December 21 - Sanctuary Worship Bulletin
First Presbyterian Church – St. Petersburg, Florida
Order of Worship – 11 a.m. Sanctuary Service
December 21, 2025 – Fourth Sunday of Advent - Love
Rev. Robert Galloway
Prelude: “Meditation on Conditor alme siderum” (hymn 84), “Paean on Gloria” (hymn 113), David Lasky (b. 1959) - Jack Rain, organ
Welcome and Announcements (for complete list, please see below) - Rev. Robert Galloway
*Processional Hymn #104: "O Lord, How Shall I Meet You" VALET WILL ICH DIR GEBEN
Lighting of the Advent Candle of Love Based on Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 - Gonzalez family
Perfect love casts out fear.
Restore us, O God; let your face shine upon us, and we shall be blessed.
Your love for us is perfect and yet ours for you is warped by our desire for control.
Restore us, O God; let your face shine upon us, and we shall be blessed.
We believe, O Lord, forgive our unbelief.
Restore us, O God; let your face shine upon us, and we shall be blessed.
Your love is not our fire insurance, but the ground and source of our being for all our days.
Restore us, O God; let your face shine upon us, and we shall be blessed.
We do earnestly and humbly wish to love as you have first loved us, to love others and ourselves as you have first loved us.
Restore us, O God; let your face shine upon us, and we shall be blessed.
This fourth candle is a reminder that we are Advent people, trusting and responding to what is already true and hoping in what is promised to come.
Restore us, O God; let your face shine upon us, and we shall be blessed.
Hymn #88: “O Come O Come Emmanuel” vv. 1 and 7 VENI EMMANUEL
O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Desire of nations, bind all peoples in one heart and mind;
bid envy, strife, and discord cease; fill the whole world with heaven’s peace. [Refrain]
Prayer - Gonzalez family
*Passing the Peace - Gonzalez family
…The peace of Christ be with you. And also with you.
*Response #100: "My Soul Cries Out with a Joyful Shout" STAR OF THE COUNTY DOWN
Stanza 1 and refrain
My soul cries out with a joyful shout that the God of my heart is great, and my spirit sings of the wondrous things that you bring to the ones who wait. You fixed your sight on your servant’s plight, and my weakness you did not spurn, so from east to west shall my name be blest. Could the world be about to turn?
My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the fires of your justice burn. Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near, and the world is about to turn.
Time for Young Disciples - Robert Galloway
Prayer for Illumination - Ann Murray
First Scripture Reading: Isaiah 7:10-16 - Ann Murray
Sermon Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25 - Robert Galloway
…The word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
Sermon: “Obedience or Obligation?” - Robert Galloway
*Hymn #129: "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" ES IST EIN' ROS’
*Affirmation of Faith: Apostles’ Creed (unison) - Ann Murray
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
Presentation of our Gifts – Invitation and Prayer - Ann Murray
…Please join me in a unison Prayer of Dedication:
Gracious God, we offer these gifts in gratitude for the gift of your nearness and your love. You chose to come among us not in certainty or control, but in trust, vulnerability, and grace. Receive what we bring—signs of our hope, expressions of our faith, and offerings shaped by thanksgiving. Use them to bear witness to Emmanuel, God with us, in a world still longing for reassurance and light. Shape us into your servants so that in all we give and all we do we support your work in the world, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Offertory Anthem: "O Love," Elaine Hagenberg (b. 1979) - Chancel Choir
O love, O love, O love that will not let me go; O love, I rest my weary soul in Thee. I give Thee back the life I owe, That in Thy ocean depths its flow may richer, fuller be. O joy that seeks me through the pain, I cannot close my heart to thee; I trace the rainbow through the rain, And feel the promise is not vain… that morn shall tearless be. That morn shall tearless be. O love, O love, O love that will not let me go; O love, I rest my weary soul in Thee. I give Thee back the life I owe; I give Thee back the life I owe, And in Thy ocean depths its flow shall richer, fuller be. That morn shall tearless be. O love, O love, O love that will not let me go; O love that will not let me go.
*Doxology OLD HUNDREDTH
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heav'nly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Welcome New Members - Robert Galloway
Joyce Hawes, Kim Hutchens, Ann McPhail
Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer - Robert Galloway
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.
*Closing Hymn #110: "Love Has Come" BRING A TORCH
*Charge & Benediction - Robert Galloway
Postlude: “Magnificat” (Song of Mary); Verset VI: “Gloria–Finale,” Marcel Dupré (1886–1971) - Jack Rain, organ
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Announcements:
Today, December 21
A Stephen Minister is available at the close of this service
Monday, December 22
Lectio/Visio Divina, 10 a.m., via Zoom
Wednesday, December 24
Family-friendly Christmas Eve service, 4 p.m., Sanctuary
Lessons & Carols candlelight Christmas Eve service, 7 p.m., Sanctuary
Church Office closed
Thursday, December 25 - Christmas Day!
Church Office closed
Friday, December 26
Church Office closed
Sunday, December 28
Childcare available 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Pickups, Room S-203
Connect Service, 9 a.m., Youth Center
Power Hour class, 10 a.m., Church Office Conference Room
Children’s Sunday School, (Pre-K-2nd grade), 10 a.m., S-100
Faith Journey class, 9:45 a.m., Chapel
“Next” Adult class, 10 a.m., Room N-123
Upcoming Events:
January 1 and 2, Church Office closed for New Year’s