Download: Readings and Song Lyrics for January 4, 2026
Pre-service Song
By Faith
By faith we see the hand of God
In the light of creation’s grand design,
In the lives of those who prove His faithfulness,
Who walk by faith and not by sight.
By faith our fathers roamed the earth
With the pow’r of His promise in their hearts,
Of a holy city built by God’s own hand,
A place where peace and justice reign.
Chorus
We will stand as children of the promise;
We will fix our eyes on Him, our soul’s reward.
‘Til the race is finished and the work is done,
We’ll walk by faith and not by sight.
By faith the prophets saw a day
When the longed for Messiah would appear
With the pow’r to break the chains of sin and death
And rise triumphant from the grave.
By faith the church was called to go
In the pow’r of the Spirit to the lost,
To deliver captives and to preach good news
In ev’ry corner of the earth. (Chorus)
By faith this mountain shall be moved,
And the pow’r of the gospel shall prevail,
For we know in Christ all things are possible,
For all who call upon His name. (Chorus)
By Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend
© 2009 Getty Music Publishing; Thankyou Music Ltd
Call To Worship
We confess the supremacy of God in Christ through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Call to Worship
Isaiah 55:1-3, 6-7 (ESV)
Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
and he who has no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money
for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD,
that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Our Sung Call to Worship
God So Loved
Come all you weary, come all you thirsty.
Come to the well that never runs dry.
Drink of the water, come and thirst no more.
Come all you sinners, come find His mercy.
Come to the table, He will satisfy.
Taste of His goodness, find what you’re looking for.
For God so loved the world that He gave us
His one and only Son to save us,
Whoever believes in Him will live forever.
Bring all your failures, bring your addictions.
Come lay them down at the foot of the cross.
Jesus is waiting there with open arms.
For God so loved the world that He gave us
His one and only Son to save us,
Whoever believes in Him will live forever.
The power of hell forever defeated.
Now it is well, I’m walking in freedom.
For God so loved, God so loved the world.
Praise God, praise God
From whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him, praise Him
For the wonders of His love. (Repeat)
For God so loved the world that He gave us
His one and only Son to save,
For God so loved the world that He gave us
His one and only Son to save us,
Whoever believes in Him will live forever.
The power of hell forever defeated.
Now it is well, I’m walking in freedom.
For God so loved, God so loved the world.
Bring all your failures, bring your addictions.
Come lay them down at the foot of the cross.
Jesus is waiting.
God so loved the world.
By Ed Cash, Franni Cash, Martin Cash, Scott Cash and Andrew Bergthold
© 2019 Angie Feel Good Songs; Bay19; Capitol CMG Genesis; Capitol CMG Paragon; Scott Cash Publishing Designee; We The Kingdom Music
Confession
We confess our need for mercy through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Confession
Romans 7:18-25 (ESV)
For I know that nothing good dwells in me,
that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do
what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
For I do not do the good I want,
but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.
Now if I do what I do not want,
it is no longer I who do it,
but sin that dwells within me.
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right,
evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God,
in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and
making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in
my members.
Wretched man that I am!
Who can deliver me from this body of death?
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
Time of silent confession.
Assurance and Peace
We profess our assurance of salvation and peace in Christ through both responsive reading and song.
Remember the Gospel
Ephesians 2:4-10 (ESV)
Remember the Gospel!
God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love
with which he loved us, even when we were dead
in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.
He raised us up with him and seated us with him
in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the
coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches
of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith.
And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand,
that we should walk in them.
Our Sung Profession of Assurance
Living Hope
How great the chasm that lay between us.
How high the mountain I could not climb.
In desperation I turned to heaven
And spoke Your name into the night.
Then through the darkness Your loving-kindness
Tore through the shadows of my soul.
The work is finished, the end is written.
Jesus Christ, my living hope
Who could imagine so great a mercy?
What heart could fathom such boundless grace?
The God of ages stepped down from glory
To wear my sin and bear my shame.
The cross has spoken; I am forgiven.
The King of kings calls me His own.
Beautiful Savior, I’m Yours forever.
Jesus Christ, my living hope.
Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free!
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me!
You have broken every chain.
There’s salvation in Your name.
Jesus Christ, my living hope.
Then came the morning that sealed the promise,
Your buried body began to breathe.
Out of the silence, the Roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me. (Repeat)
Jesus, Yours is the victory!
Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free!
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me!
You have broken every chain.
There’s salvation in Your name.
Jesus Christ, my living hope. (Repeat)
Jesus Christ, my living hope.
Oh God, You are my living hope
By Phil Wickham and Brian Johnson
© 2017 Phil Wickham Music; Simply Global Songs; Sing My Songs; Bethel Music Publishing
All Glory Be to Christ
Should nothing of our efforts stand,
No legacy survive
Unless the Lord does raise the house,
In vain its builders strive.
To you who boast tomorrow’s gain,
Tell me what is your life
A mist that vanishes at dawn,
All glory be to Christ!
Chorus
All glory be to Christ our king!
All glory be to Christ!
His rule and reign we’ll ever sing,
All glory be to Christ!
His will be done, His kingdom come,
On earth as is above
Who is Himself our daily bread,
Praise Him the Lord of love.
Let living water satisfy
The thirsty without price
We’ll take a cup of kindness yet
All glory be to Christ! (Chorus)
When on the day the great I Am,
The faithful and the true
The Lamb who was for sinners slain,
Is making all things new,
Behold our God shall live with us
And be our steadfast light
And we shall e’re his people be,
All glory be to Christ! (Chorus)
Words by Dustin Kensure, Music by Kings Kaleidoscope
© 2012 We Are Younger We Are Faster Music
Thanksgiving and Petition
We Give Thanks in Prayer and Offer Petitions to God
We express our gratitude to God our Father for Christ’s work on the cross for us and bring our requests before him. In bringing our requests, we confess that we believe God truly is a good father, who cares about our needs and gives us what he knows is best.
We Give Thanks by Giving
We give financial offerings to support the work of the church because of our gratitude to God. By giving we confess we are trusting in God’s provision for us as well.
You may give electronically at gabcames.org/giving/ or place your offering in the boxes at the back of the sanctuary or send a check in the mail.
Scripture Reading
Psalm 27 (ESV)
Of David.
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers assail me
to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.
3 Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.
4 One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire in his temple.
5 For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.
6 And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the LORD.
7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
8 You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, LORD, do I seek.”
9 Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my salvation!
10 For my father and my mother
have forsaken me,
but the LORD will take me in.
11 Teach me your way, O LORD,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
12 Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they breathe out violence.
13 I believe that I shall look upon
the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living!
14 Wait for the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the LORD!
This is the word of the Lord.
The grass withers and the flower falls
but the word of the Lord endures forever.
Sermon
Psalm 27 – “Courage for the New Year” – Pastor Michael Felkins
Sermon Discipleship Questions
1. What encouraged you?
2. What convicted you?
3. Is there anything in your life that needs to change?
Sending
Having heard and confessed the Gospel, we are sent into the world on mission in Christ, which we express in both song and spoken word.
Sending Song
A Mighty Fortress is Our God
A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing.
Our helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe.
His craft and pow’r are great
And, armed with cruel hate—
On earth is not His equal.
Did we in our own strength confide
Our striving would be losing,
Were not the right Man on our side,
The Man of God’s own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He!
Lord Sabaoth, His name!
From age to age the same!
And He must win the battle!
And though this world with devils filled
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us.
The Prince of Darkness grim,
We tremble not for him!
His rage we can endure
For lo, his doom is sure—
One little word shall fell him!
That Word above all earthly pow’rs,
No thanks to them, abideth!
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
Through Him who with us sideth!
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also.
The body they may kill—
God’s truth abideth still!
His kingdom is forever!
By Martin Luther, Translation by Frederick Hedge
©Public Domain
Blessing
2 Thessalonians 3:5 (ESV)
May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God
and to the steadfastness of Christ.
Amen.
Scripture text for next Sunday: Psalm 28