prepared by Rev. David Jebb – 9th November 2025

by Autumn Leung · November 5, 2025

Call to Worship

Leader: In the stillness of this sacred hour, we gather.
We come from many walks of life, but we are united in a common purpose: to remember.

People: We come to remember those who have lived and died in the service of peace.

Leader: We gather in the presence of God, who knows our sorrows and hears the cries of the world. We come with memories that are heavy and with a hope that is fragile. We bring our longing for a world where war shall be no more.

People: We come to honour the past, but we also come to seek wisdom for our future.

Leader: Today, we hold silence for the voices that are stilled. We hold space for the stories that are etched in our hearts. We remember the courage and the cost, the lives cut short, and the families forever changed.

People: We remember the fallen from conflicts past and present. We remember them all.

Leader: But we do not remember only in grief. We remember to recommit ourselves to the work of peace. We remember so that we may learn, and in learning, may choose a different path. Let our worship now be a act of remembrance, a pledge for peace, and a prayer for the courage to be builders of a better world.

All: Let us worship God, the source of all life, the Prince of Peace, and the hope of the world. Amen.

Hymn: STF 132 (A profound hymn of trust in God’s eternal nature amidst the changes and tragedies of time.)

1 O God, our help in ages past,
  Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
  And our eternal home.

2 Under the shadow of Thy throne
  Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
  And our defence is sure.

3 Before the hills in order stood,
  Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
  To endless years the same.

4 A thousand ages in Thy sight
  Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
  Before the rising sun.   Isaac Watts © (1674 -1748)

Opening Prayer for Remembrance Sunday

Eternal God, our refuge and our strength,

we gather in the stillness of this hallowed space

on this day of sacred memory.

We come before you with hearts full of many emotions —

with gratitude for courage and selfless sacrifice,

with sorrow for the cost of conflict and the lives cut short,

and with a deep longing for the peace that only you can give.

As we pin our poppies and light our candles of remembrance,

we pause to honour the fallen —

the soldiers, the civilians, and all who suffered in war.

Shine your light into our hearts, O Lord,

and as we keep our solemn silence,

speak gently to our spirits.

In this time of worship, heal the wounds of the past that still remain.

Comfort those who mourn, and enfold in your love

all who bear the scars of war — both seen and unseen.

Grant us courage not only to remember, but to learn.

Give us wisdom to honour the fallen

by working for a world where swords are turned into ploughshares,

and where your peace reigns in every heart and nation.

We ask this through Jesus Christ,

the Prince of Peace. Amen.

Readings: Isaiah 2:2–5 – “They shall beat their swords into ploughshares…”

2 In the last days

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains;

it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.

3 Many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob.

He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.”

The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

4 He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples.

They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

5 Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Philippians 4:4-9 (A call to rejoice, pray, and dwell on all that is good and true)

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

A SHORT SERMON FOR REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY

Based on Isaiah 2:2-5 & Philippians 4:4-9

We gather this day, held in a sacred tension. We are poised between the painful memory of war and the passionate hope for peace. We feel the weight of the past and the fragility of the future. And into this tension, our scriptures speak with a powerful, two-part message: a promise of what can be, and a path to get there.

First, we have the Promise from the prophet Isaiah. It is a breathtaking vision: a future where all nations stream to the mountain of the Lord. They don’t come with tanks or troops, but with a shared desire to learn God’s ways. And what is the result? “They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks.” It is a vision of transformation—where the very instruments of death are repurposed into tools for life; where the metal that once took a life will now be used to grow food to sustain life.

This is God’s dream for his creation. It is the “why” behind our longing. We remember the fallen, and we honour their sacrifice, precisely because we believe that this world of conflict is not how it is meant to be. We remember because we are committed to a higher goal: the peace of God’s kingdom.

But how do we get there from here? How do we navigate a world that still knows war, while holding fast to that vision? This is where the Apostle Paul gives us the Path in his letter to the Philippians.

He writes from a prison cell, not a place of comfort or safety. Yet, his message is, “Rejoice… The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything.” He then gives us the practical steps for peace-making, starting within our own hearts. “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

On a day like today, this is not a call to ignore the grim truths of war. It is a call to choose what we focus on. We remember the horror, yes, but we also choose to focus on what was noble: the courage, the sacrifice, the love for comrades and country. We fill our minds with these things so that we do not succumb to despair or cynicism.

This is the personal work of peace. We cannot beat swords into ploughshares on the world stage if our own hearts are filled with the weapons of anxiety, bitterness, and fear. The peace of God, which “transcends all understanding,” must first guard our own hearts and minds. Only then can we become the agents of God’s peace in the world.

So this is our dual calling on this Remembrance Sunday:

We look up to the Promise of Isaiah a future of global peace where nations no longer learn war. This is our hope and our goal.

And we look within to the Path of Philippians cultivating the peace of God in our own lives through prayer, thanksgiving, and focusing on what is good and true. This is our work.

In remembering the past, we honour the cost of war. In embracing God’s peace, we commit to the work of peace. We remember, so that we may one day live in a world where such remembrance is no longer necessary—a world where the vision of Isaiah is fulfilled, and the peace of God reigns in every heart and every nation. Amen.

Prayers of Intercession for Remembrance Sunday

Let us pray to God, the source of all mercy and peace, for the needs of the world, the church, and all people, according to his will.

For the Fallen and Those Who Mourn:

We remember before you, O Lord, all who have died in the service of their country; those known to us and those known only to you. Grant them your mercy and the light of your eternal peace.