Welcome to our Worship Today
Christ the King
22nd November 2020
The Gathering of the Community
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
And also, with you.
Dear friends in Christ, we have come together this Sunday to celebrate in word and song and to affirm our faith in God, the Three in One.
Hymn: Rejoice the Lord is King
We say Together:
Heavenly Father, all hearts are open to you.
No secrets are hidden from you.
Purify us with the love of your Holy Spirit
That we may love and worship you faithfully,
through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen
Lord, have mercy Lord, have Mercy
Christ, have mercy Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy
Heavenly Father,
we have sinned in thought, word, and deed,
and have failed to do
what we ought to have done.
We are sorry and truly repent.
For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ
who died for us, forgive us all that is past,
and lead us in his way
to walk as children of light. AMEN
May God our Father,
who by the Lord Jesus Christ
has reconciled the world to himself
and forgives the sins of all who truly repent,
pardon and deliver us from all our sins,
and grant us the grace and power of the Holy Spirit. AMEN
The Gloria.
Glory to God in the highest
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
Almighty God and Father,
we worship you; we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us.
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer,
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God, the Father. AMEN
The Collect
Eternal Father,
whose Son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven
that he might rule over all things as Lord and King:
keep the Church in the unity of the Spirit
and in the bond of peace,
and bring the whole created order to worship at his feet;
grant this for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
to whom with you and the Holy Spirit,
be the kingdom, the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Readings
Ephesians 1.15-End
Thanksgiving and prayer
15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[f] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
This is the word of the Lord
Thanks Be to God
Gospel Acclamation
Your words oh lord give Joy to my heart and light to my Soul
Matthew 25. 31-End
The sheep and the goats
31 ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 ‘Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was ill and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
37 ‘Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you ill or in prison and go to visit you?”
40 ‘The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
41 ‘Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was ill and in prison and you did not look after me.”
44 ‘They also will answer, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or ill or in prison, and did not help you?”
45 ‘He will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”
46 ‘Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.’
Thanks be to Christ
Homily
Lord allow me to speak in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Its, getting a bit chilly now, as we enter the winter season so when I walk my dog in the morning or should I say when they walk me I have started to put on an extra layer to keep warm and because nature decided that I didn’t need much hair on the top of my head I have started to wear a knitted hat on my head… it keeps me warm and cosy and as I pass the other dog walkers and people leaving early for work to be honest nobody takes any notice of me …. Possibly no one would have even noticed me passing them, no one I hope would comment to a friend later “hey you never would believe what I saw … this guy walking his dog earlier in a woolly hat!” I do like to blend in to be honest, colours I go for tend to be black or maybe blue and the occasional green, my whole wardrobe is based on those three colours and combinations of.
Kings and Queens and those who wear a crown tend to stand out… if I walked down the street this morning walking my dog wearing a crown on my head I think I would definitely get some attention, some comments for sure maybe. I definitely would get noticed.
We call Jesus our King, and this weekend we think and reflect on Christ as the King. But he doesn’t wear a crown our walks around the streets for us to worship and serve, or does he?
In today’s passage from Matthew we hear the parable of the sheep and the goats and Jesus talking about the at the end of time when all nations are gathered before him in his glory he will separate the goats from the sheep, the sheep to his right hand and the goats to his left, and to those on his right he will call blessed by the Father because they he tells them “when I was hungry you gave me food, when I was thirsty you gave me a drink and when I was a stranger you welcomed me” and those to the right asked when did we do those things and the king answered “truly I tell you when you did it for one of the least of my family, you did it for to me”.
Then those on the left he said them “when I was hungry you gave me no food, when I was thirsty you gave me nothing to drink and when I was a stranger you did not welcome me” those on the left again asked “when did we not do those things?” and Jesus answered “truly I tell you when you did not do it for one of the least of my family, you did not do it for me”
When you and I take a moment to really take in this parable it, it really should alter how we see the world and those around us, family and also those we do not know. Jesus as King might not be with us as himself wearing a crown, but he is present, with us in all we come across in the flesh of those individual men, women and children in their hours of need. If they are Christs representatives in the world how can we be resentful to anyone of their presence. The world around us may see them in different but we are to see in them the Lord Jesus Christ our King and their right to be served as we would serve an earthly King.
Amen
The Creed
I believe and trust in God the father,
who created all that is.
I believe and trust in his Son Jesus Christ,
who redeemed humankind.
I believe and trust in his Holy Spirit,
who gives life to the people of God.
I believe in and trust
father, Son and Holy Creator. AMEN
Prayers
We pray together, Majestic and all-encompassing God, you are the authority over everything that exists in all of creation, and yet you are one with us and we are one with you.
We bring before you now in our prayers of intercession our hopes and dreams for a better world, better human relationships and of lives restored to wholeness. In all these we acknowledge you King of all and seek no more than your grace allows. And so…….
Lord in Your mercy. - 'Hear our prayer’
Father of all nations we pray for your world-wide Church, that it may continue to spread into every corner of the globe.
So, we pray for our own church here at St. Athan and all churches within the Glamorgan heritage coast parish and for all who give of their time and talents to carry forward the work of Christian witness to your eternal praise and glory.
Lord in Your mercy. - 'Hear our prayer’
Lord we pray for an end to all that causes conflicts and wars. We are reminded once again that open warfare offers little in the way of lasting solutions when the cause is often deep rooted and blurred by racial, social or religious overtones. Lord Jesus you showed that no barrier to reconciliation was impregnable; that even those some classed as ‘untouchable’ could share equally in the kingdom of God, and that your grace was sufficient to overcome all hatreds for those who would open their hearts to accept it.
We pray for the work of all those involved in bridging the chasms which divide peoples. We remember the work of the United Nations and of the many Non-Governmental Agencies dealing at first hand with the injured, with refugees or with repairing damaged infrastructure.
We continue to remember and pray for our own armed forces and the sacrifices they make on our behalf. We pray for courage and compassion on the front line and for safe returns to those who wait at home when their tours are over.
Lord in Your mercy. - 'Hear our prayer’
As uncertainty continues to stalk our workplaces and high streets we pray, especially at this time of year, for those whose jobs and livelihoods are threatened. We give thanks for the many agencies who gear up at this season to helping the most disadvantaged in society and pray that they find the resources that they need to fulfil their aims.
We pray for all who hold offices of power and influence that their programmes and policies are ones which unite, encourage and enrich the lives of all people. Lord in Your mercy. - 'Hear our prayer’
We pray for those in most need in our own families and neighbourhood, thinking of the elderly, the housebound and those in hospital and hospice.
We pray for all carers and visitors whether family members, Volunteers or Health care professionals; for they do your work and so we ask for them your gifts of patience, compassion and understanding.
So now we share a moment of silence together as we bring before you those we know who are in need at this time.
(A short period of silence and reflection)
As we have named them in our hearts so let them feel your presence and friendship in their lives as we commit them to your loving care.
Lord in Your mercy. - 'Hear our prayer’
We also remember those we have loved but see no more and pray for those left behind to grieve for a while and then to continue on life’s journey knowing that things will not be the same.
As we show to the bereaved our love and compassion, help us also to share with them the certain knowledge that………..
Jesus Christ is the Light of the World, a light which no darkness can quench. We remember before God those who have died and light a candle to symbolise the light of Christ which eternally shines and brings hope. For you turn our darkness into light; in your light shall we see light.
Lord in Your mercy. - 'Hear our prayer’
A final prayer for ourselves: -
Lord when we feel weak and uncertain, reassure us that we are held in your love. And when we feel confident and strong, challenge us with the work that’s needed to further your kingdom in this time and place.
Merciful Father, “Accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. 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,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Hymn: Brother, Sister let me Serve you
The Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and ever more. AMEN
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
If you would like to donate £5 to the overall work of the 12 churches in the parish, please carefully text: GIVE5 to 70970. Thank you, diolch.
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