September 20, 2026

Sep 19

Call to Worship

Send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling!
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.

— Psalm 43:3–5 (ESV)

To all who are weary and need rest;
To all who mourn and long for comfort;
To all who feel worthless and wonder if God even cares;
To all who are weak and fail and desire strength;
To all who sin and need a Savior —
This church opens wide her doors with a welcome from Jesus,
the mighty Friend of sinners, the Ally of His enemies,
the Defender of the indefensible,
the Justifier of those who have no excuses left…

Song of Adoration

Send Out Your Light (Psalm 43)

Verse 1
Vindicate me, O God
And defend my cause
Against the deceitful man
O deliver us
For you are the God
In whom I take refuge
Why have You rejected me
I walk around confused

Chorus
Send out Your light and Your truth
Let them lead me
Bring me to Your holy hill
To Your dwelling
Then I will go to the altar of God
To God my exceeding joy
Then I will praise Him with all my heart
Oh my joy, my joy

Verse 2
Why are You cast down low
O my soul
Why are you cast down low
And in turmoil
Hope in God
For I shall again praise Him
Hope in God
For He is my salvation

Sandra McCracken
CCLI Song #7041362 © 2015 Drink Your Tea Music For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI License #22513868

Confession of Sin

You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.

You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.

You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD.

You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

— Leviticus 19:11–18 (ESV)

Most merciful God, we confess
that we have sinned against You
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done, and
by what we have left undone.
We have not loved You with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.

We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in Your will,
and walk in Your ways,
to the glory of Your Name.

Amen.

Song of Confession

Rock of Ages

Verse 1
Rock of Ages cleft for me
Let me hide myself in thee
Let the water and the blood
From thy wounded side which flowed
Be of sin the double cure
Save from wrath and make me pure

Verse 2
Not the labors of my hands
Can fulfill the law's commands
Should mypassion never fade
And my efforts all be weights
All for sin could not atone
You must save and You alone

Chorus
Rock of ages
No one takes Your life
Yet You died that I might live
Costly grace You freely give
Rock of ages
You have paid the price
You were cleft to cover me
Let me hide myself in Thee

Verse 3
Nothing in my hand I bring
Simply to the cross I cling
Naked come to Thee for dress
Helpless look to Thee for grace
Wretched to the fount fly
Wash me Savior or I die

Verse 4
While I draw my final breath
I’ll rest upon Your grace
And when I close my eyes in death
I’ll wake to see Your face

Augustus Montague Toplady | Dustin Kensrue
CCLI Song # 7004664 © 2013 Dead Bird Theology; It's All About Jesus Music; We Are Younger We Are Faster Music For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI License # 22513868

Assurance of Pardon

If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free…

Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

— John 8:31–36 (ESV)

Song of Thanks

All I Have Is Christ

Verse 1
I once was lost in darkest night
Yet thought I knew the way
The sin that promised joy and life
Had led me to the grave
I had no hope that You would own
A rebel to Your will
And if You had not loved me first
I would refuse You still

Verse 2
But as I ran my hell-bound race
Indifferent to the cost
You looked upon my helpless state
And led me to the cross
And I beheld God's love displayed
You suffered in my place
You bore the wrath reserved for me
Now all I know is grace

Chorus
Hallelujah all I have is Christ
Hallelujah Jesus is my life

Verse 3
Now Lord I would be Yours alone
And live so all might see
The strength to follow Your commands
Could never come from me
O Father use my ransomed life
In any way You choose
And let my song forever be
My only boast is You

Jordan Kauflin
CCLI Song #5174122 © 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI License #22513868

Intermission

Take a few minutes to greet one another, get a refill on your coffee, and use the restroom.

If you would like your child (birth–5th grade) to participate in Northtown Kids during the remainder of the service, please take them to meet their teacher at the Welcome Table during Intermission.

We encourage those who consider Northtown Church their church home to make giving a regular part of their worship. You may give securely online at https://northtown.churchcenter.com/giving

Sermon

“What Is Truth?”
John 18:33–38

Truth is God-defined reality

Dan Michael Cogan (Lead Pastor)

Song of Supplication

Speak, O Lord

Verse 1
Speak O Lord as we come to You
To receive the food of Your holy word
Take Your truth plant it deep in us
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith
Speak O Lord and fulfill in us
All Your purposes for Your glory

Verse 2
Teach us Lord full obedience
Holy reverence true humility
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
In the radiance of Your purity
Cause our faith to rise
Cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority
Words of power that can never fail
Let their truth prevail over unbelief

Verse 3
Speak O Lord and renew our minds
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time
That will echo down through eternity
And by grace we'll stand on Your promises
And by faith we'll walk as You walk with us
Speak O Lord till Your church is built
And the earth is filled with Your glory

Nicene Creed

We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
begotten from the Father
before all ages,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made;
of the same essence as the Father.
Through Him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
He came down from heaven;
He became incarnate by the Holy Spirit
and the virgin Mary, and was made human.
He was crucified for us
under Pontius Pilate;
He suffered and was buried.
The third day He rose again,
according to the Scriptures.
He ascended to heaven and is
seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again with glory
to judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom will never end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life.
He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
and with the Father and the Son
is worshiped and glorified.
He spoke through the prophets.

We believe in one holy Church.
We affirm one baptism
for the forgiveness of sins.
We look forward to the
resurrection of the dead,
and to life in the world to come.

Amen!

Communion

. . . the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

— 1 Corinthians 11:23–26 (ESV)

Doxology

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heav’nly host
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Amen

Benediction

Now to him who is able
to keep you from stumbling
and to present you blameless
before the presence of his glory
with great joy, to the only God, our Savior,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority,
before all time and now and forever.