November 25 -- Christ the King Sunday

Christ the King Sunday

25 November 2012 – 8:15am & 10:30am

Still Christ’s Church, Still Christ’s Year. 

INTRODUCTION

The church year is an ever-unfolding drama, the story of what God has done in Jesus Christ, and continues to do: to bring salvation of God’s human family.  In the changing colors of the paraments and the progression of the seasons, we are participants, because all that Christ our King unfolds before us year by year, season by season, was done for us.         

  

ADVENT – LESSON: Micah 5:2-5  

² But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.  ³ Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has brought forth; then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel.  ⁴ And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth;  ⁵ and he shall be the one of peace.        

RED HYMNAL #257 “O COME, O COME, EMMANUEL” vs 1, 7

CHRISTMAS – LESSON: Luke 2: 1-7  

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.  ² This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.  ³ All went to their own towns to be registered.  ⁴ Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David.  ⁵ He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.  ⁶ While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.  ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.           

RED HYMNAL #267 “JOY TO THE WORLD” vs 1,4

                                                     

EPIPHANY – LESSON: Matthew 2: 1-2, 9-11

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,  ² asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."  When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was.  ¹⁰ When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.  ¹¹ On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

red hymnal #303  “brightest and best of the Stars”  vs 1, 3

LENT – LESSON: John 2: 16-21     

¹³The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. ¹⁵Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶He told those who were selling the doves, "Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!" ¹⁷His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me." ¹⁸The Jews then said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?" ¹⁹Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." ²⁰The Jews then said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?" ²¹But he was speaking of the temple of his body.

red hymnal #319           “o lord, throughout these forty days” vs 1, 3

HOLY WEEK – LESSON: Mark 15:25-39     

²⁵ It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him.  ²⁶ The inscription of the charge against him read, "The King of the Jews."  ²⁷ And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left.  ^{28   29} Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, "Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days,  ³⁰ save yourself, and come down from the cross!"  ³¹ In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself.  ³² Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe." Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.  ³³ When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.  ³⁴ At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"  ³⁵ When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, "Listen, he is calling for Elijah."  ³⁶ And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down."  ³⁷ Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.  ³⁸ And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.  ³⁹ Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was God's Son!"

red hymnal #353           “WERE YOU THERE” vs 1, 5

EASTER – LESSON: Luke 24:1-10  

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared.  ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,  ³ but when they went in, they did not find the body.  ⁴ While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them.  ⁵ The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.  ⁶ Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,  ⁷ that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again."  ⁸ Then they remembered his words,  ⁹ and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest.  ¹⁰ Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles.

red hymnal #365 “jesus christ is risen today”  vss 1 and 2 

PENTECOST – LESSON: Acts 2: 1-4     

 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.  ² And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.  ³ Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.  ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.       

red hymnal #396 “Spirit of Gentleness”         vs 3

The Green Season:  THE SUNDAYS AFTER PENTECOST – LESSON: Mark 4:26-41

²⁶He also said, "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, ²⁷and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. ²⁸The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. ²⁹But when the grain is

ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come." ³⁰He also said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? ³¹It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; ³²yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade." ³³With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; ³⁴he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.  ³⁵On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." ³⁶And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. ³⁷A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. ³⁸But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" ³⁹He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. ⁴⁰He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" ⁴¹And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

red hymnal #742 “what a friend we have in jesus”                vs 1  

Red hymnal # 540 “go, make disciples”

CHRIST THE KING SUNDAY – LESSON:  Revelation: 11:15-17

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever."  ¹⁶ Then the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God,  ¹⁷ singing, "We give you thanks, Lord God Almighty, who are and who were, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.

Sending Song – red hymnal #660 “lift high the cross”          

The children of the congregation are invited forward to pick up an instrument and lead the procession of God’s people out into the world with joy and hope.                                                                       

Go in peace. Christ is with you.                                                                                                                                  

Thanks be to God.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!