Adapted from Nehemiah 9:6-15

Pastor: You are the LORD, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.  You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham. You found his heart faithful before you and made with him the covenant to give to his offspring the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite. And you have kept your promise, for you are righteous.

And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea, and performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for you knew that they acted arrogantly against our fathers. And you made a name for yourself, as it is to this day. And you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land, and you cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into mighty waters.

By a pillar of cloud you led them in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night to light for them the way in which they should go. You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments, and you made known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant. You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and you told them to go in to possess the land that you had sworn to give them.

Submitted by Dustin Ray

Adapted from Jeremiah 31:7-13 

Leader: Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the foremost of the nations.

People: Make your praises heard, and say, ‘Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel.’

Leader: See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor; a great throng will return.

People: They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back.

I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble,

Leader:  “Hear the word of the Lord, you nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands:

‘He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’

People: For the Lord will deliver Jacob and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they.

Leader: They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord.They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more.

People: Then young women will dance and be glad, young men and old as well.

I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.

Adapted From Psalm 98 

Leader: O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things.

People: His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.

Leader: The Lord has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.

People: He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel.

Leader: All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.

All: Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises.

Scott Bullock

Adapted from Psalm 124:8

“Our help is in the name of the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.”

What did God do to help us?

God chose the people of Israel to make a new beginning.

They received God’s covenant and prepared the way

for Jesus to come as our Savior.

Let us worship the God of the covenant, the God of heaven and earth.

Adapted from Luke 1:44b-55, the Magnificat

Come, let us magnify the Lord, let us rejoice in God, our Savior. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of humble state.

He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his offspring forever.

Let us magnify the Lord. 

Scott Bullock