Second Sunday of Advent
December 7 , 2025 | 10:00am
Rev. Mark Poyner, Pastor | Larry J. Carey, Director of Music
Thought for Worship
“In baptism, God claims us. At the table, God feeds us. Through both sacraments, Christ gives us the peace the world cannot give.”
GATHERING
Welcome
Prelude Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence | arr. Hayes
Call to Worship
Votum
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen
Advent Candle Reading -PEACE
We light the first candle of Hope, remembering God's promises.
We light the second candle of Peace, trusting God's presence.
God of promise, in the wilderness John cried out, "Prepare the way!" Help us to prepare our hearts to receive your peace. Through baptism you claimed us; at your table you sustain us. Make us ready for Christ's coming. Amen.
A voice cries out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight!" Every valley shall be filled, every mountain brought low. The crooked shall be made straight, the rough ways made smooth. And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
Come, let us worship the God who levels mountains and fills valleys, who makes rough places plain and brings us peace!
*Hymn of Praise Prepare the Way
Call to Confession
Brothers and sisters in Christ, the Scriptures remind us that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Trusting in God’s mercy, let us come before Him in humility and faith, and confess our sins together. Let us now join together as we read our prayer of confession in unison:
Prayer of Confession
Prayer of Confession
God of peace, we confess that we resist the leveling of our mountains. We want to stand on our achievements, our righteousness, our carefully constructed lives. We confess that we fear the filling of our valleys. We have grown comfortable with our emptiness, familiar with our despair. We confess that we prefer our crooked paths. They are ours. We know them. They feel like home.
But John cries out, "Prepare the way!" And we know we cannot prepare ourselves.
So, we come to this table hungry. Remembering our baptism. Trusting your promise.
Ready to receive your peace. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Hear the good news! In baptism, God claimed you as God's own. At this table, God feeds you with grace. In Christ Jesus, your valleys are filled, your mountains are leveled, your crooked paths are made straight. Friends, believe the gospel: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. In Jesus Christ, we have peace. Amen.
The Law of God
Hear what the Lord requires of us: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
*Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Amen.
*Commitment to Peace Keeping and Peace Seeking
One: May the peace of Christ be with you!
All: And also with you!
Share a sign of peace with one another. After sharing the peace, let us all sing together:
Together, by grace, we witness and work, remembering Jesus, in whom we grow strong. Together we serve in Spirit and truth, remembering love is the strength of our song.
We Listen to God’s Word
Anthem All Earth is Hopeful | Cherwien
Prayer for Illumination
God of peace, your word comes to us in the wilderness, calling us to prepare the way. Open our ears to hear your voice. Open our hearts to receive your truth. Open our eyes to see the sacraments as signs of your grace. By your Holy Spirit, remind us of the waters of baptism that claimed us, and prepare us for the table that sustains us. Speak to us now through Scripture, that we may know the peace that only you can give. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Second Reading: Luke 3:1-6 (John the Baptist)
*Hymn: Watchman Tell Us of the Night
Sermon: “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming | Rev. Poyner
Today’s Sermon is a combined lesson with our Sacrament of Communion included with today’s message. It is my hope that today’s message will bring additional meaning to this sacrament that we cherish in the Reformed Church of America. Please see the separate insert for the liturgy for this service. After service and fellowship Pastor Mark will visit shut-ins on Communion Sunday to give communion at home. If you know of anyone who needs communion at home, please let Pastor Mark know.
COMMUNION LITURGY
*Communion Hymn Comfort, Comfort You My People
INVITATION TO THE TABLE
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Lift up your hearts! We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Holy and right it is, and our joyful duty to give thanks to you at all times and in all places, O Lord our Creator, almighty and everlasting God! You created heaven with all its hosts and the earth with all its plenty. You have given us life and being, and preserve us by your providence. But you have shown us the fullness of your love in sending into the world your Son, Jesus Christ, the eternal Word, made flesh for us and for our salvation. For the precious gift of this mighty Savior who has reconciled us to you we praise and bless you, O God. With your whole Church on earth and with all the company of heaven we worship and adore your glorious name.
Holy God, you sent John to the wilderness to prepare your way. You sent Jesus to the Jordan to be baptized for our sake. You send your Spirit to this table to make Christ known among us. And so with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name: Most righteous God, we remember in this Supper the perfect sacrifice offered once on the cross by our Lord Jesus Christ for the sin of the whole world. In the joy of his resurrection and in expectation of his coming again, we offer ourselves to you as holy and living sacrifices. Together we proclaim the mystery of the faith:
Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again.
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!
Send your Holy Spirit upon us, we pray, that the bread which we break and the cup which we bless
may be to us the communion of the body and blood of Christ. Grant that, being joined together in him, we may attain to the unity of the faith and grow up in all things into Christ our Lord.
And as this grain has been gathered from many fields into one loaf, and these grapes from many hills into one cup, grant, O Lord, that your whole Church may soon be gathered from the ends of the earth into your kingdom. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
WORDS OF INSTITUTION
On the night he was betrayed, Jesus took bread, and after giving thanks, he broke it and said: "This is my body, broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me."
In the same way, he took the cup, saying: For as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
Prayer after Communion
God of peace, we thank you for this holy meal.
In our baptism, you claimed us.
At this table, you have fed us.
Now send us out to be bearers of your peace.
Help us to level mountains of injustice.
Help us to fill valleys of need.
Help us to straighten crooked paths of division.
May the bread we have eaten
and the cup we have shared
strengthen us to prepare
your way in the world.
Through Christ, who is our peace, and our hope. Amen.
*Affirmation of Faith (Apostles’ Creed)
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Offering Can You Hear the Christmas Bells | Raney
Blessing on the Offering ...Your kingdom may come on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus 'name we pray, Amen.
*Doxology Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise him all creatures here below;
Praise him above ye heavenly hosts; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen!
Prayer of Dedication
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession (ending with 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, the Power, and the Glory forever. Amen.
SENDING
*Hymn While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
Benediction
Postlude Angels From the Realms of Glory | Smart/Marohnie
DEAR FRIENDS
Welcome to worship here at Peapack Reformed Church! If you are visiting with us, welcome! If you are a member, welcome back! Our mission is to be a congregation called by God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and committed to being the very presence of Jesus Christ in the world. This mission is the catalyst for all that we do, and is our aim for who we want to be.
If you are visiting with us via Facebook Live and would like more information about our church, send us a message on Facebook or email office@peapackreformed.org and we will be in touch with you. Even under these odd and anxious circumstances, we would love to be your church home. Our virtual doors are always open wide and our hearts are always ready to welcome new faces into our fellowship.
FOOD PANTRY NEWS
Many thanks for all those who have shared their abundance with neighbors in need.
Our church refrigerators have plenty of space to hold even more!
Please consider making a weekly donation of eggs or milk to the P-G Food Pantry.
Peapack Reformed Church is a congregation called by God, empowered by the Holy Spirit and committed to being the very presence of Jesus Christ in the world.
CALLED • EMPOWERED • COMMITTED