Hymn # 400 Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Call to Worship – Psalm 100
100 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5 For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
Hymn # 610 At Thy Feet, Our God and Father (to tune of #269)
Words of Assurance: 2 Corinthians 5:17-18
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
Hymn # 495 Fill Thou My Life, O Lord My God
Scripture: Psalm 139:1-17
139 O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Sermon: God Knows Every Day Before it Happens
Sermon Notes:
Some people come into the new year with hope, and others come with uncertainty. Neither come knowing what the year will hold for them and others.
And so we consider Psalm 139.
We don't know but God does. He knows exactly what will happen in our church, our community, our country and our world. He knows it full well. God knows us so very very well.
David is so aware that God knows us full well...our actions, our thoughts, our words.
Some are distressed by this. Others find comfort in this.
The reason to be distressed is the sin that resides within.
But for the Christian this should not cause distress because God still loves us and calls us to him. He has already dealt with our sinfulness and rebellion. Nothing we do will surprise God. His knowledge of us is deep.
Consider this also. There is no where we can go that God is not there. God is everywhere and can see it all. From hell to heaven, God is there. Our trust in God gives us hope since regardless what is going on, God's hand holds me tight.
So as I walk through the new year God is with me.
God knew me before I was born, and he is the one who put me together. This is the God who minds my steps. This is the God who knows me full well. He knows all my days already. He is never surprised.
Realize that God knows you so well, and he loves us regardless. He holds us close and minds all our steps.
So live your life in the awareness of this.
Enter this new year remembering that God knows what is best.
Live in the trust and comfort of this and be faithful to him.
Hymn # 26 Our God, Our Help in Ages Past
Hymn # 319 - 2 Thanks we Give and Adoration