THE SERVICE
Prelude
Welcome and Prayer
Hymn: "Hours and Days and Years and Ages" Feith
The Lord Is My Rock
Scripture Reading: Psalm 62
Meditation
The service centered on the theme of the Rock. In the first meditation, I reflected on how the past year people experienced unrest, uncertainty, and unsettledness. After illustrating this point (in relation to church, nation, world, and our personal lives), I asked rhetorically: "Is anything sure anymore?" That led me to emphasize that God is our Rock, the most often used metaphor of God in the book of Psalms. God is our Rock of support, of refuge, of provision, of salvation.
Family Choir: "God Is Like a Rock"
[Natalie Sleeth]
Our music director invited any interested members of the church (young and old, parents and children—a "family choir") to meet about 40 minutes prior to the service to rehearse the anthem.
Hymns (by congregation):
"Built on the Rock" Grundtvig
"God Is My Rock" Espinosa
"How I Love You, Lord, My God" Parry
(Psalm 18)
"If You But Trust in God to Guide You" Neumark
Solo: "Rock of Ages" Toplady
[tune by James Waid]
Stones That Speak
Meditation
In this second meditation, I made the point that in the Old Testament, rocks or stones (either one large rock or a pile of them) were often used to remind the people of some great act that God had done for them. I told two stories. The first, from Joshua 4, described how, after crossing the Jordan, twelve tribal leaders erected a memorial of twelve stones to convey to future generations God's might and faithfulness. The second story, from 1 Samuel 1, was about Samuel erecting a stone (which he called "Ebenezer") to remind the people of how God had granted them deliverance in the day of battle
Testimony Time
After the meditation, I invited members of the church to share briefly how they had experienced God as a rock during the past year. Many people testified to God's strength in their lives.
Building the Rock "Memorial" (Ebenezer)
Prior to the service a member of the church had placed large stones on the steps at the front of the sanctuary. When the testimony time concluded, the congregation was invited to come forward, take a rock, and together we built a memorial to God's faithfulness and help "Ebenezer: God has helped us." If your congregation does this, you may want to think strategically about where you want that remembrance to be placed and have it remain there for several weeks.
Hymn: "O God, Our Help in Ages Past" Croft
Prayer
Offering
Offertory
Parting Blessing
Hymn: "Be Still, My Soul" Schlegel
Postlude
This service was held at Seymour Christian Reformed Church on December 31,1991, and was submitted by Henry Admiraal, pastor of Westend Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan. • The hymns in this service were selected from the most recent editions of the following hymnals: The Presbyterian Hymnal (PH), Psalter Hymnal (PsH), Rejoice in the Lord (RL), the Trinity Hymnal (TH), and the United Methodist Hymnal (UMH).
