First Presbyterian Church
Order of Worship

Link to our livestream worship page.

Sunday Worship
September 7, 2025 - 10 a.m. EDT

Prelude - Lac qui Parle (arr. Mark Sedio)

Ringing of the Church Bell

Invitation to Worship - Iona Community
Wallace Bubar

One: The sun rises and it is light, night falls and it is dark.

All: Bless the One who gives us life.

One: Sow the seed and harvest the corn, cast the net and gather the fish.

All: Bless the One who gives us life.

One: Lay the stone and light the fire, Pour the wine and break the bread.

All: Bless the One who gives us life.

Hymn 611 - Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee

Joyful, joyful, we adore thee,
God of glory, Lord of love!
Hearts unfold like flowers before thee,
opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
drive the dark of doubt away.
Giver of immortal gladness,
fill us with the light of day.

All thy works with joy surround thee;
earth and heaven reflect thy rays;
stars and angels sing around thee,
center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
flowery meadow, flashing sea,
chanting bird and flowing fountain,
call us to rejoice in thee.

Mortals, join the happy chorus
which the morning stars began.
Love divine is reigning o’er us,
joining all in heaven’s plan.
Ever singing, march we onward,
victors in the midst of strife.
Joyful music leads us sunward
in the triumph song of life.

Prayer of the Day [unison]

Mighty God, to you belong the mysteries of the universe. You transform the smallest seeds into magnificent trees, so that the birds of the air make nests in their branches. Take our smidgens of faith, our sprigs of hope, our bits of love, and help us to grow into the people you would have us to be; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Canticle 390 - Praise, Praise, Praise the Lord!
Sung first by the Chancel Choir, then by the congregation

Praise, praise, praise the Lord!
Praise God’s holy name. Alleluia!
Praise, praise, praise the Lord!
Praise God’s holy name. Alleluia!

Praise God’s holy name. Alleluia!
Praise God’s holy name. Alleluia!
Praise God’s holy name. Alleluia!
Praise God’s holy name. Alleluia!

Sharing the Peace

Welcome and Announcements

Old Testament Reading - Ezekiel 17:22-24
Jenni Whitford, liturgist

Anthem - Devotion (John Ness Beck)
Chancel Choir

Word with Children and Blessing of Jenni Whitford
Kristin Ream

New Testament Reading - Luke 13:18-224

Sermon - “From a Mustard Seed”

Hymn 19 - God of Great and God of Small

God of great and God of small
God of one and God of all
God of weak and God of strong
God to whom all things belong
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Praise be to Your name.

God of land and sky and sea
God of life and destiny
God of never-ending power
Yet beside me every hour
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Praise be to Your name.

God of silence, God of sound
God by whom the lost are found
God of day and darkest night
God whose love turns wrong to right
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Praise be to Your name.

God of heaven and God of earth
God of death and God of birth
God of now and days before
God who reigns forevermore
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Praise be to Your name.

Prayers of the People

One: Lord, hear us.

All: Lord, graciously hear us.

Offering

Offertory - Prelude (J.S. Bach)

Give online at granpres.org/give

Doxology 606 - Praise God, from Whom All Blessing Flow

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Sacrament of Communion

Eucharistic Prayer

One: The Lord be with you.

All: And also with you.

One: Lift up your hearts.

All: We lift them up to the Lord.

One: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

All: It is right to give our thanks and praise.

The Lord’s Prayer [unison]

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 debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

Invitation to the Table

Sharing of Communion

Hymn 531 - Seed, Scattered and Sown
Verses sung by the Chancel Choir
Refrain by the Congregation

Seed, scattered and sown,
Wheat, gathered and grown,
Bread, broken and shared as one,
The Living bread of God.
Vine, fruit of the land,
Wine, work of our hands,
One cup that is shared by all;
The Living Cup,
The Living Bread of God.

Prayer After Communion

Hymn 37 - Let All Things Now Living

Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving
To God our Creator triumphantly raise,
Who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us,
By guiding us on to the end of our days.
His banners us on to the end of our days.
God’s banners are o’er us; pure light goes before us.
A pillar of fire shining forth in the night,
’Til shadows have vanished all fearfulness banished,
As forward we travel from light into light.

By law God enforces, the stars in their courses,
The sun in its orbit, obediently shine;
The hills and the mountains, the rivers and fountains,
The deeps of the ocean proclaim God divine,
We too should be voicing our love and rejoicing,
With glad adoration a song let us raise,
’Til all things now living unite in thanksgiving
To God in the highest, hosanna and praise!

Benediction

Postlude - Darwall’s 148th (arr. Charles Callahan)
Philip Everingham

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