Worship

The Presbyterian Book of Church Order describes worship and its role in a believer's life as one of reciprocity.

Christians respond to God both in communal worship and service and in personal acts of worship and discipleship. The lives of Christian disciples flow from worship, which confirms our identity as believers and calls people to a life of discipleship and personal response to God.

Through worship, people become aware of and responsive to the presence of God in their life. The Word of God proclaimed and received in worship calls each believer to faithful discipleship and service in the world. From such service, the disciple turns to give thanks, to confess, to intercede, and to hear Christ’s call anew. The rhythm of the life of the believer moves from worship to ministry, from ministry to worship.

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We welcome you to join us at any of our three weekly worship services. All of our services are traditional.

We offer two worship services each Sunday at 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., and a shorter, midweek service most Wednesdays at noon. (Midweek services are not held around major holidays, such as Thanksgiving.) The liturgy includes traditional Presbyterian creeds; prayers of confession, intercession, and thanksgiving; anthems; and well-known hymns of the church.

A sermon for young children is presented halfway through the 11:00 a.m. service, after which children ages 5 through second grade are escorted to Children‘s Church. Church members usually present the children‘s sermon.

The weekly sermon at First Presbyterian Church is accompanied by relevant scripture readings to help increase our understanding of the pastor‘s message. Church members are invited to serve as scripture readers for either the 8:30 or 11:00 a.m. service.

Music at the 11:00 a.m. service includes a full choir, accompanied by organ. Performances by soloists, by our handbell choir, or by orchestral instruments are regularly featured. See the Music pages for more information.

Communion is offered once each quarter during Sunday worship, as well as at the Maundy Thursday evening service and the 11 p.m. Christmas Eve service. Communion is offered to all professing Christians in attendance, regardless of denomination.

Free childcare is provided during the Church School hour (9:45 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.) and during the 11:00 a.m. worship service each Sunday.

Sunday Services and Times top >

Sunday worship services are at 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.

Mid-Week Services and Times top >

Mid-week worship services are held most Wednesdays at noon. Lunch follows at 12:30. Mid-week services may be canceled around major holidays, such as Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Sermon Archives top >

Instructions

The sermons in our online archives are available to you in several formats. Older sermons are available in .pdf format. The past month's sermons are available as audio-only (in .mp3 format) or or audio-video files, in either Windows Media Video (.wmv) or .mpg format.

To access sermons in .pdf format, you must have either Adobe® Acrobat® or the Adobe Acrobat Reader® installed on your computer. The reader is available for free download at the Adobe Web site.

To access sermons in either .mp3, .mpg, or .wmv format, you must have a sound card, speakers or a headset, and an MP3 reader program, such as RealPlayer® or Windows Media Player®, installed on your computer. (A video player, such as Windows Media Player, is required to view video files.) To find out whether you have the necessary player installed, click one of the links to an .mp3 file below, and follow the instructions provided. If you already have the required software, your player will open and play the sermon. Otherwise, you'll see a link you can click to download a free version of the player software.

Be aware that download times for audio-video files may be long. If you are using a slow-speed connection, it may take quite some time to access sermons in this format.