November 16, 2025
Prelude
John Bodinger
Welcome & Call to Worship
[Psalm 71]
In you, O Lord, we take refuge; let us never be put to shame.
In your righteousness rescue us; incline your ear and save us.
Be to us a rock of refuge, a strong fortress, to save us.
Rescue us, O God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.
For you, O Lord, are our hope and trust, upon you we have leaned from our birth.
Let us worship the LORD!
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (Hymn 376)
Wesley/Prichard
Love divine, all loves excelling, Joy of heaven to earth come down,
Fix in us Thy humble dwelling, all Thy faithful mercies crown!
Jesus, Thou art all compassion, pure, unbounded love Thou art;
Visit us with Thy salvation, enter every trembling heart.
Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit into every troubled breast!
Let us all in Thee inherit, let us find the promised rest;
Take away the love of sinning; Alpha and Omega be;
End of faith as its beginning, set our hearts at liberty.
Come, Almighty to deliver, let us all Thy life receive;
Suddenly return, and never, nevermore Thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing, serve Thee as Thy hosts above;
Pray, and praise Thee without ceasing, glory in Thy perfect love.
Finish, then, Thy new creation; pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see Thy great salvation perfectly restored in Thee;
Changed from glory into glory, till in heaven we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before Thee, lost in wonder, love, and praise.
Confession
God our refuge, we admit to you and to each other that we have not always lived lives of love. We have been irritable, lost patience, or insisted on our own way. We have valued temporary gifts and successes more than love. Forgive us and transform us, through Jesus Christ, your love incarnate. Empty us of fear and shame, and fill us with love that is humble and patient and kind. Give us hope and endurance as we commit again to the process of loving. Amen.
Silence
Here I Am, Lord (Hymn 525)
Schutte
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if You lead me. I will hold Your people in my heart.
Forgiveness in Jesus Christ
Peace
The peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
Doxology (Hymn 592)
Ken/Genevan Psalter
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 for Illumination
Scripture Readings
Alida Gowan
Old Testament: Psalm 71:1-6
New Testament: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee (Hymn 464)
Dyke/Beethoven
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 gloom 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.
Sermon: Leading with Love
Scott Starbuck
Focus: True Christianity is growth in the life of the Spirit, a deepening of the new life, a continuous rebirth, in which the exterior and superficial life of the ego-self is discarded like an old snake skin and the mysterious, invisible self of the Spirit becomes more present and more active. The true Christian rebirth is a renewed transformation, a “Passover” in which [a person] is progressively liberated from selfishness and not only grows in love but in some sense “becomes love.” The perfection of the new birth is reached where there is no more selfishness, there is only love. –Thomas Merton
Response Solo: The Greatest of These is Love
Daniel Moe
Corliss Newman
Pastoral Prayer & 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, and deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Call to Stewardship
Ruth Seignemartin
Honor the LORD with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce.
-Proverbs 3:9
Sending: The Gift of Love (Hymn 335)
Hopson/English folk melody
Though I may speak with bravest fire, and have the gift to all inspire,
And have not love, my words are vain; as sounding brass, and hopeless gain.
Though I may give all I possess, and striving so my love profess,
But not be given by love within, the profit soon turns strangely thin.
Come, Spirit, come, our hearts control, our spirits long to be made whole.
Let inward love guide every deed; by this we worship and are freed.
Charge & Benediction
Postlude
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