Order of Worship
23rd of March 2025 | 10:30 (Espoo)
Psalm 33:20–22
Song 1 – I Will Wait For You (Psalm 130)
Song 2 – Come Thou Fount
Song 3 – You Hold It All
Song 4 – Yet Not I, But Though Christ in Me
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
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 Psalm 96 (ESV). Hear the Word of God:
1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.”
11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Sing a New Song!
“The pivot point for Bonhoeffer’s reading of the Psalms is that we are among the disciples of Jesus who asked him to “teach us to pray” (Luke 11:7). Like those ancient disciples, we know a great deal about praying. But we also recognize that much of what we know about praying is inadequate for serious faith. Thus like Jesus’s disciples, we seek to learn to pray in a way that is informed by and responsive to the rule of Christ in our lives. And of course Jesus’s response to his disciples’ request is his offer of what we call the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:1-4). That is Bonhoeffer’s starting point, as it is for Luther in his catechism. He follows the lead of Luther, who declares, “It [the Psalter] penetrates the Lord’s Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer penetrates it, so that it is possible to understand one on the basis of the other and to bring them into joyful harmony.”
Song 5 – God Omniscient, God All-Knowing
Song 6 – Your Name
For all church announcements, please see our digital announcements page: ucclife.fi/announcements
Introduction
1. In the sermon it was said that, “The creation has been singing a song of praise since the very beginning, declaring the glory of God, and every one of us has experienced this in some way.” Think about a time when something in nature caught your attention as if it was “declaring” the glory of God. What were you thinking? How did it make you feel? In what way did it help you to know God or appreciate Him more?
Into the Text
2. Psalm 96 is a global call to worship. The psalmist proclaims in verse 1, “Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!” If the creation has been singing a beautiful song of praise since the very beginning (see Job 38:7; Rom 1:19-20; Ps 19: 1-6), why do we need a new song? What can’t nature tell us about God for which he should be praised?
3. Read 1 Chronicles 16:8-36 and notice that the words of Psalm 96 are almost an exact quote of vv 23-33. When these words were first sung, Israel’s relationship with the Lord was strong. When the same words were collected into the Psalms, God’s people had seemed to have lost everything. Since the very beginning of their relationship with God Israel had struggled to remain faithful to him. What did their experiences teach them about God? What do they still have to teach us today?
4. Read vv 7-9. The psalmist calls all the rest of the peoples of the world to join in worship. These are the nations who worship “worthless idols” (v 5). In verse 8b-9a God, through the psalmist, calls these pagan nations to “bring an offering, and come into his [holy] courts.” What does this tell us about God’s heart towards sinful people?
5. Read vv 10-13. If you heard that the rulers of your nation (or your city, or your place of employment) were “coming to judge” you, what would be going through your mind? How would you be feeling? Would it be a moment for spontaneous celebration? What does the gospel teach us about God that calls for exactly the joyful response as we see here in Psalm 96?
Application
6. Verse 5 says that the “gods of the peoples are worthless idols”. Think of some specific things we tend to give glory (“weight”, honor, value, imortance) to that, compared to God, are not worthy of glory. What would it look like if instead we were to “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name” in these situations?
7. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, following Luther, noted that there was an vital connection between the Psalms and the Lord’s prayer saying that, “It [the Psalter] penetrates the Lord’s Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer penetrates it, so that it is possible to understand one on the basis of the other and to bring them into joyful harmony.” What does Psalm 96 have to teach us to understand and pray as the Lord taught us? Asked another way: How does the Psalm infuse life into and develop the content of our prayers?
Order of Worship
23rd of March 2025 | 16:00 (Helsinki)
Matthew 11:28–30
Song 1 – Come, All Ye Weary
Song 2 – This is Our God
Song 3 – Only a Holy God
Song 4 – At Your Feet / Give Thanks
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
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 Mark 7:5–15 (ESV). Hear the Word of God:
5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,
“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”
This is the Word of the Lord.
Matters of the Heart
Mark 7:1-30
1) Jesus clarifies obedience (7:1-13)
2) Jesus clarifies defilement (7:14-23)
3) Jesus clarifies His mission and grace (7:24-30)
Song 5 – Only By Grace
Song 6 – Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me
For all church announcements, please see our digital announcements page: ucclife.fi/announcements
Introductory Question:
1. Share a time when you were so focused on being right that you lost sight of what really mattered. How did that affect your heart and relationships?
Into the Text Questions:
2. Read Mark 7:1-13. How did the religious leaders’ traditions end up nullifying God’s commandments? Can you think of examples today where traditions might take priority over God’s Word?
3. Read Mark 7:14-23. Jesus shows us that defilement comes from within, not from outside influences. Why is this important? What other Bible passages support this? What solution does Jesus offer?
4. Read Mark 7:24-30. Jesus’ conversation with the Syrophoenician woman can be surprising because of the parable He uses. Why do you think He speaks this way? How does this reveal His mission and grace? How is her response an example of true faith?
Application Questions:
5. What are some traditions or habits—whether in church, culture, or personal life—that we should be careful of because they might take priority over God’s Word?
6. How does this passage challenge you to examine your own heart? Looking at verses 21-23, do you see these struggles in your life? How does knowing that sin starts from within shape your faith?