First Baptist Church Of Saratoga

November 23, 2025

Prelude - Ancient Voices

Call to Worship

Dear God, as we gather, we are reminded of your unwavering love for each of us.  Lord, help us to grasp the depths of your love and carry it with us in all that we do.  May we in this time together express our belief and resolve that you shall be the foundation upon which we stand.  Amen.

Hymn - Adoration

Invocation and Lord's Prayer

Dear Lord, help us to strengthen the bonds of fellowship among us that we may grow in faith, love, and unity.  Help us to care about what matters and to live out the faith expressed in the prayer Jesus taught us, saying: 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.

Scripture Reading - Micah 5:2 & Matthew 2:1-12

Micah 5:2

2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

Matthew 2:1-12

2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Joys and Concerns

O Lord our God, as we sit in quietness, our thoughts are far from quiet. We are wrestling with doubts and fears.  We are looking for answers. We are seeking strength. We are hungry.  Your word says the hungry will be filled. And we ask you today to fill us in.  Fill us with the breath of life, fill us with thankful hearts, fill us with calmness, courage, and most of all, with the knowledge of your presence. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Hymn - Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness

Sermon - What Matters to You?

For Video version, click below.

Hymn - O Sing a Song of Bethlehem

Benediction

Let us go now and do what matters to God. Amen.

Postlude - One Day