PreparationOrgan
Introit: Elder, deacon and priest
Choir: The joy brings us to this House where the Word happens to us. God calls over us His Name and awakes us in the song.
A: Reveal than here Thou Face, thy Name that goes with us.
and sanctify us here with light, thou council preconceived.
Facts and welcome – ending with: we will sing psalm 98:1
All rise.
Introit psalm: 98:1
Sing a new song for God the Lord, for miracles He worketh.
We see Him triumph gloriously with His right hand stretched out.
Sing for the Lord, He revealed freeing Salvation and binding justice
for all peoples on earth. He does what He promised.
We are gathered here in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost.
Amen
Moment of Silence
Our help is in the Name of the Lord
Who made heaven and earth
The Lord will be with you.
The Lord will keep you.
All sit.
We bow humbly for God and pray:
We beg of you: God forgive us all our sins
and let us live in peace again.
Amen
God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.
Let us call to God for mercy with this world, for His kindness is without limits.
And let us praise His Name!
Oh praise the Lord my soul, Him who retuned to us
the lovely light and miracles before His face.
Miracles that with one chord make us hear their origin that is
the all-containing Word, Jesus, Heavens first born.
Service of the Word
In our song we pray the Holy Spirit to assist us, when we open the Bible.
Fill us with a new understanding of the Word in which you speak, and reach us Self the Bread thou breakest as provisions for life.
Let us pray: Lord, who holds our days and nights in thou hand, please, count them as sanctified by Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
The old Testament: Jesaja 66: 18 and 19
It is the last book of Jesaja, who tells the people they have done wrong, and a new turn in history is to be expected…
The Lord says via Jesaja:
18 I know their thoughts and their deeds. I am coming to gather the people of all the nations. When they come together, they will see what my power can do 19 and will know that I am the one who punishes them.
“But I will spare some of them and send them to the nations and the distant lands that have not heard of my fame or seen my greatness and power: to Spain, Libya and Lydia, with its skilled archers, and to Tubal and Greece. Among these nations they will proclaim my greatness.
The psalmist says: I will always praise the Lord; let all his creatures praise his holy name forever. (psalm 145:21) Halleluja
Epistel: Romans 8: 31 – 39
31 In view of all this, what can we say? If God is for us, who can be against us?
32 Certainly not God, who did not even keep back his own Son, but offered him for us all! He gave us his Son—will he not also freely give us all things?
33 Who will accuse God's chosen people? God himself declares them not guilty!
34 Who, then, will condemn them? Not Christ Jesus, who died, or rather, who was raised to life and is at the right side of God, pleading with him for us!
35 Who, then, can separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble do it, or hardship or persecution or hunger or poverty or danger or death?
36 As the scripture says,
“For your sake we are in danger of death at all times;
we are treated like sheep that are going to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us!
38 For I am certain that nothing can separate us from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future,
39 neither the world above nor the world below—there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Let us sing His praises with all creation:
Praise to the Holiest in the height, and in the depth be praise;
in all his words most wonderful, most sure in all his ways!
All rise to hear the Gospel:
Johannes 14: 21 – 24
This is a part from the last discussions with His disciples of our Lord before He was taken prisoner and tortured. He has told them about the Heavenly Home with room(s) for everybody, and about the Holy Spirit, Who will come and comfort them… Then He says:
21 “Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. My Father will love those who love me; I too will love them and reveal myself to them.”
22 Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “Lord, how can it be that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and my Father and I will come to them and live with them. 24 Those who do not love me do not obey my teaching. And the teaching you have heard is not mine, but comes from the Father, who sent me.
All: Lord, You have words of life eternal. We say thanks unto You.
All sit
We sing a song of Martin Luther: 146:1, 3, 6
This is the day that God us gave,
and every Christian is aware,
yes, celebrate what will arise
in the universe by Jesus Christ.
O God, salvation of our soul,
a man of flesh and blood becamest,
our brother werest, and now we are
Gods well beloved children too.
Hail You that came in Gods good Name!
We Christian people jointly bless
You, prince of peace, desire of old,
You, our Salvation, God and man!
Sermon:
Mercy and Peace tot you from God our Father and from Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Dear friends, brother, sister,
It is such a privilege to be together here, at Years end, at the evening of the years last day, at the evening maybe even of our life, and sing about light and future, life in love and about starting anew in respect to Christmas, to sing about the Coming of the Lord as King of kings, King all mankind, visible for all.
Jesaja’s vision mentions it as Gods deepest wish for this world.
He does not want to be knows as a minority-God, but He wants all peoples to come to Him, to see His glory, to hear His fame, to have His Majesty told to them.
And some of the people get this order from God. People that are spared the demolition Gods people had coming for their choice nót to serve God.
We know little or nothing about missionary work in old times, but we do see that with the coming into this world of our Lord Jesus Christ this vision becomes reality.
For after His death and His conquering death as the last foe, the disciples go into the world with a message, a new message, that Gods love is meant for the whole earth, for all mankind, yeah, we may all come to live in the Home with the many mansions, we may all be part of that Kingdom of God, if we wish to.
The disciples tell us that it is visible here and now, in the deeds of love we do. In our gracious acts unto one another. For a better world begins here, in our own lives, in Gods powerful assistance.
That is what they came to tell us.
And we may think: Easier said than done.
Don’t be mistaken: it was not easy for them either. The world at that time was not waiting for another new religion at all. God’s new children were being persecuted from all sided. First by the Government. They say a subversive movement in them. A movement that rejected the Emperors authority in favor of the authority of that new God, that pretended to be creator of Heaven and earth, and king of all peoples and cultures. Even a king who was mentioned with the same Greek word kurioj (Lord) as the Emperor himself.
God’s new converts were persecuted by the majority of the original People of God as well. They felt insulted by those newcomers, even when they had no other ambition than to be grafted as a tiny sprig into the ancient tree, to be fed from the same roots. Jesaja mentions this sprig already...
Well, that is why the church in Rome needs the encouragement in this letter so much. Everybody is up against them.
But yet, if God is with us, who cán be against us? God Himself has His Son, His future put at stake in order to save us, so one can count on it that He will not pull out half ways. With the coming of Jesus in this world, a new era has started. And everywhere people gather to sing Gods praise, to honor and to serve Him, to say thanks to Him as we do tonight, there is His Kingdom visible in this world. A light is shining for all to see.
Because nothing can separate us from the love of Christ for all people that love Him. That’s what it is all about.
That is why a service on New Year’s Eve is more than an opportunity to look back in gratitude, though that is meet and good, but it is in the first place an opportunity to begin the oncoming year with fresh courage
We find that courage when we look at that future ahead of us with Gods eyes. Loving eyes.
Sermons end?
Not yet…
When my husband, not here alas, he is ill at home, looked at tonight’s liturgy he said: Those readings are contradicting each other. Jesus makes Himself known unto the disciples but not to the world? That is not what Jesaja says.
But then, as usual, one has to read twice, before understanding what exactly is written there.
Only then we perceive Judas’ misconception.
Jesus does nót make a distinction between inner world and outer world, but between those who really love God and who are His opponents.
It is not a distinction between Christian and Pagan, Jew and Greek, Lutheran and RC, but he makes the distinction between people that love God, and include His Son, and people that don’t wish to do so.
That is a choice of their own.
Actually it is not Jesus Who divides a world in pro and contra, but He perceives a world that is divided in itself.
He sees it with a bleeding heart, this darkest night of all times ever.
This last night of human existence as it was.
That is why He goes for His suffering and death willingly. That is His choice.
He chooses for us. For people of good will, for peace and for a new earth and new Heavens. Self-effacing totally.
He gives Himself fully in love.
And that is what He expects of us. Those are His orders He left us.
He asks for a self-effacing love, that seeks not its self.
He taxes us to the limit.
It demands of us that we do away with our pride, and our better judgment, (as we see it). It demands that we, like Jesus, are prepared to accept that things will not work out the way we want them to go, and it demands that we will not react saying: in that case I pull out!. On the contrary, we are required to participate all the more, and make the best of it. Like Jesus. In humble service to God and each other. That is what it means to love God in deed.
My mother would quote to me: everybody should deem the other worthier than herself, when she found reason to. To be prepared to step down was another favorite. She was right. That is how it works.
I keep working on it. Sometimes I thing there is advancement, all too often I fail.
But still I am convinced that nothing, not even my own nature, can separate me from the love of Christ. And that goes for everybody of us. For you as well!
When we – in our very own way – embody that love of Christ in our own life, then our love is a fact, a fact God can use. Then He Himself is there, then He is under our skin, and lives in us.
He lives in our midst, as a church, in our heart, our life, as persons with responsibilities.
If we enter the new year in that way, it is suddenly full of new possibilities.
My husbands first wife Beppie, whose bodily condition was full of restrictions, but whose spiritual life was blooming, would say at New Year’s Eve: I am longing to get to know the special people we shall meet this year…
This open way of living was her choice.
And I hope and wish for you that you may enter the New Year with that expecting view. Dying to carry Gods love out to everybody you will meet, in order to open new possibilities for everybody around you. To show and make known Gods love, carried by Gods love, by Gods Spirit, that wishes to live inside us.
As to me: this evening is beyond expectation, for every one of you is very special. It is, as I mentioned, a privilege to share this moment with you.
And together we can do a lot. Together we can show the world Gods majesty, and tell them about His great love for mankind. For us all.
All this will be possible in the coming Year of our Lord and Savior 2008.
Amen.
Organ
Song of answer: 146:8
This is the day that God us gave,
and every Christian is aware,
yes, celebrate what is and will stand
in the universe by Jesus Christ.
Service of Prayers and Offerings
Creed sung
Gathering of the offerings
The world is wide and Gods goodheartedness is great.
From our part we may help and share,
now in the offertory, later otherwise,
we can dó things!
We say thanks:
Dear God, You give yourself to us.
We offer you our own life.
Accept it, the way you accept our money,
so that it may be of service to you
in the Spirit of Jesus – Whom we follow.
Amen.
Prayers:
Dear God, we say thanks to you for your merci and grace unto us in the past year, which made it possible for us to be here tonight, and sing Your praise, spread Your good fame, and to learn from U, and to grow in love.
For all those not here, by or against their wish, those we miss so much, we pray that you bless them. So we sing: Lord have mercy.
Dear God, for many people this is an evening of joy and celebration.
Be with those who are in tears and pain.
So we sing: Lord have mercy.
Lord, because of the Light You brought us at Chrismas, we pray:
Stay with us, when darkness comes and night is falling.
Stay with us and with all Your church,
at the evening of the day,
at the evening of our life,
at the evening of our world.
Stay with us with Your grace and goodness
with Your consolation and Your blessing,
with Your Word and Sacrament.
Stay with us with when overwhelm us
the night of trial and anxiety,
the night of doubt and temptation,
the night of the harsh and bitter death.
Stay with us in life and in our dying moment,
in time and eternity.
Silent prayer
Our Father.
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, and the power, and the glory, for ever.
All rise
Special NewYearEve song. Traditional.
Hours, days, months , years fly away like a shadow does.
Alas, down here we find nothing lasting, wherever we look.
No step on the way we go will last.
All present will be past, Gods future beckons us.
Sending and Blessing.
P. We wish each other singing alternatively:
May all ways you’re your feet will tread,
be always safe and sure and straight.
G. May wind and rain, may sun and moon
bless you, wherever you may want to go.
V. May God the Lord wherever goes your path
in His kindness free you from evil and wrath.
G. May we all see each other again here in our days,
or on yonder side again always.
So may bless us God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.
