Welcome
Thank you for worshiping with us today. We are so glad you're here! We believe that real friendships are possible even when people differ in their views on faith and life. We value conversation and want you to know that no matter where you come from you are welcome here.
At Resurrection SD our goal is to create an atmosphere of Christian Worship that incorporates the beautiful contributions of our own generation without discarding the spiritual wealth of our past. This Worship Guide is intended to help you better appreciate the movements within the beauty of historic Christian liturgy.
If you have any questions about what you hear or see today, I'd love to get together over coffee and talk about it. Please don't hesitate to contact me!
HERE IS WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT TODAY AS WE WORSHIP
We hope that much of what you see and hear today is familiar, but there are a few things that may be new to you, even though they go back to the earliest days of the Church!
First, The Regulative Principle of Worship
God has revealed to us the acceptable forms of Christian worship in the Bible and we are not free, nor is it safe, to add to them. We are free, however, to express these forms in a culturally legible style that has the power to captivate our hearts and minds with the beauty of Christ. This is called the Regulative Principle of Worship. We pray that you will find our worship experience to be both biblically authentic and holistically beautiful (Luke 24:13-35; 1 Tim 4:13; Col 3:16; Acts 2:42; for a negative example see Exod 32:1-6).
Second, The Dialogical Principle of Worship
In Christian worship we are not just learning things about God; rather, God is actively speaking to us through His Word by the power of His Spirit, and we then respond in the worship of adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and praise. This is called the Dialogical Principle of Worship. It means that worship is a conversation with God! We pray that as you take part in this dialogue today you would hear and respond to the Incarnate Word, the Eternal God—the Lord, Jesus Christ. (Gen 12:1-8; Exod 24:1-11; Ps 106:1-12; Isa 6:1-7; John 1:1-14; Rom 10:17; 1 Thes 2:13; Heb 4:12; 1 Pet 1:23).
Third, Christ Centered Preaching
Jesus said that the entire Bible is primarily a story about who He is and what He has done for us as our champion. Therefore, the sermons you will hear at Resurrection SD will be more about Jesus than they are about us. This is called Christ Centered Preaching. We will talk about ethics (how to love God and people, and how life works best) and we will talk about the heroes of the faith (including their spectacular failures), but the key to discipline in the Christian life is a heart overflowing with love for God, and you only get that by knowing how much God first loves you (Luke 24:25-27; John 3:16; 1 Cor 2:1-5; Gal 2:20-21; Col 1:24-29; 1 John 4:16-19).
Finally, Children in Worship
We believe that a crucial part of Christian discipleship is children worshiping together with their parents. We invite children 5 and older to remain throughout the service. We have a nursery available downstairs starting at 10:50 AM for children 0-4 (Deut 4:9, 6:4-9; Ps 78:4, Eph 6:1-4; 2 Tim 3:15).
Most of us were taught, somewhere along the way, that worship is something we produce. We arrive with something to offer — our attention, our sincerity, our feeling — and the service is judged by how much of it we managed to generate. On that assumption, a quiet Sunday is a failed one, and the congregation becomes an audience evaluating a performance.
The Reformed tradition begins somewhere else entirely. Worship is a conversation, and God speaks first. He calls; we answer. He exposes; we confess. He pardons; we give thanks. He preaches; we receive. He spreads a table; we come and eat. Every element of this service is either God addressing His people or His people responding to Him. We do not get to write both halves of that conversation.
This is also why we are careful about what we do here. The One who invites us is the One who sets the terms of the audience — so we offer Him what He has asked for and not what we have invented. That is the regulative principle, and it has never been an instinct for austerity. It is a form of trust: we would rather receive worship from His hand than manufacture it from our own.
And this matters more than we tend to think, because we are formed by what we practice long before we are persuaded by what we believe. As James K.A. Smith has argued, our habits shape our loves, and our loves shape us. Week after week, being spoken to first — trained to receive before we give, to be addressed before we answer — slowly makes a certain kind of person. It makes someone who knows he did not begin this relationship and cannot sustain it. We come through one Mediator, in union with the risen Christ, by the Spirit He gives. So come and listen. He is not silent, and He speaks first.
BETTER THINGS
Hebrews 6:3–12
Entering into the Presence of the Lord
God always begins the conversation of worship by Calling us to Worship Him through His Word. We respond by singing songs of praise as we approach His Throne of Grace.
Prayer of Invocation
Greeting from God
Songs of Approach
Worship Music: Janet Blair
Alleluia, alleluia, for the Lord God Almighty reigns
Alleluia, alleluia, for the Lord God Almighty reigns
Alleluia
Holy, holy are You Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb
Holy, holy are You Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb
Amen.
This is my Father's world, and to my listening ears
All nature sings and round me rings the music of the spheres
This is my Father's world! I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas – His hand the wonders wrought.
This is my Father's world, the birds their carols raise
The morning light, the lily white, declare their Maker's praise
This is my Father's world! He shines in all that's fair
In the rustling grass, I hear Him pass – He speaks to me everywhere.
This is my Father's world, O let me ne'er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father's world! The battle is not done.
Jesus who died shall be satisfied, and earth and heav'n be one.
I have not much to offer You
Not near what You deserve
But still I come because Your cross
Has placed in me my worth
And I know I'm weak, I know I'm unworthy
To call upon Your name
But because of grace, because of Your mercy
I stand here unashamed
Oh Christ, my King of sympathy
Whose wounds secure my peace
Your grace extends to call me friend
Your mercy sets me free
And I know I'm weak, I know I'm unworthy
To call upon Your name
But because of grace, because of Your mercy
I stand here unashamed
I can't explain this kind of love
I'm humbled and amazed
That You'd come down from heaven's heights
And greet me face to face
And I know I'm weak, I know I'm unworthy
To call upon Your name
But because of grace, because of Your mercy
I stand here unashamed
Here I am at Your feet
In my brokenness complete
Here I am at Your feet
In my brokenness complete
And I know I'm weak, I know I'm unworthy
To call upon Your name
But because of grace, because of Your mercy
I stand here unashamed
The reading of the law exposes our sin and we respond with honest confession. The reading of the Gospel reminds us of our salvation in Christ—that we are already accepted and loved by God because of what Jesus has done for us through His Life, Death, and Resurrection. We respond with the Doxology, an ancient Christian Song of Praise.
Reading of the Law
Deuteronomy 29:18–20
Prayer of Confession
Moment of Silence
Corporate Confession of Sin
We confess Almighty God that we have greatly sinned.
In our thoughts, and in our words,
In what we have done, and in what we have failed to do…
We have heard the words of Your covenant and blessed ourselves in our hearts, saying, I shall be safe — while walking on in stubbornness. We have taken the rain of Your grace and produced thorns. We have grown comfortable with our own hardness and called it maturity.
We have no defense to offer and no exemption to claim. So we ask for the one thing You have promised to give: mercy.
Lord, Have Mercy.
Christ, Have Mercy.
Lord, Have Mercy.
Amen.
Holy God.
Holy and mighty.
Holy, immortal one.
Have mercy, have mercy, have mercy on us.
Have mercy, have mercy on us.
Assurance of Pardon
Galatians 3:13–14
Doxology
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!
Greeting with the Peace of Christ
Announcements
Pastoral Prayer and Litany
The Lord's Prayer
The Ministry of the Word
God Speaks to us through His Word by the Power of His Spirit; exposing to us the ugliness of sin, showing us the beauty of Christ, and calling us to a grateful obedience. We respond with a Song of Meditation and Praise.
Better Things
3 And this we will do if God permits. 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
The Word of the Lord. (Thanks be to God.)
O sacred Head now wounded
With grief and shame weighed down
Now scornfully surrounded
With thorns Thine only crown
O sacred Head what glory
What bliss till now was Thine
Yet tho' despised and gory
I joy to call Thee mine
What Thou my Lord hast suffered
Was all for sinners' gain
Mine, mine was the transgression
But Thine the deadly pain
Lo here I fall my Savior
'Tis I deserve Thy place
Look on me with Thy favor
Vouchsafe to me Thy grace
What language shall I borrow
To thank Thee dearest friend
For this Thy dying sorrow
Thy pity without end
O make me Thine forever
And should I fainting be
Lord let me never never
Outlive my love to Thee
We believe that the Lord's Supper is a mystical encounter with God, where the Lord Jesus, through the power of the Spirit, communes with us in a special way. Just like physical bread and wine nourish our bodies, the mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ nourishes our spirits, and we respond with a Song of Rejoicing!
If you are a Christian and belong to any orthodox church, and you have been baptized, you are welcomed to participate in this sacrament with us today. If you're not sure if that's you, and you'd like to participate with us, please speak with any of our elders or ministry leaders after the service—we would love to help get you on a path towards partaking with us!
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Words of Institution
The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper
A torrent of destruction hid my darkened soul from rescuing
I cried to God for help, He heard my voice
The tainted earth, it rocked and reeled, the heavens bowed, the mountains kneeled
The thunderous voice of God, my covering
I will not be afraid
For my hope is in His name
Who is a rock, but our God?
Whose blood has sealed our freedom?
Jesus, our savior, defender, redeemer
He brought me to a safer place, equipped my hands and feet with strength
So I advance with confidence in Christ
His precious truth delivers me from lies that wage a war in me
Your victory is mine for all my days
I will not be afraid
For my hope is in His name
Who is a rock but our God? Whose blood has sealed our freedom?
Jesus, our savior, defender, redeemer
You kneel down to raise me up; You, my Lord, you, my God
You rescue me with reckless love; oh, my Lord, oh, my God!
Who is a rock but our God? Whose blood has sealed our freedom?
Jesus, our savior, defender, redeemer
Jesus, our savior, defender, redeemer
Bene-diction means "good word" and it is the last Word spoken in every service. This is not a prayer, this is God's blessing pronounced over his people—raise your head and receive it! We go out into the world as servants and as lights knowing that we have the blessing, protection, and providential care of our faithful Covenant God!
Hebrews 13:20–21
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Announcements
MEN'S MINISTRY
WOMEN'S GATHERING
Please join the women of Res Pres for our summer study! We'll be meeting twice per month from 6-7:30pm at the First Presbyterian Church conference room. The link to our study guide and book are in the weekly Res Press. Please reach out with any questions to Karen Bland at kbland056@gmail.com.
HELP NEEDED - SUNDAY MORNING TREATS
THE RES PRESS
If you are interested in joining Res Press Weekly, our weekly email with the digital Liturgy Guide, more details about Community Groups, and upcoming Events, visit our website or email us at Office@ResurrectionSD.com!
GIVING SUMMARY FOR JUNE 2026
Monthly average needed to reach 2026 budget: $14,000
Total giving for JUNE 2026: $16,932
Ready to get involved?
Whether you want to join a group, serve on Sundays, or reach our city — we'd love to connect with you.
Interested in Membership? Contact our church office at office@resurrectionsd.com