First Presbyterian Church-Edenton
November 9, 2025-22nd Sunday after Pentecost
Rev. Clayton Brooks-in person
The Gathering
Tolling of the Hour
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to worship at First Presbyterian Church.
This is the day the Lord has made—let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Whether you come every week or are joining us for the first time,
we gather as one family in Christ, welcomed by God’s grace and peace.
Together, let us open our hearts to the Spirit and worship God with joy.
Announcements
Visitors, please fill out the connection card in the bulletin so we can send you a note.
* Indicates, please stand.
(Listen quietly as we enter into worship with the opening prayer and a prelude)
Opening Prayer
God of all peoples and places, you have called the world into being with songs of joy.
You speak to the heart of creation, inviting all that breathes to praise your name.
Today we join that chorus, singing not just with our voices, but with our lives.
Open our hearts to hear your call again:
to tell good news,
to bear your love beyond our walls,
to live so that others may glimpse your glory.
Through Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, we pray. Amen.
Prelude
(Please stand in body or spirit for the responsive call to worship)
*Call to Worship
Sing to the Lord a new song!
Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Declare God’s glory among the nations,
God’s marvelous works among all peoples.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised.
Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad!
The trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord.
For God is coming to make all things new!
(Please remain standing for our opening hymn number 619, Praise My Soul the God of Heaven )
*Hymn Praise My Soul the God of Heaven GTG#619
(Please be seated)
Call to Confession and Silent Prayers of Confession
God’s story is one of invitation—a love that crosses boundaries and speaks every language.
But too often we silence that story through fear, complacency, or pride.
We forget that evangelism is not about conquering, but about sharing good news that frees.
Let us confess what holds us back from proclaiming Christ’s love in word and deed.
Let us come honestly before God, first in silence, and then together using the prayer printed in your bulletin.
Prayer of Confession
Merciful God, we confess that we have not always shared your good news faithfully.
We speak when we should listen, and remain silent when we should speak.
We claim your love for ourselves but forget that it was meant for all creation.
Forgive us when our witness is timid, when our vision is narrow, when our faith is self-serving.
Give us courage to declare your glory with humility, so that others may see your grace in us. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Hear the good news:
Christ came not to condemn the world, but to save it.
The Word of grace has gone out to every land,
proclaiming forgiveness, hope, and new life.
In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!
Let us live as those made new.
Passing of the Peace
Since God has forgiven us in Christ, let us forgive one another. The passing of the peace is a sign of that forgiveness and blessing to each other. Come let us offer a sign of peace to one another.
Then, let us stand together as we sing our congregational response. The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, And also with you.
Congregational Response In My Life GTG#468 v.1,4
In my life, Lord, be glorified; be glorified.
In my life, Lord, be glorified today.
In your world, Lord, be glorified; be glorified.
In your world, Lord, be glorified today.
The Word
(You may be seated and join me as I pray)
Prayer of Illumination
Spirit of the Living God, breathe your truth into our hearing.
May your Word take root in our hearts and bear fruit in our lives:
fruit that feeds, heals, and blesses the world. Amen.
Scripture Psalm 96
Word in Music
Scripture Romans 10:5–17
Sermon “Declare God’s Glory Among the Nations!” Rev. Clayton Brooks
*Hymn Jesus Calls Us GTG #720
(Let us remain standing as we affirm our faith using the words printed in the bulletin. Together we boldy proclaim.)
Affirmation of Faith Apostles 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.
(Please be seated.)
Prayers of the People and Lord’s Prayer
Friends, when we pray, we join a great chorus that stretches far beyond these walls—
a song that has been rising since creation, where every voice, every nation, every heart is invited to lift its longing and hope to God.
So now, we add our voices to that chorus. We bring our gratitude, our worries, our dreams for the world God so loves.
Let us pray together for the people, the places, and the creation to whom God has sent us and for whom Christ still intercedes.
When the people of Israel gathered to rebuild the temple, they paused often to sing and to weep-
for what was lost and for what might yet be.
Our prayers are like that, too, a blend of gratitude and grief, trust and trembling, believing that God can hold it all.
So let us come before the One who holds the past, the present, and the future in loving hands,
and offer the prayers of God’s people.
God of all nations, you have called your church to be your voice in the world.
Help us to speak with compassion and courage—to share good news without fear, to live good news without pride.
We pray for those whose lives are filled with noise and never hear your whisper; for those whose hearts are heavy with loss or injustice; for those who carry your name in places where faith is costly.
God of mercy, make us instruments of your peace.
Send us out not to dominate, but to serve; not to boast, but to bless; not to convert, but to love.
We pray these things and continue our prayers in the name of the One who sends us still, and taught us to pray saying… Our Father…
The Sending
Offering
How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!
Our gifts, our time, our compassion: these are all ways we carry God’s message into the world.
Let us give generously, that the world may know the wideness of God’s love. us give of our tithes and offerings.
*Doxology
Prayer of Dedication
God of grace, bless these gifts and those who give them.
May they become instruments of peace, songs of hope, and signs of your presence among all nations.
Through Christ, the Living Word. Amen.
*Hymn Take My Life GTG #697 v.1-3,6
(Let us say together God’s invitation to a life of Christian discipleship)
*Charge and Blessing
Go now into the world, declaring God’s glory among the nations.
We will sing the Lord’s song in every place we go.
Proclaim the good news, not with arrogance but with love.
Our words and deeds will tell of Christ’s grace.
Let your lives be a living hymn, a melody of hope for those who long to hear.
We go with joy to bear witness to God’s love.
And as you go, may the grace of Christ guide your steps, the love of God surround your days,
and the power of the Holy Spirit give you voice and courage.
Amen!
(Please be seated. Respectful clapping is an appropriate way to end this service of worship)
Postlude