PDF for print version HERE. For permission to print and redistribute, comment below.
“Christ the King” Sunday
Preparation for Worship
Songs: Ask yourself and the people who will be worshipping with you (kids included), “What are some of the songs we sing about Jesus as Lord over all?” Play them on Spotify, sing them acapella, or create your own instrumental arrangement.
Bible: You will need a Bible to read from the scriptures. You can use this doc or your phone as well…but I’d recommend using an actual Bible.
This week’s liturgy is based on the following texts:
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24, Psalm 100, Psalm 95:1-7a, Ephesians 1:15-23, Matthew 25:31-46.
You can decide who will lead the different movements of this gathering. It would be great for every person to have a part.
Gathering
Gathering Words
In the Bible, in Matthew 18:20, the scripture says, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I’m there with them.” We believe that the church is not a building. The church is made up of people. So, we have gathered here to be the church. We will worship God together. We trust that God is here with us, and God is at work among us.
Call to Worship
Leader: Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
All: Worship the Lord with gladness;
come into his presence with singing.
Leader: Know that the Lord is God.
It is he that made us, and we are his;
All: We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Leader: Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him, bless his name.
All: For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
Leader: Come, let us worship God! Amen!
Song of Praise
Sing one song that focuses on God’s love and God’s call.
Some suggestions:
He’s Alive, He’s Alive (for kids)
For other song ideas click here.
Reading of the Psalm
The psalmist writes in Psalm 95 (NRSV),
1 O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
6 O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
O that today you would listen to his voice!
Exhortation from the New Testament
Ephesians 1(NRSV) says, 15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. 20 God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. 22 And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Prayer of Preparation
Christ Our King,
Thank you for making us yours and caring for us
as a good shepherd cares for the sheep.
Help us to recognize Jesus
in our daily lives
and serve him humbly with what you have given us.
Give us ears to hear and eyes to see
As you speak to us and call out to us.
We pray in the name of your Son, Amen.
Listening
(The time of listening is a series of reading the scripture, re-telling the story, and paying attention to where God is stirring your hearts as you listen. Invite everyone to listen to the words of the scriptures and to be ready to re-tell the story.)
A reading from Ezekiel 34 (NRSV).
For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. 12 As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.
Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, 22 I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
23 I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.
A reading from Matthew 25 (NRSV),
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,[a] you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Re-Telling
Let’s remember together what was said in these readings. You may want to read/act out one or both of the readings. What was said first? What happened next? (go around the circle and tell the story to each other. Try to remember as many details as possible.).
Paying Attention
What part grabbed your attention? What stood out to you? Why do you think that part stood out?
Let each person in the circle take a turn to wonder about something in this text…a word, a phrase, something that happened in the text, something that you’re thinking about… Start out by saying “As we read these texts, it made me wonder…”
What are we challenged by in these texts? Is there a message you’re hearing from the text?
What will we carry into this week from this text?
How can we be praying this week?
Responding
Prayers of the People
Almighty and Merciful God,
You break the power of evil
and make all things new
in Your Son Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe.
May all in heaven and earth acclaim Your glory
and never cease to praise You.
We lift to you the things on our hearts today.
…our prayers for the world (pause)
… our prayers for our country and it’s leaders (pause)
…our prayers for our health and/or the health of others (pause)
We pray, O God, for your guidance and wisdom.
May your spirit to be poured out on us.
That we might be the people you’ve called us to be in this world.
May our actions reflect your reign in our lives,
May we love like you.
May we serve like you.
May we be more and more like you.
Be glorified and magnified in our world, in our country, in our communities, in our homes, in our lives.
To the glory of your great name.
And now we pray together the prayer you have taught us to pray, saying:
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.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen.
Sending
Benediction
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
Living Room Liturgist 