Christ the King Sunday November 23, 2025 Prelude Now thank We All Our God Thanks Be to Thee Prayer of Thanksgiving 1625 Anon. arr . John Behnke Handel The Netherlands setting James Kasen
Welcome & Announcements
*Thanksgiving for Baptism
Blessed be the holy Trinity, one God, the fountain of living water, the rock who gave us birth, our light and our salvation. Amen. Joined to Christ in the waters of baptism, we are clothed with God's mercy and forgiveness. Let us give thanks for the gift of baptism which fills our lives with joy. We give you thanks, O God, for in the beginning your Spirit moved over the waters and by your Word you created the world, calling forth life in which you took delight. Through the waters of the flood you delivered Noah and his family. Through the sea you led your people Israel from slavery into freedom. At the river your Son was baptized by John and anointed with the Holy Spirit. By water and your Word you claim us as daughters and sons, making us heirs of your promise and servants of all. We praise you for the gift of water that sustains life, and above all we praise you for the gift of new life in Jesus Christ. Shower us with your Spirit, and renew our lives with your forgiveness, grace, and love. To you be given honor and praise through Jesus Christ our Lord in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
*Gathering Hymn Praise and Thanksgiving verses 1-2
The congregation responds to each verse: Now our minds are one.
Background: The Thanksgiving Address reflects the Haudenosaunee relationship of giving thanks for life and the world around them. The Haudenosaunee open and close every social and religious meeting with the Thanksgiving Address. It is also said as a daily sunrise prayer, and is an ancient message of peace and appreciation of 2Mother Earth and her inhabitants. The children learn that, according to Native American tradition, people everywhere are embraced as family. Our diversity, like all wonders of Nature, is truly a gift for which we are thankful. When one recites the Thanksgiving Address the Natural World is thanked, and in thanking each life-sustaining force, one becomes spiritually tied to each of the forces of the Natural and Spiritual World. The Thanksgiving Address teaches mutual respect, conservation, love, generosity, and the responsibility to understand that what is done to one part of the Web of Life, we do to ourselves. Praise and Thanksgiving
*Prayer of the Day The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Verses 3-4
O God, our true life, to serve you is freedom, and to know you is unending joy. We worship you, we glorify you, we give thanks to you for your great glory. Abide with us, reign in us, and make this world into a fit habitation for your divine majesty, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Old Testament Reading Jeremiah 23:1-6
1Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. 2Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. 3Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 4I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord. 5The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.” Today’s reading builds on the common, ancient Near Eastern metaphor of the king as shepherd. Judah’s unjust rulers have caused their people, their “flock,” to be scattered. Nevertheless, God will raise up a new and righteous shepherd who will rule a restored Judah.
Word of God, Word of Life. Thanks be to God.
Psalm Psalm 46
1God is our ref- | uge and strength, a very present | help in trouble.
2Therefore we will not fear, though the | earth be moved, and though the mountains shake in the depths | of the sea;
3though its waters | rage and foam, and though the mountains tremble | with its tumult.
4There is a river whose streams make glad the cit- | y of God, the holy habitation of | the Most High.
5God is in the midst of the city; it shall | not be shaken; God shall help it at the | break of day.
6The nations rage, and the | kingdoms shake; God speaks, and the earth | melts away. R
7The Lord of | hosts is with us; the God of Jacob | is our stronghold.
8Come now, regard the works | of the Lord, what desolations God has brought up- | on the earth;
9behold the one who makes war to cease in | all the world; who breaks the bow, and shatters the spear, and burns the | shields with fire.
10“Be still, then, and know that | I am God; I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted | in the earth.”
11The Lord of | hosts is with us; the God of Jacob | is our stronghold. R
The Epistle Lesson Colossians 1:11-20
11May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 413He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
Word of God, Word of Life. Thanks be to God.
*Gospel Acclamation Behold, the King comes. Alleluia!
O come, let us worship and bow down. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Rejoice greatly, for Christ is your King.
Blessing and honor and glory be unto him.
Blessed are you, O Lord, King of the universe; you have delivered us from sin and death.
By your blood, you have brought your people into your kingdom.
Therefore God has highly exalted him:
And bestowed on him the name which is above every name;
That at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow:
And every tongue confess him the King of glory.
Behold, the King comes. Alleluia!
O come, let us worship and bow down. Alleluia! Alleluia!
*Gospel Luke 23:33-43 Glory to you O Lord
33When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing. An early Christian hymn praises the mystery of the political, personal, and mystical Christ, the one who was present at creation and is eternally reigning with God. 5Amid scoffing and slander from those who sarcastically call him Messiah and king, Jesus reveals that to be Messiah and king is to give one’s life for others. Here he uses his power to welcome a despised sinner to paradise but puts his own death into God’s hands. 35And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” 36The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, 37and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” 39One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
*Hymn of the Day Alleluia Sing to Jesus
Vs. 2 Alleluia! Bread of heaven, here on earth our food, our stay; Alleluia! here the sinful flee to you from day to day. Intercessor, friend of sinners, earth's redeemer, hear our plea Where the songs of all the sinless sweep across the crystal sea.
Vs. 3 Alleluia! King eternal, Lord omnipotent we own; Alleluia! born of Mary, earth your footstool, heav'n your throne. As within the veil you entered, robed in flesh, our great high priest, here on earth both priest and victim in the eucharistic feast.
A Litany for Transgender Day of Remembrance We praise you, Holy One, for the gift of life, precious, stubborn, fragile and beautiful; We are grateful for the time we have to live upon the earth, to love, to grow, to be. We give thanks for the will to live and for our capacity to live fully all of the days that we are given; and for those who have been taken by the devastation of violence used against them we remember them and claim the opportunity to build lives of wholeness in their honor. We give you thanks for the partners, friends, allies and families who have been steadfast in their love; for the people who have devoted their life’s work to the prevention of violence, support and making transition from one gender to another possible with passion and commitment, For the diligent science, brilliant ideas and insights that have led to new, life-giving procedures, for those in leadership who have acted to provide health care for people who are in transition. We give thanks for those whose prejudice and judgment have yielded to understanding, for those who have overcome fear, indifference or burnout to embrace a life of caring compassion. We praise you, Eternal One, for those who have loved enough that their hearts have broken, who cherish the memories of those we have lost, and for those who console the grieving. God, grant us the love, courage, tenacity, and will to continue to make a difference in a world even with the violence aimed towards our community; 7Inspire us to challenge and stand strong against the forces that allow the needless harm and violence to continue -- prejudice, unjust laws, repression, stigma and fear. Into your care, we trust and lift up the hundreds of souls who have been tortured and murdered. We place their names before you now… We lift up to you your dream of a world where all are cared for, May your dream of wholeness become our dream, Your dream of a world where all are accepted and respected, May we continue, more and more, to embody your dream.
*Exchange of Peace
*Prayers of Intercession
Response to each petition: Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
*Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary and became truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. 8We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
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Offering Music
* Commitment Prayer & Blessing
Let us Pray…Gracious God, because you have given us every good gift in Christ, we place our commitments on your altar. Renew our trust in Your promises. Receive the offerings we bring —our time, our talents, and our resources— and use them for the work of Your church and the good of Your world. Strengthen us by Your Spirit to serve with joy and generosity and to become an even brighter light in the darkness and a more sure guide toward peace. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
*The Great Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and praise.
*Preface
It is indeed right, our duty and our joy,…we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
*Sanctus
*Eucharistic Prayer On the night our Lord Jesus was betrayed, … Remembering, then, his death and resurrection, we take this bread and cup… …through your Son Jesus Christ; through whom all glory and honor are yours, almighty Father, with the Holy Spirit, in your holy church, both now and forever. Amen.
*The Lord’s Prayer Lord, remember us in your Kingdom and teach us to pray:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.
Agnus Dei
Communion Distribution
Communion Hymn All Things Bright and Beautiful Choir John Rutter
All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all….
*Communion Blessing and Prayer
God of field and flower, wheat and grape, you have nourished us with the bread of heaven that gives life to the world. Strengthened by the body and blood of your Son, send us out to gather your good gifts for all who hunger and thirst, and embolden us to love and serve in Christ’s name. Amen.
*Sending Hymn Crown Him With Many Crowns
*Blessing & Dismissal
Go in peace. You are the body of Christ. Thanks be to God.
Postlude Come Ye Thankful People Tune by George Elvey arr. James Kasen
