70.5 I Shall Always Be With You

(Psalm 73:23-28)

Yet I always stay close to you,
and you hold me by the hand.
You guide me with your instruction,
and at the end you will receive me with honor.
What else do I have in heaven but you?
Since I have you, what else could I want on earth?
My mind and my body may grow weak,
but God is my strength; he is all I ever need.

Those who abandon you will certainly perish;
you will destroy those who are unfaithful to you.
But as for me, how wonderful to be near God,
to find protection with the Lord God
and to proclaim all he has done!

70.4 Put On The Armor Of God To Stand Fast

(Ephesians 6:10-17)

Finally, build up your strength in union with the Lord and by means of his mighty power. Put on all the armor that God gives you, so that you will be able to stand against the devil's evil tricks. For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age. So put on God's armor now! Then when the evil comes, you will be able to resist the enemy's attacks; and after fighting to the end, you will still hold your ground.

So stand ready, with truth as a belt tight around your waist, with righteousness as your breastplate, and as your shoes the readiness to announce the Good News of peace.  At all times carry faith as a shield; for with it you will be able to put out all the burning arrows shot by the evil one. And accept salvation as a helmet, and the word of God as the sword which the Spirit gives you.

70.3 The Reward For Suffering Lasts Forever

(Hebrews 10:32-36)

Remember how it was with you in the past. In those days, after God's light had shone on you, you suffered many things, yet were not defeated by the struggle. You were at many times publicly insulted and mistreated, and at other times you were ready to join those who were being treated in this way. You shared the sufferings of prisoners, and when all your belongings were seized, you endured your loss gladly, because you knew that you still possessed something better, which would last forever. Do not lose your courage, then, because it brings with it a great reward. You need to be patient, in order to do the will of God and receive what he promises.

70.2 Do Not Lose Confidence

(Hebrews 10:22-25)

So let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, with hearts that have been purified from a guilty conscience and with bodies washed with clean water. Let us hold on firmly to the hope we profess, because we can trust God to keep his promise.  Let us be concerned for one another, to help one another, to show love and to do good. Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer.

70.1 God Keeps His Promise

(Hebrews 6:10-15)

God is not unfair. He will not forget the work you did or the love you showed for him in the help you gave and are still giving to your fellow Christians.  Our great desire is that each one of you keep up his eagerness to the end, so that the things you hope for will come true. We do not want you to become lazy, but to be like those who believe and are patient, and so receive what God has promised.

"When God made his promise to Abraham, he made a vow to do what he had promised. Since there was no one greater than himself, he used his own name when he made his vow. He said, "I promise you that I will bless you and give you many descendants." Abraham was patient, and so he received what God had promised.

69.4 Prayer for Help In Distress

(Psalm 123)

Lord, I look up to you,
up to heaven, where you rule.
As a servant depends on his master,
as a maid depends on her mistress,
so we will keep looking to you, O Lord our God,
until you have mercy on us.

Be merciful to us, Lord, be merciful;
we have been treated with so much contempt.
We have been mocked too long by the rich
and scorned by proud oppressors.

69.3 Faithful To The End

(Matthew 24:1-14)

Jesus left and was going away from the Temple when his disciples came to him to call his attention to its buildings. "Yes," he said, "you may well look at all these. I tell you this: not a single stone here will be left in its place; every one of them will be thrown down."

As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him in private. "Tell us when all this will be," they asked, "and what will happen to show that it is the time for your coming and the end of the age."

Jesus answered, "Watch out, and do not let anyone fool you. Many men, claiming to speak for me will come and say, 'I am the Messiah!' and they will fool many people. You are going to hear the noise of battles close by and the news of battles far away; but do not be troubled. Such things must happen, but they do not mean that the end has come. Countries will fight each other; kingdoms will attack one another. There will be famines and earthquakes everywhere. All these things are like the first pains of childbirth.

"Then you will be arrested and handed over to be punished and be put to death.  All mankind will hate you because of me. Many will give up their faith at that time; they will betray one another and hate one another. Then many false prophets will appear and fool many people. Such will be spread of evil that many people's love will grow cold.  But whoever holds out to the end will be saved. And this Good News about the Kingdom will be preached through all the world for a witness to all mankind; and then the end will come.

69.2 Continue Preaching Despite Suffering

(Acts 14:19-23)

Some Jews came from Antioch in Pisidia and from Iconium; they won the crowds over to their side, stoned Paul and dragged him out of the town, thinking that he was dead.  But when the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town. The next day he and Barnabas went to Derbe.

Paul and Barnabas preached the Good News in Derbe and won many disciples.  Then they went back to Lystra, to Iconium, and on to Antioch in Pisidia.  They strengthened the believers and encouraged them to remain true to the faith.  "We must pass through many troubles to enter the Kingdom of God," they taught.  In each church they appointed elders, and with prayers and fasting they commended them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.

69. 1 Parable Of The Seed

(Mark 4:1-9)

Again Jesus began to teach beside Lake Galilee.  The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it. The boat was out in the water, and the crowd stood on the shore at the water's edge.  He used parables to teach them many things, saying to them:

"Listen! Once there was a man who went out to sow grain. As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some of it fell on the rocky ground, where there was little soil. The seeds soon sprouted, because the soil wasn't deep. Then, when the sum came up, it burned the young plants; and because the roots had not grown deep enough, the plants soon dried up. Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up and chocked the plants, and they didn't bear grain. But some seeds fell in good soil, and the plants sprouted, grew, and bore grain; some had thirty grains, others sixty, and others one hundred."

And Jesus concluded,"Listen, then, if you have ears!"

68.4 Praise of God's Perfect Law

(Psalm 119:1-8)

Happy are those whose lives are faultless,
who live according to the law of the Lord.
Happy are those who follow his commands,
who obey Him with all their heart.
They never do wrong;
they walk in the Lord's ways.

Lord you have given us your laws
and told us to obey them faithfully.
How I hope that I shall be faithful
in keeping your instructions!
If I pay attention to all your commands,
then I will not be put to shame.
As I learn your righteous judgments,
I will praise you with a pure heart.
I will obey your laws; never abandon me!

68.3 Perfection Through Love

(1 Corinthian 13:1-13)

I maybe able to speak the languages of men and even of angels, but if I have no love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell. I may have the gift of inspired preaching; I may have all knowledge and understand all secrets; I may have all the faith needed to move mountains-- but if I have no love, I am nothing.  I may give away everything I have, and even give up my body to be burned-- but if I have no love, this does me no good.

Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep the record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail.

Love is eternal.  There are inspired messages, but they are temporary; there are gifts of speaking in strange tongues, but they will cease; there is knowledge, but it will pass. For our gifts of knowledge and of inspired messages are only partial; but when what is perfect comes, then what is partial will disappear.

When I was a child, my speech, feelings and thinking were all those of a child; now that I am a man, I have no more use for childish ways.  What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror; then we shall see face-to-face. What I know now is only partial; then it will be complete-- as complete as God's knowledge of me.

Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope, and love; and the greater of these is love.

Still by Hillsong - Christian Song of Praise and Worship with Lyrics

Intro: F Am C G

Verse 1
C       G   Am       F    Dm   G
Hide me now, under your wings
C   G   Am       F            Dm      G
Cover me, within Your mighty hands

Chorus:
                              F            G            C
When the oceans rise and thunders roar
                         F        G           Am
I will soar with You above the storm
                          F      G            C
Father You are king over the flood
              F                       G           F – G (C) (intro)
I will be still (and) know You are God.

Verse 2
C       G   Am           F    Dm     G
I rest my soul, in Christ alone
C   G        Am            F              Dm      G
Know his power, in quietness and trust.

(Repeat chorus 2 x)

Adlib: F Am C G (2 x)

Repeat verse 2
Then chorus 2 x

To end:
        F           G                  Am   (Intro)
I will be still know You are God (2 x)

68.2 David's Praise

(1 Chronicles 29:10-20)

There in front of the whole assembly King David praised the Lord. He said, "Lord God of our ancestors Jacob, may you be praised forever and ever! You are great and powerful, glorious, splendid and majestic.  Everything in heaven and earth is yours, and you are king, supreme ruler over all.  All riches and wealth come from you; you rule everything by your strength and power; you are able to make anyone great and strong. Now, our God,we give you thanks, and we praise your glorious name.

"Yet my people and I cannot really give you anything, because everything is a gift from you, and we have only given back what is yours already.  You know, O Lord, that we pass through life like exiles and strangers, as our ancestors did. Our days are like a passing shadow, and we cannot escape death. O Lord, our God, we have brought together all this wealth to build a temple to honor your holy name, but it all came from you and all belongs to you. I know that you test everyone's heart and are pleased with people of integrity.  In honesty and sincerity I have willingly given all this to you, and I have seen how your people who gathered here have been happy to bring offerings to you. Lord God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, keep such devotion forever strong in your people's hearts and keep them always faithful to you. Give my son Solomon a wholehearted desire to obey everything that you command and to build the Temple for which I have made these preparations."

 Then David commanded the people, "Praise the Lord your God!" And the whole assembly praised the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and gave honor to the Lord and also to the king.

68.1 Be Perfect For The Lord

(1 Kings 8:54-61)

After Solomon had finished praying to the Lord, he stood up in front of the altar, where he had been kneeling with uplifted hands. In a loud voice he asked God's blessings on all the people assembled there. He said, "Praise the Lord who has given his people peace, as he promised he would. He has kept all the generous promises he made through his servant Moses. May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us or abandon us; may he make us obedient to him, so that we will always live as he wants us to live, keeping all the laws and commands he gave our ancestors. May the Lord our God remember at all times this prayer and these petitions I have made to him. May he always be merciful to the people of Israel and to their king, according to their daily needs.  And so all the nations of the world will know that the Lord alone is God--there is no other.  May you, his people, always be faithful to the Lord our God, obeying all his laws and commands as you do today."

Here I Am To Worship by Hillsong - Praise and Worship Song

Verse 1
E                B                               F#m7
Light of the world You stepped down into the darkness
E                    B         A2
Opened my eyes let me see
E                    B            F#m7            
Beauty that made this heart adore You
E                B                    A2        
Hope of a life spent with You.

Chorus:
                       E                              B/D#
Here I am to worship, here I am to bow down
                    C#m7                       A
Here I am to say that You’re my God
                              E                         B/D#      
You’re altogether lovely, altogether worthy
                    C#m7           A2
Altogether wonderful to me

Verse 2
E                 B               F#m7
King of all days, oh so highly exalted
E                  E          A2
Glorious in heaven above
E                   B                  F#m7
Humbly You came to the earth You created
E                    B                    A2
All for love’s sake became poor.


Bridge 1
     B        C#m7         A      
I’ll never know how much it cost
     B          C#m7   A
To see my sin   upon that cross


Bridge 2
E                                         B                 C#m7   A
Call upon the Name of the Lord and be saved
E                                        Bsus B          C#m7  A
Call upon the Name of the Lord and be saved

67.5 Lord Have Mercy

(Psalm 41)

Happy are those who concerned for the poor;
the Lord will help them when they are in trouble.
The Lord will protect them and preserve their lives;
he will make them happy in the land;
he will not abandon them to the power of the enemies.
The Lord will help them when they are sick and will restore them to health.

I said, "I have sinned against you, Lord;
be merciful to me and heal me."
My enemies say cruel things about me.
They want me to die and be forgotten.
Those who come to see me are not sincere;
they gather bad news about me and then go out and tell it everywhere.
All who hate me whisper to each other about me,
they imagine the worst about me.
They say,"He is fatally ill; he will never leave his bed again."
Even my best friend, the one I trusted most,
the one who shared my food, has turned against me.

Be merciful to me Lord, and restore my health, and I will pay my enemies back.
They will not triumph over me,
and I will know that you are pleased with me.
You will help me because I do what is right;
you will keep me in your presence forever.

Praise the Lord, the God of Israel!
Praise him now and forever!

Amen! Amen!