Calling for Deliverance - 1 Corinthians 10, HCLD 52

A service plan from the Lord's Prayer focused on protection and deliverance that we seek from God from our fears and the threats surrounding us in a series on prayer as explained in the Heidelberg Catechism.

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assurance, fear, heidelberg catechism, lord's prayer, prayer, sermons on prayer

Worship Service

posted on June 1, 2005

A Series of Sermons on Prayer

We continue a series of nine worship services that focus on the Christian's life of prayer. These services will follow the sequence of the Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Days 45-52, and will center on each of the petitions of the Lord's Prayer. At the conclusion of this series we will have provided worship services that are built on the entire Heidelberg Catechism.

Theme of the Service

Protection and deliverance are the themes of this service. Christians, conscious of their weaknesses and aware of the threats surrounding them, call to God for protection and help.

Resources

We suggest a number of resources that will be valuable tools for you in this study of the Lord's Prayer.

• Each week we will provide references for you from the Heidelberg Catechism and both the Larger and the Shorter Westminster Catechism.
• The website of the Center for Excellence in Preaching at Calvin Theological Seminary also provides sermon ideas for each Lord's Days.
• Comfort and Joy: A Study of the Heidelberg Catechism, Andrew Kuyvenhoven, Grand Rapids: CRC Publications, 1988.
• Our Only Comfort: A Comprehensive Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism (vol. 2), Fred Klooster, Grand Rapids: Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2001.

Catechism References:
Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day 127
Westminster Larger Catechism, Q. 195
Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q. 106

* * * * *

WE GATHER IN WORSHIP

Prelude: "How Firm a Foundation" [seemusic notes]

Call to Worship [seeliturgy notes]

*Song: "How Firm a Foundation" CEL 408:1-5, PH 361:1-5, PsH 500:1-5, RL 172:1-5, TH 94:1-5, TWC 612:1-5, UMH 529:1-5, WR 411:1-5 [seemusic notes]

*Our Declaration of Trust and God's Greeting:
Congregation of Jesus Christ, where is your trust placed?
Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.
Grace, mercy and peace to you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen!

*Worshipers greet each other

*Response: "Everywhere I Go" SFL 211

Children's Moment [seeliturgy notes]

WE ARE RENEWED IN GOD'S GRACE

Call to Confession

Our Prayer of Confession

Assurance of God's Pardon:

Song of Thanks: "On Eagle's Wings" RN 112, SNC 185, UMH 143, WOV 779, WR 438 [seemusic notes]

God's Guide for Grateful Living

Anthem: "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" [seemusic notes]

GOD SPEAKS TO US FROM HIS WORD

*Song of Preparation: "Protect Me, God: I Trust in You" PsH 16, SFL 217 [seemusic notes]

Prayer for Illumination

Reading of Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 16

Reading of New Testament Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Sermon: Calling for Deliverance
Prayer Patterns 8

Prayer of Application [see liturgy notes]
Our Father in Heaven,
lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from the evil one.
By ourselves we are too weak
to hold our own even for a moment.
And our sworn enemies—
the devil, the world, and our own flesh—
never stop attacking us.
And so, Lord,
uphold us and make us strong
with the strength of your Holy Spirit,
so that we may not go down to defeat
in this spiritual struggle,
but may firmly resist our enemies
until we finally win the complete victory.
We ask this in the powerful name of Jesus Christ, Amen. (from The Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day 52, Q&A 127)

WE RESPOND WITH FAITH

*Song of Response: "If You But Trust in God to Guide You" PH 282, PsH 446, RL 151, SFL 210, TH 670, TWC 636, UMH 142, WR 429
or: "Lead Me, Guide Me" PsH 544, RN 176, SFL 220, WR 498

Prayers of the People [seeliturgy notes]

Offertory
We offer our gifts for .
The offering of music: "If You But Trust in God to Guide You" [seemusic notes]

WE LEAVE TO CONTINUE OUR JOURNEY WITH GOD

Anthem: "Be Strong in the Lord," Fettke [seemusic notes]

*Words of Sending: Joshua 1:6-9 (or selected portions of this passage)

*Benediction with congregational Amen!

*Song: "God of Grace and God of Glory" CEL 435, PH 420, RL 416, RN 301, TWC 669, UMH 577, WR 569 [seemusic notes]

*Moment of Meditation

Postlude: "God of Grace and God of Glory" [seemusic notes]

*Please stand if you are able.

* * * * *

Sermon Notes

The nature of God is that he is a Deliverer—from Egypt, from enemies in the wilderness, from Philistines, from a big fish that swallowed Jonah, from demons, from death, and from constant threats and temptations. The Gospel is deliverance.

The assumption behind this petition is that God's people often live out their faith "under fire" from enemies without and within. In Psalm 16, the Psalmist senses his need for protection. In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul illustrates the same from the history of Israel. In 1 Corinthians 11:16ff., Paul cites his own sufferings, and in Romans 7:14ff., he refers to his own internal struggles with sin. Hebrews 4:14-16 even assures us that our perfect High Priest, though never sinful, still dealt with struggles so that he is able to sympathize with our times "under fire." Reciting some recent experiences, stories, or narratives (or including some personal testimonies of worshipers) will make all vividly aware of how the same is true in our own experience.

There is, however, a puzzle with this petition that must be cleared up. If Paul says, in our text, God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to bear, and James says (1:13) that no one is tempted of God, then why is this petition necessary? First, we must be familiar with a literary technique called "litotes," saying something negatively to make a positive statement. For example, if I tell you that I bought a car at a greatly reduced price, you may exclaim, "not a bad deal at all!" With a negative statement ("not a bad deal"), you intend to make a positive statement ("wow, what a good deal!"). Similarly, Jesus is saying something negatively ("Lead us not into temptation") while trying to make the point positively ("Do what you must to keep us true to you..").

The second helpful consideration is to understand the difference between "temptation" and "test." A "temptation" is a trap that is set for us by an enemy who has evil purposes in mind. A "test" is a tough time that we encounter which is intended to produce opportunity for growth and therefore has a positive intent. A little thought reveals that the same experience can be both. A difficult time in our journey can be used by our spiritual enemy to reduce our commitment to God while the Spirit intends to use the same experience to deepen our commitment. The perspective of this petition, therefore, is that tough experiences will function as (positive) tests and not (negative) temptations.

Our text from 1 Corinthians 10:13 is intended to give hope and confidence to Christians who live their faith under fire. Paul speaks of the great reality of difficult times which are common to all people. Israel knew it, Paul knew it, Jesus and his disciples knew it, and we do too. Then the text gives us four promises:

• God's faithfulness: He is forever committed to the welfare of his children and will not abandon us when times become very difficult.

• God's supervision: He knows of our tough times, knows of our limits, and will not allow the toughness of the experiences to exceed our limits.

• God's deliverance: He will provide a way out. He is in the solution-producing business of the kingdom. For an analysis of how me might do this, we suggest reading Q&A 195 of the Westminster Larger Catechism.

• God's grace: He will enable us to stand up under the weight of it by his grace and strength. Paul's own testimony in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 verifies that.

This petition is the concluding one of the six petitions of the Lord's Prayer and is one that invites honesty, provides hope, and holds the faithful care of God before all people of faith.

Music Notes:

Glossary of Hymnal Abbreviations:
CEL Celebration Hymnal (Word Music/Integrity Music)
PH The Presbyterian Hymnal (Presbyterian Church USA; Westminster/John Knox Press)
PsH The Psalter Hymnal (Christian Reformed Church; Faith Alive Christian Resources)
RL Rejoice in the Lord (Reformed Church in America; W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Company)
RN Renew! (Hope Publishing Company)
SFL Songs for LiFE (children's songbook; Faith Alive Christian Resources)
SNC Sing! A New Creation (Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Christian Reformed Church,
Reformed Church in America; Faith Alive Christian Resources)
SWM Sing With Me (children's songbook; Faith Alive Christian Resources)
TH Trinity Hymnal (Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Presbyterian Church in America; Great
Commission Publications)
TWC The Worshiping Church (Hope Publishing Company)
UMH The United Methodist Hymnal (United Methodist Publishing House)
WOV With One Voice (Augsburg Fortress)
WR Worship & Rejoice (Hope Publishing Company)

You may wish to include the singing of the Lord's Prayer throughout this series of services. Here are some suggested settings that could be used congregationally:

GREGORIAN [The Lord's Prayer (UMH 270)
LANGDON [The Lord's Prayer] (PsH 207)
MALOTTE [The Lord's Prayer] (RN 177)
MELITA [The Lord's Prayer] (TH 725)
ST. MICHAEL [Our Heav'nly Father] (RL 262)
VATER UNSER [Our Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth] (PsH 208)
VATER UNSER [Our Father, Clothed with Majesty] (PsH 562)
Our Father in Heaven (PH 571)
Our Father in Heaven (SNC 196)
The Lord's Prayer/Our Father (SWM 174)

Suggestions for prelude music and congregational resources for the opening hymn can be found in the following resources:

FOUNDATION ["How Firm a Foundation"]

Organ:
Bish, Diane. The Diane Bish Organ Book, vol. 4. Fred Bock B-G0776 [1985] (M-D)
Cherwien, David. Interpretations, bk. 9. AMSI SP-106 [1992] (E-M)
Goode, Jack. Seven Communion Meditations. Flammer HF-5084 [1976] (E-M)
Haan, Raymond H. Four Hymns of Rejoicing. Morningstar MSM-10-518 [1998] (E-M)
Held, Wilbur. Seven Settings of American Folk Hymns. Concordia 97-5829 [1984] (E)
Johnson, James H. Organ Music for the Seasons, vol. 4. Augsburg Fortress ISBN 0-8006-
3750-X (M)
Kosche, Kenneth. Musica Sacra: Easy Hymn Preludes for Organ vol. 2. Concordia 97-7015
[2003] (M)
Linker, Janet. Variations on "How Firm A Foundation." Concordia 97-6586 [1996] (M)
Murphree, Claude. Toccata on How Firm a Foundation. H. W. Grey GSTC 813 [1955] (M)
Young, Gordon. Preludes on the Familiar. Fischer 0 4886 [1972] (E-M)

Piano:
David, Anne Marie. Here I Am, Lord. Augsburg ISBN 0-8006-7566-5 [2002] (M)
Larkin, Michael. Simple Gifts Piano Meditations on American Hymn Tunes and Spirituals.
Morningstar MSM-15-836 [2006] (E-M)
Medema, Ken. Sanctuary. Genevox 4181-16 [1989] (M)

Choral Resource:
Rutter, John. How Firm A Foundation. Hinshaw HMC-667 [1983] (SATB with organ; E-M)

Alternative Harmonization for Organ:
Busarow, Donald. All Praise to You, Eternal God. Augsburg 11-9076 [1980]
Goode, Jack C. Thirty-four Changes on Hymn Tunes. H W Grey GB 644 [1978]

Alternative Harmonization for Piano:
Wellman, Samuel. Let It Rip! At the Piano. Augsburg 11-11045 [2000]

The two songs in the Renewal section of the liturgy could be sung congregationally or in anthem settings by a choir. The choral resources for these two songs are as follows:

ON EAGLE'S WINGS ["On Eagle's Wings"]
Joncas, Michael/Wagner, Douglas. On Eagle's Wings. Hope A675 [1993] (SATB and keyboard;
E-M)

FAITHFULNESS
Caldwell, Paul/Ivory, Sean. Great Is Thy Faithfulness. GIA G 6097 (SSATB and keyboard; M)
Courtney, Craig. Great Is Thy Faithfulness. Beckenhorst BP1522 [1998] (SATB with flute or
violin and keyboard; E-M)

A descant for "Protect Me, God: I Trust in You" can be found in SFL 217. This descant could also be layered into the accompaniment if you do not have solo instruments available.

Suggestions for offertory music based on the sermon response song can be found in:

NEUMARK/WER NUR DEN LIEBEN GOTT ["If You But Trust in God to Guide You"]

Organ:
Bach, J. S. Music for a Celebration, set 4. Morningstar MSM-10-579 [2005] (E-M)
Bach, J. S. Six Organ Chorals (Schubler, ed. Riemenschneider) Ditson [1952] (M)
Bach, J. S. The Liturgical Year (ed. Riemenschneider) Ditson [1933] (E-M)
Bach, J. S. Twelve Chorale Preludes (ed. Glynn) Schirmer 1441 (M)
Carlson, J. Bert. A New Look at the Old. Augsburg 11-11009 [1999] (E-M)
Cherwien, David. Interpretations, bk. 8. AMSI SP-105 [1991] (E-M)
Curry, W. Lawrence. Chorale Prelude on Bremen. Abingdon APM-283 [1963] (M)
Hildebrand, Kevin. Musica Sacra: Easy Hymn Preludes for Organ, vol 3. Concordia 97-7052
[2004] (E)
Hollinger, Daryl. From Every Corner. Augsburg Fortress ISBN 0-8006-2350-9 [2006] (M)
Leupold, A. W. An Organ Book. Chantry Music Press [1960] (E-M)
Marpurg, Friedrich Wilhelm. Twenty-one Chorale Preludes. Augsburg 11-9506 [1967] (M)
Peeters, Flor. 30 Chorale Preludes, set 2. Peters 6024 [1950] (M)
Powell, Robert J. If You But Trust in God to Guide You. Morningstar MSM-10-873 [1994] (E-M)
Sedio, Mark. Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ. Augsburg 11-10718 [1996] (E-M)
van der Panne, Wim. Variaties over Wie maar de Goede God laat Zorgen. Musicript MR122
[1986] (E-D)
Walcha, H. Chorale Preludes, bk. 1. Peters 4850 (E-M)
Young, Gordon. Seven Hymn Voluntaries Presser 413-41118-21 [1965] (E-M)

Piano:
Boertje, Barbara. Piano Improvisations for the Church Year. Unity 70/1194U [1998] (E-M)
Carter, John. Little Chorale Preludes for Piano. Augsburg Fortress ISBN 0-8006-7672-6 [2004]
(E-M)
Leavitt, John. A Mighty Fortress Sacred Reflections for Piano. Concordia 97-7254 [2007] (E-M)
Nordquist, John. Four Hymns for the Concert Pianist. Hope 301 [1983] (M-D)

Handbells:
Clisham, William F. If Thou But Suffer God to Guide You. Agape 1337 [1988] (3 octaves, E-M)
Kerr, J. Wayne. Danza. Choristers Guild CGB 340 [2003] (3-5 octaves, level 3)
Lowenburg, Kenneth. If Thou But Trust in God to Guide Thee. AGEHR AG-23005 [1992] (2-3
octaves, M)

The anthem "Be Strong in the Lord" arranged by Linda Johnson and Tom Fettke is published for SATB voices and keyboard by Hope GC827 (E-M).

An alternative harmonization and suggestions for postlude based on the closing hymn can be found in the following resources:

CWM RHONDDA ["God of Grace and God of Glory"]

Alternative Harmonization for Piano:
Cherwien, David. Let It Rip! At the Piano. Augsburg 11-11045 [2000]

Organ:
Barr, John G. Three Preludes on Hymn Tunes. H. W. Grey GSTC 01079 [1992] (E-M)
Carlson, J. Bert. A New Look at the Old. Augsburg 11-11009 [1999] (E-M)
Carlson, J. Bert. Augsburg Organ Library - Autumn. Augsburg ISBN 0-8006-7579-7 [2003]
(E-M)
Culli, Benjamin M. Musica Sacra: Easy Hymn Preludes for Organ, vol. 5. Concordia 97-7193
[2006] (E)
Haan, Raymond H. Welsh Hymn Tune Preludes. SMP KK426 [1989] (E-M)
Held, Wilbur. Those Wonderful Welsh, set 2. Morningstar MSM-10-842 [1992] (E-M)
Hobby, Robert A. Three Hymns of Praise, set 6. Morningstar MSM-10-542 [2000] (E-M)
Krapf, Gerhard. Sing and Rejoice, vol. 6. SMP KK339 [1986] (adaptable for piano; E)
Manz, Paul. God of Grace. Morningstar MSM-10-599 [2004] (M)
Manz, Paul. Ten Chorale Improvisations, set 5. Concordia 97-5257 [1974] (M)
Rotermund, Melvin. Five Preludes. Augsburg 11-6040 [1990] (E-M)

Piano:
Organ, Anne Krentz. Piano Reflections for the Church Year. Augsburg Fortress 11-11209
[2001] (E-M)
Shackley, Larry. Celtic Hymn Settings for Piano. Hope 8117 [2001] (E-M)
Wilhelmi, Teresa. Hymns.Light Jazz Style Word. 301 0136 315 [1997] (M)

Handbells:
McChesney, Kevin. God of Grace and God of Glory. Concordia 97-6584 [1996] (3-5 octaves, M)

Liturgy Notes

1. We suggest that the verbal call to worship express the theme of this service so that the two gathering songs will be sung with that awareness. You may find it very meaningful to refer worshipers to the petition of the Lord's Prayer that is in focus.

2. The Children's Moment can draw on some recent threatening experience in the news or in your community, when we (or others) looked to God for protection. Such an illustration will prepare them for the consideration of this petition.

3. The text of Heidelberg Catechism (Lord's Day 52, Q&A 127) is given here. However, in the liturgy we have slightly reformulated it so that is becomes a prayer which all worshipers can take on their lips as a response to the sermon. If you decide not to use it as a prayer, we suggest inserting the reading of this passage into the liturgy somewhere appropriate. To reprint for personal use, a ministry setting, or classroom use, include this credit line: © 1987, CRC Publications, Grand Rapids MI. www.crcna.org. Reprinted with permission.
What does the sixth request mean?
"And lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from the evil one" means,
By ourselves we are too weak
to hold our own even for a moment.
And our sworn enemies--
the devil, the world, and our own flesh--
never stop attacking us.
And so, Lord,
uphold us and make us strong
with the strength of your Holy Spirit,
so that we may not go down to defeat
in this spiritual struggle,
but may firmly resist our enemies
until we finally win the complete victory. (The Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day 52, Q&A 127)

4. The Prayers of the People may take any one of the forms it has taken in previous weeks. We've encouraged that each week during this series this prayer be an expression of or built around the Lord's Prayer. We have offered several alternatives in the preceding weeks: an extended paraphrase of the Lord's Prayer with phrases from one of the catechisms, a prayer structured according to the Lord's Prayer with each line expanded according to the prayers written by the leader, or a combination of sung and spoken words. See the material of other services in this series. However, while observing the right of privacy, it also may be pastorally healthy to intercede carefully for many different kinds of struggles against "our sworn enemies.who never stop attacking us." Be careful to help all feel understood, without anyone feeling uncomfortably exposed.

Also in this series: