Order of Worship  12-7-2025

Call to Worship         Psalm 149:1-2

Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly! Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!

Invocation and The Lord’s Prayer

Hymn of Praise   “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus”      #124

Scripture Reading    Isaiah 53 

Corporate Confession of Sin

We confess, our Father, that we do not live up to the family name.
We are more ready to resent than to forgive,
more ready to manipulate than to serve,
more ready to fear than to love,
more ready to keep our distance than to welcome,
more ready to compete than to help.
At the root of this behavior is mistrust.
We do not love one another as we should,
because we do not believe that you love us as you do.
Forgive us our cold unbelief.
And make more vivid to us the meaning and depth of your love at the cross.
Show us what it cost you to give up your Son
that we might become your sons and daughters.
We ask this in the name of Jesus our righteousness.
Amen. 

Assurance of Pardon           Psalm 68:19-20

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Our God is a God of salvation, and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.

Hymn of Assurance “It Came upon the Midnight Clear” #128

Confession of Faith             Heidelberg Catechism Question 1

 What is your only comfort in life and death?

That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore, by His Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him.

Pastoral Prayer        

Choral Anthem          “A Star, A Sign, A Song”

Presentation of Tithes and Offerings

The Preaching of God’s Word

“What Child Is This: Savior”   Matthew 1:18-25 

Hymn of Preparation   “Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed?” (1-3) #208 

The Lord’s Supper 

Hymn of Response  “Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed?” (4-5) #208 

Benediction   Hebrews 13:20-21

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.