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Great is thy faithfulness

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Great is thy faithfulness, O God our Father! There is no shadow of turning with thee: thou changestnot, thy compassions they fail not: as thou has been thou forever wilt be

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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!

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Summer and winter and springtime and harvest, sun, moon and stars in their courses above, join with all nature in manifold witness to thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

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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!

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Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide, strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow—wondrous the portion thy blessings provide.

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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!

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This is the day that the Lord has made.

We will be glad and rejoice in it.This is the year that the Lord has

begun.We will rejoice and be glad in it.

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Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compass-sions never fail. They are new every morning.

Great is your faithfulness.

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The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to those who seek him. Great is your faithfulness, O Lord.

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O God, we gather as your people in thanksgiving that you came among us in Jesus of Nazareth. We celebrate that we can feel your presence among us today, because of that birth so long ago.

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Forgive us when we focus on the wrappings and miss the gift. Help us not to limit your presence to that baby in a manger, forgetting the life he chose and laid down, that we might know your eternal love and forgiveness.

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May our Christmas carols of joy be but a small beginning to a new year lived in joyful thanksgiving to you. Amen.

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Away In A MangerVU 69

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Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head. The stars in the bright sky looked down where hey lay, the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.

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The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes, but little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes. I love you, Lord Jesus; look down from the sky, and stay by my side until morning is nigh.

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Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask you to stay close by me forever, and love me, I pray. Bless all the dear children in you tender care, and fit us for heaven, to live with you there.

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You’ll get a brand-new name straight from the mouth of GOD. You’ll be a stunning crown in the palm of GOD’s hand, a jeweled gold cup held high in the hand of your God.

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No more will anyone call you Rejected, and your country will no more be called Ruined. You’ll be called My Delight, because GOD delights in you.

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Walk out of the gates. Get going! Get the road ready for the people. Build the highway. Get at it! Clear the debris, hoist high a flag, a signal to all peoples!

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Yes! GOD has broadcast to all the world: Zion will be called new names: Holy People, GOD-Redeemed, Sought-Out, City-Not-Forsaken.

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But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—

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from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.

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Through the work of Jesus Christ, we belong to God. Through Jesus’ work on the cross, God gave us a new name.

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Let us discover anew and accept with new assurance that we are who God says we are—holy and redeemed people who belong to God.

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Thank you, our loving God, for changing our name. We shall no longer be called Wounded, Outcast, Lonely, or Afraid. Our new name shall be The Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord, Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted.

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People of God, let us take up our new name with new confidence to live this year as the people of God we are called to be, so that we may indeed be “Sought After.”

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May others seek God’s face because of us in this coming year.

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I have called you by your name, you are mine; I have gifted you and ask you now to shine. I will not abandon you; all my promises are true. You are gifted, called and chosen; you are mine.

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I will help you learn my name as you go; read it written in my people, help them grow. Pour the water in my name, speak the word your soul can claim, offer Jesus’ body given long ago.

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I know you will need my touch as you go; feel it pulsing in creation’s ebb and flow. Like the woman reaching out, choosing faith in spite of doubt, hold the hem of Jesus’ robe, then let it go.

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I have given you a name, it is mine; I have given you my Spirit as a sign. With my wonder in your soul, make my wounded children whole; go and tell my precious people they are mine.

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Sing to GOD a brand-new song. God has made a world of wonders! God has rolled up his sleeves. God has set things right.

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Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Creator in the name of our brother, Jesus Christ.

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So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God.

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The “curtain” into God’s presence is his body. So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out.

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Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do,

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but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.

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Behold, behold, I make all things

new beginning with you and

starting from today. Behold,

behold, I make all things new, my

promise is true, for I am Christ

the way.49

As we recall again the child who was born for us, who is peace for the world, help us to remember that your love is our love when it reaches out to another person –

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– stranger and friend the weak, the vulnerable the homeless and hungry ones. May these financial offerings, and our gifts of time and talent, be used to spread love in the world.

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Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

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And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

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And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals.

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He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes.

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Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.”

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And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.”

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God says: “Behold, I am making everything new!” In this New Year, let us move forward with the confidence our new name gives, with a new song in our hearts and on our lips,

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with the new way before us, and with our eyes fixed on the horizon when Christ will return and make a new heaven and a new earth.May this be the year. Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus!

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I FEEL THE WINDS OF GODVU 625

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I feel the winds of God today; today my sail I lift, though heavy oft with drenching spray and torn with many a rift;

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If hope but light the water’s crest, and Christ my bark will use, I’ll seek the seas at his behest, and brave another cruise.

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It is the wind of God that dries my vain regretful tears, until with braver thoughts shall rise the purer, brighter years;

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If cast on shores of selfish ease or pleasure I should be, O let me feel your freshening breeze, and I’ll put back to sea.

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If ever I forget your love and how that love was shown, lift high the blood-red flag above; it bears your name alone.

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Great pilot of my onward way, you will not let me drift. I feel the winds of God today, today my sail I lift.

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Hear this promise of Christ: "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. May it be so.

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