Since this Sunday precedes Remembrance Day, there are elements in the Liturgy reflective of the mood of our country as we approach this national occasion.
The Twenty-Second
Sunday after Pentecost
9 November 2014
The Gathering of the
Community
Entrance Hymn
‘O God of Every Nation’ Common Praise #593
Greeting
Blessed be the holy Trinity, one God,
the
fountain of living water,
the
rock who gave us birth,
God of justice, judge between the nations
and
guide the peoples with wisdom.
Beat our swords into ploughshares
and
our spears in pruning hooks.
May the nations put down their swords
and
learn the path of peace.
May the peoples walk in your light
Canticle
‘Glory to God’ Common Praise #702
Collect of the Day
Let us pray.
O God,
you
call us to choose
between
you and the false gods of this world.
In
the midst of the darkness of sin and death
wake
us from our slumber
and
call us forth to greet Christ,
so
that with our eyes and hearts fixed on him,
The Proclamation of the
Word of God
The First Reading
A Reading from Joshua (24.1-3a, 14-25).
[Joshua]
gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the
heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves
before God. And Joshua said to all the
people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Long
ago your ancestors — Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor — lived beyond the
Euphrates and served other gods. Then I
took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land
of Canaan and made his offspring many.
“Now
therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away
the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve
the Lord.
Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose
this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the
region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are
living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Then the people answered, “Far be it
from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; for it is the Lord our God
who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of
slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we
went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; and the Lord drove
out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he
is our God.”
But Joshua said to the people, “You
cannot serve the Lord,
for he is a holy God. He is a jealous
God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then
he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good.” And the people said to Joshua, “No, we will
serve the Lord!”
Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you
have chosen the Lord,
to serve him.” And they said, “We are
witnesses.” He said, “Then put away the
foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God
of Israel.” The people said to Joshua,
“The Lord
our God we will serve, and him we will obey.” So Joshua made a covenant with the people that
day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem.
Hear what the Spirit is saying to the
church.
Thanks
be to God.
The Psalm of the Day
Psalm 78.1-7 with the refrain from Songs for
the Holy One
Refrain (sung twice): Holy One,
help us and our children never to forget your love.
1 Hear my teaching, O my people; *
incline your
ears to the words of my mouth.
2
I will open my mouth in a parable; *
I will declare the mysteries of
ancient times.
3
That which we have heard and known,
and what our ancestors have told
us, *
we will not
hide from their children.
4 We will recount to generations to come
the praiseworthy
deeds and the power of the Lord, *
who has done wonderful works.
Refrain:
Holy One, help us and our
children never to forget your love.
5
The Lord gave a decree to Jacob and established a law for Israel, *
commanding
them to teach their children;
6
that the generations to come might know,
and
the children yet unborn; *
that they in their turn might tell
it to their children;
7
so that they might put their trust in God, *
and not forget those mighty deeds,
but keep the commandments.
Refrain:
Holy One, help us and our
children never to forget your love.
The Second Reading
A Reading from Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians
(4.13-18).
But
we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have
died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose
again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. For this we declare to you by the word of the
Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by
no means precede those who have died. For
the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the
sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will
rise first. Then we who are alive, who
are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord
in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these
words.
Hear what the Spirit is saying to the
church.
Thanks
be to God.
Hymn before the Gospel
‘Come Now, O Prince of Peace’ Common Praise #588
The Gospel
The Lord be with you.
And
also with you.
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
according to Matthew (25.1-13).
Glory
to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
[Jesus
said to the disciples,] “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to
meet the bridegroom. Five of them were
foolish, and five were wise. When the
foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks
of oil with their lamps. As the
bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here
is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed
their lamps. The foolish said to the
wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be
enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for
yourselves.’ And while they went to buy
it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the
wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later
the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not
know you.’ Keep awake therefore, for you
know neither the day nor the hour.”
The Gospel of Christ.
Praise
to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
The Sermon
An Affirmation of Faith
Let us affirm our faith as we say,
Hear,
O Israel,
the
Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Love
the Lord your God
with
all your heart,
with
all your soul,
with
all your mind,
and
with all your strength.
This
is the first and the great commandment.
The
second is like it:
Love
your neighbour as yourself.
The Prayers of the Community
The Prayers of the People
A Period of Silence
‘Last Post’
The Exchange of the Peace
May the peace of the Lord be always with you.
And
also with you.
The Holy Communion
Offertory Hymn
‘God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending’ Common Praise #601 (sung to #482)
The Prayer over the Gifts
Let us pray.
Blessed are you, O God,
maker
of all things.
Through
your goodness
you
have blessed us with these gifts:
our
selves, our time and our possessions.
Use
us, and what we have gathered,
in
feeding the world with your love,
through
the one who gave himself for us,
The Thanksgiving at the Table
The Lord be with you.
And
also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We
lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It
is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed
right
that we
should praise you, gracious God,
for you created
all things.
You formed
us in your own image:
male and
female you created us.
When we
turned away from you in sin,
you did not
cease to care for us,
but opened a
path of salvation for all people.
You made a
covenant with Israel,
and through
your servants Abraham and Sarah
gave the
promise of a blessing to all nations.
Through
Moses you led your people
from bondage
into freedom;
through the
prophets
you renewed
your promise of salvation.
Therefore,
with them and with all your saints
who have
served you in every age,
we give
thanks and raise our voices
to proclaim
the glory of your name.
Holy,
holy, holy Lord,
God
of power and might.
Heaven
and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna
in the highest.
Blessed
is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Holy God, source of life and goodness,
all creation rightly gives you praise.
In the fullness of time,
you sent your Son Jesus Christ,
to share our human nature,
to live and die as one of us,
to reconcile us to you,
the God and Creator of all.
He healed the sick
and ate and drank with outcasts and sinners;
he opened the eyes of the blind
and proclaimed the good news of your kingdom
to the poor and to those in need.
In all things he fulfilled your gracious
will.
On the night he freely gave himself to
death,
our Lord Jesus Christ took bread,
and when he had given thanks to you,
he broke it, and gave it to his disciples,
and said, “Take, eat:
this is my body which is given for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me.”
After supper he took the cup of wine;
and when he had given thanks,
he gave it to them,
and said, “Drink this, all of you:
this is my blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for you and for all people
for the forgiveness of sins.
Whenever you drink it,
do this for the remembrance of me.”
Gracious God,
his perfect sacrifice
destroys the power of sin and death;
by raising him to life
you give us life for evermore.
Therefore we proclaim our faith.
Christ
has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
Recalling his death,
proclaiming his resurrection,
and looking for his coming again in glory,
we offer you, God of abundance, this bread
and this cup.
Send your Holy Spirit upon us
and upon these gifts,
so that all who eat and drink at this table
may be one body and one holy people,
a living sacrifice in Jesus Christ, our
Lord.
Through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory is yours, Holy One of Israel,
The Lord’s Prayer
As our Saviour taught us, let us pray,
Our
Father in heaven,
hallowed
be your name,
your
kingdom come,
your
will be done,
on
earth as in heaven.
Give
us today our daily bread.
Forgive
us our sins
as
we forgive those who sin against us.
Save
us from the time of trial,
and
deliver us from evil.
For
the kingdom, the power,
and
the glory are yours,
The Breaking of the Bread
“I am the
bread which has come down from heaven,”
says the
Lord.
Give us this bread for ever.
“I am the
vine, you are the branches.”
The gifts of God for the people of God.
Thanks
be to God.
Communion
Hymn after Communion
‘Thou, Who at Thy First Eucharist’ Common Praise #57
The Sending Forth of the
Community
The Prayer after Communion
Brighten your Church, O God,
with
the promise of your kingdom,
and
waken our hearts to its light.
bid
us hasten with faith undimmed
to
greet the bridegroom’s return
and
join the wedding feast.
Glory to God,
whose power,
working in us,
can do infinitely
more
than we can ask or
imagine.
Glory to God from
generation to generation,
in the Church and
in Christ Jesus,
for ever and
ever. Amen.
Closing Hymn
‘Let Saints on Earth in Concert Sing’ Common Praise #282
The Dismissal
The Deacon sends the People forth with a
Dismissal for the occasion.
[i] Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 95.
[ii] Isaiah
2.2-5 arranged by the Rev’d Dr Richard Geoffrey Leggett.
[iii]
Liturgy Task Force, ‘Trial Use Collects for Year A’, 13.
[iv] The
Book of Alternative Services (1985), 53.
[v] Evangelical
Lutheran Worship (2006), 107 alt.
[vi] Common
Praise #726.
[vii]
Eucharistic Prayer 1 in The Book of Alternative Services (1985), 193-195 alt.
[viii]
‘Our Father in Heaven’, Common Praise #744.
[ix] The
Book of Alternative Services (1985), 212 alt.
[x] Liturgy
Task Force, ‘Trial Use Collects for Year A’, 13.
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