We hear God’s CALL TO WORSHIP in Revelation 19:6–7
I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, and like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of mighty thunders, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns! Let us rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and let us give the glory to him.”
We listen in silence for God’s still small voice, CENTERING ourselves, becoming aware of God’s presence within us and around us
We respond to God with ADORATION using the words of Jonathan Edwards
Almighty God, all true virtue consists, at its root and in its essence, in you. For you are not only infinitely greater and more excellent than all other being, but you are the head of the whole system of existence; the foundation and fountain of all being and all beauty; the one from whom everything is perfectly derived, and on whom everything is most absolutely and perfectly dependent; the one from whom, through whom, and to whom belongs all being and all perfection; whose own being and beauty is the sum and fullness of all existence and excellence — far more than the sun is the source and fullness of all the light and brightness of the day. Amen.
We hear God’s CALL TO REPENTANCE in Matthew 3:2
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
We respond with CONFESSION using the words of W E Orchard
How often we have prayed for the coming of your Kingdom, yet when it has sought to come through us we have sometimes barred the way. We have wanted it without in others, but not in our own hearts. We feel it is we who stand between people's need and you; between ourselves and what we might be; and we have no trust in our own strength, or loyalty, or courage. Give us to love your will, and seek your Kingdom first of all.
We hear God’s teaching for our lives in THE READING OF THE LAW in Leviticus 19:13
You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him.
The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.
We PRAISE God in the INVITATORY PSALM, the VenitePsalm 95:1–7 · Venite, exultemus
1O come, let us sing to the Lord; *
let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
2Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, *
and show ourselves glad in him with psalms.
3For the Lord is a great God, *
and a great King above all gods.
4In his hand are all the corners of the earth, *
and the strength of the hills is his also.
5The sea is his, and he made it; *
and his hands prepared the dry land.
6O come, let us worship and bow down, *
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7For he is the Lord our God, *
and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
As it was in the beginning,
is now and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
We PRAISE God in THE PSALM OF THE DAYPsalm 145:8–14 · Exaltabo te, Deus
8The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, *
slow to anger and of great kindness.
9The Lord is loving to everyone *
and his compassion is over all his works.
10All your works praise you, O Lord, *
and your faithful servants bless you.
11They make known the glory of your kingdom *
and speak of your power;
12That the peoples may know of your power *
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; *
your dominion endures throughout all ages.
14The Lord is faithful in all his words *
and merciful in all his deeds.
We pray a PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION in words from the Universalist “Gospel Liturgy”
Father of all, through your holy word you granted us the light of life. May the Scriptures be opened to our thoughts so our hearts may burn within us, and when it is towards evening and the time of day is far spent, may Christ continue to abide with us by faith, so that the night may be radiant with the promise of a morning without clouds.
We hear God speaking to us in THE READING for the day1 Corinthians 13:1–13
Thursday, 5 November 2026 · Ordinary Time
1If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don’t have love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but don’t have love, I am nothing. 3If I give away all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burnt, but don’t have love, it profits me nothing.
4Love is patient and is kind. Love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, 5doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; 6doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with. 11When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things. 12For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known. 13But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love.
World English Bible. Or read it at Bible Gateway in the NRSV: 1 Corinthians 13:1–13 · the short form, 1 Corinthians 13:4–7.
We REFLECT in silence
We greet the day with THE SONG OF ZECHARIAH, the Benedictus Luke 1:68–79
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham,
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
We pray the LORD’S PRAYER as Jesus taught his disciples, in those words which are most meaningful to us
Our [ Father / Mother / Creator ] in heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our [ trespasses / sins ]
as we forgive those who [ trespass / sin ] against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
We pray a PRAYER OF INTERCESSION in the words of Zacharias Ursinus, Heidelberg Catechism
Almighty God, heavenly Father, grant us first rightly to know you, and to sanctify, glorify and praise you in all your works, in which your power, wisdom, goodness, justice, mercy and truth are clearly displayed; and further, that we may so order and direct our whole lives, our thoughts, words and actions, that your name may never be blasphemed, but rather honored and praised on our account. Amen.
We silently pray PERSONAL PRAYER
Followed by
Amen.
We pray a PRAYER FOR UNITY OF ALL PEOPLE
God, you have made of one blood all nations of the earth, and your will is that all your children should be gathered into one family of love: break down, we pray you, the walls that divide us; deliver us from hardness of heart and from contempt for those who differ from us; and hasten the time when all shall dwell together in that peace which passes understanding, knowing you as Father and one another as brothers and sisters; through Jesus Christ our Lord, in whom there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, but all are one. Amen.
We pray a PRAYER OF GENERAL THANKSGIVING in the words of Hubert Louis Simpson
We thank you for the good things of this life: for food and clothing and shelter; for work to do and zest in the doing of it. We thank you for the perpetual touch of the divine in life, for the image of yourself in the human soul; for the vigor of youth, the wisdom of age, and for all the lessons of experience; the steps by which we climb to higher things; for the courage of the brave, the indignation of the righteous, the kindness of the thoughtful, and all that makes us human and keeps us Godlike.
Amen.
A concluding BENEDICTION or blessing Numbers 6:24–26
The Lord bless us and keep us;
the Lord make his face to shine upon us,
and be gracious to us;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon us,
and give us peace.
Amen.