November 16, 2025 – Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost / Proper 28

Lectionary Readings

Semicontinuous 
Isaiah 65:17–25
God promises a new creation, where all creatures will live in safety. 

Isaiah 12
In that day, I will give thanks and say: surely God is my salvation.

Complementary
Malachi 4:1–2a
The sun of righteousness will rise with healing for the faithful. 

Psalm 98
Make a joyful noise to the Lord; give thanks for God’s victory. 

2 Thessalonians 3:6–13
Do not be idle; follow this example and work for your daily bread. 

Luke 21:5–19
The temple will fall; a great trial is coming; God will supply wisdom. 

— Gathering —

Opening Sentences

I am about to create new heavens and a new earth;
be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating. 
O sing to the Lord a new song, 
for God has done marvelous things.
God has remembered his steadfast love 
and faithfulness. 
I will rejoice and delight in my people; 
no more shall the sound of weeping be heard.
O sing to the Lord a new song,
for God has done marvelous things.
God has remembered his steadfast love 
and faithfulness.
No more shall there be an infant 
that lives but a few days
or an old person who does not live out a lifetime. 
O sing to the Lord a new song, 
for God has done marvelous things.
God has remembered his steadfast love 
and faithfulness. 
They shall not labor in vain 
or bear children for calamity; 
for they and their descendants shall be 
offspring blessed by the Lord.
Before they call I will answer; 
while they are yet speaking I will hear. 
O sing to the Lord a new song, 
for God has done marvelous things.
God has remembered his steadfast love 
and faithfulness.  

Prayer of the Day

God, source of our salvation,
marvelous and mighty,
nation rises against nation, 
kingdom against kingdom.
The peoples of the earth suffer earthquakes, famines, and plagues, 
and we feel betrayed by those we had trusted. 
So show yourself to us in these troubled times. 
Grant us wisdom 
to speak words of peace and comfort
into places of brokenness and hurt. 
Make us instruments of the new heaven
and new earth you have promised,
in which we place our trust. Amen.  

Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song

Thanksgiving for Baptism

At the baptismal font:
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
O Lord our God, we give you thanks
for the grace that is at work in us
through the gift of our baptism—
the sign of your threefold name,
the communion of your faithful people,
the promise of your glorious realm.
By the power of your Holy Spirit,
poured out upon us in baptism,
let your grace and peace grow in us,
until we gather at your heavenly throne
to give you thanks and praise forever;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Confession and Pardon

At the baptismal font:
Before we call, God answers us.
While we are still speaking, God hears us.
Let us confess our sin to God,
who even now is waiting to say,
“I forgive you.”

Majestic Creator,
we fail to believe we carry your image
and we fail to behave as those
who belong to you.
Mighty Savior,
we turn from your path of sacrificial love
and we turn toward
our personal preferences.
Merciful Spirit,
we forget your call to righteousness
and we forget our need of you.
In our sinfulness, triune God,
we seek now your forgiveness,
praying that you will relieve
the burden of our regrets
by the power of your patient love.

Lifting water from the font:
God is creating new heavens and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered.
They shall not even cross God’s mind.
Be glad and rejoice forever
in what God is creating: newness of life.
In Jesus Christ, we are reconciled to God
and to one another. Alleluia!

— Word —

Prayer for Illumination

At the lectern or pulpit:
Faithful God, how blessed are those
who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Sanctify us by your Word and Spirit
so that we may glorify you
in the company of the faithful;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Scripture

Before the readings:
Sacred writings, our instruction in salvation 
through faith in Jesus Christ. 
2 Timothy 3:15

After the readings: 
The words of Scripture, inspired by God. 
Thanks be to God.
2 Timothy 3:16

Sermon

Ascription of Praise

After the sermon:
Blessed be the Lord our God. Amen.
Luke 1:68

Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song

Affirmation of Faith

The life, death, resurrection,
and promised coming of Jesus Christ
has set the pattern for the church’s mission.
His human life involves the church
in the common life of all people.
His service to men and women
commits the church
to work for every form of human well-being.
His suffering makes the church sensitive
to all human suffering
so that it sees the face of Christ
in the faces of persons in every kind of need.
His crucifixion discloses to the church
God’s judgment on the inhumanity
that marks human relations,
and the awful consequences
of the church’s own complicity in injustice.
In the power of the risen Christ
and the hope of his coming,
the church sees the promise
of God’s renewal of human life in society
and of God’s victory over all wrong.
The church follows this pattern
in the form of its life
and in the method of its action.
So to live and serve
is to confess Christ as Lord.
Adapted from the Confession of 1967, 9.32–33