Worship Guide

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The Belgic Confession was written in 1561 primarily by Guido de Brès, an itinerant preacher throughout the Low Countries (Belgium and the Netherlands) as they neared revolt against Spanish (Roman Catholic) rule.

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH BELGIC CONFESSION, ARTICLE 23

LEADER: What do you believe about your forgiveness? PEOPLE: We believe that God forgives our sins because of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice. Through Jesus, God grants us righteousness apart from works. LEADER: How do you come by such forgiveness?

It was immediately translated from French into Dutch and became widely used among the Calvinist churches in the Low Countries. In 1566 it was also translated into German.

PEOPLE: We are justified freely or by grace through redemption in Jesus Christ. Therefore we cling to this firm foundation, giving all glory to God, humbling ourselves, and recognizing ourselves as we are; not claiming righteousness by our own merits but leaning and resting on the obedience of Christ.

Along with The Canons of Dort and The Heidelberg Catechism, it is one the Three Forms of Unity, which are the doctrinal standards to which many Reformed churches around the world subscribe.

PEOPLE: This is enough to cover all our sins and to make us confident, freeing the conscience from the fear, dread, and terror of God’s judgment, without doing what our first father, Adam, did, who trembled as he tried to cover himself with fig leaves.

THE LORD’S SUPPER The Lord’s Supper is a physical action, taught by Jesus, through which God acts to nourish, sustain, comfort, challenge, teach and assure us. The celebration of the Lord’s Supper nourishes our faith and stirs our imaginations to perceive the work of God and the power of the Gospel more clearly. It is an act that helps pave the way for revival and renewal. East Cooper Baptist Church welcomes to the Lord’s Table all who have trusted in Jesus Christ as Savior. If you are uncertain where you stand in your relationship to Christ, or are not ready to take the Lord’s Supper today, please allow the communion elements to pass and use this time to seek the Lord in prayer. This, the pow’r of the cross: Christ became sin for us; Took the blame, bore the wrath— We stand forgiven at the cross.

LEADER: Does this forgiveness give you peace with God?

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER TIME THE LORD’S SUPPER

MY SHEPHERD WILL SUPPLY MY NEED • ECBC ORCHESTRA

GRACE AND PEACE

2006 SOVEREIGN GRACE MUSIC Grace and peace, oh how can this be For lawbreakers and thieves For the worthless, the least You have said, that our judgment is death For all eternity Without hope, without rest Oh, what an amazing mystery What an amazing mystery That Your grace has come to me Grace and peace, oh how can this be The matchless King of all Paid the blood price for me Slaughtered lamb, what atonement You bring! The vilest sinner’s heart Can be cleansed, can be free Grace and peace, oh how can this be Let songs of gratefulness Ever rise, never cease Loved by God and called as a saint My heart is satisfied In the riches of Christ Oh, what an amazing love I see What an amazing love I see That Your grace has come to me

GROW IN GRACE AT THE TABLE

DAVID MATHS (Excerpts from his book Habits of Grace) The Lord’s Supper is an extraordinary meal. To be sure, it is simply an ordinary means of God’s grace to his church, but as eating and drinking go, it can be an unusually powerful experience. Along with baptism, the Supper is one of Jesus’ two specially instituted sacraments for the signifying, sealing, and strengthening of his new-covenant people. Call them ordinances if you please. The true issue is not the term, but what we mean by it, and whether we handle these twin means of God’s grace as Jesus means, to guide and shape the life of the church in her new covenant with the Bridegroom. The means of grace — also known as the “spiritual disciplines” — are the various channels God has appointed for regularly supplying his church with spiritual power. The key principles behind the means of grace are Jesus’ voice (the word), his ear (prayer), and his body (the church). The various disciplines and practices, then, are ways of hearing, and responding, to his word in the context of his church. Shaped and supported by these principles, a thousand practical flowers grow in the life of the new-covenant community. But few, if any, other practices bring together all three principles of grace like the preaching of God’s word, and the celebration of the sacraments, in the context of corporate worship. Here, then, are four aspects of the Supper to consider in seeing it as a means of grace. The Gravity: Blessing or Judgment One of the first things to note is that the Supper is not to be taken lightly. Handling the elements “in an unworthy manner” is the reason Paul gives the Corinthians for “why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died” (1 Corinthians 11:27–30). Great things are at stake when the church gathers at the Table of her Lord. Blessing and judgment are in the balance. There is no neutral engagement. Our gospel is “the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life” (2 Corinthians 2:15–16). So also the “visible sermon” of the Supper leads from life to life, or death to death. As with gospel preaching, the Table will not leave us unaffected, but either closer to our Savior, or more callous to him. Which leads to a second aspect. The Past: Rehearsing the Gospel When instituting the Supper, Jesus instructed his disciples, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19), and Paul twice applies the phrase “in remembrance of me” in his instructions to the church (1 Corinthians 11:24–25). The Lord’s Supper is no less than a memorial meal that draws us back to the cutting of the covenant at Calvary in Christ’s self-giving sacrifice for us. With baptism and marriage and every good Christian funeral, the Table gives the church a formal rhythm of remembering and rehearsing that which is of first importance (1 Corinthians 15:3), the gospel of Christ’s saving work for us. It helps embed gospel-centrality into the life of the church. The Present: Proclaiming His Death And so the Table is more than simply a memorial. In this rich recollection of Jesus’ sacrifice, and the taking of the elements in faith, is a present proclamation of his death. “As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). This visible sermon, like audible preaching, is “able to strengthen you” according to the gospel (Romans 16:25) as a means of grace to those who watch and receive. In this way, the Lord’s Supper is a powerful pathway for deepening and sustaining the Christian life. “Participation in the Lord’s Supper,” writes Wayne Grudem, is very clearly a means of grace which the Holy Spirit uses to bring blessing to his church. . . . [W]e should expect that the Lord would give spiritual blessing as we participate in the Lord’s Supper in faith and in obedience to the directions laid down in Scripture, and in this way it is a ‘means of grace’ which the Holy Spirit uses to convey blessing to us. . . . There is a spiritual union among believers and with the Lord that is strengthened and solidified at the Lord’s Supper, and it is not to be taken lightly. (Systematic Theology), 954–955) The Future: Awaiting the Feast As Westminster confesses, the Table, received in faith, is for our “spiritual nourishment and growth” (29.1). But it not only strengthens our union with Jesus, but also our communion with fellow believers in Christ. As we come together to the Supper to feed spiritually on Christ (John 6:53–58), he not only draws us closer to himself, but also to others in the body (1 Corinthians 10:17). Here at the Table, we hear Jesus’ voice, have our Savior’s ear, and commune with his body. We receive afresh his gospel, respond in faith, and knit our hearts together in the bread and cup we share. And in doing so, we look not only to the past and remember what he’s done, and not only to the present and our growing union with him, but also to the future and the full feast to come. “As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). “We eat only little bits of bread and drink little cups of wine,” says John Frame (Systematic Theology, 1069), “for we know that our fellowship with Christ in this life cannot begin to compare with the glory that awaits us in him.”

THE OFFERTORY PRAYER THE OFFERTORY

WHEN I SURVEY THE WONDROUS CROSS • ECBC CHOIR

CONGREGATIONAL GREETINGS LOTTIE MOON OFFERING UPDATE THE MORNING SERMON

CONRAD “BUSTER” BROWN, SENIOR PASTOR

361 Egypt Road Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464 843.856.3222 Equipping people to pursue Jesus Christ passionately as they impact the culture. eastcooperbaptist.com

WORSHIPGUIDE

THE BELGIC CONFESSION



GRACE AND PEACE

The Church in Corporate Worship Please use the following prayer to prepare your hearts for worship:

We gather this day to celebrate the amazing love of God through the The Lord’s Supper. Let us offer grateful praise for the grace and peace of the table.

GOD OF AMAZING GRACE AND PEACE; We are thankful that your mercy is higher than the heavens, wider than our wanderings, deeper than all our sin. Forgive our frivolous attitude toward life, our callousness toward suffering, our envy of those who have more than we have, our obsession with creating a life of constant pleasure, our indifference to the treasures of heaven, our neglect of your wise and gracious law. Help us to live in the joy of repentance, to change our way of life, so that we may desire what is good, love what you love, and do what you command, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

FEBRUARY 5, 2017

REFLECTION

THOUGHTS FOR WORSHIP PREPARATION



Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it -- Mark Twain

From the cross uplifted high Where the Savior deigns to die What melodious sounds I hear Bursting on my ravished ear Love’s redeeming work is done Come and welcome, sinner, come



Sprinkled now with blood the throne Why beneath thy burdens groan On my pierced body laid Justice owns the ransom paid Bow the knee and kiss the Son Come and welcome, sinner, come



Spread for thee the festal board With richest dainties stored To thy Father’s bosom pressed Yet again a child confessed Never from His house to roam Come and welcome, sinner, come

Soon the days of life shall end Lo, I come, your Savior, Friend Safe your spirit to convey To the realms of endless day Up to my eternal home Come and welcome, sinner, come -- Thomas Haweis Grace comes unbidden, often at the least expected of times. We can’t earn it. We can’t work for it. We can’t plead for is. It just comes. What we can do is choose whether to receive it or reject it. We can sing with our arms crossed and our teeth clenched or we can sing with our mouths and our hearts wide open. We can keep the drum muted or we can let loose with a riff to make the angels dance. -- Kim Buchanan

The gospel that we have for the world— for our lost dad or sister or neighbor or classmate or colleague or unreached people group— the gospel that we have is the good news that God purchased peace by the death of his Son and offers it to sinners who believe in Jesus. We have the good news that God’s omnipotent wrath against sinners has been taken away through the death of Jesus for sin. And everyone who believes is reconciled to him freely by grace. And in the place of enmity comes peace. And there is nothing sweeter in all the world than to be at peace with God. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility . . . and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off [Gentiles!] and peace to those who were near [Jews!]; for through him we have access in one Spirit to the Father.’ -- Ephesians 2:13-18 The good news of peace is that when Christ died and shed his blood for sin, two kinds of enmity were overcome. The enmity between God and repentant sinners was brought to an end. And the enmity between people, races and factions in Christ was brought to an end. So Christ became our peace. That is, by grace, the gospel of peace. --John Piper

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THE SCRIPTURE PROCLAMATION ROMANS 5

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person— though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

THE POWER OF THE CROSS GETTY MUSIC

Oh, to see the dawn Of the darkest day: Christ on the road to Calvary. Tried by sinful men, Torn and beaten, then Nailed to a cross of wood. This, the pow’r of the cross: Christ became sin for us; Took the blame, bore the wrath— We stand forgiven at the cross. Oh, to see the pain Written on Your face, Bearing the awesome weight of sin. Ev’ry bitter thought, Ev’ry evil deed Crowning Your bloodstained brow. Now the daylight flees; Now the ground beneath Quakes as its Maker bows His head. Curtain torn in two, Dead are raised to life; “Finished!” the vict’ry cry. Oh, to see my name Written in the wounds, For through Your suffering I am free. Death is crushed to death; Life is mine to live, Won through Your selfless love. This, the pow’r of the cross: Son of God—slain for us. What a love! What a cost! We stand forgiven at the cross.

AMAZING LOVE “And Can It Be” was written by Charles Wesley, and first published in 1738. Charles and his brother, John Wesley, played a significant role of the development of Christianity in both England and the American colonies, and the establishment of the Methodist movement. While John’s influence was felt through his leadership and preaching, Charles influenced many more people through his songs. He wrote over 5,500 hymns, which include Christ the Lord is Risen Today, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, and O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing, and many other hymns that have served Christians for centuries. This hymn describes the wonder that fills our hearts when we consider the mercy that caused God to take on flesh and die in our place. Verse one highlights our culpability, as we were the ones who actually pursued him to death. Verse two tells of Christ’s incarnation and death. Verse three describes the creation of a Christian, as God brings him from death to life. Verse four boldly claims that we can approach God’s throne because we have been united with Christ and are eternally clothed in his righteousness. Amazing.

AND CAN IT BE SAGINA