Service for November 23, 2025

Click here to listen to entire service

Prelude

Call to Worship

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

Psalm 136:1

Hymn # 715 Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

1 Come, ye thankful people, come,

raise the song of harvest home:

all is safely gathered in,

ere the winter storms begin;

God, our Maker, doth provide

for our wants to be supplied:

come to God's own temple, come,

raise the song of harvest home.

2 All the world is God's own field,

fruit unto his praise to yield;

wheat and tares together sown,

unto joy or sorrow grown:

first the blade, and then the ear,

then the full corn shall appear:

Lord of harvest, grant that we

wholesome grain and pure may be.

3 For the Lord our God shall come,

and shall take his harvest home;

from his field shall in that day

all offenses purge away;

give his angels charge at last

in the fire the tares to cast,

but the fruitful ears to store

in his garner evermore.

4 Even so, Lord, quickly come

to thy final harvest home;

gather thou thy people in,

free from sorrow, free from sin;

there forever purified,

in thy presence to abide:

come, with all thine angels, come,

raise the glorious harvest home.

Call To Confession

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For,

“Whoever would love life and see good days

must keep their tongue from evil

and their lips from deceitful speech.

They must turn from evil and do good;

they must seek peace and pursue it.

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous

and his ears are attentive to their prayer,

but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

1 Peter 3:8–12 citing Psalm 34:12-16 (NIV):

Confession of Sins

Let us pray to the Lord confessing our sin, saying together:

Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord;

may your love and faithfulness always protect me.

For troubles without number surround me;

my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.

They are more than the hairs of my head,

and my heart fails within me.

Be pleased to save me, Lord;

come quickly, Lord, to help me.

Psalm 40:11–13 (NIV)

Word of Comfort

As we are weary and burdened by our sin and our troubles, our Lord Jesus says to us:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28–30 (NIV)

Song of Renewal

Jesus! I do now receive him,

more than all in him I find;

he hath granted me forgiveness,

I am his, and he is mine.

Hallelujah! what a Savior!

Hallelujah, what a Friend!

Saving, helping, keeping, loving,

he is with me to the end.

Trinity Hymnal # 498, stanza 5

Scripture Lesson:

1 Chronicles 16:8-36

8 Oh, give thanks to the Lord!

Call upon His name;

Make known His deeds among the peoples!

9 Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;

Talk of all His wondrous works!

10 Glory in His holy name;

Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!

11 Seek the Lord and His strength;

Seek His face evermore!

12 Remember His marvelous works which He has done,

His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,

13 O seed of Israel His servant,

You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!

14 He is the Lord our God;

His judgments are in all the earth.

15 Remember His covenant forever,

The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations,

16 The covenant which He made with Abraham,

And His oath to Isaac,

17 And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute,

To Israel for an everlasting covenant,

18 Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan

As the allotment of your inheritance,”

19 When you were few in number,

Indeed very few, and strangers in it.

20 When they went from one nation to another,

And from one kingdom to another people,

21 He permitted no man to do them wrong;

Yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes,

22 Saying, “Do not touch My anointed ones,

And do My prophets no harm.”

23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth;

Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

24 Declare His glory among the nations,

His wonders among all peoples.

25 For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised;

He is also to be feared above all gods.

26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,

But the Lord made the heavens.

27 Honor and majesty are before Him;

Strength and gladness are in His place.

28 Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples,

Give to the Lord glory and strength.

29 Give to the Lord the glory due His name;

Bring an offering, and come before Him.

Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!

30 Tremble before Him, all the earth.

The world also is firmly established,

It shall not be moved.

31 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;

And let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”

32 Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;

Let the field rejoice, and all that is in it.

33 Then the trees of the woods shall rejoice before the Lord,

For He is coming to judge the earth.

34 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

35 And say, “Save us, O God of our salvation;

Gather us together, and deliver us from the Gentiles,

To give thanks to Your holy name,

To triumph in Your praise.”

36 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel

From everlasting to everlasting!

And all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.

Sermon

Hymn # 125 Let All Things Now Living

1 Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving

to God the Creator triumphantly raise;

who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us,

who guides us and leads to the end of our days,

His banners are o'er us, his light goes before us,

a pillar of fire shining forth in the night,

‘till shadows have vanished and darkness is banished,

as forward we travel from light into light.

2 His law he enforces: the stars in their courses,

the sun in its orbit obediently shine;

The hills and the mountains, the rivers and fountains,

the deeps of the ocean proclaim him divine.

We too, should be voicing our love and rejoicing,

with glad adoration, a song let us raise,

‘till all things now living unite in thanksgiving

to God in the highest, hosanna and praise!

Prayer of the Church and 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 # 635 How Good It Is to Thank the Lord

1 How good it is to thank the Lord,

and praise to you, Most High, accord,

to show your love with morning light,

and tell your faithfulness each night;

yea, good it is your praise to sing,

and all our sweetest music bring.

2 O Lord, with joy my heart expands

before the wonders of your hands;

great works, Jehovah, you have wrought,

exceeding deep your ev'ry thought;

a foolish man knows not their worth,

nor he whose mind is of the earth.

3 When as the grass the wicked grow,

when sinners flourish here below,

then is there endless ruin nigh,

but you, O Lord, are throned on high;

your foes shall fall before your might,

the wicked shall be put to flight.

4 The righteous man shall flourish well,

and in the house of God shall dwell;

he shall be like a goodly tree,

and all his life shall fruitful be;

for righteous is the Lord and just,

he is my rock, in him I trust.

Benediction