Pine River United Methodist Church
First Sunday of Advent
November 30, 2025
Worship Service 10:30 a.m.
*please stand if you are able
SPECIAL MUSIC “Standing on the Promises” (UMH 374) Jody Wilson
RINGING OF THE BELL
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND JOYS AND CONCERNS
ADVENT PRAYER in Unison UMH 201
Merciful God, you sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation. Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may celebrate aright the commemoration of the nativity, and may await with joy the coming in glory of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever. Amen.
ADVENT HYMN Faith We Sing #2090 Advent Song verse 1
LIGHTING OF FIRST ADVENT CANDLE
HYMN: Faith We Sing #2164 Sanctuary
*Call to Worship
Leader: Come, people of God, even when the world presses in.
All: We come seeking sanctuary, a place where God makes room.
Leader: When choices feel few and the way seems uncertain, God is still near.
All: God meets us in surprising ways and makes space for us still. Come, Lord Jesus, make room in us to receive you.
*Unison Prayer
God of spacious love, you meet us when pressure closes in. You remind us that sanctuary can be found even in the most challenging places. Teach us to trust your presence, to act with courage, and to make room for others as you have made room for us. It is in the name of the One who receives us when we call on him. Amen.
*HYMN #577 God of Grace and God of Glory
SCRIPTURE LESSONS:
Joshua 2:1-21 page 190 in OT of Pew Bible
Then Joshua son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and spent the night there. 2 The king of Jericho was told, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to search out the land.” 3 Then the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out the whole land.” 4 But the woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they came from. 5 And when it was time to close the gate at dark, the men went out. Where the men went I do not know. Pursue them quickly, for you can overtake them.” 6 She had, however, brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax that she had laid out on the roof. 7 So the men pursued them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. As soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.
8 Before they went to sleep, she came up to them on the roof 9 and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land and that dread of you has fallen on us and that all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 11 As soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no courage left in any of us because of you. The Lord your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below. 12 Now then, since I have dealt kindly with you, swear to me by the Lord that you in turn will deal kindly with my family. Give me a sign of good faith 13 that you will spare my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them and deliver our lives from death.” 14 The men said to her, “Our life for yours! If you do not tell this business of ours, then we will deal kindly and faithfully with you when the Lord gives us the land.”
15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the outer side of the city wall and she resided within the wall itself. 16 She said to them, “Go toward the hill country, so that the pursuers may not come upon you. Hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned; then afterward you may go your way.” 17 The men said to her, “We will be released from this oath that you have made us swear to you 18 if we invade the land and you do not tie this crimson cord in the window through which you let us down and you do not gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your family. 19 If any of you go out of the doors of your house into the street, they shall be responsible for their own death, and we shall be innocent, but if a hand is laid upon any who are with you in the house, we shall bear the responsibility for their death. 20 But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be released from this oath that you made us swear to you.” 21 She said, “According to your words, so be it.” She sent them away, and they departed. Then she tied the crimson cord in the window.
Psalm 72:1-7,18-19 page 515 in OT of Pew Bible
1 Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to a king’s son.
2 May he judge your people with righteousness
and your poor with justice.
3 May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness.
4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the needy,
and crush the oppressor.
5 May he live while the sun endures
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
like showers that water the earth.
7 In his days may righteousness flourish
and peace abound, until the moon is no more.
18 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who alone does wondrous things.
19 Blessed be his glorious name forever;
may his glory fill the whole earth.
Amen and Amen.
Isaiah 11:1-10
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see
or decide by what his ears hear,
4 but with righteousness he shall judge for the poor
and decide with equity for the oppressed of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
6 The wolf shall live with the lamb;
the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the lion will feed together,
and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
9 They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
Leader: The word of God for the people of God.
People: Praise be to God.
MESSAGE “Room, When Pressure is Closing In ” Pastor Jen Matthees
SPECIAL MUSIC: We Gather Together (UMH 131) Jody W.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
SILENT PRAYER
THE LORD’S PRAYER
*HYMN Faith We Sing #2022 Great Is the Lord
*BENEDICTION
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Tuesday, December 2: Coffee at Lifehouse
Sunday, December 7: 10:00 a.m. Coffee Fellowship
10:30 a.m. Worship 2nd Sunday in Advent Communion Sunday
November Mission: Snow Removal
December Mission: Gifts and appreciations
**We need scripture readers for every Sunday in December and a lay leader for December 28.
*Advent candle lighting and reading sign up on back table for December 21 and Christmas eve.
Church Office Hours:
Tuesday 8:00 – Noon, 1:00 –3:00 p.m.
Thursday and Friday 8:00 – 12:30 p.m
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For prayer requests please contact the church office: prmethodist@gmail.com OR 218-587-4091.
The beginning of each month we will be starting a new prayer list. If you want continued prayers for a loved one, please contact church office.
GOD HEARS AND ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS
“18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who only does wondrous things!
19 And blessed be His glorious name forever!
And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.” Psalm 72:18-19 NKJV
*Our services can now be viewed on YouTube during worship service or at any other time of the day or week. There may be a delay in the streaming so be patient and the service WILL begin. Copy and Paste the link below to watch our Services.
https://www.youtube.com/@pineriverunitedmethodist2574/streams