First Presbyterian Church
Order of Worship

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Sunday Worship
November 30, 2025 - 10 a.m. EST

Prelude - Creator of the Stars of Night (arr. Richard Warner)

Ringing of the Church Bell

Invitation to Worship - A Sanctified Art
Wallace W. Bubar

One: Hope is gravity for the broken —

All: Pulling us up.

One: Hope is manna in the wilderness —

All: When we want to give up.

One: Hope is seeing stars in the city —

All: When we forget the sky is there.

One: Hope is the anthem of faith —

All: And the reason we’re here.

One: So come to this place with your hopes and your fears —

All: For the God of new life is drawing near.

Hymn 82 - Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

Come, thou long-expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us;
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.

Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a king,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal Spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all-sufficient merit
raise us to thy glorious throne.

Lighting of the First Advent Candle
Meenach Family

Litany - A Sanctified Art

One: I will wait for coffee to brew.

All: I will wait for traffic to clear.

One: I will wait for fruit to ripen.

All: I will wait for flowers to grow.

One: I will wait for seasons to change.

All: I will wait for the sun to rise.

One: I will wait for you to say sorry.

All: I will wait for the doctor to call.

One: I will wait for the weekend to arrive.

All: I will wait for my baby’s first words.

One: I will wait for Christmas to arrive.

All: I will wait for a lot of things, but I will not wait for hope.

One: I cannot wait for hope, because I want to live with hope — today and every day.

All: I want to roll up my sleeves and get to work — living, serving, giving, and transforming with the hope of a better day.

One: So today we light the candle of hope as a reminder and as a prayer that we might stop waiting and start living, stop watching and start moving.

All: May the light of this candle burn inside us this week — inspiring hope and action for God’s promised day. Amen.

Canticle 91 - Come, Come, Emmanuel

Come, come Emmanuel.
Come, Emmanuel.
Come, come Emmanuel.
Come, Emmanuel.

Sharing the Peace

Welcome and Announcements

Epistle Reading - Romans 13:11-14
Judy McNeish, liturgist

Anthem - Walk in the Light (André Thomas)
Chancel Choir

Word with Children
Kristin Ream

Gospel Reading - Matthew 24:36-44

Sermon - “You Don’t Want to Miss This”

Hymn 144 - In the Bleak Midwinter

In the bleak midwinter,
frosty wind made moan;
earth stood hard as iron,
water like a stone;
snow had fallen,
snow on snow, snow on snow,
in the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, heaven cannot hold him,
nor earth sustain;
heaven and earth shall flee away
when he comes to reign:
in the bleak midwinter
a stable place sufficed
the Lord God incarnate, Jesus Christ

Angels and archangels
may have gathered there;
cherubim and seraphim
thronged the air;
but his mother only,
in her maiden bliss,
worshiped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give him,
poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd,
I would bring a lamb;
if I were a wise man,
I would do my part;
yet what I can I give him: give my heart.

Welcome of New Members
Gabriele Albrecht, Lena Bubar, and Sophie Bubar

Congregational Welcome [unison]

With joy and thanksgiving, we welcome you, for we are all one in Christ. We promise to love, encourage, and support you, to share the good news of the Gospel with you, and to walk alongside you in your journey of faith. Join with us at the table of God’s kingdom, and proclaim with us the good news of Christ for all the world.

Prayers of the People

One: God of faithfulness:

All: Hear our prayer.

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 - Sussex Carol (arr. Matt Hyzer)
Linda Habig, flute

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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 107 - Awake, Awake, and Greet the New Morn

Awake! Awake and greet the new morn,
for angels herald its dawning.
sing out your joy, for Jesus is born,
behold! the Child of our longing.
Come as a baby weak and poor,
to bring all hearts together,
to open wide the heavenly door,
and lives now inside us forever.

To us, to all in sorrow and fear,
Emmanuel comes a-singing,
whose humble song is quiet and near,
yet fills the earth with its ringing.
Music to heal the broken soul
and hymns of loving kindness,
the thunder of the anthems roll
to shatter all hate and injustice.

In deepest night Christ’s coming shall be,
when all the world is despairing,
as morning light so quiet and free,
so warm and gentle and caring.
One without voice breaks forth in song,
a lame one leaps in wonder,
the weak are raised above the strong,
and weapons are broken asunder.

Rejoice, rejoice, take heart in the night,
though cold the winter and cheerless,
the rising sun shall crown you with light,
be strong and loving and fearless;
Love be our song and love our prayer,
and love, our endless story,
may God fill every day we share,
and bring us at last into glory.

Benediction

Postlude - Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying (arr. John Ferguson)
Philip Everingham

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