Christ the King Sunday

Preparation for Worship               “Wafwa co” –in Kiluba it means “thank you!”

Choral Introit          “Bless the Lord, O My Soul”          Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov

*Call to Worship (responsively)

Come Christians, join to sing:

Alleluia! Amen!

loud praises to Christ our King:

Alleluia! Amen!

Let all, with heart and voice,

before his throne rejoice;

praise in his gracious choice.

Alleluia! Amen!

*Hymn of Praise                               “Gather Us In”                                #2236

*Welcome and Greeting

*Hymn of Praise                 “Jesus, Remember Me”                   #488 (sung 3x’s)

Prayer of Thanksgiving (unison)

Thank you God for all that grows,
Thank you for the sky's rainbows,
Thank you for the stars that shine,
Thank you for these friends of mine,
Thank you for the moon and sun,
Thank you God for all you've done! Amen.

Preparing for God’s Word

            Let us listen for what God is speaking to us:

            Speak, Lord, to our listening and to our soul’s deep understanding.

The Prophecy           Jeremiah 23:1-6

⁶⁸“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. ⁶⁹He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, ⁷⁰as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, ⁷¹that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. ⁷²Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, ⁷³the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us ⁷⁴that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, ⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. ⁷⁶And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, ⁷⁷to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. ⁷⁸By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, ⁷⁹to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

*Gospel Lesson       Luke 1:68-79

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. ²Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. ³Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. ⁴I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord. ⁵The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”

Response     This is the Word of God to the people of God.

                      Thanks be to God.

Anthem                            “Lord, We Give Praise”                        Bob Burroughs

We will live in grateful praise
for the riches of your grace.
As we dwell within your courts,
we adore and give you praise.

We will seek to give you praise
for your loving kindness, Lord.
In the shadow of your wings,
we adore and give you praise.

We will bless with awesome praise
for your mighty acts of love,
for your promises are true.
For your splendor, we sing praise!

For your mighty acts of love,
for the riches of your grace;
for your loving kindness,
Lord, we give praise!

We will live in grateful praise
for the riches of your grace.
As we dwell within your courts,
we adore and give you praise.

For your loving kindness, Lord,
we adore and give you praise!

Kids of the Kindom w/ 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, the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

*Prayer of Preparation     “Surely the Presence of the Lord”   #328 (sung 2x’s)

Sermon                                  “Wafwa co”              Rev. Kimba Kyakutala Evariste

                                                                                                            Rev. Ann Kemper

The Work of the Church

Joys and Concerns

Prayer for God’s World

Call to Offering

*Offering of Pledges, Tithes and Gifts

*Doxology

*Prayer of Dedication      

*Hymn of Dedication                     “Joy in the Morning”                       #2284

*The Benediction   

*The Choral Response                   “Shalom to You”

*The Postlude

*Working Daily with God’s Spirit

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that

            would suffice. 

~Meister Eckhart