Link to recording of online worship
Plumsted Presbyterian Church
November 22, 2020—Christ the King Sunday
Welcome
* Call to Worship
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness. Come into God’s presence with singing.
Know that the Lord is God. It is the Lord that made us, and we are God’s; we are God’s people, and the sheep of God’s pasture.
Enter the Lord’s gates with thanksgiving, and the Lord’s courts with praise. Give thanks to the Lord, bless God’s name.
For the Lord is good, God’s steadfast love endures forever, and God’s faithfulness to all generations.
* Hymn 155 Rejoice the Lord is King
Confession and Assurance of Forgiveness
We are often oblivious to God’s near presence, consumed by our own interests and unable rightly to see and treat others. Our God is merciful, eager to forgive, seeking us out and able to transform. Confident in the character and power of God, we boldly confess our sin.
On this Christ the King Sunday we confess, Lord of all, that we have often put other priorities ahead of our loyalty to you. We focus on ourselves and become unable to tend to those in need. We obsess on our own desires to the detriment of your creation. We dismiss those without earthly status and seek out those we think can benefit us. We forget that following you means caring for those most in need of compassion and relief.
Forgive us, merciful Lord. Free us from a past we cannot change. Turn us toward you. Shape us into a people who better resemble you, Christ our King, Jesus our servant Lord. Amen.
God tells us, “I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.” Christ alone is judge and Christ is merciful, eager to forgive and abounding in steadfast love. Friends, believe the good news and be at peace. In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Thanks be to God!
Prayer for Illumination
Almighty God, as the days grow shorter and our world continues to wrestle with all manner of suffering, we long to know your near and healing presence. Send your Spirit to grant us the faith and hope to recognize you, worship you, follow you and heed your Word. Amen.
Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
Scripture
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-2411For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. 12As 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. 13I 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. 14I 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. 15I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. 16I 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.
20Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, 22I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.
Matthew 25:31-46“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. 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, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.
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; 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, 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.’
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? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’
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.’
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; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 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.’
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?’
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.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Sermon
* Affirmation of Faith
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Sharing of Joys and Concerns
Prayers of Intercession
Invitation to the Offering and Dedication
In recognition of our loyalty to our God and our gratitude for all God has given to us, we make our offering with joy and thanksgiving. Let us seek to show our love for the God who relentlessly seeks us out and tenderly cares for us through the gift of our tithes and offerings.
Holy One, we pray for a spirit of wisdom the wisdom to know whom to follow and how to treat one another, the wisdom to steward the gifts you have entrusted us in ways that bring you glory, the wisdom to worship you and you alone. Take these gifts, we pray, bless and use them that the least of these members of your family would be fed, visited, cared for and clothed in your name. Amen.
* Hymn 407 When a Poor One
* Charge and Benediction
* Please stand if you’re able
Plumsted Presbyterian Church
November 22, 2020—Christ the King Sunday
Welcome
* Call to Worship
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness. Come into God’s presence with singing.
Know that the Lord is God. It is the Lord that made us, and we are God’s; we are God’s people, and the sheep of God’s pasture.
Enter the Lord’s gates with thanksgiving, and the Lord’s courts with praise. Give thanks to the Lord, bless God’s name.
For the Lord is good, God’s steadfast love endures forever, and God’s faithfulness to all generations.
* Hymn 155 Rejoice the Lord is King
Confession and Assurance of Forgiveness
We are often oblivious to God’s near presence, consumed by our own interests and unable rightly to see and treat others. Our God is merciful, eager to forgive, seeking us out and able to transform. Confident in the character and power of God, we boldly confess our sin.
On this Christ the King Sunday we confess, Lord of all, that we have often put other priorities ahead of our loyalty to you. We focus on ourselves and become unable to tend to those in need. We obsess on our own desires to the detriment of your creation. We dismiss those without earthly status and seek out those we think can benefit us. We forget that following you means caring for those most in need of compassion and relief.
Forgive us, merciful Lord. Free us from a past we cannot change. Turn us toward you. Shape us into a people who better resemble you, Christ our King, Jesus our servant Lord. Amen.
God tells us, “I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.” Christ alone is judge and Christ is merciful, eager to forgive and abounding in steadfast love. Friends, believe the good news and be at peace. In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Thanks be to God!
Prayer for Illumination
Almighty God, as the days grow shorter and our world continues to wrestle with all manner of suffering, we long to know your near and healing presence. Send your Spirit to grant us the faith and hope to recognize you, worship you, follow you and heed your Word. Amen.
Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
Scripture
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-2411For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. 12As 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. 13I 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. 14I 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. 15I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. 16I 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.
20Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, 22I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.
Matthew 25:31-46“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. 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, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.
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; 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, 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.’
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? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’
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.’
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; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 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.’
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?’
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.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Sermon
* Affirmation of Faith
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Sharing of Joys and Concerns
Prayers of Intercession
Invitation to the Offering and Dedication
In recognition of our loyalty to our God and our gratitude for all God has given to us, we make our offering with joy and thanksgiving. Let us seek to show our love for the God who relentlessly seeks us out and tenderly cares for us through the gift of our tithes and offerings.
Holy One, we pray for a spirit of wisdom the wisdom to know whom to follow and how to treat one another, the wisdom to steward the gifts you have entrusted us in ways that bring you glory, the wisdom to worship you and you alone. Take these gifts, we pray, bless and use them that the least of these members of your family would be fed, visited, cared for and clothed in your name. Amen.
* Hymn 407 When a Poor One
* Charge and Benediction
* Please stand if you’re able
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