SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY
Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost
November 16th, 2025 Ten Thirty in the morning
Pulpit Supply: The Rev. Martha J. Robson
Liturgist: Cindy Freudenthal
Please silence all cell phones.
Bold face indicates congregational participation.
Please stand, in body or spirit
THE PEOPLE ARE GATHERED IN
PRELUDE “Come, Ye Disconsolate”
PROCESSIONAL HYMN [Blue#][GTG#77] “Isaiah the Prophet”
1 Isaiah the prophet has written of old how God’s new creation shall come. Instead of the thorn tree, the fir tree shall grow;
the wolf shall lie down with the lamb.
The mountains and hills shall burst forth into song, the peoples be led forth in peace, for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of God
as the waters cover the sea.
WORDS OF WELCOME
ANNOUNCEMENTS
ADORATION
INTROIT “We Shall Overcome”
CALL TO WORSHIP Isaiah 12:2
ONE: Surely God is our salvation;
MANY: trust in the Lord and do not be afraid.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Ever-living God,
before the earth was formed and even after it shall cease to be, you are God. Break into our short span of life and show us those things that are eternal, that we may serve your purpose in all we do; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in unity with the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
REPENTANCE
CALL TO CONFESSION
SILENT CONFESSION
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Gracious and loving God, we confess that we are troubled by the events of our lives and the state of this world. Headlines are full of wars, insurrections, suffering, earthquakes, famines, and death. These things are enough to shake our faith and undermine our confidence in your promise. Lord, we believe; help our unbelief. Deliver us from speculation that distracts us from faithful living and loving service. Forgive us when we doubt your promises. Help us to endure that we may gain our souls, always bearing witness to your love and grace in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
GLORIA PATRI [Blue#579[ [GTG581]
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.
THE WORD READ AND PROCLAIMED
PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
CONGREGATIONAL ANTHEM [Blue#586] [GTG#601] “Amen”
1st SCRIPTURE Isaiah 65:17-25
2nd SCRIPTURE Luke 21:5-19
ONE: The Word of the Lord
MANY: Thanks be to God
HYMN [Blue#] [GTG#364] “Lift Up the Gates Eternal”
Refrain
Lift up the gates eternal; lift up your voices;
the King of glory comes; the nation rejoices.
1 See, all the earth is God’s, its people and nations;
God built it on the deeps and laid its foundations.
2 Who can go up this mountain, who stand in praising?
Those who are pure, who come with clean hands upraising. Refrain
3 Come, lift your voices high; be lifted to glory;
the Lord our God approaches; come, shout the story.
4 Who is this glorious one, for whom we are waiting?
We wait the mighty Lord, our God celebrating. Refrain
5 Come, lift your heads with joy; come, lift up your tower;
the King of glory comes in full might and power.
6 Who is this King of glory of whom we’re singing?
Our God, the Lord of Hosts, the victory is bringing. Refrain
SERMON “The Days of a Tree” Rev. Martha J. Robson
RESPONSE
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH Apostle’s Creed
I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
RECEIVING OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS
OFFERTORY “A New Song” by Allen Pote with Sandy Cranfill on vocals and Randy Martono-Chai on piano
DOXOLOGY [GTG#606]
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise God, all creatures here below;
Praise God above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
HYMN “Hear Our Prayer O Lord”
THE LORD’S PRAYER
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.
HYMN [Blue#] [GTG#353] “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less”
1 My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
Refrain:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand; all other ground is sinking sand.
2 When darkness seems to hide his face, I rest on his unchanging grace; in every high and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the veil. Refrain
3 His oath, his covenant, his blood support me in the whelming flood; when all around my soul gives way,
he then is all my hope and stay. Refrain
4 When he shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in him be found, dressed in his righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before the throne. Refrain
PARTING PRAYER
Active and eternal God,
You await us at the end of the day, at the end of our lives, and at the end of the world. May we ever preserve and never weary in well doing; through Jesus our Lord, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
RESPONSE [Blue#][GTG#90] “Wait for the Lord” Refrain (to be repeated)
Wait for the LORD, whose day is near.
Wait for the LORD; be strong; take heart!
POSTLUDE “ Lift Up the Gates Eternal”
*Note: the hymn lyrics in the bulletin and on the projection screen are from the Glory To God Hymnal (© 2013 Westminster John Knox Press), which we are transitioning to. Words in the “Blue” Presbyterian Hymnal (© 1990) in your pew may differ slightly. The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved.
|
STAFF |
Church Office 504.888.1375
Playschool Office 504.888.1378
Randy Martono-Chai – Organist/Pianist
Briana Mayfield – Church Office Assistant
Lauren Crisler – Playschool Director
Stephanie Galliano – Playschool Admin. Asst.
For more information, visit our website at www.JohnCalvinChurch.org
or find us @JohnCalvinMetairie on Facebook and Instagram.