St Paul’s
Evangelical Lutheran Church
313 4th Street, Manistee, MI 49660
www.StPaulsManistee.com
facebook.com/SPLCManistee
Pastor Dennis Himm (810) 252-5821
December 31, 2023 New Year’s Eve May the holy LORD God bless your worship as you trust him in the coming New Year. WELCOME
CALL TO WORSHIP
P: God, our Father, each day is a gift of your grace.
C: Your mercies are new every morning.
P: Guide our steps by the light of your Word.
C: Shield us from harm and keep us from evil.
P: Better than life is your love.
C: Put joy in our hearts and praise on our lips. Alleluia!
HYMN 64 “Let Us All with Gladsome Voice”
CONFESSION OF SINS
P: Dearly loved by the Lord: With faithful and trusting hearts, let us confess our sins to God our Father and ask him to forgive us.
C: Lord God, to you I make confession. I have sinned and gone astray. Again and again this year I have chosen my own path instead of your holy way. With my thoughts – with my words – with my actions, I have brought dishonor on your holy name and upon myself. But in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, and for his sake, I flee to you for mercy. Hear my cry and answer me according to your unending compassion.
ABSOLUTION
P: God, our heavenly Father has had mercy on us and has given His one and only Son to die for us. For His sake he forgives us all our sins. Through his Holy Spirit he gives us faith to become his children and heirs of eternal life. This is God's faithful promise. Therefore, in the name of Jesus Christ, and by his authority, I forgive you all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
GLORY BE TO GOD
P: Glory be to God on high and peace to His people on earth.
Glory be to God above! Tune 63
Glory be to God the Son!
Holy Spirit, God of love,
Great Jehovah, Three in One!
Gloria in Excelsis Deo! :|:
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Let us pray….
Almighty God, you have filled us with the new light of the Word who became flesh and lived among us. Let the light of our faith shine in all that we do; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
FIRST LESSON: Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the of the wicked leads to destruction.
SECOND LESSON: James 4:13-17
13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
GOSPEL: Luke 12:13-21
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” 16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
HYMN 449 “Children of the Heavenly Father”
SERMON: 1 Corinthians 10:31
31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. In the New Year Do All For the Glory of God
THANKSGIVING FOR THE VICTORY OF FAITH
P: As the year comes to a close, we take this final opportunity to remember with thanks to God those who finished their earthly pilgrimage during this year and are now before the throne of God in heaven. Let us remember this night before God all those who rejoice with us still – but upon a more distant shore, who live in greater light than we, that multitude which no one can number, whose hope was in the Word made flesh, who died in faith, and who now live before the throne of God and praise him each day in his temple. We confess that we are united with them as we are united with one another in Christ.
C: Death has been swallowed up in victory! Thanks be to God!
P: When Christ, who is our life, appears,
C: Then we also will appear with him in glory.
P: We will be before the throne of God
C: And serve him day and night in his temple.
P: Never again will we hunger;
C: Never again will we thirst.
P: For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be our Shepherd; he will lead us to springs of living water. C: And God will wipe away every tear from our eyes.
RESPONSIVE PRAYER & HYMN 588
P: Lord Jesus Christ, as the old year comes to a close, we are reminded how swiftly all of life passes. We are strangers and pilgrims in this world; our real home is with you in heaven. Help us to keep our sights on that heavenly goal and not to become distracted by the temporary joys of this life which soon pass away. Everything else may change and decay but you, O Lord, remain the same. Therefore, we sing:
Abide with me! Fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me!
P: Lord, the struggle of this life is constant. The devil, the world and our own sinful flesh are no friends to your people. These enemies never stop trying to rob us of our faith and Christian joy. Because the danger is so real and the fight of faith so critical, be at our side every moment of the year that lies ahead. We do not want you to be only an occasional visitor in our homes, but a permanent and honored member of the family. Come with your healing touch and remove the sickness of our sins. Come, Lord Jesus! Come to stay!
Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word,
But as Thou dwellst with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free.
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.
P: Lord Jesus, you know us better than we know ourselves. You know the sins and rebellious patterns of our lives. Though you have smiled on us with your grace, we have not always appreciated it and instead have gone our own way. We have forsaken you to follow our own desires, and have gone places where we knew you would not follow. Though we have often left you, you have not left us. You have reclaimed us from the way of death, and restored us to your kingdom of life. Now, Lord, in the temptations that yet lie in the future, yes even in this coming new year, abide with your grace and equip us to overcome them all. Be our guide and stay throughout the new year that we may serve you better and more faithfully.
Thou on my head in early youth didst smile,
And though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee.
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.
P: Lord Jesus, one enemy remains to try to rob us of salvation and life. Yet, even this enemy you have defeated for us. You have destroyed the terror of death and robbed it of its victory. In you and with you, we can triumph over this “last enemy,” too. Abide with us then to the very end of our lives. Let your cross shine through the gloom of that last hour so that we can see you waiting on the other side to lead us home. When we open our eyes in heaven, then we will be free from all the trouble and danger of this earthly existence. And so we pray: “In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting?
Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still if Thou abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes,
Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!
BENEDICTION
C: Amen.
HYMN 441 (1,2,5,6) “Our God Our Help in Ages Past”
ANNOUNCEMENTS & REFRESHMENTS
All Scripture readings are from the NIV 2011. Used by permission.
OFFERING BASKET BY DOOR
The members of St Paul's have joined together to do the Lord’s work in this area and around the world. Our guests may but are not expected to participate in this offering which supports our church’s ministry.
Guests, please sign our Guest Book in the entryway.
CHANGE IN MINISTRY: Pastor Himm has accepted the part-time vacancy Call to Green Valley Lutheran Church in Henderson, Nevada (a suburb of Las Vegas). He will be serving the congregation from January 21 – April 7. Green Valley is currently calling to replace their retired pastor – a classmate of Pastor Himm. The congregation has a large Preschool and an elementary school, with grades K-4t h. Their plan is to add grade 5 next year. Pastor & Kay will be returning to Manistee in April where he will continue to serve St. Paul’s. Your prayers are appreciated.
9 am BIBLE STUDY: “I Can’t Believe that is in the Bible!”
January 7: Police Boat Crashes, Arrested Preacher Among Survivors
January 14: God Gets in Wrestling Match and Taps Out