Song 1 – Grace Alone

Hear God call you to worship:

Psalm‬ ‭95:1-3, 6-7‬a ‭ESV‬‬

“Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.”

Let us worship the Lord!

Song 2 – Still 

Song 3 – Sovereign Over Us

Song 4 – I Am Not My Own

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

For information about giving online, please visit ucclife.fi/give or follow the QR code on the screen. You can also speak to our pastors or leaders for more information about giving and generosity. You can also ask the welcome team or any of our staff team members for more info on giving online.

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.

Amen

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 assurance of forgiveness comes from ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:8

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

Let’s pray.

A warm welcome to all, and especially to any visitors joining us today – if you’d like to get connected or find out more about UCC, please see our digital visitors card or speak to us after the service!

If you have children, they are welcome to join our Sunday school classes! 

Our Scripture reading today is 1 Samuel 24:1-22 (ESV) . Hear the Word of God:

24:1 When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” ² Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats’ Rocks. ³ And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. ⁴ And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. ⁵ And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. ⁶ He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord‘s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord‘s anointed.” ⁷ So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.

⁸ Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage. ⁹ And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’? ¹⁰ Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord‘s anointed.’ ¹¹ See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it. ¹² May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you. ¹³ As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness.’ But my hand shall not be against you. ¹⁴ After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea! ¹⁵ May the Lord therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.”

¹⁶ As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. ¹⁷ He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. ¹⁸ And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. ¹⁹ For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. ²⁰ And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. ²¹ Swear to me therefore by the Lord that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father’s house.” ²² And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

This is the Word of the Lord.

The Test of a Godly Heart
– 1 Samuel 19-24

I. The Backgrounf
II. The Story
III. The Application

Song 5 – Lord of Lords

Song 6 – In Christ Alone

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.

“‘The Lord bless you
    and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.”’

– Numbers 6:24-26

For all church announcements, please see our digital announcements page: ucclife.fi/announcements

Coming soon!