October 12, 2025 - 18th Sunday after Pentecost
Speaker: The Rev. Dr. Victor C. Gavino
Worship Leader: The Rev. Beverley Shepansky
Music: Danny Park
10:30 - 11:30 AM at the Sanctuary
Prelude
Welcome and Announcements
Land Acknowledgement
We want to acknowledge that we are gathered on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples: Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam Nations.
Lighting the Candle - A Litany
In the valleys of shadow, where fear and loss cast their darkness, we gather seeking light.
Christ, our hope, shines in the darkness.
In the chaos of troubled waters, through the trials of fire, we long for the promise of deliverance.
Christ, our Saviour, calls us by name and says, “You are mine.”
From the exile of ancient Babylon to the struggles of our own hearts—whether loss, separation, or unspoken pain—we trust in God’s faithful promises.
Christ, our light, fulfills the promise of salvation, rising in victory over death.
As we light this Christ Candle, we proclaim the One who is with us always, to the end of the age, who prepares a place for us in the Father’s house.
With the Psalmist, we declare, “I fear no evil, for you are with me.”
Let this light remind us of God’s love, revealed in Christ, who carries us through every valley and leads us to His eternal presence.
To God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—be praise forever and ever. Amen.
Song: "In Christ Alone"
Prayer of Adoration – Responsive
O God, You are the great “I AM,” the Creator of heaven and earth, the One who formed us in Your image and calls us by name. We adore You for Your unshakable faithfulness, revealed through the ages—from the flood that spared Noah to the cross where Christ triumphed over death.
You are our light in the valley of shadows, our hope that springs eternal.
We praise You for Your promise of deliverance, spoken through Isaiah to exiles longing for home, and fulfilled in Christ, who is with us always, to the end of the age. Your love carries us through troubled waters, Your strength shields us in the fire of trials.
From north, east, south, and west, we lift our voices to sing a new song of Your glory!
To You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we offer our worship and praise, for You are our Redeemer, our Savior, our eternal hope.
Glory be to You forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer of Confession – Responsive
Merciful God, You call us to trust in Your promises, yet we confess that we often falter in our faith. Like the exiles in Babylon, we turn to idols—comfort, control, or fleeting hopes—when Your light seems dim.
Forgive us, Lord, for doubting Your presence in our valleys of shadow.
We admit the times we’ve let fear overwhelm us, as the preacher did in the face of oppression, or when we’ve scorned Your grace, trusting in our own strength instead of Your unfailing love.
Forgive us, Lord, for wandering from Your path and losing sight of Your promise.
Hear our silent confessions now, as we lay before You the sins and struggles of our hearts, known only to You.
Create in us clean hearts, O God, and renew a right spirit within us, that we may walk in Your truth and cling to Your salvation.
In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
Assurance of God’s Grace and Pardon – Responsive
Hear the good news: Our God is faithful, the One who says, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” Through the cross of Christ, our sins are forgiven, our guilt washed away. In His resurrection, we are promised new life, a place prepared in the Father’s house.
In Christ, we are forgiven, set free, and made whole!
No valley is too deep, no fire too fierce, for Christ’s love overcomes all. As the Psalmist declares, “With the Lord on my side, I do not fear.” Trust in His promise, for He is with you always, to the end of the age.
Thanks be to God for His unending grace! Amen.
The Apostles' Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again 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.
Passing of the Peace
Westminster Shorter Catechism
Question 37: What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death?
The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves till the resurrection.
Question 38: What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection?
At the resurrection, believers being raised up in glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity.
Hymn: "Blessed Assurance" Book of Praise #687
Prayer for understanding
Scripture readings:
Isaiah 43:1-7 (NRSV)
But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.
Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life.
Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you;
I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south, “Do not withhold; bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth—
everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
Psalm 23 (NRSV)
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long.
Romans 8:31-39 (NRSV)
What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Sermon: “From Exile to Eternity: Trusting God's Deliverance”
Song: "The Goodness of God"
Offertory
Doxology and Prayer of Thanksgiving
Prayers of the People
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever.
Amen.
Closing hymn: "Now thank we all our God" Book of Praise #457
Charge and Benediction
Threefold Amen
Postlude