For the week of November 24 – The Reign of Christ Sunday
Morning Prayer: Almighty and Everlasting God, It is Your will to restore all things to Christ, whom You have anointed priest forever and ruler of creation. Grant that all the people of the earth, now divided by the power of sin, may be united under the glorious and gentle rule of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen. (UMH 721)
Morning Hymn #154 All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.
- Ye chosen seed of Israel's race, ye ransomed from the fall,
hail Him who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all.
Hail Him who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all. - Sinners, whose love can ne'er forget the wormwood and the gall,
go spread your trophies at His feet, and crown Him Lord of all.
Go spread your trophies at His feet, and crown Him Lord of all. - Let every kindred, every tribe on this terrestrial ball,
to Him all majesty ascribe, and crown Him Lord of all.
To Him all majesty ascribe, and crown Him Lord of all.
- Crown Him, ye martyrs of your God, who from His altar call;
extol the Stem of Jesse's Rod, and crown Him Lord of all.
Extol the Stem of Jesse's Rod, and crown Him Lord of all.
- O that with yonder sacred throng we at His feet may fall!
We'll join the everlasting song, and crown Him Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song, and crown Him Lord of all.
Revelation 1:4-8 (CEB)
4 John, to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace and peace to you from the One who is and was and is coming, and from the seven spirits that are before God’s throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ—the faithful witness, the firstborn from among the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To the One who loves us and freed us from our sins by His blood, 6 who made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be glory and power forever and always. Amen.
7 Look, He is coming with the clouds! Every eye will see Him, including those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. This is so. Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the One who is and was and is coming, the Almighty.”
Prayers of Intercession: Thank You, Lord, for hearing our prayers for those dear to our hearts. We now pray as You have taught us: 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 sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us, not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Offering spotlight: Thank you for giving time and money so that we can host Thanksgiving Dinner on Thanksgiving Day for any and all of our neighbors who need a solid meal … or anyone who isn’t able to celebrate with family or friends. They will find relationships and friendships with us.
Offering prayer: Loving Creator, whose reign is everlasting, we offer these gifts with grateful hearts. May they serve to proclaim Your truth and extend Your kingdom of justice, peace, and love. Transform our offerings and our lives to bear witness to the hope and promise of Christ, our king. In His holy name, we pray. Amen. (Discipleship Ministries)
Hymn of Preparation: #61 Come, Thou Almighty King
- Come, Thou almighty King, help us Thy name to sing, help us to praise!
Father all glorious, o'er all victorious, come and reign over us, Ancient of Days! - Come, Thou incarnate Word, gird on Thy mighty sword, our prayer attend!
Come, and Thy people bless, and give Thy word success,
Spirit of holiness, on us descend!
- Come, holy Comforter, Thy sacred witness bear in this glad hour.
Thou who almighty art, now rule in every heart, and ne'er from us depart,
Spirit of power!
- To Thee, great One in Three, eternal praises be, hence, evermore.
Thy sovereign majesty may we in glory see, and to eternity love and adore!
Scripture: John 18:33-38 CEB)
33 Pilate went back into the palace. He summoned Jesus and asked, “Are You the king of the Jews?”
34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this on your own or have others spoken to you about Me?”
35 Pilate responded, “I’m not a Jew, am I? Your nation and its chief priests handed You over to me. What have You done?”
36 Jesus replied, “My kingdom doesn’t originate from this world. If it did, My guards would fight so that I wouldn’t have been arrested by the Jewish leaders. My kingdom isn’t from here.”
37 “So You are a king?” Pilate said.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. I was born and came into the world for this reason: to testify to the truth. Whoever accepts the truth listens to My voice.”
38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked.
Message: Pastor Becky Cuddeback
This Sunday marks the end of the Christian liturgical year. We have worshipped, fellowshipped, studied, served, and prayed from Advent to this day. We have seen God work in incredible ways and hopefully we have grown deeper in our faith and relationship with Jesus. Our church is designed to lead us closer and closer to Jesus.
We have also worshipped, fellowshipped, studied, served, and prayed through some really turbulent times. We have seen destructive weather, economic downturns and fiercely fought elections here and abroad. We’ve celebrated life’s milestones and welcomed babies, all so we could come to this Sunday declaring Christ reigns! Christ reigns even when we don’t see it or feel it, yet it is the truth of God – Jesus Christ reigns.
Now I am sure that as Pilate viewed Jesus as Jesus stood before him, Pilate didn’t see Jesus as King of anything. Pilate asks, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus doesn’t proclaim Himself King. He says His Kingdom isn’t from here. Pilate pushes, “So You are a king?” Jesus says, “You say I am. I was born and came into the world for this reason: to testify to the truth. Whoever accepts the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate asks, “What is truth?”
Indeed, what is truth?
For Jesus, the truth is what He is sent to reveal, to be the revelation. The literal truth is standing in front of Pilate and he can’t see it or comprehend it. The Kingdom of God was standing before Pilate and he missed it. Actually, more truthfully, Pilate dismissed it and then turned it over to a vote from the crowd. He let the people choose.
The Kingdom of God with Jesus at the helm is disruptive. It forces us to change the way we see, think, hear, act, and speak. The Kingdom of God is the Kingdom we are calling upon each and every Sunday together when we pray the Lord’s Prayer.
Yet, here is the problem: if we call upon the Kingdom of God, we have to abandon our own kingdoms. We have to stop defending them. We have to give up the kingdoms where we govern, where we judge, who is and who isn’t included. We have to surrender owning the truth, so we can belong to the truth.
When we act like we own the truth, we only listen to ourselves and those like us. We discount the experiences of others, because we only know a part, not the whole truth of God. And when we behave as though we own the truth, we make the truth into something that only serves us, not the entire Kingdom. We use it to suit our needs at the expense of others. We prioritize our wants over the will of God, because only those that belong to the truth listen to Jesus’ voice.
Jesus’ voice, His call to follow Him, brings us into belonging. It calls us into a relationship with God. It’s intertwined in the work of the community of God. The truth can only call to us, it cannot force us into Kingdom living. The truth will continue to call; we have to individually respond. The Kingdom of God only has willing citizens, not hostages or minions. God will continue to move in the power of the Holy Spirit building what needs to be built, breaking what needs to be broken, and replacing what needs to be replaced – not just out there in the world around us – but here inside each of us.
Kingdom building isn’t a spectator sport. We aren’t going to wake up one morning and it has magically appeared around us. The Kingdom of God is built one heart at a time, united with another heart that yields the importance of self to the call of Jesus to follow.
John’s gospel continues after Pilate’s question of what is truth, “You have a custom that I release one prisoner for you at Passover. Do you want me to release for you the king of the Jews?”
They shouted, “Not this man! Give us Barabbas!” Choose wisely, because the world will always choose Barabbas, and you were chosen for the Kingdom of God.
Closing Hymn: #176 Majesty, Worship His Majesty
Majesty, worship His majesty; unto Jesus be all glory, honor, and praise.
Majesty, kingdom authority, flow from His throne unto His own, His anthem raise.
So exalt, lift up on high the name of Jesus. Magnify, come glorify Christ Jesus, the King.
Majesty, worship His majesty, Jesus who died, now glorified, King of all kings.
The blessing: May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you this week.
