*Entire service available on video HERE
Call To Worship
(Scripture to set a tone for worshipping the Lord)
What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about—but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness. Now to the one who works, pay is not credited as a gift, but as something owed. But to the one who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited for righteousness.
-Romans 4:1-5
Worship In Song
Cornerstone
Hallelujah What A Savior
The Reading Of God’s Word
Genesis 12-22 (Stephanie Chong)
12:1 The Lord said to Abram:
Go from your land,
your relatives,
and your father’s house
to the land that I will show you.
2 I will make you into a great nation,
I will bless you,
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt,
and all the peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, … Abram was seventy-five years old when he left
Haran. 5 He took his wife, Sarai, … and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, … 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.
15:1 After these events, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:
Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield;
your reward will be very great.
2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me, since I am childless …
5 He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.”
Then he said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.”
6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
8 But he said, “Lord God, how can I know that I will possess it?”
9 He said to him, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
10 So he brought all these to him, cut them in half, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut the birds in half. …12 As the sun was setting, a deep sleep came over Abram, and suddenly great terror and darkness descended on him.
13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know this for certain: Your offspring will be resident aliens for four hundred years in a land that does not belong to them and will be enslaved and
oppressed. 14 However, I will judge the nation they serve, and afterward they will go out with many possessions. …
17 When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and
passed between the divided animals. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your offspring …
17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, “I am God Almighty. Live in my presence and be blameless. 2 I will set up my covenant between me and you, and I will multiply you greatly.”
3 Then Abram fell facedown and God spoke with him: 4 “As for me, here is my covenant with you:
You will become the father of many nations. 5 Your name will no longer be Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I will make you the father of many nations. 6 I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you. 7 I will confirm my covenant that is between me and you and your future offspring throughout their generations. It is a permanent covenant to be your God and the God of your offspring after you. 8 And to you and your future offspring I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as a permanent possession, and I will be their God.”
10 This is my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you, which you are to keep:
Every one of your males must be circumcised. 11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and you.
15 God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai, for Sarah will be her
name. 16 I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will produce nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”
17 Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a hundred year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, give birth?”
19 But God said, “…Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will confirm my covenant with him as a permanent covenant for his future offspring. 21 …Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.” 22 When he finished talking with him, God withdrew from Abraham.
21:1 The Lord came to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time God had told him. 3 Abraham named his son who was born to him—the one Sarah bore to him—Isaac. 4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears will laugh with me.” 7 She also said, “Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne a son for him in his old age.”
The Proclamation Of God’s Word
Covenant: Abraham (Sean Nolan)
Songs Of Response
O Come To The Altar
Beautiful Scandalous Night
Defender
Worship Through Giving:
Those who call Engage home are encouraged to worship through giving. In order to ensure minimal contact, those giving by cash or check are encouraged to drop in the collection box near the info table. To read more about what we believe about giving or to submit an offering online click HERE.
(also available on Venmo: @EngageAlbany)
Benediction
(Closing words from Scripture)
I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech. A time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but I will tell you plainly about the Father. On that day you will ask in my name, and I am not telling you that I will ask the Father on your behalf. For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.
-John 16:25-27