Pastor: David Range
Miramar United Methodist Church
Order of Worship
Watch Night
December 31, 2023 11:00 p.m. service
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
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 ccli #242496
WELCOME
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Church Office will be closed Monday (New Year’s Day) and on Tuesday. It reopens Wednesday and Thursday
THURSDAY: Food Distribution at 8:00 a.m., Choir at 7:00 p.m.
NEXT SUNDAY we will be celebrating our covenant with God for the New Year as we share in John Wesley’s service at the 8:30 and 11 a.m. services. If you are worshiping online please prepare the communion elements.
The Miramar United Methodist Church invites you to join us every Sunday for worship at 8:30 or 11:00 a.m. and whenever there is a fifth Sunday of the month we have one joint at 10”00 a.m. We also worship at 10:00 a.m. for the Easter Cantata, Multi-cultural Sunday, Pastor Appreciation service, and the Christmas Cantata. We have Sunday night prayer meeting at 7:30 on Zoom and Wednesday night Bible study on Zoom at 7:00 p.m. You are invited to join the United Women in Faith or the United Methodist Men, the Youth Group for those in middle or high school, or the Children’s Club for those in elementary school or younger. Our pre school serves children 2 to 5 years of age and is open from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday to Friday. Choirs meets for practice on Thursday nights and sings at the 11:00 a.m. service. You can find a place to belong in the Miramar UMC!
RESPONSIVE READING 743 (Psalm 8)
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Your glory is chanted above the heavens.
by the mouth of babes and infants:
you have set up a defense against your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars which you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
and mortals that you care for them?
Yet you have made them little less than God,
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet,
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen. Amen.
SCRIPTURE: Galatians 3:26-29
Please stand for the gospel according to Luke 10:17-24
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 ccli #242496
RECEPTION OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
DOXOLOGY
Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
praise him all creatures here below,
praise him above, ye heavenly hosts,
praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen
SHARING OF JOYS, CONCERNS AND TESTIMONIES FOR THE YEAR
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 ccli #242496
PASTORAL PRAYER AND LORD’S PRAYER
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 the glory,
For ever and ever. Amen.
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 ccli #242496
SERMON Begin with the end in mind 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 ccli #242496
*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)
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 church 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.
The Office will be closed Monday (New Year’s Day) and on Tuesday. It reopens Wednesday and Thursday
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
