Worship Service for February 16, 2025 at 11 AM

Welcome

Opening Song: When I Survey The Wondrous Cross

When I survey the wondrous cross,
On which the prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God.
All the vain things that charm me most,  
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from his head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an present far too small
Love so amazing so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.                                       © Public Domain

Invocation

Confession and Forgiveness:

P: Our Heavenly Father asks us to come into His presence.
C: But we are sinful and unworthy. 

P: Yes, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but Jesus Christ died on the cross that we may be forgiven and washed clean of all our sins by His blood spilled on the cross.
C: Lord, if You wash us, we will certainly be clean and pure.

(Time of silence for reflection and confession)

P: Let us confess, together, our sins to God our Father.
C: Heavenly Father, we confess that we are sinners.  We have sinned against you and our neighbors. We have not loved you with our whole heart and we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not lived out our faith in our community. We justly deserve Your punishment.  For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us.  Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name.  Amen.

P: Words of Forgiveness
C: Amen

Song of Praise and Thanksgiving: All The People Said Amen 

You are not alone, if you are lonely.
When you feel afraid, you’re not the only.
We are all the same, in need of mercy,
To be forgiven and be free,
It’s all you got to lean on but thank God it’s all you need. 

Chorus:
And all the people said Amen, woah!
And all the people said Amen.
Give thanks to the Lord for His love never ends.
And all the people said Amen. (Last line repeated on last chorus) 

If you’re rich or poor, well it don’t matter.
Weak or strong, you know love is what we’re after.
We’re all broken, but we’re all in this together.
God knows we stumble and fall.
And He so loved the world, He sent His son to save us all.

(Chorus)

Bridge:
Blessed are the poor in spirit who are torn apart.
Blessed are the persecuted and the pure in heart.
Blessed are the people hungry for another start,
For this is the kingdom, the kingdom of God. 

(Chorus 2x)                  © 2013 Thankyou Music, Valley Of Songs Music, Universal Music 

Old Testament Reading – Exodus 17:1-7

All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Reader: This is the Word of the Lord.              C: Thanks be to God.

Epistle Reading – 1 Corinthians 9:24-10:5

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

Reader: This is the Word of the Lord.              C: Thanks be to God.

Gospel Reading – Matthew 20:1-16

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying,

‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.”

P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.            C: Praise be to You, O Christ.

Children’s Message (Children dismissed to Children’s Church)

Sermon Hymn – By Grace I’m Saved

By grace I’m saved, grace free and boundless.
My soul, believe and doubt it not.
Why stagger at this word of promise?
Has Scripture ever falsehood taught?
No! Then this word must true remain;
By grace you too will life obtain.

By grace God’s Son, our only Savior,
Came down to earth to bear our sin.
Was it because of your own merit,
That Jesus died your soul to win?
No, it was grace, and grace alone,
That brought Him from His heav’nly throne. 

By grace! On this I’ll rest when dying.
In Jesus’ promise I rejoice!
For though I know my heart’s condition,
I also know my Savior’s voice.
My heart is glad, all grief has flown,
Since I am saved by grace alone.                                         © Public Domain

Sermon – “The Unfair Grace of God”

Prayers: Text in prayer requests to (813) 326-5255 

Nicene Creed (stand)

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried. And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church, I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer (stand)

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.  Amen.

Offering

Benediction – The online service ends. The closing hymn video is on the Livestream page bulletin at FaithWesleyChapel.com with lyrics below. See announcements below as well.

Closing Song: This Is Amazing Grace

Who breaks the power of sin and darkness?
Whose love is mighty and so much stronger?
The King of Glory, the King above all kings.
Who shakes the whole earth with holy thunder?
Who leaves us breathless in awe and wonder?
The King of Glory, the King above all kings.

 

Chorus:
This is amazing grace. This is unfailing love,
That You would take my place, that You would bear my cross.
You would lay down Your life, that I would be set free.
Jesus, I sing for all that You’ve done for me.

 

Who brings our chaos back into order?
Who makes the orphan a son and daughter?
The King of Glory, The King of Glory.
Who rules the nations with truth and justice,
Shines like the sun in all of its brilliance?
The King of Glory, the King above all kings.

(Chorus)

Bridge:
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.
Worthy is the King who conquered the grave.
(Repeat 2x)
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain. Worthy! Worthy! Worthy!
(Chorus)         © 2012 Bethel Music, Seems Like Music, Sing My Songs, Phil Wickham Music, and Warner Chappell Music