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).
Every Calendar Is a Catechism
You may have noticed that we do not call this "Ordinary Time." The top of your bulletin says this is the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost. That is a strange way to tell time, and it is meant to be.
Every calendar teaches you something. The fiscal year teaches you that time is measured in quarters and results. The academic year teaches you that life moves in semesters and deadlines. The sports season, the tax season, the holiday shopping season: each one is quietly telling you what matters and what time it is. James K.A. Smith reminds us that these rhythms are not neutral. They are liturgies. They shape what we love long before we stop to think about them.
The church has always kept its own calendar for exactly that reason. Even after the Reformation, the Reformed churches kept the great festivals of Christ: His birth, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, and the sending of His Spirit at Pentecost. We count our Sundays from those events because they are the real hinges of history. We are not living in ordinary time. We are living in the age after Pentecost, the age in which the risen Christ rules and His Spirit gathers His people.
So when you read that this is the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, let it remind you what time it really is. The quarter will close and the semester will end. Christ is still King, and the Spirit is still at work. That is the clock we live by.
THE ASHES OF A HEIFER
Hebrews 9:1–14
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
O worship the King all-glorious above,
O gratefully sing His power and His love:
Our shield and defender, the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.
O tell of His might and sing of His grace,
Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space.
His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,
And dark is his path on the wings of the storm.
Your bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
It streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.
Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
In You do we trust, nor find You to fail.
Your mercies, how tender, how firm to the end,
Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend!
O measureless Might, ineffable Love,
Whom angels delight to worship above!
The humbler creation, though feeble their lays,
In true adoration shall lisp to your praise!
The church's one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord,
She is His new creation, by water and the Word.
From heav'n He came and sought her to be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her and for her life He died.
Elect from ev'ry nation, yet one o'er all the earth;
Her charter of salvation, One Lord, one faith, one birth;
One holy Name she blesses, partakes one holy food,
And to one hope she presses, with ev'ry grace endued.
Though with a scornful wonder, men see her sore oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed,
Yet saints their watch are keeping, their cry goes up, "How long?"
And soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song.
Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of her war,
She waits the consummation of peace forevermore;
Till, with the vision glorious, her longing eyes are blessed,
And the great church victorious shall be the church at rest.
The church shall never perish, her dear Lord to defend,
To guide, sustain and cherish, is with her to the end.
Though there be those that hate her and false sons in her pale,
Against a foe or traitor, she ever shall prevail.
Rock of Ages! cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy riven side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure
Cleanse me from its guilt and power.
Not the labors of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law's demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone
Thou must save, and Thou alone.
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Vile, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.
While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyelids close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on the judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee
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
Psalm 51:1–7, 16–17
Prayer of Confession
Moment of Silence
Corporate Confession of Sin
Almighty God and Father, we confess to you, to one another, and to the whole company of heaven 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.
Through our fault, through our fault, through our most grievous fault.
We sinned against You, and You only. We knew our sin, and we hid it. We tried to wash ourselves, and we stayed unclean. We brought You our efforts, and not a broken heart.
Lord, have mercy on us. We cannot make ourselves clean. Wash us, and we shall be clean.
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
Ezekiel 36:25–26
Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
And to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be:
World without end. Amen, amen.
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.
The Ashes of a Heifer
Hebrews 9:1–14
1 Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. 2 For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place,4 having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.5 Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
6 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties,7 but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people.8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing9 (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, 10 but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.
11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation)12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh,14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
The Word of the Lord. (Thanks be to God.)
I come, God, I come,
Return to the Lord
The one who's broken
The one who's torn me apart
You strike down to bind me up
You say You do it all in love
That I might know You in Your suffering
Though You slay me
Yet I will praise You
Though You take from me
I will bless Your name
Though You ruin me
Still I will worship
Sing a song to the one who's all I need
My heart and flesh may fail
The earth below give way
But with my eyes, with my eyes I'll see the Lord
Lifted high on that day
Behold, the Lamb that was slain
And I'll know every tear was worth it all
Though You slay me
Yet I will praise You
Though You take from me
I will bless Your name
Though You ruin me
Still I will worship
Sing a song to the one who's all I need
Though tonight I'm crying out
Let this cup pass from me now
You're still more than I need
You're enough for me
You're enough for me
Though You slay me
Yet I will praise You
Though You take from me
I will bless Your name
Though You ruin me
Still I will worship
Sing a song to the one who's all I need
Sing a song to the one who's all I need
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
I was an orphan lost at the fall
Running away when I'd hear your call
But Father, You worked Your will
I had no righteousness of my own
I had no right to draw near Your throne
But Father, You loved me still
And in love before You laid the world's foundation
You predestined to adopt me as Your own
You have raised me up so high above my station
I'm a child of God by grace and grace alone
You left your home to seek out the lost
You knew the great and terrible cost
But Jesus, Your face was set
I worked my fingers down to the bone
Nothing I did could ever atone
But Jesus, You paid my debt
By your blood I have redemption and salvation
Lord, you died that I might reap what You have sown
And you rose that I might be a new creation
I am born again by grace and grace alone
I was in darkness all of my life
I never knew the day from the night
But Spirit, You made me see
I swore I knew the way on my own
Head full of rocks, a heart made of stone
But Spirit, You moved in me
At your touch my sleeping spirit was awakened
On my darkened heart the light of Christ has shone
Called into a kingdom that cannot be shaken
Heaven's citizen by grace and grace alone
At Your touch my sleeping spirit was awakened
On my darkened heart the light of Christ has shone
Called into a kingdom that cannot be shaken
Heaven's citizen by grace and grace alone
So I'll stand in faith by grace and grace alone
I will run the race by grace and grace alone
I will slay my sin by grace and grace alone
I will reach the end by grace and grace alone
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
COMMUNITY GROUPS - IN SESSION
CORTEZ MEAL TRAIN - BABY RAMONA
Ramona Lynne Cortez is here! Born Sept. 14th at 7lbs and 14oz. Both Ramona and Heidi are doing great! Let us bless them with meals as they adjust to life with a family of four! Here is the Meal Train Link: mealtrain.com/1929y6.
WOMEN'S COLLECTIVE
MEN'S MINISTRY
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 AUG 2026
Monthly average needed to reach 2026 budget: $14,000
Total giving for AUG 2026: $13,596.54
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