First Presbyterian Church of Weedsport
November 8, 2026
Rev. Brian Copeland
Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost
CHIMES (Preparing ourselves for worship.)
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Liturgist
PRELUDE
OPENING SENTENCES (Responsive) Liturgist
The Lord is coming. Whom will you serve? As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.
What has God done for you? Wondrous works. Unforgettable deeds. Strength in the wilderness; paths of liberation!
Say more. We’ll never stop telling our story. The next generation will hear it. Children not yet born will know it.
Hope in God, whose story will never end. Forever we will praise our faithful helper and deliverer!
HYMN #430 Come Sing, O Church, In Joy
PRAYER OF THE DAY Liturgist
Faithful One, you are near; assure us. In our joy and in our need, help us to seek you, for we know that we will find peace and gladness with you. Today and always, we say again and again, “God is great!” Amen.
CONFESSION AND PARDON (Responsive) Liturgist
Our God is a God of glorious deeds, of works. Our hope is in God. But we do not always keep God’s commandments. Let us confess our sins before our merciful and mighty God.
Everlasting God, we say we want to see you, we say we want to know you, we say we want to serve you, but we also do not want to put in the work. We do not want to prepare for your coming by working for your kin-dom on this earth. We do not keep alert for signs of you among us, so we schedule you in for an hour or so on Sundays.
Forgive us. Inspire us to put our faith to action. Surprise us with your presence so we might learn to always be ready for you to arrive.
SILENT PRAYERS OF CONFESSION MAY BE OFFERED
All who seek God will rejoice and be glad. We proclaim that God is great because of this good news: we are forgiven! Be at peace.
SPECIAL MUSIC
CHILDREN’S TIME (If there are children present.) Children may go to Sunday School after Children’s Time.)
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION (Unison) Liturgist
Sovereign God, let your Word rule in our hearts and your Spirit govern our lives until at last we see the fulfillment of your realm of justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
FIRST SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 78:1-7 Liturgist
1 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3 things that we have heard and known,
that our ancestors have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.
5 He established a decree in Jacob,
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach to their children;
6 that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and rise up and tell them to their children,
7 so that they should set their hope in God,
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments.
SECOND SCRIPTURE READING: Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 Rev. Brian Copeland
1Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. 2And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors — Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor — lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods. 3aThen I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many.
14“Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
16Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; 17for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; 18and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God.”
19But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. 20If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good.” 21And the people said to Joshua, “No, we will serve the LORD!” 22Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” 24The people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and him we will obey.” 25So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
SERMON Rev. Brian Copeland
HYMN (Insert) I have Decided to Follow Jesus
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH Adapted from the Confession of 1967, 9.32–33
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.
JOYS AND CONCERNS
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSI9ON AND THE LORD’S PRAYER (Hymnal p.16 Traditional)
Our shepherd satisfies our needs; in faith, let us pray to the Lord. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
INVTATION TO THE OFFERING (Offering plates are not passed. Offering plates are on the front and back tables.)
DOXOLOGY (Hymn #592)
PRAYER OF DEDICATION (Unison)
God of the harvest, you are continually planting the seeds of your love in our world and in our lives. As we bring our gifts to you, may they be seeds of your grace, peace, and hope, planted deeply in our community. Amen.
HYMN #369 I’m Gonna Live So God Can Use Me
BLESSING AND CHARGE
POSTLUDE
*LARGE PRINT BULLETINS ARE AVAILABLE. Please ask the greeter.
Reminders:
Nov. 8 – Session and committee meetings following worship
Nov. 15 – Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes returned
Dec. 13 – Session and committee meetings following worship
Dec. 24 – Christmas Eve worship, 7 p.m.
Go in peace to love the Lord your God with heart and soul and mind and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself.
