First Presbyterian Church
Order of Worship

Link to our livestream worship page.

Sunday Worship
November 16, 2025 - 10 a.m. EST

Prelude - Gravitas! (Michael Glasgow)
Festivo Bells

Ringing of the Church Bell

Invitation to Worship - Iona Community
Wallace W. Bubar

One: Welcome to this holy place —

All: House of prayer for many people, home to all who come.

One: Welcome to this gathering place —

All: Friend and stranger, saint and sinner, all are welcome here.

One: Come with hope or hesitation, come with joy or yearning —

All: All of us here are a part of God’s family.

Hymn 687 - Our God, Our Help in Ages Past

Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home:

Beneath the shadow of thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received its frame,
From everlasting thou art God,
To endless years the same.

A thousand ages in thy sight
Are like an evening gone,
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.

Time, like an ever rolling stream,
Bears all our years away;
They fly forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.

Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be thou our guard while life shall last,
And our eternal home.

Prayer of the Day [unison]

Radiant God, even the darkness is not dark to you. Shine in our darkness, light of our lives.When we walk in the gray gloom of confusion, when pain drains all the color out of life,when we are paralyzed by the darkness of fear, shine in our darkness.When we know that others are walking in the darkness, give us courage to be light for them;through Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Amen.

Gloria Patri 581 - Glory Be to the Father

Glory be to the Father,
And to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning,
Is now, and ever shall be,
World without end. Amen, amen.

Welcome and Announcements

Sacrament of Baptism - Jacob Palmer
Presentation, Kathy Craig

Affirmation of Faith - The Apostles’ Creed [unison]

I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day, he rose again. He ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father. And he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Thanksgiving Over the Water

Baptism

Presentation of Baptismal Symbols

Welcome [unison]

Jacob, in Jesus we are all one family. We promise to love, encourage, and support you, to share the good news of the Gospel with you, and to walk alongside you as you find your own path on this journey of faith in Christ. Welcome!

Sharing the Peace

Old Testament Reading - Isaiah 12:1-6
Carolyn Hamstead, liturgist

Anthem - I Will Be a Child of Peace (Elaine Hagenberg)
Illuminati
Jordan Saul, director
Matthew Downing, piano

Word with Children
Kristin Ream

New Testament Reading - Luke 21:5-19

Sermon - “An Opportunity to Testify”

Anthem - Let There Be Peace on Earth (Craig Courtney)

Prayers of the People

One: Lord, hear us.

All: Lord, graciously hear us.

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.

Offering

Offertory - Just As I Am (arr. Joel Raney)

Pledge or 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.

Prayer of Dedication

Hymn 772 - Live into Hope

Live into hope of captives freed,
Of sight regained, the end of greed.
The oppressed shall be the first to see
The year of God’s own jubilee!

Live into hope the blind shall see
With insight and with clarity,
Removing shades of pride and fear —
A vision of our God brought near.

Live into hope of liberty,
The right to speak the right to be,
The right to have one’s daily bread,
To hear God’s word and thus be fed.

Live into hope of captives freed
From chains of fear or want or greed.
God now proclaims our full release
To faith and hope and joy and peace.

Benediction

Choral Benediction - By Our Love (Christy Nockels)

Postlude - Our God, Our Help in Ages Past (arr. Edwin Childs)
Philip Everingham

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