[The Greeting & Pastoral Prayer]

As the new year unfolds, we gather to continue a tradition upheld by countless followers of Christ before us. It's a time to recommit ourselves to God, both as individuals and as a faithful congregation.

Throughout this service, you'll be invited to join in various congregational responses. These will be prayers and affirmations of our renewed faith.

Watch for the prompts on the screen marked ‘People’ or ‘All.’ Drew will guide you when it's time to respond together.

As we step into the new year we will celebrate Holy Communion.

Let us pray.

Lord, creator of renewal in heaven and on earth, we approach you at the dawn of a new year, carrying fresh hopes alongside enduring fears, new resolutions mingled with past disputes, and fledgling dreams weighed down by familiar frailties. Your nature as a God of hope assures us of the endless possibilities the future holds. Your endless love reassures us of your grace for our past errors. In faith, we step through your gates with hearts full of gratitude and voices raised in joyful celebration, ready to serve and honor you in this new chapter.

Now let us pray together the prayer Jesus taught us to pray:

All: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, the power, —and glory forever. Amen.

[Scripture Lesson]

The Old Testament reading is from 2nd Kings chapter 23 verse 3

2 Kings 23:3 The king took his place of authority beside the pillar and renewed the covenant in the Lord’s presence. He pledged to obey the Lord by keeping all his commands, laws, and decrees with all his heart and soul. In this way, he Page of 1 7 confirmed all the terms of the covenant that were written in the scroll, and all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.

The New Testament reading is from 1st Peter chapter 1 verse 2, and verses 13 through 22.

1 Peter 1:2, 13-22 NLT God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace.

So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. 14 So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires.

You didn’t know any better then. 15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

18 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. 19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. 20 God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.

21 Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory. 22 You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters.[d] Love each other deeply with all your heart.

——

Early Christians formulated the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed as accurate expressions of faith.

The Creeds are statements of Christian faith and express the beliefs of the greatest number of Christians, in the most places, throughout the most time of Church history.

We believe our Christian faith is revealed in Scripture and rightly summarized in the ancient ecumenical creeds.

So, would you stand with me as we say The Nicene Creed together to our God:

[Nicene Creed from AD 381]

All:

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,

Maker of heaven and earth,

of all that is seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father;

Page of 2 7

God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God;

begotten not made, one in being with the Father.

Through Him all things were made.

For us men and for our salvation He came down from heaven.

By the power of the Holy Spirit He was born of the Virgin Mary and became man.

For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate.

He suffered, died, and was buried.

On the third day He rose again, in fulfillment of the Scriptures.

He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,

and His kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

With the Father and the Son He is worshipped and glorified.

He has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.

Amen.

[be seated]

[The Proclamation]

Dearly loved brothers and sisters, the Christian life is a life found in Christ, redeemed from sin, and consecrated to God.

We are those who have entered into this life and have been admitted into the new covenant of Jesus Christ. He is the Mediator of this covenant. He sealed it with His own blood so it would last forever.

On one side of this covenant stands God, who promises to give us new life in Jesus Christ, the author and perfector of our faith.

Every day God proves His goodness and grace to us, showing us that His promise still stands firm.

On the other side, we stand as those who promise to no longer live life for ourselves but instead to only live for Jesus Christ because He has loved us and given His life for us.

There are times in our lives when it is important for us to remember and reaffirm our beliefs and our promises. We come today to renew our covenant with God. Many generations have done this before us.

Today we make the covenant our own, renewing with both joy and sincerity the covenant that binds us all to God.

[The Confession]

Leader: Page of 3 7 We are those who seek to live as true disciples of Jesus Christ, but sometimes we fall short. Let us now examine ourselves before God, humbly confessing our sins and submitting our hearts so that we do not deceive ourselves and cut ourselves away from God.

Let us pray this prayer of Confession:

People:

Father God, You have set forth the way of life through Your Son Jesus Christ, whom You love dearly.

We confess that we have been slow to learn of Him and have been reluctant to follow Him.

You have spoken and called to us but we have not always listened.

You have revealed Your beauty to us, but we have often been blind.

You have stretched out Your hands to us through our friends, but we have, at times, passed by them.

We have accepted Your gifts and offered little thanks.

We realize we are unworthy of Your unchanging love.

Leader: We now confess to you our sins.

Please forgive us for the poverty of our worship...

for the selfishness of our prayers...

for our inconsistency and unbelief...

for the ways we neglect fellowship and Your grace...

for our hesitation to tell others about Christ....

for the ways we deceive others...

People: Forgive us for when we waste time and when we misuse the gifts you have given us.

Forgive us for when we have made excuses for the wrong things we have done and when we have purposefully avoided responsibility.

Leader: Forgive us that we have been unwilling to overcome evil with good and that we have not been ready to carry our cross.

Forgive us that we have not allowed Your love to work through us to help others and that we have not made their suffering our own.

Forgive us for those times when instead of working for unity we made it hard for others to live with us because of our lack of forgiveness, inconsiderate judgment, and quick criticism.

People: Forgive us for when we have not tried to reconcile with others and when we have been slow to seek redemption.

Leader: Forgive us also for these sins that we silently confess to you now.

[Words of Assurance and Pardon]

Leader:

God, the Father of all mercies, is faithful to cleanse us from our sins and restore us to Christ’s image.

All: Praise and glory be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen.

[The Invitation]

Leader:

As we stand together in the presence of the Lord, let us dedicate ourselves anew to Christ, embracing the role of His faithful servants.

We offer ourselves wholeheartedly to Him, for in this surrender, we truly belong to Him. Jesus Christ has entrusted us with numerous tasks. Some are simple and bring honor, while others are challenging and may seem undignified. Some align perfectly with our desires and interests, yet there are others that stand in contrast. In certain tasks, we find the joy of pleasing both Christ and ourselves, but there are also times when pleasing Christ means we must practice self-denial.

Jesus Christ, we offer You this prayer:

People: Let me be Your servant. Let me follow your commands. I will no longer follow my own desires. I give myself completely to your will.

Leader: The power and strength to live as true servants is given to us in Christ. We accept the place and work that He gives us, acknowledging that He alone will be our reward.

People:

I am not my own. I am Yours alone.

Make me into what You will. Rank me with those You will.

Put me to use for You. Put me to suffering for You.

Let me be employed for You. Let me be laid aside for You.

Let me be lifted high for You. Let me be brought low for You. Let me be full or let me be empty.

Let me have all things or let me have nothing.

With a willing heart, I freely give everything to Your pleasure and disposal.

Leader: Through Jesus Christ, God offers to be your God again, if you allow Him to be. Let us pray this covenant prayer together.

People:

Before all heaven and earth, I here and now acknowledge You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as my Lord and God.

I vow to give all of myself, body and soul, to be Your servant

and to serve You in holiness and righteousness all the days of my life.

Leader: Jesus Christ is the only way and means to God. God has given us Jesus as the way and means to salvation.

People:

You have loved me and washed me from my sins in Your own blood.

From this day forward, I shall look upon You as my Savior and Redeemer.

Glory be to You, O God the Holy Spirit.

By Your almighty power, You have turned my heart from sin to God.

From this day forward I shall look upon You as my Comforter and Guide.

O mighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you have now become my Covenant Friend.

And I, through Your infinite grace, have become Your covenant servant. You are mine and I am Yours.

So be it.

May this covenant that I have made here on earth be ratified in heaven. Amen.

[Communion - ask those who are serving to get in place, clean hands,]

Christ our Lord invites to his table all who love him,

who earnestly repent of their sin

and seek to live in peace with one another.

When the supper was over, he took the cup,

gave thanks to you, gave it to his disciples, and said:

"Drink from this, all of you;

this is my blood of the new covenant,

poured out for you and for many

for the forgiveness of sins.

Do this, as often as you drink it,

in remembrance of me."

And so,

in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,

we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving

as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us,

as we proclaim the mystery of faith.

All:

Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.

Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here,

and on these gifts of bread and wine.

Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ,

that we may be for the world the body of Christ,

redeemed by his blood.

By your Spirit make us one with Christ,

one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world,

until Christ comes in final victory

and we feast at his heavenly banquet.

Through your Son Jesus Christ,

with the Holy Spirit in your holy Church, all honor and glory is yours, almighty Father,

now and forever. Amen.

[Communion]