Welcome
Thank you for joining us in gathered worship today! At Covenant, we believe that true hope, joy, meaning, and redemption is found in Jesus Christ. Therefore, we hope that you will be moved towards greater love for Jesus and one another as we pause to praise, pray, and ponder under God’s Word.
The emphasis throughout our Sunday service is that worship is all about God. We gather to worship Him. Our gathered worship is that it is foundationally and fundamentally about God. In our service, we will: worship our Heavenly Father for his miraculous deeds, bear witness to Jesus Christ the Son and the hope he brings through his death and resurrection, be moved to engage with the mission of God through the power of the Holy Spirit as we wait for the return of Christ. All of these activities of worshipping, witnessing, and waiting will be shaped and formed by God’s divine revelation as it is given to us in Holy Scripture.
Our understanding of Scripture, God’s divine action, and theology will shape the flow of our service. Therefore, our worship service is “liturgical” and what you hold before you is our weekly liturgical document. Originating from Greek, this word means, “work of the people”. This means our service is both corporate and communal in nature. We are not individual consumers of a product, but join others in community to participate together in engaging with God. At different points in the service, there will be opportunities to join the liturgy, and we encourage you to enthusiastically participate in these corporate moments of response.
We hope your time with us serves to encourage and fill you with hope and joy.
Call to Worship
Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.
Psalm 40:5
Songs of Invitation
Confession of Sin
O Gracious God
Please forgive us, we pray.
Remove the sins that distance us from you and from those we love and care about. Remove our selfishness, our pride, our envy, and our greed.
Remove from us our thoughtless acts and words that hurt one another.
Remove from us the tendency to hurt others out of revenge and anger.
Forgive us please.
Create in us a clean heart, O Lord.
And renew in us a right spirit.
All: Amen!
Word of Assurance
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:17-18
Congregational Prayer
Offering
Weekly Catechism
New City Catechism for Kids – Question 15
Q: Since no one can keep the law, what is its purpose?
A: That we may know the holy nature of God, and the sinful nature of our hearts; and thus our need of a Savior.
Community News
Covenant Preliminary Vision and Values now available
Session is pleased to release a document setting out the preliminary vision and values that we have been working on for the last two months. Thank you for your patience and prayers. To access the document, click the link below:
https://covenantchurch.com.au/aka/vision
Save the Date for our Big Day In!
Block out your calendars for the following: Saturday 25 October 4pm to late; Sunday 26 October 8am to 3pm. Planning for our Big Day In is underway!
Sunday school and Extreme teachers/helpers
Every parent wants the children and youth of Covenant to come to a saving relationship in Christ and to know God in his word. We need more members of the Covenant family to teach and help at Sunday school and Extreme. Please see Robyn, Gloria, Jayden, Caroline or Dan for more details.
Mission talk with Kevin Murray
Kevin Murray, the director of Australian Presbyterian World MIssion (APWM), will be preaching at Covenant on August 31. He will also be giving a short presentation on what the Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA) is doing with overseas mission.
If you have other ideas and suggestions for what you’d like to hear about, please send them through via the feedback form!
Important Dates
| August 24 | Covenant prayer corner 8.30am @ Christ College |
| Covenant Session meeting 2pm @ Christ College | |
| August 31 | Mission Talk with Kevin Murray After service @ Christ College |
| October 25 | Big Day In (Day 1) 4pm @ Christ College |
| October 26 | Big Day In (Day 2) 8am to 3pm @ Christ College |
Bible Reading
- 1 Peter 1 NIV
All: Thanks be to God.
Sermon Outline
Living for Jesus, suffering for righteousness
1 Peter 1
Chong Shao
Introduction
- Author and audience
Promise of salvation
- God’s story: creation, fall, redemption, restoration
Praise in suffering
- What did Christian suffering look like, for the scattered exiles?
- What does Christian look like, in the here and now?
- What kinds of Christian suffering are we experiencing today?
Purified and set apart
- Don’t conform to the world – “with minds that are alert and fully sober”
- Love one another deeply – using words to encourage and build up
Songs in Response
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.
Benediction
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who
loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and
good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every
good deed and word.2 Thessalonians 2:16–17