Sunday’s Liturgy
October 26, 2025
Listen throughout the week, so you’re ready to sing along on Sunday!
[ Gathering ]
Call to Worship
Psalm 47
[One:] Clap your hands, all peoples!
Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
[All:] For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared,
a great king over all the earth.
He subdued peoples under us,
and nations under our feet.
He chose our heritage for us,
the pride of Jacob whom he loves.
God has gone up with a shout,
the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
For God is the King of all the earth;
sing praises with a psalm!
God reigns over the nations;
God sits on his holy throne.
The princes of the peoples gather
as the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
he is highly exalted!
Confession of Sin
Almighty God and gracious King,
this matchless love you have shown us
ought to transform our hearts after your mercy,
that we would devote ourselves wholly
to following after our Savior Jesus.
And yet often our hearts remain cold,
hardened by hurts and filled with resentment
so that we are slow to offer your mercy to others.
We are enticed by worldly security and comforts,
our values and priorities shaped by the approval of others
instead of Jesus’ call to follow him.
We confess, merciful God:
We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart.
We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry, and we humbly repent.
Deliver us, by your mercy, O Lord,
to grasp the depth of your love which frees us
from the deceitfulness of sin and selfish pride.
For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us,
that we may delight in your will
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your name.
Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Hear, child, the good news of God’s mercy:
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
(Psalm 103:8–12)
In his great love and kindness,
that our God has shown us mercy!
Our sins have been forgiven
washed away in the blood of his Son,
buried beneath the depths of the sea.
So take heart, O child!
Believe and rejoice in the grace of your merciful King!
In Christ we are forgiven!
Thanks be to God!
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Greetings of Peace
[CityKids are dismissed.]
[ Word ]
Prayer for Illumination
Reading of Scripture
Luke 9:51-62
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village.
As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Sermon
Concluding Prayer
[ Table ]
Invitation to Communion
Prayer of Consecration
Distribution of Elements
[We gather in small groups around tables throughout the room and pray together as we receive the bread and cup.]
[ Sending ]