Dear friends,
This Sunday the Rev. Linda Faith Chalk will be leading us in worship.
Our Gospel lesson this week is taken from Matthew 25: 1-13, “The Parable of the Ten Virgins”. This parable highlights the importance of preparedness for the unknown, often associated with the Second Coming of Christ. Ten virgins await the bridegroom, five wise with extra oil and five foolish without. When the bridegroom arrives (a symbolical representation of Christ), the wise virgins enter the wedding feast, while the foolish ones, lacking oil, are left outside. This parable prompts believers to always stay vigilant and alert. At the end of the parable, the five wise virgins are welcomed by the bridegroom and enter into the great marriage feast.
J.C. Ryle in his exposition on Matthew writes, “The door shall be shut at last — shut on all pain and sorrow, shut on an ill-natured and wicked world, shut on a tempting devil, shut on all doubts and fears, shut, to be opened again no more. Surely, we may again say, this is a blessed prospect.”
Order of Service
Prelude
Welcome
Call to Worship
Hymn 411: “Stand up and bless the Lord”
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace
The Lord’s Prayer
Children’s Time
Hymn 655: “Give me oil in my lamp”
Responsive Reading: Psalm 70
Gloria Patri
Amos 5: 18-26 (en français BFC – English on the screen)
1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18
Matthew 25: 1-13
Sermon: “Wait…how hard is it to wait?”
Confession of Faith – The Apostles’ Creed
Hymn: “Be still for the presence of the Lord” (vs 3 en français)
Offering and Offertory
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn 420: “Je louerai l’eternal” (vs 1 en français)
Benediction
Go now in peace
Postlude