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SONG
Awake, Awake, O Zion
and clothe yourself with strength.
Shake off your dust
and fix your eyes on him.
For you have been redeemed by
the precious blood of Jesus,
and now you sit enthroned with him.
Our God reigns, he is King of all the earth.
Our God reigns, and he’s seated on the throne.
Lift your voice, and sing a song of praise.
Our God reigns, the awesome Lord most high.
How beautiful the feet are
of those who bring good news,
for they proclaim the peace
that comes from God.
Rise up you holy nation,
proclaim the great salvation,
and say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
Emmanuel, Emmanuel, our God is with us now.
The watchmen lift their voices,
and raise a shout of joy,
for he will come again.
Then every eye will see the
salvation of our God,
for he has redeemed Jerusalem.
WELCOME by Richard Elliott
SONG
O Lord my God!
When I in awesome wonder
consider all the works
thy hand hath made,
I see the stars,
I hear the mighty thunder;
thy power throughout
the universe displayed;
Then sings my soul,
my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
(repeat)
And when I think
that God his son not sparing,
sent him to die
I scarce can take it in;
that on the cross,
my burden gladly bearing,
he bled and died
to take away my sin:
When burdens press,
and seem beyond endurance,
Bowed down with grief,
to Him I lift my face;
And then in love
He brings me sweet assurance:
‘My child! for thee
sufficient is my grace.’
When Christ shall come
with shout of acclamation
and take me home,
what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow
in humble adoration
and there proclaim,
‘My God, how great thou art!’
PRAYERS led by Angela Godfrey
Children and young people go out to their groups.
SONGS
O God of perfect holiness
seated high above:
what ocean-depths of faithfulness
and sacrificial love!
That all of our iniquities
were placed on Jesus’ head.
So we, who once were enemies,
are now his heirs instead.
Oh God of perfect righteousness,
true in all your ways:
what kindness in your promises,
what all sufficient grace!
That you would send your Son
to live and die upon the cross.
That through his victory he would give
that victory to us.
O God of perfect tenderness
who welcomes sinners home:
what Father-hearted gentleness
in Jesus you have shown!
And we will spend eternity
with angels and the saints:
who day and night forever sing
his never-ceasing praise.
Oh God of perfect loveliness
who made us from the dust:
who saved us from our wretchedness;
in you we place our trust.
And now to him who sits upon
the throne and to the Lamb:
be blessing, honor, glory, power
forevermore, Amen!
The splendour of the King clothed in majesty;
let all the earth rejoice, all the earth rejoice.
He wraps Himself in light and darkness tries to hide
and trembles at His voice, and trembles at His voice.
How great is our God!
Sing with me – how great is our God!
And all will see how great, how great is our God!
And age to age He stands and time is in His hands;
Beginning and the End, Beginning and the End.
The Godhead, three in one; Father, Spirit, Son.
The Lion and the Lamb, the Lion and the Lamb.
Name above all names! Worthy of all praise!
My heart will sing: how great is our God!
BIBLE READING read by Martin Cornforth
1 Kings 22: 51 – 2 Kings 1:18
22:51 Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. 52 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, because he followed the ways of his father and mother and of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. 53 He served and worshiped Baal and aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, just as his father had done.
The Lord’s Judgment on Ahaziah
1 After Ahab’s death, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, “Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury.”
3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’ 4 Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!’” So Elijah went.
5 When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, “Why have you come back?”
6 “A man came to meet us,” they replied. “And he said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, “This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!”’”
7 The king asked them, “What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?”
8 They replied, “He had a garment of hair and had a leather belt around his waist.”
The king said, “That was Elijah the Tishbite.”
9 Then he sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down!’”
10 Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.
11 At this the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. The captain said to him, “Man of God, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’”
12 “If I am a man of God,” Elijah replied, “may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” Then the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.
13 So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. “Man of God,” he begged, “please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! 14 See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!”
15 The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.
16 He told the king, “This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!” 17 So he died, according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken.
Because Ahaziah had no son, Joram succeeded him as king in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. 18 As for all the other events of Ahaziah’s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
BIBLE TALK by Richard Hopkins
Turn from idols to trust God alone and what he says.
Ahaziah’s idolatry
- He didn’t worship the LORD
- He didn’t listen to or trust the LORD
SONG
The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want.
He makes me lie in pastures green.
He leads me by the still, still waters,
his goodness restores my soul.
And I will trust in you alone.
(I will trust, I will trust in you)
And I will trust in you alone,
(I will trust, I will trust in you)
for your endless mercy follows me,
your goodness will lead me home.
He guides my ways in righteousness,
and He anoints my head with oil,
and my cup, it overflows with joy,
I feast on His pure delights.
And though I walk the darkest path,
I will not fear the evil one,
for you are with me and your rod and staff
are the comfort I need to know.
CONFESSION
Let us come before our awesome God,
Knowing that everyone and everything
must bow before him:
God of all, you scatter the proud,
you bring down the mighty,
but you give grace to the humble.
We confess that often we don’t trust you
and we turn to other gods,
who are really no gods at all.
We fail to trust what you say in your
gracious word.
So we humble ourselves
under your mighty hand
and repent of every idol and every sin.
Please forgive our rebellion.
Please cleanse our guilt.
Please change our wills
to delight in your rule
and to follow your commands.
All this we ask in the name of Jesus
whom you have exalted to rule
above every power and authority. Amen.
SONG
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly trust in Jesus’ name.
Christ alone; cornerstone
Weak made strong in the Saviour’s love.
Through the storm, He is Lord, Lord of all.
When Darkness seems to hide His face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil
When He shall come with trumpet sound
Oh, may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless I stand before the throne.
CLOSING PRAYER
Some material in this service is © Used by permission CCL Licence # 1102690. The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.