The Virtual Service for Christ the King Sunday
Worship for Sunday, November 22, 2020
GATHERING
On this final Sunday of the church year our gospel is Jesus’ great story of judgment. In the end, the faithful are those who served Christ by ministering to those who are poor, hungry, naked, sick, or estranged. In the first reading God is the shepherd who seeks the lost, weak, and injured and feeds them with justice. We gather this day to celebrate the reign of Christ and his victory over death, yet we await the consummation of all things yet to come. Acknowledging Christ as our merciful ruler, we go forth that his reign may be known in our loving words and deeds.
GATHERING SONG
O God beyond All Praising (ELW 880)
Performed and arranged by Robert Prester & Adriana Samargia
O God beyond all praising, we worship you today
and sing the love amazing that songs cannot repay;
for we can only wonder at ev'ry gift you send,
at blessings without number and mercies without end:
we lift our hearts before you and wait upon your word,
we honor and adore you, our great and mighty Lord.
The flow'r of earthly splendor in time must surely die,
its fragile bloom surrender to you, the Lord most high;
but hidden from all nature the eternal seed is sown--
though small in mortal stature, to heaven's garden grown:
for Christ, your gift from heaven, from death has set us free,
and we through him are given the final victory.
Then hear, O gracious Savior, accept the love we bring,
that we who know your favor may serve you as our King;
and whether our tomorrows be filled with good or ill,
we'll triumph through our sorrows and rise to bless you still:
to marvel at your beauty and glory in your ways,
and make a joyful duty our sacrifice of praise.
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God,
in whose image we are made,
who claims us and calls us beloved.
Amen.
Holy One,
we confess that we are not awake for you.
We are not faithful in using your gifts.
We forget the least of our siblings.
We do not see your beautiful image in one another.
We are infected by sin
that divides your beloved community.
Open our hearts to your coming,
open our eyes to see you in our neighbor,
open our hands to serve your creation. Amen.
Beloved, we are God’s children,
and Jesus, our Beloved, opens the door to us.
Through ☩ Jesus you are forgiven,
by Jesus you are welcome,
in Jesus you are called to rejoice!
Let us live in the promises prepared for us
from the foundation of the world.
Amen.
GREETING
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Let us pray. O God of justice and love, you illumine our way through life with the words of your Son. Give us the light we need, and awaken us to the needs of others, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
WORD
Let us pray. O God of power and might, your Son shows us the way of service, and in him we inherit the riches of your grace. Give us the wisdom to know what is right and the strength to serve the world you have made, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
WORD
THE READING: Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
A reading from Ezekiel.
Because Israel’s kings proved to be bad shepherds, Ezekiel declares that the Lord will assume the role of shepherd in Israel. The Lord will also set over them a shepherd-messiah, “my servant David,” who will feed and care for the people.
11Thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. 12As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. 14I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. 16I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.
20Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, 22I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
23I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL: Matthew 25:31-46
The holy gospel according to Matthew.
Glory to you, O Lord.
[Jesus said to the disciples:] 31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family you did it to me.’ 41Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
SERMON
“If you’re happy and you know it! …”
Pastor Carlson
HYMN OF THE DAY
Christ Is the King! (BEVERLY) (ELW 662)
Performed and arranged by Robert Prester & Adriana Samargia
Christ is the king! O friends, rejoice;
brothers and sisters, with one voice
let the world know he is your choice.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Oh, magnify the Lord, and raise
anthems of joy and holy praise
for Christ's brave saints of ancient days.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
O Christian women, Christian men,
all the world over, seek again
the Way disciples followed then.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Let Love's all reconciling might
your scattered companies unite
in service to the God of light.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
So shall the church at last be one;
so shall God's will on earth be done,
new lamps be lit, new tasks begun.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
Longing for Christ’s reign to come among us, we pray for the outpouring of God’s power on the church, the world, and all in need.
A brief silence.
The response to “Lord, in your mercy,” is, ”hear our Prayer.”
The Prayers conclude:
Receive our prayers in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior, until that day when you gather all creation around your throne where you will reign forever and ever. Amen.
OFFERING
ANTHEM
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring
Bach; arr. Hafferty
Keyboard: James Glaser
Saxophone: Michael Robinson
OFFERING PRAYER
God of all goodness,
generations have turned to you,
gathered around your table,
and shared your abundant blessings.
Number us among them
that, as we gather these gifts from your abundance,
and give thanks for your rich blessings,
we may feast upon your very self
and care for all that you have made,
through Jesus Christ, our Sovereign and Servant. Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
BENEDICTION
May the God of all creation,
in whose image we are made,
who claims us and calls us beloved,
who strengthens us for service,
give you reason to rejoice and be glad!
The blessing of God,
Sovereign, ☩ Savior, and Spirit,
be with you today and always.
Amen.
DISMISSAL
Beloved of God,
go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
SENDING SONG
Crown Him with Many Crowns (ELW 855)
Performed and arranged by Robert Prester & Adriana Samargia
Crown him with many crowns,
the Lamb upon his throne;
hark, how the heav'nly anthem drowns
all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing
of him who died for thee,
and hail him as thy matchless king
through all eternity.
Crown him the virgin's Son,
the God incarnate born,
whose arm those crimson trophies won
which now his brow adorn;
fruit of the mystic rose,
yet of that rose the stem,
the root whence mercy ever flows,
the babe of Bethlehem.
Crown him the Lord of love--
behold his hands and side,
rich wounds, yet visible above,
in beauty glorified.
No angels in the sky
can fully bear that sight,
but downward bend their burning eyes
at mysteries so bright.
Crown him the Lord of life,
who triumphed o'er the grave
and rose victorious in the strife
for those he came to save.
His glories now we sing,
who died and rose on high,
who died, eternal life to bring,
and lives that death may die.
Crown him the Lord of years,
the potentate of time,
creator of the rolling spheres,
ineffably sublime.
All hail, Redeemer, hail!
For thou hast died for me;
thy praise and glory shall not fail
throughout eternity.
Postlude
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From sundaysandseasons.com.
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