:: Download the 1.1.2017 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
:: Download the 1.1.2017 Bulletin
:: Download the 1.1.2017 Sermon Audio
image :: La Era (The Threshing Floor), Diego Rivera, (1904, Mexican)
Preparation for Worship & Communion on January 1, 2017 :: Go
“Faith must be taught correctly,
namely, that by it you are so cemented to Christ
that He and you are as one person,
which cannot be separated
but remains attached to Him forever and declares:
‘I am as Christ.’ And Christ, in turn, says:
‘I am as that sinner who is attached to Me, and I to him.’
And by faith we are joined together in one flesh and one bone.” (Martin Luther)
Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Jan 1 include ::
:: O Come, All Ye Faithful (Latin hymn; att. to John Francis Wade, c.1735) [bandcamp track=1750776856 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: In The Bleak Midwinter (Christina Rossetti, c.1872) [bandcamp track=4215802200 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: In the Name of the Father (Henry Allon, c.1850) CHART [bandcamp track=1335283037 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Love’s Redeeming Work Is Done (Charles Wesley, 1739) CHART [bandcamp track=135949962 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: All Things New (Horatius Bonar, 1846) CHART [bandcamp track=503053927 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
Call to Worship :: Isaiah 60:1-3
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the LORD rises upon you
and His glory appears over you.
Nations will come to Your light,
and kings to the brightness of Your dawn.
Confession of Sin :: John Wesley (1703-1791)
Forgive them all, O Lord;
Our sins of omission and our sins of commission;
The sins of our youth and the sins of our riper years;
The sins of our souls and the sins of our bodies;
Our secret and our more open sins;
Our sins of ignorance and surprise,
And our more deliberate and presumptuous sin;
The sins we have done to please ourselves,
And the sins we have done to please others;
The sins we know and remember,
And the sins we have forgotten;
The sins we have striven to hide from others
And the sins by which we have made others offend You;
Forgive them, O Lord, forgive them all for His sake,
Who died for our sins and rose for our justification,
And now stands at Thy right hand
To make intercession for us,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Words of Encouragement :: John 1:29
“Behold, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world!”
New Testament Reading :: Galatians 4:4-7
When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
Sermon :: Ruth 3:1-5
Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? 2 Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3 Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.”5 And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”