Hymns

How Firm A Foundation

Words: “K” in Rippon’s Selection of Hymns, 1787
Music: Early American melody

1.
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

2.
“Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.”

3.
“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.”

4.
“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.”

5.
“The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake!”

He’s Always Been Faithful

By: Sara Groves

1.
Morning by morning I wake up to find
The power and comfort of God’s hand in mine
Season by season I watch Him, amazed
In awe of the mystery of His perfect ways
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He’s always been faithful to me

2.
I can’t remember a trial or a pain
He did not recycle to bring me gain
I can’t remember one single regret
In serving God only, and trusting His hand
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He’s always been faithful to me

REFRAIN:
Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not
As Thou has been Thou forever wilt be.

CHORUS:
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.

3.
This is my anthem, this is my song
The theme of the stories I’ve heard for so long
God has been faithful, He will be again
His loving compassion, it knows no end
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He’s always been faithful to me

Message

“The Vision of Zechariah”

Message given by Peter McNaughton and Julian Taylor on November 22, 2020

Luke 1:5-22
⁵ In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. ⁷ And yet they had no child, because Elizabeth was infertile, and they were both advanced in years.

⁸ Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, ⁹ according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering. ¹¹ Now an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. ¹² Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. ¹⁴ You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice over his birth. ¹⁵ For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And it is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers back to their children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

¹⁸ Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in her years.” ¹⁹ The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰ And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”

²¹ And meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and were wondering at his delay in the temple. ²² But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple, and he repeatedly made signs to them, and remained speechless.

Luke 1:57-66
⁵⁷ Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.

⁵⁹ And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zechariah, after his father. ⁶⁰ And yet his mother responded and said, “No indeed; but he shall be called John.” ⁶¹ And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” ⁶² And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. ⁶³ And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “His name is John.” And they were all amazed. ⁶⁴ And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began speaking in praise of God. ⁶⁵ And fear came on all those who lived around them; and all these matters were being talked about in the entire hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶ All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.

Galatians 4:19
My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you—

Luke 1:67-80
⁶⁷ And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying:

⁶⁸ “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,
⁶⁹ And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David—
⁷⁰ Just as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient times—
⁷¹ Salvation from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us;
⁷² To show mercy to our fathers,
And to remember His holy covenant,
⁷³ The oath which He swore to our father Abraham,
⁷⁴ To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Would serve Him without fear,
⁷⁵ In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
⁷⁶ And you, child, also will be called the prophet of the Most High;
For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways;
⁷⁷ To give His people the knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins,
⁷⁸ Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
⁷⁹ To shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”