April 12th, 2026

ORDER OF WORSHIP 

April 12, 2026 

*Indicates those able may stand 

When the prelude begins, please quiet your hearts in  preparation for worship 

Prelude 

“Christe, du Lamm Gottes” (BWV 619) J.S. Bach (Christ, Thou Lamb of God) 

“O Gott, du frommer Gott” J. Brahms (O God, thou faithful God) 

Welcome and Announcements, Dr. Drew DiNardo

Preparation for Worship Dr. Stuart Sacks 

*Call to Worship (Adapted from Psalm 34:3) 

Pastor: Oh, magnify the LORD with me— 

Congregation: And let us exalt His name together!

Pastor: Let us worship the God who hears, saves, and satisfies those who fear Him. 

*Invocation 

*Hymn 274 “Thine Be the Glory.” 

1 Thine be the glory, risen, conqu'ring Son; 

endless is the vict'ry thou o’er death hast won; 

angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away, 

kept the folded grave clothes where thy body lay.

Refrain: 

Thine be the glory, risen conqu'ring Son; 

endless is the vict'ry thou o’er death hast won. 

2 Lo! Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb; 

lovingly he greets us, scatters fear and gloom; 

let the church with gladness, hymns of triumph sing; for her Lord now liveth, death hath lost its sting. [Refrain] 

3 No more we doubt thee, glorious Prince of life; 

life is naught without thee; aid us in our strife; 

make us more than conqu'rors, thro' thy deathless love; bring us safe thro' Jordan to thy home above. [Refrain] 

*Call to Confession Rev. Nathan Titus

Time of Silent Confession 

Words of Assurance 

*The Gloria Patri 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,  

and to the Holy Ghost;  

as it was in the beginning, is now,  

and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. 

*2nd Sunday Confession of Faith  

(Adapted from The Ligonier Statement on Christology) We believe in and confess the mystery and wonder of God  made flesh and rejoice in our great salvation through  Jesus Christ our Lord. 

With the Father and the Holy Spirit, the Son created all  things, sustains all things, and makes all things new. Truly God, He became truly man, two natures in one  person.

He was born of the Virgin Mary and lived among us.  Crucified, dead, and buried, He rose on the third day,  ascended to heaven, and will come again in glory and  judgment. 

For us, He kept the Law, atoned for sin, and satisfied  God’s wrath.  

He is our Prophet, Priest, and King, building His church,  interceding for us, and reigning over all things. Jesus Christ is Lord; we praise His holy Name forever.  Amen.  

Psalter Reading (Psalm 43) Page 801 

Vindicate me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly  nation;  

rescue me from deceitful and wicked men.  

You are God my stronghold. Why have you rejected me?

Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the  enemy?  

Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me;

let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the  place where you dwell.  

Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my  delight.  

I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.

Why, are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within  me?  

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my  Savior and my God.

Pastoral Prayer and Lord’s Prayer 

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. 

Offertory “All Creatures of Our God and King” arr. Parks/Hogan (Jocelyn Crosby, flute) 

*Doxology 

Sermon Text Isaiah 40:3-5; Mark 1:1-3 Page 599 & 836

Sermon “Prepare the Way of the Lord” Dr. Drew DiNardo  

*Closing Hymn 197 “Comfort, Comfort Ye My People” 

1 Comfort, comfort ye my people, 

speak ye peace, thus saith our God; 

comfort those who sit in darkness, 

mourning 'neath their sorrow's load. 

Speak ye to Jerusalem 

of the peace that waits for them; 

tell her that her sins I cover, 

and her warfare now is over. 

2 Yea, her sins our God will pardon, 

blotting out each dark misdeed; 

all that well deserved his anger 

he no more will see or heed. 

She hath suffered many a day 

now her griefs have passed away; 

God will change her pining sadness 

into ever-springing gladness.

3 For the herald's voice is crying 

in the desert far and near, 

bidding all men to repentance, 

since the kingdom now is here. 

O that warning cry obey! 

Now prepare for God a way; 

let the valleys rise to meet him, 

and the hills bow down to greet him. 

4 Make ye straight what long was crooked, 

make the rougher places plain; 

let your hearts be true and humble, 

as befits his holy reign. 

For the glory of the Lord 

now o'er earth is shed abroad; 

and all flesh shall see the token, 

that his word is never broken. 

*Benediction 

*Congregation Three-fold Amen 

*Postlude “Acclamations” J. Langlais