January 1, 2023
Announcements
Invocation
Scripture: Isaiah 63:7-9
7 I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord, the praiseworthy acts of the Lord, because of all that the Lord has done for us, and the great favor to the house of Israel that he has shown them according to his mercy, according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
8 For he said, "Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely"; and he became their savior
9 in all their distress. It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
“Lord We Praise You”
Hymn #135
Lord, we praise You.
Lord, we praise You.
Lord, we praise You.
We praise You, Lord.
Lord, we love You.
Lord, we love You.
Lord, we love You.
We love You, Lord.
Lord, we thank You.
Lord, we thank You.
Lord, we thank You.
We thank You, Lord.
Al-le-lu-ia!
Al-le-lu-ia!
Al-le-lu-ia!
We give You praise.
“O Come Let Us Adore Him”
Hymn #136
O come, let us adore Him.
O come, let us adore Him.
O come, let us adore Him-
Christ the Lord.
We’ll praise His name forever.
We’ll praise His name forever.
We’ll praise His name forever-
Christ the Lord.
We’ll give Him all the glory.
We’ll give Him all the glory.
We’ll give Him all the glory-
Christ the Lord.
For He alone is worthy.
For He alone is worthy.
For He alone is worthy-
Christ the Lord.
“O Worship the King”
Hymn #64
O worship the King,
all glorious above,
And gratefully sing
His wonderful love;
Our Shield and Defender,
The Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor,
And girded with praise.
O tell of His might,
and sing of His grace,
Whose robe is the light,
whose canopy space.
His chariots of wrath
the deep thunderclouds form,
And dark is His path
on the wings of the storm.
Thy bountiful care,
what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air;
it shines in the light.
It streams from the hills;
it descends to the plain,
And sweetly distills
in the dew and the rain.
Frail children of dust,
and feeble as frail,
In Thee do we trust,
nor find Thee to fail.
Thy mercies how tender,
how firm to the end!
Our Maker, Defender,
Redeemer, and Friend!
“How Great Thou Art”
Hymn #33
O Lord, my God,
when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds
Thy hands have made,
I see the stars,
I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy pow’r thro’-out
the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul,
my Savior God, to Thee.
How great Thou art!
How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul,
my Savior God, to Thee.
How great Thou art!
How great Thou art!
When thro’ the woods
and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly
in the trees,
When I look down
from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel
the gentle breeze,
Then sings my soul,
my Savior God, to Thee.
How great Thou art!
How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul,
my Savior God, to Thee.
How great Thou art!
How great Thou art!
And when I think that God,
His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die,
I scarce can take it in;
That on the cross,
my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died
to take away my sin.
Then sings my soul,
my Savior God, to Thee.
How great Thou art!
How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul,
my Savior God, to Thee.
How great Thou art!
How great Thou art!
When Christ shall come
with shout of acclamation
And take me home,
what joys shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow
in humble adoration
And there proclaim:
my God, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul,
my Savior God, to Thee.
How great Thou art!
How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul,
my Savior God, to Thee.
How great Thou art!
How great Thou art!
Scripture: Psalm 148
1 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his host!
3 Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created.
6 He established them forever and ever; he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling his command!
9 Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds!
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and women alike, old and young together!
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his glory is above earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his faithful, for the people of Israel who are close to him. Praise the Lord!
Offering
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.
Pastoral Prayer-Joys & Concerns
Scripture: Hebrews 2:10-18
10 It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
11 For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,
12 saying, "I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters, in the midst of the congregation I will praise you."
13 And again, "I will put my trust in him." And again, "Here am I and the children whom God has given me."
14 Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.
16 For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham.
17 Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.
18 Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.
“Glory to God Forever”
Before the world was made Before You spoke it to be You were the King of kings Yeah, You were, yeah, You were And now You're reigning still Enthroned above all things Angels and saints cry out We join them as we sing Glory to God, glory to God Glory to God, forever Glory to God, glory to God
Glory to God, forever
Creator God, You gave Me breath so I could praise Your great and matchless name All my days, all my days So let my whole life be A blazing offering A life that shouts and sings The greatness of our King Glory to God, glory to God Glory to God, forever Glory to God, glory to God Glory to God, forever
Take my life and let it be All for You and for Your glory
Take my life and let it be Yours
Take my life and let it be All for You and for Your glory
Take my life and let it be Yours
We sing Glory to God, glory to God
Glory to God, forever
Glory to God, glory to God Glory to God, forever
“I Will Follow”
[Chorus] Where You go, I'll go Where You stay, I'll stay When You move, I'll move I will follow You Who You love, I'll love How You serve I'll serve If this life I lose, I will follow You I will follow You
[Verse 1]
All Your ways are good All Your ways are sure I will trust in You alone Higher than my sight High above my life I will trust in You alone, in you alone
[Chorus] Where You go, I'll go Where You stay, I'll stay When You move, I'll move I will follow You Who You love, I'll love How You serve I'll serve If this life I lose, I will follow You, I will follow You,
[Verse 2] Light unto the world Light unto my life I will live for You alone You're the one I seek Knowing I will find
All I need in You alone, in You alone
[Chorus] Where You go, I'll go Where You stay, I'll stay When You move, I'll move I will follow You Who You love, I'll love How You serve I'll serve If this life I lose, I will follow You, I will follow You,
[Bridge] In You there's life everlasting In You there's freedom for my soul In You there's joy, unending joy
And I will follow
[Chorus] Where You go, I'll go Where You stay, I'll stay When You move, I'll move I will follow You Who You love, I'll love How You serve I'll serve If this life I lose, I will follow You, I will follow You, I will follow You
Scripture: Matthew 2:13-23
13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him."
14 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt,
15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son."
16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men.
17 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more."
19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said,
20 "Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life are dead."
21 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee.
23 There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He will be called a Nazorean."
Message
Wesleyan Covenant Renewal
Pastor John will read the regular print
Congregation will respond with the bold print
Commit yourselves to Christ as his servants.
Give yourselves to him, that you may belong to him.
Christ has many services to be done.
Some are more easy and honorable,
others are more difficult and disgraceful.
Some are suitable to our inclinations and interests,
others are contrary to both.
In some we may please Christ and please ourselves.
But then there are other works where we cannot please Christ
except by denying ourselves.
It is necessary, therefore,
that we consider what it means to be a servant of Christ.
Let us, therefore, go to Christ, and pray:
Let me be your servant, under your command.
I will no longer be my own.
I will give up myself to your will in all things.
Be satisfied that Christ shall give you your place and work.
Lord, make me what you will.
I put myself fully into your hands:
put me to doing, put me to suffering,
let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you,
let me be full, let me be empty,
let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and with a willing heart
give it all to your pleasure and disposal.
Christ will be the Savior of none but his servants.
He is the source of all salvation to those who obey.
Christ will have no servants except by consent;
Christ will not accept anything except full consent
to all that he requires.
Christ will be all in all, or he will be nothing.
Confirm this by a holy covenant.
“And Can It Be”
Hymn #225
And can it be that I should gain An int’rest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, Who caused His pain?
For me who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God,
shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God,
shouldst die for me?
He left His Father’s throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace!
Emptied Himself Of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s
helpless race.
‘Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For, O my God, it found out me!
‘Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For, O my God, it found out me!
Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night.
Thine eye diffused A quick’ning ray.
I woke; the dungeon
flamed with light!
My chains fell off; my heart was free.
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
My chains fell off; my heart was free.
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne
And claim the crown, thro’ Christ, my own.
Bold I approach the eternal throne
And claim the crown, thro’ Christ, my own.
Benediction