Trinity
Pentecost 2B
Pentecost 3B
Pentecost 4B
Pentecost 5B
Pentecost 6B
Pentecost 7B
Pentecost 8B
Pentecost 9B
Pentecost 10B
Pentecost 11B
Pentecost 12B
Pentecost 13B
Pentecost 14B
Pentecost 15B
Pentecost 16B
Pentecost 17B
Pentecost 18B
Pentecost 19B
Pentecost 20B
Pentecost 21B
Pentecost 22B
Pentecost 23B
Pentecost 24B
Reign of Christ B
New Year C CD
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Reign of Christ B LECTIONARY GENERATED LITURGY Reign of Christ - Year B 2 Samuel 23:1-7; Ps 132:1-12(13-18); Revelation 1:4b-8; John 18:33-37 Rec. text -NRSV. Hymns are from the Australian Hymn Book (AHB) or Together in Song (TIS) unless otherwise indicated. Worship Leader - normal type. Congregational responses - bold type Permission is granted to churches to use this material in services of worship. This liturgy remains the property of Moira B Laidlaw Additional resources for Reign of Christ B: Bouganvillea crown of thorns; someone proficient in shorthand; the Greek letters alpha and omega in large print on card; Scripture in Song , CMC Australasia, Unit 9/147 Marshalltown Road, Grovedale, Victoria 3216; Australian Prayers . Bruce Prewer, Lutheran Publishing House, Adelaide, 1983; More Australian Psalms. Bruce Prewer, Openbook Publishers, Adelaide, South Australia, 1996. If you have a cross in the church on which you can hang a crown of thorns, make a crown with thorny red or purple bouganvillea - royal colours - and hang it on the cross or place it on the communion table CALL TO WORSHIP: based on Revelation 1: 4b, 5a NRSV Grace to you and peace from the One who is and who was and who is to come, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. TIS 228/AHB 163: “Crown him with many crowns” ; TIS 12/AHB286: “Ye gates, lift up your heads on high” TIS 216/AHB 147: “Rejoice the Lord is King” ; TIS 125/AHB 53: “The God of Abraham praise” PRAYER OF PRAISE AND ADORATION O God, we praise and adore you. You are truly without beginning or ending - your reign is eternal and your being all-powerful, and yet you chose to reveal your power in the most powerless and vulnerable manner - as a baby. As you shared our humanity in Jesus, you gave the world a new understanding of power. We know now that power is not to be used to dominate, but to serve others as Christ did. He transformed the love of power by the power of love. We gather today to celebrate your rule of love in our hearts as we experience it in Jesus and through the enabling gift of your Spirit. We offer this prayer of gratitude for these blessings in the name of Jesus, our Servant King. Amen SUGGESTION FOR CHILDREN’S TALK : The Alpha and the Omega. Print out the Greek letters Omega with Alpha in front. You may have the letters already on a banner or visible somewhere in the church. Organise someone who is proficient at shorthand to come out and ask the young folk to give her/him a sentence or two to write in shorthand. When completed invite the person to show the children/young people what has been written which will probably be unintelligible to them, then invite him/her to read the words back to them. Explain that this is (was?) a method that people use in business to save time. Draw attention to the letters Alpha and Omega and explain to the children/young folk that these letters are the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet (you may have to explain that this is the language in which the New Testament was written) and that they are a kind of shorthand for saying that God is eternal - without beginning or ending. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Print this verse out in Greek if you have a printed order of service - if not - read the words from your Greek New Testament - (that might be a challenge!) and tell how it means that God has no beginning or ending but just is -always has been - and always will be. In a way, just as we have scientific formulae so that we can understand how and why things happen or work - so God as Alpha and Omega is our faith formula and we believe that God is a part of the ‘how’ and ‘why’ things happen and work. God is also a part of the beginnings, the in betweens and the endings of our lives. We can be sure of that because Jesus came to this world to teach about God and to show people what God is like. Next week we begin to look forward to Christmas and the birth of Jesus - who is also eternally with us. He can also be described as “who is and who was, and who is to come” ...let’s sing... TIS 346: “Prepare the royal highway” Verses 1 and 4. ; AHB 162: “Come, children, join to sing” TIS 253/SA 70: “O Lord Jesus, Marrkapmirr” ; SCRIPTURE IN SONG 218: “Lift up your heads to the coming King” PRAYER OF CONFESSION Gracious God, as we think today about Jesus as Christ the King, we confess that we hesitate over his rule in our hearts as king because that suggests turning our understanding of power and authority upside down. We are ashamed to admit that we like a bit of prestige and it even feels good on occasion to lord it over another person. We do it in meetings, at work, in our families and even here - in church. Forgive us, O God, and help us to hear anew Jesus’ words that whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all. We confess our failure to grasp that your reign, O God, is found whenever domination is overcome, whenever justice is experienced, and whenever people are released from prejudice and exploitation. Forgive us, O God, any involvement in the pursuit of power which exploits or demeans others. We confess our lack of commitment in seeking to transform systems which leave people powerless. Too often we prefer to leave the difficult tasks to others so that we can get on with our own safe agendas. Forgive us, O God, when we forget that doing your will is our greatest priority. A time of silence to reflect on these words Remind us, O God, that the power of the Holy Spirit enables us to witness to the values of your kingdom in and through all we do and say and that thankfully this power far exceeds any apathy or fear on our part . Renew us with your Spirit, O God, so that our lives testify to the truth of your kingdom In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS: The good news is this: our sins are forgiven through “Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins .....to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.” Rev 1:5,6 Hallelujah! Amen! TIS 147/AHB 85: “To God be the glory” TIS 201/AHB 129: “King of glory, King of peace, I will love thee” OLD TESTAMENT: 2 Samuel 23: 1-7 GOSPEL: John 18: 33-37 SERMON TIS 301/AHB 378: “The head that once was crowned with thorns” TIS 279/AHB 212: “The King of glory comes, the nation rejoices” AHB 206: “Thou didst leave thy throne” TIS 208: “Jesus has come, and brings joy as our Saviour” SUGGESTIONS FOR PRAYERS FOR OTHERS “Our Paradox King” Page 66 Australian Prayers or “Prince of Cowsheds” Page 159 More Australian Psalms and “For Church and World” page 125 Australian Prayers THE LORD’S PRAYER OFFERING DOXOLOGY: TIS 769/AHB 575: “Now to the King of heaven” OFFERTORY PRAYER Eternal God, with cheerful voices and thankful hearts, we offer to you these gifts and our lives. May Christ the King rule in our hearts so that we are powerful witnesses to the truth of your kingdom of love, justice and peace. This we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen TIS 256: “From heaven you came, helpless babe” (The Servant King) AHB 180: “All praise to thee, for thou, O King divine..” Alternate tune: 84 Sine Nomine TIS 225/AHB 160: “My heart and voice I raise to spread Messiah’s praise” TIS 275/AHB 203: “Hail to the Lord’s anointed” BENEDICTION: Go into this week robed with the righteousness of God, enriched by the humility of Jesus, invested with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. THREEFOLD AMEN |