CHRIST THE KING SUNDAY | 11-24-24
(Last Sunday of the Church Year)
11-24-2024 10:00AM Hybrid Worship
+ We Gather to Worship +
THE OPENING RITE:
L God reigns; let the earth be glad.
C God’s word is truth; let all people of the world rejoice.
L We bow before God’s strength and majesty;
C We come in awe before God most high.
L God’s rule is from everlasting and forevermore;
C All creation bows before God’s holiness.
L Let us open our hearts to be renewed in God’s truth.
C We gather as sinners longing for the mercy and grace of Christ.
L God is our righteousness and our peace.
C We seek to be citizens of the Kingdom, proclaiming God’s love.
L We come to celebrate the truth that God is alive and in charge.
C No evil can have the last word, for God is greater than any wrong.
L To God be glory for the gift of Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord!
C His Son JESUS was born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell and rose on the third day.
He ascended into heaven, and is seated by the Father’s side.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
He loves us and has died for us!
He has set us free from our sins through his blood!
He has given us new life, and he reigns forever and ever!
He is our Savior, our Lord, and the King of my life!
Hail King Jesus, now and forever, Amen.
OPENING SONG: “TO GOD BE THE GLORY” Tan #157
THE PRAYER OF THE DAY (together):
Eternal God, your Son Jesus taught us that true power is made known in service. Even as we celebrate the amazing victory of his sacrificial love, guide us to love you, to love our neighbors, and to love ourselves. Equip us to help create a world of justice and of peace that embraces each and all. We want to be ready when the trumpet sounds, when the saints go marching in. Amen.
+ We Open Ears and Hearts to God’s Word +
FIRST READING: DANIEL 7:9-10, 13-14
[A reason for hope when oppression seems like it will never end – The “ANCIENT ONE” will send “one like a human being”, the SON OF MAN, to gather us and rule over us with peace and justice. Hold on to hope!]
7:9 As I watched, thrones were set in place, and an Ancient One took his throne; his clothing was white as snow and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and its wheels were burning fire.
7:10 A stream of fire issued and flowed out from his presence. A thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending him. The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.
7:13 As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him.
7:14 To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.
RESPONSIVE READING: PSALM 93
[The psalmist proclaims that God is a mighty King who has more power than evil and more power than sin, both of which rise up around and within us like waves that seek to drown us. Hold on to hope!]
93:1 The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed; he is girded with strength. He has established the world; it shall never be moved;
93:2 your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.
93:3 The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring.
93:4 More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters, more majestic than the waves of the sea, majestic on high is the LORD!
93:5 Your decrees are very sure; holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore.
SECOND READING: REVELATION 1:4b-8
[JESUS CHRIST – “the faithful witness, firstborn of the dead, and ruler of kings” – has been sent by Almighty God to suffer and to die, to rise and to rule, with justice and love. Hold on to hope!]
1:4 Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,
1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood
1:6 and made us a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
1:7 Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. So it is to be. Amen.
1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
GOSPEL VERSE:
“Victory is mine, victory is mine, victory today is mine!
I TOLD SATAN ‘GET THEE BEHIND!’… victory today is mine!
(2) Joy is mine…
(3) Peace is mine…”
HOLY GOSPEL: JOHN 18:33-37
[The truth of God’s power – love, not force! Pilate cannot understand that JESUS is nothing like an earthly king… and this truth will be revealed in nonviolent suffering and sacrificial love. Hold on to hope!]
18:33 Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
18:34 Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?”
18:35 Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?”
18:36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”
18:37 Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
SONG SELECTION ALL SAINTS CHOIR
THE SERMON: Pastor Neil or Pastor Gwen
SONG RESPONSE: “O HOW I LOVE JESUS” Tan #291
A STATEMENT OF FAITH (written by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, South Africa, anti-apartheid and human rights activist):
Goodness is stronger than evil;
love is stronger than hate;
light is stronger than darkness;
life is stronger than death;
and victory is ours through God who loves us. Amen.
THE PRAYERS… We lift up our praises, the Church, the needs and burdens of this troubled world!
+ We Share God’s Holy Meal +
OFFERING OF TITHES (10% giving) AND GIFTS… We bring our gifts each week, we offer our lives each day! Those in the Sanctuary can put their offering in the offering plate to share their gratitude and their generosity in response to Christ’s love. Those who are farther away might: mail a check or money order to St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2169 74th Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19138… contribute online through bit.ly/stpetersgiving and set up a one-time donation or a recurring weekly gift to selected categories… or text Give+ at 833-914-0896 and follow the instructions to register and record your contribution. God has blessed us to be a blessing!
SONG SELECTION: ALL SAINTS CHOIR
THE OFFERTORY SONG:
“Thank you, Lord… thank you, Lord… thank you, Lord… I just want to thank you, Lord!
(2) Been so good…
(3) Love you, Lord…”
OFFERING PRAYER led by the Communion Assistant:
God of grace and glory, we thank you for the gift of creation and the gift of our lives, for the gift of salvation and the gift of Jesus Christ, for the gift of your Holy Spirit and the gift of your Church.
Take our attitude of gratitude and transform it into caring and sharing towards the least, the lost, and the lonely all over the face of this earth.
Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream. Amen.
THE PREFACE:
L The Lord be with you. C And also with you.
L Lift up your hearts! C We lift them up in love for God!
L Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. C It is right to give God our thanks and praise.
L Almighty God, you are the eternal source of all creation! You are mightier than the thunder of waters, mightier than the waves of the sea. There is no strength like God’s strength! Yet, when the time was right you sent your Son, a vulnerable infant of low estate, to testify to the truth of power made known in your embracing love. Jesus came to raise up the poor, the rejected, and the lost… he came to teach that your kingdom is one of mercy, forgiveness, and love… and he came to offer his very life on a cross to save this world from sin, death, and the devil.
L Today, dear God, we celebrate his victory and the grace that anoints us as his servants and friends.
Today, O God, we remember and rejoice in all the saints who have gone before us and now rest in your peace. Today, O God, we seek to be faithful in our living and fervent in our loving as long as we have life and breath. And today, O God, we sing with hearts of praise and joy…
C [singing]… (1) “O when the saints go marching in… O when the saints go marching in…
O Lord, I want to be in that number – when the saints go marching in!
(2) O when they gather ‘round that throne…
(3) O when they crown him King of kings…
(4) And on that hallelujah day…”
THE EUCHARISTIC WORDS by the Celebrant, who recalls and re-enacts Jesus’ Holy Meal.
THE LORD’S PRAYER (spoken)
COMMUNION AND BLESSINGS… All believers in Jesus Christ are welcome at the Lord’s Table! The wine may be received from the pouring chalice; we also have grape juice on the tray. HALLELUJAH, SOME DAY WE WILL BE “HOME” AND “AT TABLE” WITH OUR FAITHFUL LOVED ONES, IF ONLY WE WILL FOLLOW HERE AND NOW WHERE CHRIST LEADS US!
COMMUNION SONGS: “PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW” Tan #650
“SWING LOW, SWEET CHARIOT” Tan #539
THE COMMUNION BLESSING by the Celebrant after all have communed.
POST-COMMUNION PRAYER by the Communion Assistant.
+ We Rejoice in Our Mission +
THE BENEDICTION… from our Trinidad and Tobago friends:
Won’t you greet somebody in Jesus’ Name?
Tell that you love them in Jesus’ Name!
Tell them we can work together in Jesus’ Name!
Everybody smile, Jesus loves you!
Everybody smile, Jesus loves you!
CLOSING SONG: “ALL HAIL THE POWER OF JESUS’ NAME” Tan #292