First Presbyterian Church of Niles
Morning Worship
10:00 A.M. October 18, 2026
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(*Stand if you are able.)
PRELUDE Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring Bach
REFLECTION TEXT Psalm 99:5
Extol the LORD our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
PREPARATION FOR WORSHIP Sheep May Safely Graze Bach
CALL TO WORSHIP (Responsive)
Sing to the Lord a new song! Everyone, even the rocks and trees, sing!
Let us shout out in praise!
God does great things for us. See God’s amazing works all around us.
Great is the Lord!
Tell of God’s wonders! Share stories of God’s glory.
Let us worship the Lord!
OPENING PRAYER
*HYMN 35 Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty LOBE DEN HERREN
Praise ye the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise him, for he is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to his temple draw near; join me in glad adoration!
Praise ye the Lord, who o'er all things so wondrously reigneth,
shelters thee under his wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires e'er have been granted in what he ordaineth?
Praise ye the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before him!
Let the amen sound from his people again; gladly for aye we adore him.
CALL TO CONFESSION
PRAYER OF CONFESSION (In Unison)
Almighty God, we confess that we have not been the faithful disciples you call us to be. We have not remembered who we are. We are distracted by glittering gold. We are mesmerized by fame and fortune. We turn a blind eye to systems that perpetuate injustice. We fail to hear the cries for mercy of those who bear unfair burdens. We close our hearts and imagine empathy to be weakness. Forgive us Lord. Remind us that we are yours, citizens of the kingdom of God. Give us courage to be kingdom builders here and now, showing mercy and grace in a world in deep need. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Amen.
MOMENT OF SILENT AND PERSONAL CONFESSION
ASSURANCE OF PARDON (Responsive)
Friends, hear the good news. God loves you. Even in our imperfection, God loves us and won’t let us go. Know that you are forgiven and made new, sent forth to love and serve.
Thanks be to God!
PASSING THE PEACE
As God has forgiven us in Christ let us also forgive one another.
The peace of Christ be with you all.
And also with you.
Please share the sign of peace with one another.
The sharing of Christ’s peace.
RESPONSE 306 (V. 1) Blest Be the Tie That Binds DENNIS
Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love.
The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.
PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
FIRST SCRIPTURE READING Psalm 96: 1-9
SECOND SCRIPTURE READING Isaiah 45:1-7
MESSAGE One God Rev. Christopher Mergener
*HYMN 714 God of the Fertile Fields ITALIAN HYMN
God of the fertile fields, shaper of earth that yields our daily bread:
Forth from your bounteous hand come gifts your love has planned,
That all in every land be clothed and fed.
We would be stewards true, holding in trust from you all that you give;
Help us in love to share, teach us like you to care
For people everywhere, that all may live.
As grows the hidden seed to fruit that serves our need, so your reign grows.
Let all our toil be used, no gift of yours abused,
No humble task refused your love bestows.
God of the countryside, dear to the Christ who died to make us one:
We pledge our lives anew in faithful love to you.
Guide all we say and do. Your will be done.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH (from the Confession of 1967)
The life, death, resurrection, and promised coming of Jesus Christ has set the pattern for the church’s mission. His human life involves the church in the common life of all people. His service to men and women commits the church to work for every form of human well-being. His suffering makes the church sensitive to all human suffering so that it sees the face of Christ in the faces of persons in every kind of need. His crucifixion discloses to the church God’s judgment on the inhumanity that marks human relations, and the awful consequences of the church’s own complicity in injustice. In the power of the risen Christ and the hope of his coming, the church sees the promise of God’s renewal of human life in society and of God’s victory over all wrong. The church follows this pattern in the form of its life and in the method of its action. So to live and serve is to confess Christ as Lord. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
CALL FOR THE OFFERING
Offertory Meditation Massenet
*DOXOLOGY 606 Praise God, From Whom All Blessings Flow OLD 100th
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise God, all creatures here below;
Praise God above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION
PREPARATION FOR PRAYERS
465 (Vs. 1) What a Friend We Have in Jesus CONVERSE
What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in Prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit; O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE (Responsive)
Lord in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
THE LORD’S PRAYER (Unison)
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 Let There Be Peace on Earth LET THERE BE PEACE
Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me;
Let there be peace on earth, the peace that was meant to be.
With God our creator, children all are we.
Let us walk with each other in perfect harmony.
Let peace begin with me; let this be the moment now.
With every step I take, let this be my solemn vow:
To take each moment and live each moment in peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.
*CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE The Heavens Are Telling Haydn
All music is reproduced under permission from ccli.com License #11146543.
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