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Saturday, December 31, 2016

Oh Love: A Liturgy for the New Year









Call to Prayer
Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.
Ephesians 5:1-2


The Greeting
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will 
be forever. Amen.


The Request for Presence
O Lord, our most gracious Redeemer and King, dwell and reign within us, take possession of us by your Spirit, and reign where you have the right to reign, and spread your kingdom throughout the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
John of Kronstadt (1829-1908)


Refrain of the People
Wake us from our sleep; Raise us from our coffins. Oh Christ, show us Your light.


Great, your faithfulness; O God my father, O God my father. 
Your love it never fades, and so I’ll love you, until the end.

When shadows fall you never change. From age to age, you never change.

       Great is your faithfulness, your faithfulness; through the years you’ve always been there.
       Great is your love for us, your love for us; through the years you’ll always be there.

Great, your kindness God; you are our shelter, our dwelling place.
Your presence like a fire; hope for tomorrow, strength for today.

When shadows fall you never change. From age to age, you never change.

       Great is your faithfulness, your faithfulness; through the years you’ve always been there.
       Great is your love for us, your love for us; through the years you’ll always be there.

We will stand, we will stand upon your promises.
We are strong, we are strong because our hope is in you.
We will run, we will run, we will run.
We belong, we belong, we belong to you.
Martin Smith


Refrain of the People
Wake us from our sleep; Raise us from our coffins. Oh Christ, show us Your light.


Scripture
It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.
Ephesians 2:1-9


Refrain of the People      
Wake us from our sleep; Raise us from our coffins. Oh Christ, show us Your light.


Hymn  I will Walk
Jesus your grace
Abounds in waves
Your love anchors
My faith, you are my rock
Yahweh

Jesus I'm lost
Bow at the cross
In worship
I'll walk In the light
Of grace

       I will walk in the light of day; I will walk in the light of day
       My anchor is Jesus
       Here I'll stay
       I will walk in the light of day

In all I do
May my life imitate you
And may I walk in your footsteps
In who I am
May I resemble the Lamb
And may I walk in the light of your love
Gabriel Smith


Taking of the Eucharist
If praying this Liturgy with others, take this time to celebrate the Eucharist.



Prayer of St. Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.


Concluding Hymn – “The Greatest Commands
Love one another, for love is of God. He who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love, does not know God, for God is love, God is love.

Love bears all things, Believes all things. Love Hopes all things, Endures all things.

God is love, God is love, God is love.
God is love, God is love, God is love.
God is love, God is love, God is love.
God is love, God is love, God is love.

Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, all thy strength, all thy mind.
Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, for God is love, God is love, God is love.

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