Advent Season | Friday 28 Nov 2025
- Advent Season marks the beginning of a new church year.
- Our readings will be taken from the Revised Common Lectionary Year A.
- We will be using the New Living Translation (NLT) which is easy to read and accurately communicates the meaning of the original text.
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Opening prayer:
Heavenly Father, you sent your beloved Son
to redeem us from sin and death,
and to make us heirs in him of everlasting life;
that when he shall come again
in power and great glory to judge the world,
we may without shame or fear rejoice to behold his appearing.
“Anyone who wants to come to him
must believe that God exists
and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”
(Hebrews 11:1-6b)
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From the Psalms: Psalm 122 | Poor Bishop Hooper
i was glad when they said to me
let us go to the house of the lord
our feet have been standing within your gates
o jerusalem o jerusalem
built as a city should be jerusalem
bound together firmly jerusalem
where the tribes go up to praise
there the thrones of judgment set
the thrones of the house of david
jerusalem
peace peace peace be within your walls
pray for the peace peace peace of jerusalem
i will say peace peace peace be within your walls
pray for the peace peace peace of jerusalem
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OT Reading: Genesis 6:1-10 (NLT)
A World Gone Wrong
6:1 Then the people began to multiply on the earth, and daughters were born to them. The sons of God saw the beautiful women and took any they wanted as their wives. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years.”
6:4 In those days, and for some time after, giant Nephilites lived on the earth, for whenever the sons of God had intercourse with women, they gave birth to children who became the heroes and famous warriors of ancient times.
6:5 The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.” But Noah found favor with the Lord.
The Story of Noah
6:9 This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God. Noah was the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
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Jesus, God’s righteousness revealed | WMTV Music
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NT Reading: Hebrews 11:1-7 (NLT)
Great Examples of Faith
11:1 Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.
11:3 By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.
11:4 It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.
11:5 It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—“he disappeared, because God took him.” For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
11:7 It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith.
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By Faith | Keith & Kristyn Getty
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Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
O God, without whose beauty and goodness our souls are unfed, without whose truth our reason withers: Consecrate our lives to your will, giving us such purity of heart, such depth of faith, and such steadfastness of purpose, that in time we may come to think your own thoughts after you; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
Almighty God, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem: Protect your people from the machinations of the evil one; and grant Israel’s leaders your heavenly wisdom, and the courage to do what’s right in your sight. Unite all your people around the common goal of restoration and peace, that they might return to you – the one true God – through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch
May Christ, who has opened the kingdom of heaven,
bring us to reign with him in glory.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
1:1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.
22:12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The Peanut Gallery 