Sermon text

Exodus 20:4–6

[4] “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. [5] You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, [6] but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. (ESV)

Call to Worship

Psalm 71:1-6

[1] In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame!
[2] In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me, and save me!
[3] Be to me a rock of refuge,
to which I may continually come;
you have given the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.

[4] Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
[5] For you, O Lord, are my hope,
my trust, O LORD, from my youth.
[6] Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;
you are he who took me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is continually of you. (ESV)

Prayer of Confession

God of love, it is your will that we should love you with heart, soul, mind, strength, and our neighbor as ourselves, but we are not sufficient for these things. We confess that our affections continually turn away from you: from purity to lust, from freedom to slavery, from compassion to indifference, from fullness to emptiness. Have mercy on us. Order our lives by your holy Word, and make your commandments the joy of our hearts. Conform us to the image of your loving Son, Jesus, that we may shine before the world to your glory. Amen.