On this last Sunday of the church calendar we sit at the bedside of the most renowned king in all of scripture: we are witnesses to the last words of King David. What does his understanding of his calling to be king reveal to us about the church’s understanding of Christ as King of all nations?
Join us this Sunday morning! We worship together at 10:30 AM in our sanctuary, live-streaming the service for those at home (or on the road) right here. You are invited!
Online Bulletin
Christ the King/ Reign of Christ
Union Presbyterian Church
November 21, 2021
Sharing the Light of Christ, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Liturgist: Kevin Kelley Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube
Prelude Colin DeLap
“Great Is the Lord,” Glenda Austin
©1982, Meadowgreen Music Company
Used by permission. CCLI License #CSPL068847
Welcome Rev. Pat Raube
Call to Worship Kevin Kelley
Let the heavens be glad
and the earth rejoice:
Christ will reign forever and ever.
The Lord is robed in majesty
and girded in strength:
Christ will reign forever and ever.
God has established the world,
and God’s realm will never be shaken.
Christ will reign forever and ever.
God will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with equity.
Christ will reign forever and ever.
The kingdom of this world
has become the kingdom of our Lord.
Christ will reign forever and ever.
Hymn # 321 W & R “At the Name of Jesus,” Ralph Vaughan Williams
©1932, Oxford University Press, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow,
Every tongue confess him King of glory now.
‘Tis the Father’s pleasure we should call him Lord,
Who from the beginning was the mighty Word.
Humbled for a season to receive a name
From the lips of sinners unto whom he came.
Faithfully he bore it, spotless to the last,
Brought it back victorious when from death he passed.
In your hearts enthrone him, there let him subdue
All that is not holy, all that is not true.
Crown him as your sovereign in temptation’s hour,
Let his will enfold you in its mighty power.
Christians, this Lord Jesus shall return again
With the Father’s glory, when he comes to reign.
For all earthly powers soon to him must bow,
So let us confess him King of glory now.
Call to New Life
Prayer for Wholeness and Peace
Righteous God, you have crowned Jesus as Lord of all. We confess that we have not yielded our hearts or our lives to his Way. We give allegiance to the powers of this world and fail to be governed by his love, justice, and peace.
~Silent Prayer~
And we pray,
In your mercy, forgive and renew us. Lift us up so that we might follow in Jesus’ Way, and be instruments of his peace. We pray in his holy name. Amen.
Assurance of God’s Grace
Hear these comforting words of scripture:
God has made with us an everlasting covenant.
Hear these assurances to us:
Grace to you and peace from the One who is
and who was and who is to come.
God, Godself, will be with us.
God will wipe every tear from our eyes.
Sharing of the Peace
May the peace of God be with you.
And also with you.
Let us offer one another a sign of God’s peace.
Scripture 2 Samuel 23:1-7
Now these are the last words of David:
The oracle of David, son of Jesse,
the oracle of the man whom God exalted,
the anointed of the God of Jacob,
the favorite of the Strong One of Israel:
The spirit of the Lord speaks through me,
his word is upon my tongue.
The God of Israel has spoken,
the Rock of Israel has said to me:
One who rules over people justly,
ruling in the fear of God,
is like the light of morning,
like the sun rising on a cloudless morning,
gleaming from the rain on the grassy land.
Is not my house like this with God?
For God has made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things and secure.
Will God not cause to prosper
all my help and my desire?
But the godless are all like thorns that are thrown away;
for they cannot be picked up with the hand;
to touch them one uses an iron bar
or the shaft of a spear.
And they are entirely consumed in fire on the spot.
Children’s Message Rev. Pat Raube
Scripture Revelation 1:4b-8
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from 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 by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Look! He is coming with the clouds;
every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail.
So it is to be. Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word:
Thanks be to God!
Meditation Rev. Pat Raube
Anthem
Praise Medley: I Will Call Upon the Lord*, He Is Exalted**, Awesome God***
*Michael O’Shields, ©1994, Universal Music Publishing Group
**Twila Paris, ©1985, Mountain Spring Music
***Rich Mullins, ©1988, Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing Company
Used by Permission. CCLI License #CSPL068847
I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.
I will call upon the Lord.
The Lord liveth and blessed be the Rock,
And let the God of my salvation be exalted.
The Lord liveth and blessed be the Rock,
And let the God of my salvation be exalted.
He is exalted, the King is exalted on high;
I will praise him.
He is exalted, forever exalted,
And I will praise his name!
He is the Lord; forever his truth shall reign.
Heaven and earth rejoice in his holy name.
He is exalted, the King is exalted on high.
Our God is an awesome God,
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power and love—
Our God is an awesome God!
Prayers of the People
Living Christ, Hear our prayer.
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 debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Prayer Response
“Spirit of the Living God,” Daniel Iverson
©1963, Hope Publishing Company, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me;
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.
Call for Offering
Doxology
“Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow”
Tune: Public Domain
Text: Brian Wren
©1989, Hope Publishing Company, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God, all creatures high and low.
Praise God, in Jesus fully known:
Creator, Word, and Spirit one.
Prayer of Dedication
Hymn #317 W & R “Crown Him with Many Crowns” (Public Domain)
Crown him with many crowns,
The Lamb upon his 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 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.
Crown him the Lord of love;
Behold his hands and side,
Rich wounds, yet visible above,
In beauty glorified;
No angels in the sky
Can fully bear that sight,
But downward bends their burning eye
At mysteries so bright.
Crown him the Lord of years,
The potentate of time,
Creator of the rolling spheres,
Ineffably sublime.
All hail, Redeemer, hail!
For thou hast died for me;
Thy praise shall never, never fail
Throughout eternity.
Benediction From Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals,
by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, and Enuma Okoro
May the peace of Christ go with you: wherever he will send you.
May he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm.
May he bring you home rejoicing: at the wonders he has shown you.
May he bring you home rejoicing: once again into our doors.
Go in peace, to love and serve the Lord: Thanks be to God.
Postlude Colin DeLap
“Crown Him with Many Crowns” and “Rejoice, the Lord Is King,” Marilynn Ham
© 2003, Alfred Publishing Co., INC.
Used by permission. CCLI License #CSPL068847