December 31, 2021 Watchnight

Pastor: David Range

December 31, 2021

We are back in the sanctuary and you are invited to join us!

The Twitter icon is back on the restored miramarumc.org website

We give God thanks for this opportunity to worship together in-person in our sanctuary as well as online. Please wear your mask and greet each with a wave, an elbow or fist bump. Please maintain social distance and sit at either end or the middle of the pew. In the pews we ask you to sit, in every other pew, spaced out as best you can. Seats are also available in the foyer and the fellowship hall if needed. Both have been set up with screens for the PowerPoint presentation and live video stream from the pulpit. We will continue to live stream the services on Twitter and YouTube for those who would like to continue to participate from home.

The offering will be received in the baskets at the three entry points of the sanctuary. No bulletins will be handed out, everything you need will be on the screens. No need to call or email ahead for a place to worship, you are invited to the sanctuary any time for in-person worship. Come as you are!

Remember there are two ways you can watch our services. One is on youtube.com by typing in the search bar: Miramar UMC and then you should see the service live streamed. If you subscribe to our service through youtube.com you can set up reminders for the day before or 15 minutes before, whatever you like.

The other way to “gather” in virtual worship is through the Twitter service available by going to our www.MiramarUMC.org website. Pass around the information so that others may join in worship by clicking on the Twitter bird icon on the home page. We will continue our 8:30 and 11:00 a.m. services (except when we have a fifth Sunday of the month 10:00 a.m. service.) If you lose the service for a few seconds do not worry it will probably come back, but if it is longer than a few seconds you might try clicking the refresh button in your browser window.

Please email your prayer requests for uplifting on Sundays by sending them to miramarpastor@gmail.com. It is best if you send them by Saturday NOON if possible.

Our prayer meeting is online on Sundays at 7:30 p.m. and you may contact Marvia Aitken or Vinessa Edwards mamaness@bellsouth.net for the link.

This week, Monday through Thursday there will be someone in the church office from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. each day, and you may make an appointment to see the pastor at these or other times. Please remember to enter from the south entrance near the Pastor’s office. No other doors will be open for church business. The preschool is open but you should still come in by the south entrance because the north entrance from the parking lot must be dedicated for the little children of the preschool. Please let friends with preschool aged children know that they can enroll the children in our preschool.

WAYS to give:

1. Online giving is available through our website www.MiramarUMC.org. On the home page the ‘Donate’ icon (a hand with a dollar sign above it) is located at the top left corner and on the right under “Contact Us” you will see the same icon along with “Donate Online.” Click on either location for instructions. If you need help call the church office at 954-989-4711. Thanks to all who have signed up for this. The regular tithes and offerings of the church are a great source of blessing.

2. You can also mail a check to Miramar United Methodist Church. If you have your offering envelopes you will see that the address of the church is printed for mailing purposes and your offering can be mailed in this envelope when you apply a stamp. You may also use a regular envelope and address it to: MUMC, 2507 Utopia Drive, Miramar FL 33023.

Just put your check inside, mark which funds you would like to support, put a stamp on and let the United States Postal Service do the rest! Or bring it by after the Sunday services, someone will be in the church for one hour after the worship finishes as well as Mon-Thurs 1-5 pm. We trust God will keep us strong.

3. Also, we have the option of giving by text! Use 833-931-1791 to GivePlusText and when you text any amount, by putting that number in the message, you will be prompted to register, then fill out the details of your name, address and means of payment, and the contribution will go in! If you enter an email address you will get an immediate receipt. It is easy! If you have an Apple phone you may also get Vanco’s GivePlusMobile by downloading the app from the App Store. You may also look up YouTube videos to show how all this is done.

Thank you for your prayers! Grace and peace, Pastor David

Miramar United Methodist Church
in the heart of Miramar, a place for gathering, healing, and sending out friends, helping to create a sense of family to find new life in Christ
Part of the United Methodist family where we make disciples for the
Transformation of the world.

Celebrating 61 years!

December 31, 2021

Watchnight Service
                 11:00 p.m. 
                 

CALL TO WORSHIP     

*Praise and Worship 

Rejoice in the Lord Always
Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice.
Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice.
Rejoice, rejoice…and again I say rejoice, Rejoice, rejoice…and again I say rejoice.

Reach Out And Touch The Lord
Reach out and touch the Lord as He passes by
You’ll find He’s not too busy to hear your heart’s cry
He’s passing by this moment your needs to supply
Reach out and touch the Lord as He passes by.

We are Standing on Holy Ground
We are standing on Holy ground
And I know that there are angels all around
Let us praise…Jesus now
We are standing in His presence on Holy ground

Sweet, Sweet Spirit
There’s a sweet, sweet spirit in this place
And I know that it’s the spirit of the Lord
There are sweet expressions on each face
And I know that it’s the presence of the Lord.

Sweet Holy Spirit, sweet Heavenly Dove
Stay right here with us, filling us with Your love
And for these blessings we lift our hearts in praise
Without a doubt we’ll know that we have been revived
When we shall leave this place. 

There are blessings you cannot receive
Till you know Him in His fullness and believe
You’re the one to profit when you say
I am going to walk with Jesus all the way.

Sweet Holy Spirit, sweet Heavenly Dove
Stay right here with us, filling us with Your love
And for these blessings we lift our hearts in praise
Without a doubt we’ll know that we have been revived
When we shall leave this place.

Congregational Prayer of Confession and Assurance of Pardon MHB 890 

Most merciful God, 
we confess that we have sinned against you 
in thought, word, and deed, 
by what we have done, 
and by what we have left undone. 
We have not loved you with our whole heart; 
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. 
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. 
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, 
have mercy on us and forgive us; 
that we may delight in your will, 
and walk in your ways, 
to the glory of your name. Amen.

(All pray in silence)
 

Almighty God have mercy on you, 
forgive all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, 
strengthen you in all goodness, 
and by the power of the Holy Spirit 
keep you in eternal life. Amen

*Hymn 117 O God Our Help in Ages Past 

1 O God, our help in ages past, 
our hope for years to come, 
our shelter from the stormy blast, 
and our eternal home!

2 Under the shadow of thy throne 
Still may we dwell secure. 
Sufficient is thine arm alone, 
and our defense is sure.

3 Before the hills in order stood, or earth received her frame,
from everlasting thou art God, to endless years the same.

4 A thousand ages in thy sight are like an evening gone, 
short as the watch that ends the night before the rising sun.

5 Time, like an ever-rolling stream, bears all who breathe away;
They fly forgotten, as a dream dies at the opening day.

6 O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
be thou our guide while life shall last, and our eternal home.

WORDS: Isaac Watts, 1719 MUSIC: Attr. to William Croft, 1708; harm. by W. H. Monk, 1861 

Welcome 

Please stand for the gospel according to Luke 2:41-52

Children’s Time 
 
*Hymn
Standing at the Portal        

1 Standing at the portal of the coming year,
Words of comfort meet us, hushing every fear,
Spoken through the silence by our Father’s voice,
Tender, strong and faithful, making us rejoice.   
Onward, then, and fear not, Children of the day!
For His word shall never, never pass away!

2 I, the Lord, am with thee, be thou not afraid! 
I will help and strengthen, be thou not dismayed! 
Yea, I will uphold thee with My own right hand;
Thou art called and chosen in My sight to stand.   
Onward, then, and fear not, Children of the day!
For His word shall never, never pass away!

3 For the year before us, O what rich supplies!
For the poor and needy, living streams shall rise;
For the sad and sinful shall, His grace abound,
For the faint and feeble perfect strength be found.   
Onward, then, and fear not, children of the day!
For His word shall never, never pass away!

4 He will never fail us, He will not forsake;
His eternal covenant, He will never break!
Resting on His promise, what have we to fear?
God is all-sufficient for the coming year.      
Onward, then, and fear not, children of the day!
For His word shall never, never pass away!

WORDS: Frances Ridley Havergal, 1873. Pub¬lished in Un¬der the Sur¬face, 1874, & Life Chords, 1880. MUSIC: St. Al¬ban (Haydn) Franz J. Hay¬dn, 1775 

Reception of Tithes and Offerings

Doxology

Prayer Hymn 690 The Day Thou Gavest Lord is Ended

1 The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended; the darkness falls at thy behest;
To thee our morning hymns ascended; thy praise shall hallow now our rest.

2 We thank thee that thy church, unsleeping 
while earth rolls onward into light,
through all the world her watch is keeping, 
and rests not now by day or night.

3 As o’er each continent and island the dawn leads on another day,
the voice of prayer is never silent, nor die the strains of praise away.

4 So be it, Lord; thy throne shall never,
like earth’s proud empires, pass away.
Thy kingdom stands and grows forever, till all thy creatures own thy sway.

WORDS: John Ellerton, 1870 MUSC: Clement Cottevill Scholefield, 1874 

Pastoral Prayer and Lord’s Prayer 

Hymn 102 Now Thank We All Our God

1 Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
who wondrous things has done, in whom this world rejoices;
who from our mothers' arms has blessed us on our way
with countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

2 O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
with ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us,
and keep us still in grace, and guide us when perplexed,
and free us from all ills in this world and the next.

3 All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given,
the Son, and him who reigns with them in highest heaven
the one eternal God, whom earth and heaven adore;
for thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore. 

WORDS: Martin Rinkart, 1663; tran. by Catherine Winkworth, 1858 MUSIC: Johan Cruger, 1647; harm. by Felix Mendelsohn, 1840 

Sermon         Making a good start on the new year            Pastor David Range 

*Hymn of Commitment 374 Standing on the Promises

1 Standing on the promises of Christ, my King,
Through eternal ages let his praises ring;
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.
Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God, my Savior;
Standing, standing, I'm standing on the promises of God.

2 Standing on the promises that cannot fail.
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
by the living Word of God I shall prevail,
standing on the promises of God.
Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God, my Savior;
Standing, standing, I'm standing on the promises of God.

3 Standing on the promises of Christ, the Lord,
bound to him eternally by love's strong cord,
overcoming daily with the Spirit's sword,
standing on the promises of God.
Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God, my Savior;
Standing, standing, I'm standing on the promises of God.

4 Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
listening every moment to the Spirit's call,
resting in my Savior as my all in all,
standing on the promises of God. 
Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God, my Savior;
Standing, standing, I'm standing on the promises of God.

WORDS: R. Kelso Carter, 1886 MUSIC: R. Kelso Carter, 1886

Hymns that may be sung if we have time before we sing “We shall overcome”

Hymn 98 To God Be the Glory 

1 To God be the glory, great things he hath done!
so loved he the world that he gave us his Son,
who yielded his life an atonement for sin,
and opened the lifegate that all may go in.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear his voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
and give him the glory, great things he hath done!

2 Oh, perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
to every believer the promise of God.
The vilest offender who truly believes,
that moment from Jesus a pardon receives. 
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear his voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
and give him the glory, great things he hath done.

3 Great things he hath taught us, great things he hath done,
and great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son,
but purer, and higher, and greater will be
our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear his voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
and give him the glory, great things he hath done.

WORDS: Fanny J. Crosbie, 1875 MUSIC: William H. Doanne, 1875 

Hymn 73 O Worship the King 

1 O worship the King all-glorious above,
O gratefully sing God’s power and God’s love:
our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,
pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.

2 O tell of God’s might, O sing of God’s grace,
whose robe is the light, whose canopy space,
Whose chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,
and dark is God’s path on the wings of the storm.

3 The earth with its store of wonders untold,
Almighty, thy power hath founded of old;
Hath stablished it fast by a changeless decree,
And round it hath cast, like a mantle , the sea.

4 Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
it streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
and sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.

5 Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
in thee do we trust, nor find thee to fail.
Thy mercies, how tender, how firm to the end,
our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend!

WORDS: Robert Grant, 1833 MUSIC: Attr. To Johann Michael Haydn; arr. By William Gardiner, 1815

Hymn 61 Come Thou Almighty King 

1 Come, thou Almighty King, help us thy name to sing,
help us to praise! Father, all glorious,
o'er all victorious, come and reign over us,
Ancient of Days!

2 Come, thou incarnate Word, gird on thy mighty sword,
Our prayer attend! Come and thy people bless,
And give thy word success; Spirit of holiness,
On us descend!

3 Come, Holy Comforter, thy sacred witness bear
in this glad hour. Thou who almighty art,
now rule in every heart, and ne'er from us depart,
Spirit of power!

4 To thee, great One in Three, eternal praises be,
hence, evermore. Thy sovereign majesty
may we in glory see, and to eternity
love and adore!

WORDS: Anon. MUSIC: Felice de Giardini, 1769 

Hymn 64 Holy, Holy, Holy! 

1 Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty!
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!

2 Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

3 Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,
though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
perfect in pow’r, in love, and purity.

4 Holy, holy, holy! Lord God almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth, and sky, and sea.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty!
God in three persons, blessed trinity!

WORDS: Reginald Heber, 1826 MUSIC: John B. Dykes, 1861 

*Hymn of Sending Forth 533 We Shall Overcome

1 We shall overcome, we shall overcome, we shall overcome someday!
Oh, deep in my heart I do believe, we shall overcome someday!

2 We’ll walk hand in hand, we’ll walk hand in hand 
We’ll walk hand in hand some day!
Oh, deep in my heart I do believe, we shall overcome someday!

3 We shall all be free, we shall all be free, we shall all be free some day!
Oh, deep in my heart I do believe, we shall overcome someday!

4 We shall live in peace, we shall live in peace, 
We shall live in peace some day!
Oh, deep in my heart I do believe, we shall overcome someday!

5 The Lord will see us through, the Lord will see us through
The Lord will see us through some day!
Oh, deep in my heart I do believe, we shall overcome someday!

Words: Afro-American spiritual MUSIC: Afro-America spiritual; adapt. By William Farley Smith, 1986 

Benediction and Postlude (please hold your hands up to heaven)  

+All music under ccli #24249