Sunday November 26, 2017
Year A, Twenty-Fifth Sunday After Pentecost
Reign of Christ Sunday
Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost :: Green ::
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 :: Psalm 100 ::Ephesians 1:15-23 :: Matthew 25:31-46
Call to Worship (Responsive)
Adapted from Psalm 100 ( See also Chalice Hymnal Psalter 752)
L: Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.
P: Come into God’s presence with singing.
L: Enter God’s gates with thanksgiving, and God’s courts with praise.
P: Give thanks and bless God’s name.
L: For the LORD is good;
P: God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Invocation:
Almighty and wonderful God. We enter your courts with thanksgiving and praise, knowing that you have made us, and remembering we are loved. We have come to praise your mighty acts, to offer our petitions, and celebrate remembrance. Let us know your guarding presence, as sheep with their shepherd, as we seek to honor you for all your good works.
Stewardship Moment:
Have you fed the hungry, quenched the thirsty, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, and visited the prisoner? . . . Today? . . . When we support the Disciples Mission Fund through our general offerings, the answer is yes. When we support our special offerings, the answer is yes. In nations around the globe our missionaries are doing these very things through our partnerships in the name of Christ. In our mission centers, Disciples are serving the “least of these”. Let us bring the tithes and offerings which feed, quench, welcome, clothe, care and visit.
Offertory Prayer:
God of love. We come today bringing our gifts, and dedicating them to your service. Bless these gifts and use them to serve the needs of the many who need to know your presence. We bring them with thanksgiving in our hearts, and songs of hope and praise on our lips. Amen.
Communion Meditation:
From Paul’s letter to the Ephesians: “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, so that with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you.” One of the places we most richly come to know God, is through this table of forgiveness, reconciliation, and hope. Come to this table, lay down your burdens of sin, and accept the blessings of hope to which God calls you through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
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Scripture Quotations from the New Revised Standard Version. Online Scripture links a service of the Jean and Alexander Heard Divinity Library, of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. Check out all of the awesome resources there at http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu