St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

CHRIST THE KING SUNDAY 

(Last Sunday of the Church Year)

11-26-2023     10:00AM “Hybrid” Worship

+  We Rejoice in the Spirit  +

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 our King! HALLELUJAH!

OPENING SONG: “TO GOD BE THE GLORY”                                   Tan #157

THE PRAYER OF THE DAY (together):     

Almighty God, we worship you, we glorify you, and we give you thanks for your Son, Jesus Christ. We pray that Christ, the King of heaven and earth, will also rule as the King of our daily lives. And we pray that we will not fail to see and serve Christ among the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned.  We want to be ready when the trumpet sounds, when the saints go marching in.  Amen

+  We Rejoice in God’s Saving Word  +

FIRST READING:  EZEKIEL 34:11-16, 20-24
[The result of “bad shepherd” kings has been scattered sheep, weak and wounded sheep, and also fat and greedy sheep. But God will come as the good shepherd to gather, feed, and care for the people. Failed shepherds ought to be fearful.]

34:11 For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.

34:12 As 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.

34:13 I 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.

34:14 I 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.

34:15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD.

34:16 I 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.

34:20 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.

34:21 Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide,

34:22 I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.

34:23 I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.

34:24 And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken.

SECOND READING:  EPHESIANS 1:15-23
[God is praised for revealing ultimate divine power in raising Jesus from the dead. The resurrected and exalted Christ is Lord both of the church and of the entire universe, now and in the age to come.]

1:15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason

1:16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.

1:17 I 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,

1:18 so 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,

1:19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.

1:20 God 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,

1:21 far 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.

1:22 And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church,

1:23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

 GOSPEL VERSE: 

“I really love the Lord… I really love the Lord!

You don’t know what He’s done for me, gave me the victory.

I love Him, I love Him… I really love the Lord!” (repeat)

HOLY GOSPEL:   MATTHEW 25:31-46
[Jesus tells a story about sheep and goats, heaven and hell. In the last judgment, do you anticipate being “right” on or “left” out?]

25:31 “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.

25:32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,

25:33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.

25:34 Then 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;

25:35 for 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,

25:36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’

25:37 Then 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?

25:38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?

25:39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’

25:40 And 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.’

25:41 Then 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;

25:42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,

25:43 I 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.’

25:44 Then 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?’

25:45 Then 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.’

25:46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

SONG SELECTION ALL SAINTS CHOIR

THE SERMON:       Pastor Neil or Pastor Gwen

SONG RESPONSE:       “HIS NAME IS WONDERFUL”                          Tan #307 

THE PRAYERS…  We pray for NEW LIFE in the Spirit and the MISSION of the Church to the world!        

+  We Rejoice in God’s Nourishing Meal  +

THE OFFERING…  May the Spirit of God within us guide us to grateful, generous, and fruitful discipleship!

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, today we praise you for your Son, Jesus Christ – our Lord, our Savior, and our King!

We offer you our hearts and hands, our voices and values, our living and our loving, our service and our sacrifice.

And today we sing with all the faithful of every time and place…

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! We will have “continuous distribution” with wafers and your choice of wine from the chalice or grape juice from the tray . Praise the Lord for this community meal that renews our spirits, powers our faith, and reminds us of the future heavenly banquet that awaits us!

COMMUNION SONGS:               Tan #286               Tan #253                        

THE COMMUNION BLESSING by the Celebrant after all have communed.

POST-COMMUNION PRAYER by the Communion Assistant.

+  We Rejoice in Our Mission  +

THE BENEDICTION by the Pastor…We are sent forth to be and become the BODY OF CHRIST for the world!

CLOSING SONG: “SOON-A WILL BE DONE”                                                       Tan #587

First Sunday in Advent… We begin a new Church Year with hope grounded

in the presence and promise of our Savior! Stay awake… get ready… believe.