Dear Friends,
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE NEW YEAR 2012
One of the Psalms. suggested for the start of a new year is Psalm 111. I
urge you to take your own Bible and read Psalm 111 in its entirety.
Think of it as praise and thanksgiving to God for His acts of
deliverance, providing and righteousness. Consider it as a look backward
to that which God has done among His people and as a forward look
toward God continuing to fulfill His promise made to the faithful.
Our praise and thanksgiving reflect our recognition of all that God has
given to us and are expressed amid our congregation. I think the idea is
that one after another the gathered faithful proclaim God's gifts to
them and the praise and thanksgiving swell into worship directed to the
faithful and generous God we have. We cannot help ourselves in adding
our voices and expressions of honor and joy.
As we begin our new year we do it in anticipation of many opportunities
to gather together in worship, prayer, song and communion together with
fellow Christians who experience things similar to our own reality.
Called to faith in Christ by God's grace, baptized for the forgiveness
of sins and generously provided for in God's abundance we share our
mutual thanksgiving
Beginning and ending in the presence of God our lives shine forth in
serving God and one another as well as our various communities. The
beauty of creation and the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ continue to
motivate us in our praise and thanksgiving, worship and honor to God.
The year past was certainly a year blessed by God and the year upcoming
promises the continual grace of God in Christ among us with the
showering of His faithfulness. Let us look for the blessings of God
among us and respond in rightful thanks and praise.
May our proclamation with the Psalmist be:
Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who
delight in them. Full of splendor and majesty is His work, and His
righteousness endures forever.
He has caused His wondrous works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and merciful.
Psalm 111: 1-4.
In thanks for God's past blessing and in anticipation of His graciousness in this new year,
Pastor Steve