New Disciples of Cedar Rapids – Sunday, December 31, 2017(The audio states that there are two parts to the recording, this is inaccurate - the entire service is included with this first recording.)
Audio recording of service can be found at the end of this post. Please scroll down.Theme - Giving to God! – a year of wholehearted, undivided, commitment.
Pastor – Rev. Stasia Fine
Playlist – New Disciples of Cedar Rapids – New Year’s Worship Song List - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4k5Jd_U3rU...
You are invited to take some time to worship God using this order of worship for a New Year!
Introit -“I am the Light of the World” -
Opening Worship - “Here I Am to Worship” -
Opening Prayer – from Chalice Worship
“Everlasting God of all the years, you have been our companion through all the mysteries of the past to uphold us when we knew not the way. Take our hand now and share our pilgrimage to an unknown future. Open our eyes to recognize your presence with us this day that we may give you praise and celebrate the goodness of your guidance. Renew us. Refresh us. Fill us with your Spirit; we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.”
Opening Worship –
“God is Good all the Time” -
Call to Worship – from Chalice Worship
L: “Our God, your throne has been established from everlasting to everlasting.
P: We come to you as your people today in the stream of ongoing history.
L: Long ago you prepared the way for your faith family, the children of Israel,
P: and in your everlasting love, you lead us today across the seas of uncertainty and through the wilderness of indecision.
L: You demanded obedience and covenant from those who wanted to the promised land,
P: and you would ask of us the same wholehearted commitment.
L: We stand on the threshold of a new year, full of expectations and apprehensions;
P: yet we are calm with the assurance of your loving concern and constant presence.
L: This new year is a time for taking stock of our life.
P: O Lord, you know us better than we know ourselves. Help us to look at ourselves through your eyes.
L: We come to you for aid, for without you we are sure to fail.
P: Give us great courage and fortitude. Save us from timidity and doubt. Open our eyes to the joy of simple pleasures. Give us noble tasks for our energies. Let us glow with the blessing of friendship. Help us to make this new year rich in growth, in vision, in service.
L: We look to you, O God, in the changing and flowing of days.
P: We trust in you alone for your mercy endures forever. Amen.”
Meditative Song – “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)” -
Scripture Reading:
Isaiah 40:30-31
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Ephesians 4:22-24
22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Ezekiel 11:19
19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.
Sermon - Please scroll down to bottom of post for online recording.
What do you want for 2018?
Pastoral invitation to You – Consider committing a year of your life to live wholeheartedly for God.
Much of our lives are spent being divided – divided between different things that pull on our attention.
Our responsibilities – work, parenting, home care
Our pleasures – reading, hobbies, athletics, television, and games.
Our self-care – exercise, eating right, getting sleep, staying hydrated
Our finances – trying to pay our bills, saving for the future, financial goals of wealth
But what if one year, we made a commitment that in all we do we would 1st & foremost be wholeheartedly committed to God!
No one likes a backseat driver, right? Turn left here. Watch out for that car there. You know you could speed up a little.
But often as Christians we live our lives as backseat drivers. When we become Christians, we hand the driver’s seat over to Christ. But that doesn’t mean we don’t sometimes climb into this lap and take control of the wheel. This would be cute if we were just little kids, and his feet were still on the gas pedal & break - but many of us are grown adults & when we do this we block his view and get in the way of the breaks & gas.
This year, let’s move back into the passenger seat and enjoy the ride.
What would it look like to commit one year of your life to worshipping God? One year to living differently – with a goal to live in a way that pleases God.
This wouldn’t mean we would neglect our responsibilities, pleasures, self-care, or finances.
But it would mean that we would do and live in each of these in a way that reflects wholehearted commitment to God!
Why would you do this?
-Love for God.
-Nudging of God’s Spirit.
-Obedience/Loyalty
-Need Change – Something must be different – can’t keep going the way I currently am.
-Experiment – what would happen if I did this?
-Internal change.
-It just seems right.
To become a disciple of Christ – someone who is spiritually growing and becoming more like and familiar with Christ.
Move from being born again – a Christian, to be a Disciple. You are a disciple if you are headed towards Christ.
-What does this mean for you? What are you committing to? Where is the focus?
Being - Relationship – relationship with God
Doing - Lifestyle – behavior/attitude/relationships
This year’s bulletin bookmarks – spiritual disciplines of both being & doing
Spiritual Disciplines help us to reflect upon our priorities & center our lives on God.
Things to consider
-Level of Commitment - Is this something you are just going to do – or is it a promise.
-Cautious of Promise to God?
Jonathan Edwards – a famous 18th century revivalist, at the age of 17 wrote down 21 resolutions by which he would live his life. Each week he would sit down to do a self-check to see how he was doing. And each week he would read the 1st resolution he wrote down, “Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these resolutions.” (Jan Brown, Christianity Online Connection, January 8, 1999; Illustration 731 in Laron and Elshof’s 1001 Illustrations that Connect.)
Whatever your New Year’s Resolution – however you plan to invite God into your New Year – don’t forget to invite God to help you keep your resolution.
Sermon Song to Listen to – “Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)” -
Sung Response – “Create in Me a Clean Heart” -
Time of Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your Kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom,
the power and the glory are yours.
Now and forever.
Amen.
Response to Prayer – “Amazing Love (You are My King)” -
The Lord’s Supper – “In Remembrance of Me” -
Commissioned – “Let There Be Peace on Earth” -
