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Zion Lutheran Church, ELCA
Building on the
1st
100 Years!
The Reign of Christ the
King
Love is spoken here! Be the living Eucharist!
GATHERING
PRELUDE
CALL TO WORSHIP
The Holy Spirit calls us in community as the people of God.
Prelude on “Kremser”
The assembly stands to collectively center for worship and contemplate God’s graciousness.
Around the world this day, the universal church celebrates the “THE REIGN OF CHRIST”, the King!
November 23, 2014
Christ Jesus, friend of the poor, the meek and the merciful, has been enthroned above all authority and power in this
world and in the world that is to come.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth, serve the Lord with gladness come into his presence with singing.
God has placed everything under Christ’s wounded feet, appointed the one who wore a crown of thorns as the supreme
head of the church, his body.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, come into his courts with praise. Give thanks and praise his loving name!
GATHERING SONG
Jesus shall reign
ELW (red book) 434
GREETING The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all!
And also with you!
CANTICLE OF PRAISE
1)
2)
3)
Now the feast and celebration
ELW 167
Now the feast and cel-e-bra-tion, all of cre-a-tion sings for joy
To the God of life and love and free-dom; praise and glo-ry for-ev-er-more! REFRAIN
Now is the feast of the Lamb once slain, whose blood has freed and u-nit-ed us to be one great people of God.
Pow-er and rich-es, wis-dom and might, all hon-or and glo-ry to Christ for-ev-er.
For God has come to dwell with us, to make us peo-ple of God; to make all things new.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Let us pray: O God of power and might, Your Son shows us the way of service, and in him we inherit the riches of Your
grace. Please give us the wisdom to know what is right and the strength to serve the world You have made, through
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
WORD
God speaks to us in poetry, creative writing, scripture, preaching, and song.
A READING FROM HEBREW SCRIPTURE (Tanakh): Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
Common English Bible*
Since Israel's kings proved to be bad shepherds, the prophet Ezekiel spoke for God ad declares that the Lord will assume the role of
shepherd in Israel. The Lord will also set over them a shepherd-messiah, "my servant David," who will feed and care for the people.
11
12
The LORD God proclaims: I myself will search for my flock and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out the flock when
some in the flock have been scattered, so will I seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they were
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scattered during the time of clouds and thick darkness. I will gather and lead them out from the countries and peoples,
and I will bring them to their own fertile land. I will feed them on Israel’s highlands, along the riverbeds, and in all the
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inhabited places. I will feed them in good pasture, and their sheepfold will be there, on Israel’s lofty highlands. On
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Israel’s highlands, they will lie down in a secure fold and feed on green pastures. I myself will feed my flock and make
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them lie down. This is what the LORD God says. I will seek out the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the wounded, and
strengthen the weak. But the fat and the strong I will destroy, because I will tend my sheep with justice.
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So the LORD God proclaims to them: I will judge between the fat and the lean sheep. You shove with shoulder
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and flank, and with your horns you ram all the weak sheep until you’ve scattered them outside. But I will rescue my flock
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so that they will never again be prey. I will even judge between the sheep! I will appoint for them a single shepherd, and
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he will feed them. My servant David will feed them. He will be their shepherd. I, the LORD, will be their God, and my
servant David will be their prince. I, the LORD, have spoken.
Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word! Thanks be to God!
PSALM 95:1-7a
1
read responsively
Come, let us sing to the LORD; let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
2
Let us come before God's presence with thanksgiving and raise a loud shout to the LORD with psalms.
3
For you, LORD, are a great God, and a great ruler above all gods.
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In your hand are the caverns of the earth; the heights of the hills are also yours.
5
The sea is yours, for you made it, and your hands have molded the dry land.
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Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
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For the LORD is our God, and we are the people of God's pasture and the sheep of God's hand.
pg. 1
A READING FROM CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 1:15-23
Common English Bible*
In this passage, God is praised for revealing ultimate divine power in raising Jesus from the dead: the resurrected, exalted Christ is
Lord both of the church and the entire universe, now and in the age to come.
15
16
Since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, this is the reason that I don’t stop
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giving thanks to God for you when I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
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Father of glory, will give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation that makes God known to you. I pray that the eyes of your
heart will have enough light to see what is the hope of God’s call, what is the richness of God’s glorious inheritance
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among believers, and what is the overwhelming greatness of God’s power that is working among us believers. This
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power is conferred by the energy of God’s powerful strength. God’s power was at work in Christ when God raised him
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from the dead and sat him at God’s right side in the heavens, far above every ruler and authority and power and angelic
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power, any power that might be named not only now but in the future. God put everything under Christ’s feet and made
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him head of everything in the church, which is his body. His body, the church, is the fullness of Christ, who fills
everything in every way.
Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word! Thanks be to God!
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
ELW pg. 151
The assembly stands to welcome Jesus, the living Word, in song.
Alleluia, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Alleluia.
Preface The Holy Gospel according to Matthew! Glory to you, O Lord!
A READING FROM THE HOLY GOSPELS (Good News): Matthew 25:31-46
Common English Bible*
31
32
“Now when the [Son of Man] comes in his majesty and all his angels are with him, he will sit on his majestic throne. All
the nations will be gathered in front of him. He will separate them from each other, just as a shepherd separates the
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sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right side. But the goats he will put on his left.
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“Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who will receive good things from my Father. Inherit the
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kingdom that was prepared for you before the world began. I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and
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you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick
and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.’
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“Then those who are righteous will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you
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a drink? When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and give you clothes to wear? When did we
see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
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“Then the king will reply to them, ‘I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and
sisters of mine, you have done it for me.’
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“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Get away from me, you who will receive terrible things. Go into the unending fire
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that has been prepared for the devil and his angels. I was hungry and you didn’t give me food to eat. I was thirsty and
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you didn’t give me anything to drink. I was a stranger and you didn’t welcome me. I was naked and you didn’t give me
clothes to wear. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
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“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and didn’t
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do anything to help you?’ Then he will answer, ‘I assure you that when you haven’t done it for one of the least of these,
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you haven’t done it for me.’ And they will go away into eternal punishment. But the righteous ones will go into eternal
life.”
Response The Gospel of the Lord! Praise to you, O Christ!
MESSAGE
SONG OF THE DAY
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Pastor Andrew
O Christ the same
ELW 760
Remembering the saints who have gone before us and giving thanks for God's blessings, we pray for the church, all in
need, and God's good creation.
A brief silence
Petitions follow:
The responses are… Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Receive our prayers and hopes, Good Shepherd, and bring us safely into all joy and peace, through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
CONFESSION
We know that we have not lived as God hopes. But however fragmented we become, God longs to hold us together in grace
and peace. Let us come with our prayers of confession and need to the One who prepares the way for our words:
In these moments, Remembering God, we bring to You all the ways we have not lived as your people: we stand by
watching while those in need struggle to survive; we cast our lots with those who worship power and success; we offer
insults rather than words of grace to those who care for us; we scoff at Your words which call us to a different lifestyle.
Forgive us, God of Mercy, for not knowing what we do to You, to others, to ourselves. Please speak to us through
Jesus Christ, our King and our Savior, who bears words filled with Your tender mercy and gracious hope.
Silence is kept
pg. 2
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
This is the good news: God remembers! Not our sins, not our foolish lives, not our rebellion. God remembers us - and
redeems + us!
God prepares the way for us - the way to grace, to hope, to new life. Joyfully, we offer our thanks to
God! Amen!
SHARING OF THE PEACE
All are encouraged to greet others in Christ’s name.
The peace of Christ be with you always! And, also with you!
MEAL
God feeds us with the presence of the risen and ascended Christ!
GATHERING OF GIFTS
We give You thanks
Senior Choir
As the gifts of bread, wine, and currency are brought forward, the assembly stands.
OFFERTORY
Come to the ta-ble of mer-cy, pre-pared with the wine and the bread.
All who are hun-gry and thirst-y, come and your souls will be fed.
Come at the Lord’s in-vi-ta-tion; re-ceive from his nail-scarred hand.
Eat of the bread of sal-va-tion; drink of the blood of the Lamb.
ELW 481
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
Let us pray: Out of Your love, O God, You gave us Your Son and all that we have. We return a portion of that which You
have given us as expressions of our love for You. Please continue stirring Your Spirit within us that we might become
increasingly engaged in alleviating poverty, hunger, and injustice. Please increase our understanding not only for the
suffering ones of our community but for the mission fields around the world. Please share with us the joy of giving
bountifully, even as Jesus sacrificed for our sake. Amen.
THANKSGIVING FOR JESUS’ LIFE AND OUR SALVATION
The Lord be with you! And also with you!
Open up your hearts! We open them up to the Lord!
Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God! It is right to give God thanks and praise!
Pastor Andrew gives thanks for God’s salvation in Jesus Christ.
… And so, with all the choirs of angels,with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise Your name and join
their unending song:
SANCTUS
WOV pg. 617a
Ho-ly, ho-ly, ho-ly Lord, God of pow’r and might, ho-ly, ho-ly, ho-ly Lord, God of pow’r and might:
Heav-en and earth are full, full of your glo-ry.
Ho-san-na in the high-est, ho-san-na in the high-est.
Bless-ed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Ho-san-na in the high-est, ho-san-na in the high-est.
CHRIST’S WORDS OF INSTITUTION
Pastor Andrew prays for the Spirit’s presence in us who are gathered and the meal we share.
…For as often as we eat of this bread and drink from this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Christ has died! Christ is risen! Christ will come again!
Therefore, O God, with this bread and cup we remember the life our Lord offered for us. And, believing the witness of his
resurrection, we await his coming in power to share with us the great and promised feast.
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
Send now, we pray, Your Holy Spirit, that we who share in Christ’s body and blood may live to the praise of Your glory
and receive our inheritance with all Your saints in light.
Amen! Come, Holy Spirit!
…Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is Yours, almighty father, now and
forever.
Amen!
THE LORD’S PRAYER
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.
INVITATION TO COMMUNION
The reign of God is at hand! Come, taste the joy prepared for us! Thanks be to God!
pg. 3
PSALM 136:1
Confitemini Domino
THE EUCHARIST
ELW 528
Come and fill our hearts with your peace. You a-lone, O Lord, are ho-ly.
Come and fill our hearts with your peace. Al-le-lu-ia! (repeat all once)
(intinction-dipping of host into the chalice of wine or grape juice)
Believing in the real presence of Christ, this church practices Eucharistic hospitality. All baptized persons, having previously received
communion, are welcomed to The Meal. Those who do not wish to commune may come forward for a blessing signified by crossed arms.
SONGS DURING THE EUCHARIST
POST EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
ELW 484, 522
Let us pray: O God, the host at every meal, at this table You spread out a feast for all peoples, the bread of life and the
cup of salvation. Send us from this banquet to invite others into these good things, to let justice roll down like waters, and
to care for the least of our sisters and brothers; through Jesus Christ, our Sovereign and our Savior. Amen.
BLESSING The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.
The Lord look upon you + with favor and grant you peace! Amen!
SENDING
God blesses us and sends us in mission to the world.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
SENDING SONG
DISMISSAL
Thine the Amen
ELW 826
Go now to tell the stories of our God. We will listen to the lives of those around us as we share.
Go now to discover the gifts of everyone you meet. We will remember Jesus, who blessed us with hope and life.
Go now to share all that is within you. We will tell everyone – from the smallest child to the oldest person –
of the Spirit who longs to shape us into one community.
POSTLUDE
With grateful hearts
From Sundays and Seasons.com, Copyright 2014 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies
Annual License #28372. CCLI license #313059, Logos Productions, Call to Worship per The Rev. Bruce Prewer @ bruceprewer.com, Confession &
Assurance per The Rev. Thom Shuman @ lectionaryliturgies.blogspot.com
*Scripture translations are in the public domain and sourced through http://www.biblegateway.com
ALLERGY NOTICES
NOTE 1: The chalice next to Pastor Andrew Borden with the Assisting Minister contains wine while the small chalice on the outside with
the Acolyte contains grape juice.
NOTE 2: If you require a gluten-free offering, uncontaminated by wheat, and uncontaminated wine, please let Pastor Andrew and the
Assisting Minister know as they are available.
Serving at worship today are:
Donna Hayes – Assisting Minister
Doreen Hayes-Abbe/Hannah Abbe – Ushers
Janet Johnson – Reader Hunter & Emily White, Derek Fountaine – Acolytes
The Toombs family – Greeters
Virginia Carlson & Nancy Hallstrom – Counters
This coming week at Zion
TODAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
4PM
7PM
Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service @ Greendale People’s Church
Evening Prayer w/Holy Eucharist
Blessed Thanksgiving to all! - No office hours this day
The-Community-of-Zion-Lutheran-Worcester.org
41 Whitmarsh Avenue, Worcester, MA 01606-3296
Office: 508-853-2009 [email protected]
The Rev. Andrew H. Borden, Pastor
[email protected]
http://GodTalk-Worcester.ning.com
Sally Bond, Director of Music
Stephanie Harms, Sunday School Superintendent
Donna Hayes, Council President
You may also find us on FACEBOOK @ Zion Lutheran – Worcester, MA
A RECONCILING IN CHRIST COMMUNITY
pg. 4