Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
We have come to the end of another year. We give thanks to God for the gracious manner in which He deals with us each day. We give thanks to God for the rich blessings which He has bestowed on our churches. We give thanks to God for the forgiveness of sins which He has given to us. Our churches, Zion and Trinity, have been granted another year to serve the Lord by proclaiming His Word and salvation to Lyman County. As we head into the year 2015 we ask God to continue to richly bless us with His gifts to sustian our churches and help them to reach all those who do not or have not heard the forgiving Word of God. We ask God to continue to keep us in His Word so we may never turn to any other source to find our comfort and hope. Finally, we ask God to grant to us a steadfastness to proclaiming His Word no matter what the world would think of it.
As we begin this new year we hear the words of King David in Psalm 8:
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
King David reminds us who is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Reminds us we are not the ones who rule this creation but it is God who does. With in this creation God is the one who was made to be a little lower then the heavenly being of the purpose of coming and redeeming this fallen creation. From this act of redeemtion God forms His church. God gathers us together by the Gospel so we can continue to be strengthened by His Word daily. This truth is proclaimed even by the little children who come and receive the gift of forgiveness for their sins. As we face the new year we do so knowing we are included in the family of God through our baptism and know our God is the Creator of heaven and the earths and has all authority in heaven and on earth (Mt. 28:18). We take comfort in knowing God loves and cares for us as we head into the new year.
We pray the Lord’s richest blessing on all for the new year.
The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.