december 7, 2025

asbcsite
Dec 6, 2025
5 min read

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Boon Lin Ngeo

Please use this Order of Service to easily follow the service online.

CLICK HERE FOR HYMNS (or scroll to the bottom)

Prelude: Richard Harper

Chalice Lighting:

We call forth the life of our faith by igniting our chalice.

This spark of new beginnings invites us into a sacred space to reflect where we have been and where we are going.

Even knowing that this particular flame will intentionally end with our ritual extinguishing, we fear not its end…

For we know, with brave hearts, that from every ending of our lives,

We are sent forth to make a new beginning.

Opening Hymn: O Mighty God, When I Survey in Wonder NCH 35

Welcome & Announcement

Call to Worship:

My siblings, sisters and brothers in Christ, Advent awaits us.

Let us place our feet on the road and begin the journey.

May we find in familiar words, rituals and customs

the birth of the new thing that awaits us.

Prayer of Invocation:

First Sacred Reading: Luke: 21:5-28

⁵When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, ⁶“As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”⁷They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” ⁸And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray, for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them.⁹“When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified, for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.” ¹⁰Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom; ¹¹there will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and plagues, and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.¹²“But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. ¹³This will give you an opportunity to testify. ¹⁴So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance, ¹⁵for I will give you wordsand a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. ¹⁶You will be betrayed even by parents and siblings, by relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷You will be hated by all because of my name. ¹⁸But not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹By your endurance you will gain your souls. ²⁰“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. ²¹Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those inside the city must leave it, and those out in the country must not enter it, ²²for these are days of vengeance, as a fulfillment of all that is written. ²³Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress on the earth and wrath against this people; ²⁴they will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken away as captives among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the nations, until the times of the nations are fulfilled.²⁵“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.²⁶People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. ²⁸Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Passing of the Peace

Sharing of Our Joys & Concerns

Prayers of the People/Pastoral Prayer

Offering & Doxology: We Give You But Your Own – NCH 785

We give you but your own, what e'er the gift may be; All that we have is yours alone, we give it gratefully

Second Sacred Reading: Let Nothing Disturb YouL

Let nothing disturb you, nothing shake you. Everything passes, God does not change. Patience obtains everything. Whoever has God lacks nothing. Only God suffices. Elevate your thoughts to the heavens above. Let nothing distress you, nothing disturb you. Follow Jesus Christ with a big-heart ,and come what may let nothing disturb you. Do you see the glory of the world? It’s vain-glory. Nothing is stable, everything passes. Aspire unto the heavens which last forever. Faithful and rich in promises—God never changes. Love that which merits an immense goodness. But there is no pure love without patience. Confidence and a living faith maintain the soul. He who believes and hopes obtains everything. Even if it seems you’re besieged by hell–he who has God will mock its fury. Let it all come, then: desertions, crosses, disgraces. If God is your treasure, you’ll lack nothing. Begone, then, goods of the world and vain sayings. Even if everything is lost, God alone suffices.

—St. Teresa of Ávila

Hymn of Reflection: Nada Te Turbe

Sermon: Let Nothing Disturb You!

Service of Communion:

God is with you

And also with you

Let us open our hearts

Let us open them to God

Let us give God thanks and praise

It is a good and joyful thing to do

Closing Hymn: What a Friend we Have in Jesus NCH 506

Benediction: Rev. Dr. Boon Lin Ngeo