THE LORD’S DAY

JULY 5, 2020

CELEBRATING INDEPENDENCE DAY

CALL TO WORSHIP (From Psalm 145)

I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised. One generation shall commend your works to another and declare your mighty acts. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your righteousness. All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

OPENING HYMN: “Crown Him With Many Crowns”

THE READING OF THE WORD: Romans 13:1-7

13 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ² Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, ⁴ for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. ⁶ For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. ⁷ Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

ANTHEM: Battle Hymn of the Republic

MEDITATION AND PRAYERS FOR OUR NATION

 

PRAYERS FOR OUR NATION:

Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation; yes, let your salvation be near to those who fear you, that glory may dwell in our land.

ARE HUMBLED BEFORE GOD FOR OUR NATION’S SINS

Our nation is a sinful people; and we have a great deal of reason to grown over all the horrible deeds that have been done in the past and the ones presently being committed among us. We thank you that even though our land is full of guilt, yet we have not been forsaken or forgotten by you, O Lord. Hear us as we confess the sins of our nation.

WE PRAY EARNESTLY FOR GOD’S MERCIES ON OUR NATION

Restore us to yourself, O Lord God of hosts, and let your face shine that we may be saved! O stir up your might and come to save us! Let us never know what a famine of the word means; nor ever be forced to wander from sea to sea, seeking the word of God. Heal our land and world of this terrible virus; and use this present distress to accomplish great things in accordance with your sovereign and most gracious purposes. Hear us as we pray for your mercies to be outpoured.

WE PRAY FOR PEACE IN OUR LAND

Let peace be like a river. Let that righteousness abound among us which exalts a nation, and deliver us from sin, which is a reproach to any people. Help our leaders to turn from party politics and bitter fighting. Bring unity to our land and turn back the powers of anarchy and darkness that would masquerade as an angel of light. Hear us as we ask you to bring us peace.

WE PRAY FOR THE MORAL DECENCY AND CIVILITY OF OUR NATION

Remove the spirit of uncleanness from the land, and change the speech of the peoples to pure speech, that they may call upon the name of the Lord. Change our public discourse into something that will promote friendship and shared endeavor, rather than destroy it. Hear us as we pray for moral decency and civility.

WE PRAY FOR JUSTICE IN OUR LAND

Give our leaders your justice, O God.  Enable them to defend the weak, to maintain the right of the afflicted and destitute, to rescue the helpless and needy, and to deliver them from all forms of oppression and injustice. Hear us as we pray for the end of all injustice.

WE PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS

We ask you to grant wisdom and strength to all of our leaders, for the meeting of these unusual challenges. We pray the leaders around the world, and for our President, Donald Trump; for his cabinet, for our Congress and Supreme Court, and all the various agencies of our Federal government. We pray for your assistance and guidance in the upcoming elections. We pray for the governors and state leaders, as well as those in local office. Sustain them all by your mercies and work through these times to bring about a renewed sense of identity and purpose in our political life as a people. Hear us as we pray for our leaders.

WE GIVE THANKS FOR OUR NATION

We thank you for all the good you have accomplished through our nation, both at home and abroad. We thank you for your faithfulness through the years; for bringing us through times of crisis that we might continue to bring the blessings of liberty and justice. Hear us as we give thanks for your kindness and faithfulness to the United States of America.

CLOSING HYMN: “Lead On, O King Eternal”