Hear God call you to worship through his Word:
inspired by Psalm 71

God alone is our refuge and hope,
our shelter and protection.
From our very first breath to our last,
God’s love and compassion never fails.

So come, lift your voices in praise to God.
Bear witness to God’s acts of mercy and love.
Proclaim God’s glory to all who will listen.

Let’s worship God together.

Song 1 – Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery

Song 2 – As the Deer

Song 3 – Good and Gracious King

Song 4 – In Tenderness

Our welcome team members will pass an offering basket during this song.

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Praise God, from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him, all creatures here below
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Praise God for all that he has done
Praise Him for Jesus’ reign begun!
He came with love to make us one;
He will return, His kingdom come!

Amen

In just a moment, we are going to join together in confessing our sins with a written prayer of confession which will be on the screen – but before we do, let’s take a moment of silence to ask the Lord to turn our deepest thoughts to him. Take a moment within your own heart, and ask the Spirit to bring to mind anything that needs to be confessed, repented from or renounced. 

[moment of silence]

Let us now lift our voices in prayer, and confess our sins together to our God of love: 

Confession of Sin

God of love, 
in the wrong we have done 
and in the good we have not done,
we have sinned in ignorance;
we have sinned in weakness;
we have sinned through our own deliberate fault. 

God of love,
We are truly sorry.
We repent and turn to you.
Forgive us and renew our lives.

God of love, 
Grant us grace to renounce all evil
and to cling to Christ,
so that in every way we may 
learn to be your loving children, 
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you 
and through the Holy Spirit,
forever and ever. 

Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness

The Word of God assures us that our God of love does indeed forgive us and free us from our sins. He also heals us, strengthens us and equips us by His spirit, and raises us to new life in Christ our Lord. 
Take joy in this forgiveness, and be at peace.

(Let’s pray.)

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This is the Word of the Lord

1 John 1:1-4 (ESV)

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— ² the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— ³ that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. ⁴ And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

Complete Joy
-1 John 1:1-4

1. Joy is found in knowing the truth about Jesus
2. Joy is found in fellowship with God 

Song 5 – Build My Life

Song 6 – Behold Our God

Our Father in heaven, 
hallowed be your name;
your kingdom come;
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. 
Give us this day our daily bread. 
And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who have sinned against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. 
For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
Amen.

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Into the Text 

1. To what or to whom does the phrase ‘that which was from the beginning’ refer?  
2. How does the passage emphasise the reality and the depth of the relationship between the Father and the Word of Life?  
3. How does John stress the appearance in history of the Life?  
4. What was the purpose of John’s testimony about the appearing of the Life and thus of the apostolic preaching? What is surprising about the way this purpose is described in verse 3?  
5. According to verse 4, why did John write his letter?
6. How does this purpose in writing connect with John’s purpose in testifying to the appearing of the Life?

Apply the Text 

1. What experiences of fellowship give you the most joy?  
2. Do you think that it is possible for people to have fellowship with God? If so, then how? If not, then why not?
3. If someone asked you about whether it was possible to know Jesus personally, what would you answer? What reason would you give?
4. Why do you think a relationship with Jesus matters according to this passage? 

5. What does this passage teach us about our goal in reading or teaching 1 John?