August 27, 2023 10AM

In consideration of others and as guests of West High School . . .

• Please silence your phone and watch.
• Name tags are a great start to a meaningful connection. Thanks for wearing one.
• If you’d like to give an offering, there are two baskets in the back or you can use the “Giving” tab at the bottom-right corner of the mobile app.

PREPARATION FOR WORSHIP

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 6:33

So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that thought I was blind, now I see.”

John 9:24-25

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

2 Corinthians 5:16-17

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Galatians 6:9

“Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but – I hope – into a better shape.”
― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

“Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.”
– John C Maxwell

“I am not what I ought to be,
I am not what I want to be,
I am not what I hope to be in another world;
 but still I am not what I once used to be,
and by the grace of God I am what I am.”

- John Newton

WELCOME & CALL TO WORSHIP

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
    to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
    and your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
    to the melody of the lyre.
For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
    at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

Psalm 92:1-4

SONG

Better is One Day

[Verse 1]
How lovely is Your dwelling place
O Lord Almighty
My soul longs and even faints for You

For here my heart is satisfied
Within Your presence
I sing beneath the shadow of Your wings

[Chorus]
Better is one day in Your courts
Better is one day in Your house
Better is one day in Your courts
Than thousands elsewhere

Better is one day in Your courts
Better is one day in Your house
Better is one day in Your courts
Than thousands elsewhere

[Verse 2]
One thing I ask, and I would seek
To see Your beauty
To find You in the place Your glory dwells

[Chorus]

[Bridge]
My heart and flesh cry out
For You, the Living God
Your Spirit’s water for my soul

I’ve tasted and I’ve seen
Come once again to me
I will draw near to You

I will draw near to You

[Chorus]

SONG

You’re Welcome in This Place

BAPTISM & MEMBERSHIP

1. Do you acknowledge yourself to be a sinner in the sight of God, justly deserving His displeasure, and without hope, except in His Sovereign mercy?
2. Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and Savior of sinners, and do you receive and depend upon Him alone for your salvation as He is offered in the Gospel?
3. Do you now resolve and promise, in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, that you will endeavor to live as becomes a follower of Christ?
4. Do you promise to support the Church in its worship and work to the best of your ability?
5. Do you promise to submit yourself to the government and discipline of the church, and promise to pursue its peace and purity?

SONG

Jesus Shall Reign

[Verse 1]
Jesus shall reign wherever the sun
Does its successive journeys run
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore
‘Til sun shall rise and set no more

[Verse 2]
Blessings abound wherever He reigns
The prisoner leaps to loose his chains
The weary find eternal rest
And all the sons of want are blessed

[Chorus]
To our King be highest praise
Rising through eternal days
Just and faithful, He shall reign
Jesus shall reign

[Verse 3]
People and realms of every tongue
Dwell on His love with sweetest song
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on His name

[Chorus]

[Verse 4]
Let every creature rise and bring
Blessing and honor to our King
Angels descend with songs again
And Earth repeats the loud “Amen!”

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Groups & Serving – We are seeking more group leaders, hosts, and teachers, who will gather others around sermon discussion questions, a book study, or another biblical topic. If you might be willing to serve in this way, contact Joe Brown or Jeff Kyle to talk about it. In addition, we are needing more volunteers to serve through Sunday set-up/clean-up, and in both our Children’s and Nursery Ministries. You can volunteer HERE.

Confession: I don’t think much about “global missions.” So what? We know God is building his church across centuries and continents and that he calls *us* to be a part of this Great Commission work. However, most of us don’t spend significant time praying for, actively supporting, or, frankly, giving much thought or care to what this call means for us and our families here in the South Bay. Join us for a 2-part conversation about God’s heart for people groups, calling to front-line workers (a.k.a. “missionaries”), and invitation for all believers (including you!) to partner in this work. We’ll meet on Sundays 10/22 & 10/29 at 8:30am. When you register HERE, please let us know if childcare would be helpful. 

OFFERTORY

If you would like to give electronically, you may do so using the “Giving” tab at the bottom-right corner of the mobile app. There are also white baskets in the back of our worship space, where you can give via check, made out to King’s Cross Church, or cash.

SERMON
“And He Said…”

²¹ And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? ²² For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. ²³ If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” ²⁴ And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25 For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

²⁶ And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. ²⁷ He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. ²⁸ The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. ²⁹ But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

³⁰ And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? ³¹ It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, ³² yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

³³ With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. ³⁴ He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

Mark 4:21-34

SONG

King of Kings

[Verse 1]
In the darkness we were waiting
Without hope, without light
‘Til from heaven You came running
There was mercy in Your eyes

To fulfill the law and prophets
To a virgin came the word
From a throne of endless glory
To a cradle in the dirt

[Chorus]
Praise the Father, praise the Son
Praise the Spirit, three in one
God of glory, Majesty
Praise forever to the King of Kings

[Verse 2]
To reveal the kingdom coming
And to reconcile the lost
To redeem the whole creation
You did not despise the cross

For even in your suffering
You saw to the other side
Knowing this was our salvation
Jesus for our sake you died

[Chorus]

[Verse 3]
And the morning that You rose
All of heaven held its breath
Till that stone was moved for good
For the Lamb had conquered death

And the dead rose from their tombs
And the angels stood in awe
For the souls of all who’d come
To the Father are restored

And the Church of Christ was born
Then the Spirit lit the flame
Now this gospel truth of old
Shall not kneel, shall not faint

By His blood and in His name
In His freedom I am free
For the love of Jesus Christ
Who has resurrected me

[Chorus]

[Coda]
I exalt Thee
I exalt Thee
I exalt Thee, Oh Lord

BENEDICTION