Gathering

Welcome

Prelude

Call to Worship

A:        O come, let us sing to the Lord;

C:         let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into God’s presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to God with songs of praise!
For you, O Lord, are a great God,

and a great King above all gods.
In your hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are also yours.
The sea is yours, for you made it,
and the dry land, which your hands have formed.
O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.

Gathering Song            “O God, Beyond All Praising”        # 880

Words: Michael Perry, 1942-1996, © 1982, 1987 Jubilate Hymns, admin. Hope Publishing Company. Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-736296. All rights reserved.

Greeting

P:      The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

And also with you.

P:         Let us pray,

O God of power and might,

Jesus shows us the way of service, and in him we inherit the riches of your grace.  Give us the wisdom to know what is right and the strength to serve the world you have made, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen

A reading from the letter to the Ephesians, the 1^st chapter.

¹⁵ I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, and for this reason ¹⁶I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. ¹⁷I 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, ¹⁸so 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, ¹⁹and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. ²⁰God 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, ²¹far 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. ²²And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, ²³which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Word of God.  Word of Life.

Thanks be to God!

Gospel Acclamation (sung together)                                               page 142

Alleluia, Lord to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life.

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Gospel

P:                     The holy gospel according to Matthew, the 25^th chapter.

                        Glory to you, O Lord.

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. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, ³³and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. ³⁴Then 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; ³⁵for 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, ³⁶I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”

³⁷Then 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? ³⁸And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? ³⁹And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” ⁴⁰And 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.”

⁴¹Then 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; ⁴²for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I 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.”

⁴⁴Then 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?” ⁴⁵Then 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.” ⁴⁶And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’

The Gospel of the Lord. 

Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon

Hymn of the Day         “Canticle of the Turning”            # 723

1. My soul cries out with a joyful shout

that the God of my heart is great,

and my spirit sings of the wondrous things

that you bring to the ones who wait.

You fixed your sight on your servant’s plight,

and my weakness you did not spurn,

so from east to west shall my name be blest.

Could the world be about to turn?

Refrain:

My heart shall sing of the day you bring.

Let the fires of your justice burn.

Wipe away all tears for the dawn draws near,

and the world is about to turn!

• Though I am small, my God, my all,

you work great things in me,

and your mercy will last from the depths of the past

to the end of the age to be.

Your very name puts the proud to shame,

and to those who would for you yearn,

you will show your might, put the strong to flight,

for the world is about to turn.  (refrain)

• From the halls of power to the fortress tower,

not a stone will be left on stone.

Let the king beware for your justice tears

every tyrant from their throne.

The hungry poor shall weep no more,

for the food they can never earn.

There are tables spread, every mouth be fed,

for the world is about to turn.  (refrain)

• Though the nations rage from age to age,

we remember who holds us fast:

God’s mercy must deliver us

from the conqueror’s crushing grasp.

This saving word that our forebears heard

is the promise which holds us bound,

till the spear and rod can be crushed by God,

who is turning the world around.  (refrain)

Words: Rory Cooney, b. 1952, based on the Magnificat, © 1990, GIA Publications, Inc.  Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-736296. All rights reserved.

Creed

P:      We are made God’s people through our baptism into Christ.  Living together in trust and hope, let us confess our 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,

and is seated at the right hand of the Father;

he will come again 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

Prayers

Hear us, O God.  Your mercy is great.

P:      Into your hands, O God, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your mercy, through Jesus Christ our Lord who teaches us to pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.  For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever.  Amen

Sending

Announcements may be made.

Benediction                          

Sending Hymn           “Crown Him with Many Crowns”       # 855

1. Crown him with many crowns, the Lamb upon the throne;

hark, how the heavenly anthem drowns

all music but its own.

Awake my soul and sing of him who died for thee,

and hail him as thy matchless king through all eternity.

• Crown him the virgin’s son, the God incarnate born,

whose arm those crimson trophies won

which now his brow adorn;

fruit of the mystic rose, yet of that rose the stem,

the root whence mercy every flows, the babe of Bethlehem.

• Crown him the Lord of life, who triumphed o’er the grave

and rose victorious in the strife

for those he came to save.

His glories now we sing, who died and rose on high,

who died, eternal life to bring, and lives that death may die.

Dismissal

A:        Beloved of God,

go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

Thanks be to God!