Welcome

Invocation

Confession and Forgiveness:

P: When we come into the presence of God we cannot help but see our sinfulness. God does not require us to cleanse our own sin and be perfect of our own power for, surely, we could never achieve this. Instead, He tells us to come as we are and receive His great mercy.

Song: Come As You Are

Verse 1:
Come out of sadness, From wherever you’ve been
Come broken hearted, Let rescue begin
Come find your mercy, Oh sinner come kneel
Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can’t heal
Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can’t heal

Chorus:
So lay down your burdens, Lay down your shame
All who are broken, Lift up your face
Oh wanderer come home, You’re not too far
So lay down your hurt, Lay down your heart,
Come as you are

Verse 2:
There’s hope for the hopeless, and all those who’ve strayed
Come sit at the table, Come taste of the grace
There’s rest for the weary, rest that endures
Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can’t cure

Chorus:
So lay down your burdens, Lay down your shame
All who are broken, Lift up your face
Oh wanderer come home, You’re not too far
So lay down your hurt, Lay down your heart,
Come as you are

Bridge:

Come as you are. Fall in his arms. Come as you are.

 (a time of silence to reflect and personally confess our sins)

C: Heavenly Father, we confess that we have sinned against you and each other. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ and His suffering and death on the cross, please forgive us and help us to live according to Your ways. Amen

Verse 3:
There’s joy for the morning, Oh sinner be still
Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can’t heal
Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can’t heal

Chorus

P: The Lord our God is merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.  Therefore I announce unto you the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.  In His stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen.

Song of Praise and Thanksgiving – Praise to The Lord The Almighty

Verse 1:
Praise to the Lord The Almighty, the King of creation
O my soul, praise Him for He is your health and salvation
Let all who hear, Now to His temple draw near
Joining in glad adoration

Verse 2:
Praise to the Lord Who o’er all things is wondrously reigning
And as on wings of an eagle, uplifting, sustaining
have you not seen, All that is needful has been
Sent by His gracious ordaining?

Verse 5:
Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him
All that has life and breath Come now with praises before Him
Let the amen Sound from His people again Gladly forever adore Him

Old Testament Reading – Psalm 34:15-22

The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous

    and his ears toward their cry.

The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,

    to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears

    and delivers them out of all their troubles.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted

    and saves the crushed in spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,

    but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

He keeps all his bones;

    not one of them is broken.

Affliction will slay the wicked,

    and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

The Lord redeems the life of his servants;

    none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Reader: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

Epistle Reading – Hebrews 4:14-16

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Reader: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

Gospel Reading – Luke 18:1-8

And he (Jesus) told them (the disciples) a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise be to You, o Christ.

Children’s Message

Sermon Hymn – Good Good Father

Verse 1:
I’ve heard a thousand stories of what they think You’re like
But I’ve heard the tender whisper of love in the dead of night
You tell me that Your pleased and that I’m never alone

Chorus: 
You’re a good, good father.
It’s who You are, it’s who You are, it’s who You are
And I’m loved by you.
It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am

Verse 2:
I’ve seen many searching for answers far and wide
But I know we’re all searching for answers only you provide
Because You know just what we need before we say a word

Chorus

Bridge:
You are perfect in all of your ways
You are perfect in all of your ways
You are perfect in all of your ways to us

(Repeat)

Verse 3: 
Love so undeniable I can hardly speak.
Peace so unexplainable I can hardly think
As You call me deeper still, As You call me deeper still
As You call me deeper still Into love, love, love

(Chorus 2x)

Sermon – “A New Begining”

Prayers: Text in prayer requests to (813) 326-5255

Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,

And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God
the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

The 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 and the power and the glory forever and ever.  Amen

Offering

Words of Institution

Peace

P: The peace of the Lord be with you all.
C: And also, with you.
P: We greet each other in the peace of Christ.

Distribution

Prayer

Benediction

Closing Song – How Great Thou Art
O Lord my God when I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the works thy hand has made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Your power throughout the universe displayed

Chorus:
Then sings my soul, my savior God to thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art
Then sings my soul, my savior God to thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art

Verse 4:
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: “My God, how great Thou art!”

(Chorus)

Upcoming Events

Today, 1 PM, Bowling (whole church)
Pin Chasers – 6816 Gall Blvd. Zephyrhills, FL 33542

Jan 24, 7 PM, Growth Group Bible Study
Renee Martin’s Home

Jan 29, After the Service, Voter Meeting and State of the Church Address
Faith Lutheran Church

Jan 29, TBD, Confirmation
TBD

New Beginning Challenge!
We will not only learn from this series but will grow together in our New Beginning Challenge! This will be an opportunity for all of us to put into practice what we are learning each week.

Sign up for this challenge right now

Text the word “begin” to (813) 602-0694.

It will send you 2-3 text messages and 2-3 emails a week with more about the series. The goal is to help you grow deeper in your faith throughout the week!