Bulletin – November 22, 2020 Reign of Christ Sunday

Sunday, November 22, 2020
Reign of Christ Sunday

Approach

Lighting the Christ Candle

We light this candle as a sign of God’s Spirit at work in the world, we light this candle as a sign of God’s kingdom that is yet to come, may its light brighten our spirits, may the light of God shining through us brighten the world.

Call to Worship

Come to this sacred place where neighbours and friends gather.
We come to worship God in community.

Come to this sacred place where strangers are embraced.
We come to worship God in community.

Come to this sacred place where those who are stigmatized, bullied, minimized, ignored, or simply forgotten are now called friends.
We come to worship God in community.

Hymn – “Rejoice, the Lord is King”

Rejoice the Lord is King! Your risen Lord adore!
Rejoice, give thanks and sing and triumph evermore.
Lift up your heart,
Lift up your voice: rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

Jesus the Saviour reigns, the God of truth and love;
When He had purged our sins, he took his seat above.
Lift up your heart,
Lift up your voice: rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

God’s kingdom cannot fail, Christ rules o’er earth and heaven,
The keys of death and hell are to our Jesus given.
Lift up your heart,
Lift up your voice: rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

Rejoice in glorious hope, for Christ, the judge, shall come
To glorify the saints for their eternal home.
We soon shall hear the archangel’s voice,
The trump of God shall sound, rejoice!

Prayer of Approach and Confession

Blessed are you, O God, lifted high on the praises of your people, the praises of all creation.

It is in declaring your goodness and loves that we come to know our own blessedness. It is in the singing of your glory that we come to discover the glory within and around us.

Send your Spirit to us now; welcome us into your presence. O God, you who are loved beyond our understanding, shyly we let that love wash over us, that our sins may be known to us and repentance take hold.

We know at first there might be a sting, but with each moment, we are made anew and, as pain fades, we sense a rising joy. Cleanse us in this moment of silence, that we may be set free. Amen.

Words of Assurance

Time for All Ages

Hymn – “Christ Has No Body Now But Yours”

Christ has no body now but yours.
Here on this earth, yours is the work,
To serve with the joy of compassion.

No hands but yours to heal the wounded world,
No hands but yours to soothe all its suffering,
No touch but yours to bind the broken hope of the people of God.

Christ has no body now but yours.
Here on this earth, yours is the work,
To serve with the joy of compassion.

No eyes but yours to see as Christ would see,
To find the lost, to gaze with compassion;
No eyes but yours to glimpse the holy joy of the city of God.

Christ has no body now but yours.
Here on this earth, yours is the work,
To serve with the joy of compassion.

No feet but yours to journey with the poor,
To walk this world with mercy and justice.
Yours are the steps to build a lasting peace for the children of God.

Christ has no body now but yours.
Here on this earth, yours is the work,
To serve with the joy of compassion.

Through ev’ry gift, give back to those in need;
As Christ has blessed, so now be his blessing,
With ev’ry gift a benediction to be the people of God.

Christ has no body now but yours.
Here on this earth, yours is the work,
To serve with the joy of compassion.

The Word

Scripture Reading:

Ephesians 1:15-23

¹⁵I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason ¹⁶I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. ¹⁷I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, ¹⁸so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, ¹⁹and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. ²⁰God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. ²²And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, ²³which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Matthew 25:31-46

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.”

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God

Meditation – “To Live into Christ’s Reign”

Anthem – “Praise You”

The Response

Prayers of the People

Creator God, maker of heaven and earth, we your people worship and praise you, we bless your holy name. It is your love that is revealed in the life and death of Jesus, it is your power that is seen in his resurrection, and it is your majesty that is made know by his ascension into heaven to be at your side. Help us, O god, to always keep mercy, your love, and your compassion and to never neglect the doing of your will. Help us to be obedient to the word you place in our hearts and our minds… Lord, hear our prayer…
And in your love answer.

Father and Mother of us all, we believe that Christ Jesus should be prominent within our worship and our life together as your people. We believe too that Jesus should be prominent in our work in the world and within our family life. Indeed we profess that Jesus wants to be an important part of our lives, the one who inspires us, and guides in deciding how we should relate to our friends and our neighbours. Help us make this manifest in what we do each and every day—in how we make decisions about how we spend our time and our money, in how we employ our hands and in how we direct our feet, in how we speak and in how we think, in how we rest and in how we work… Lord, hear our prayer…
And in your love answer.

O God, in his time with us, Jesus has shown his authority over wind and wave, as he walked on those waves. We pray that he may bring peace and calm to those who lives are troubled…We especially pray today for…Lord, hear our prayer…
And in your love answer.

Thank you, God most Holy, for hearing our prayers. All these things we ask of you in the name of Christ Jesus, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, both now and forevermore. Amen.

Hymn – “I, the Lord of Sea and Sky (Here I Am, Lord)”

I, the Lord of sea and sky,
I have heard my people cry.
All who dwell in deepest sin my hand will save.
I who made the stars of night,
I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear my light to them?
Whom shall I send?

Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.

I, the Lord of snow and rain,
I have borne my people’s pain.
I have wept for love of them;
They turn away.
I will break their hearts of stone, give them hearts for love alone.
I will speak my word to them.
Whom shall I send?

Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.

I, the Lord of wind and flame,
I will tend the poor and lame.
I will set a feast for them;
My hand will save.
Finest bread I will provide till their hearts be satisfied.
I will give my life to them.
Whom shall I send?

Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I
have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.

Benediction

As we prepare to leave this time of worship, we offer to God our hopes and our dreams for a better world, We offer to God ourselves, each of us part of God’s holy dream.

May God bless us and our dreams, that we may make a difference this week, bringing God’s reign on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

Response

Amen! Amen! Hallelujah,
Amen! Amen! Amen! Hallelujah, Amen!