
as certain as the day
there's comfort for the weary
hope for all who stray.
The father holds his arms out wide
and bids the sinner come
find shelter in the storm
as certain as the day
as surely as the dawn.
As surely as the dawn will come
it was for me he died
my hands drove in the nails
my selfishness, my pride.
And though my heart is black with sin
the morning light breaks through
and hope has been reborn
for mercy comes anew
as surely as the dawn
As surely as the dawn will come
we'll rise to meet new life
redemption's price is paid
God's wrath is satisfied.
Now kindness is the air we breathe
forgiveness, grace will come
anew to us each morn
as certain as the day
as surely as the dawn.
© 2010 Simone Richardson & Philip Percival
News and other bits & pieces
GROW Chats 2020 - Tune in now to ‘GROW Chats 2020’ — short interviews with local Christian women. You’ll hear chats about a chapter of the Bible (Hebrews Chapters 1-4), prayer, songs, books and life in Christ. GROW Chats 2020 is for all women everywhere. Listen while you walk, work or rest. Then chat to someone at home, church or next door about what you hear. Podcasts released each Saturday from May 23rd - September 5th. Subscribe to our podcast channel - search for ‘GROW Chats 2020’ in your favourite podcast app
Visit our website https://qcca.org.au/grow
Prayer Meeting THIS Sunday night - 5pm at the Church. We'll pray for one another and ministry in our part of the world and beyond. We're planning on running in person and on Zoom. If you'd like to join us online please send an email to info@mlpc.org.au and we'll forward you an invitation.
Baptism of Zoe Brasch - on Sunday 20th September we'll be baptising Zoe Brasch between our two morning services. We're aiming to do this around 10:20am. This is so people from both service times can be part of this rich moment of gospel encouragement for the Brasch's and our church family.
All Kids Catechism videos
If you would like to go back through any of the Kids Catechism Videos, all the videos we have released are also available in one place on this site: