Service of the Word and Table

November 20, 2023 + Hymn Set C

Greeting

Hymn- Morning Has Broken

Morning has broken, like the first morning.
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird.
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning,
Praise for them springing fresh from the Word.

Sweet the rain's new fall, sunlight from heaven.

Like the first dewfall, on the first grass.
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden,
Sprung in completeness where His feet pass.

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning.

Born of the one light Eden saw play.
Praise with elation, praise every morning;
God's recreation of the new day.

Opening Prayer
Destitute king, one with the hungry, the naked, and the scorned: may our faith be proved not in dogma and
piety but in serving you in the last and the least; through Jesus Christ, the stranger’s Lord. Amen.
or
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the
thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily
serve one another in your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hymn- For the Beauty of the Earth

For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

For the beauty of each hour of the day and of the night,
hill and vale, and tree and flower, sun and moon, and stars of light,
Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise

For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child,

friends on earth, and friends above, for all gentle thoughts and mild,
Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.
 Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
You make me to lie down in green pastures;
You lead me beside the still waters.
You restore my soul;
You lead me in the paths of righteousness
For your name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; for you are with me;
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God all creatures here below;
Praise God above ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Gospel Matthew 25:31-46

[Jesus said to the disciples:]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. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate
people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will put the sheep at
his right hand and the goats at the left. 34Then 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; 35for 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, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison
and you visited me.’ 37Then 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? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger
and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison
and visited you?’ 40And 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 you did it to me.’ 41Then 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; 42for I was hungry
and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I 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.’
44Then 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?’ 45Then 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.’ 46And these will go away into eternal
punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Hymn- A Mighty Fortress is our God

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing,
our present help amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe,
 with craft and power great, and armed with cruel hate,
on earth without an equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing,

but there is one who takes our side, the one of God’s own choosing.
You ask who that may be? Christ Jesus , it is he
with mighty power to save victorious o’er the grave,
Christ will prevail triumphant!

Prayers of the People and the Prayer of Jesus

For the holy church of God,
that it may be filled with truth and love,
and be found without fault at the day of your coming,
we pray to you, O Lord.

For leaders of the church,

for our minister(s), and all ministers,
and for all the holy people of God,
we pray to you, O Lord.

For the mission of the church,

that in faithful witness
it may preach the gospel to the ends of the earth,
we pray to you, O Lord.

For the peace of the world,

that a spirit of respect and forbearance
may grow among nations and peoples,
we pray to you, O Lord.

For those in positions of public trust (especially N., N.),

that they may serve justice,
and promote the dignity and freedom of every person,
we pray to you, O Lord.

For all who live and work in this community (especially N., N.),
we pray to you, O Lord.

For a blessing upon all human labor,

and for the right use of the riches of creation,
that the world may be freed from poverty, famine, and disaster,
we pray to you, O Lord.

For the poor, the persecuted, and all who suffer;

for refugees, prisoners, and all who are in danger;
that they may be relieved and protected,
we pray to you, O Lord.

For this congregation,

that we may be delivered from hardness of heart,
and show forth your glory in all that we do,
we pray to you, O Lord.

For our enemies and those who wish us harm;

and for all whom we have injured or offended,
we pray to you, O Lord.

For our families, friends, and neighbors;

that, being freed from anxiety,
they may live in joy, peace, and health,
we pray to you, O Lord.

For ________, we pray to you, O Lord.

For all who have died in the communion of your church,
that, strengthened by their witness,
we may be grateful for their example,
living in justice and love
until we join them in life eternal,
we pray to you, O Lord.

Rejoicing in the fellowship of all the saints,

let us entrust ourselves, and one another,
and all of life to Christ, who taught us to pray, saying…

All this we ask in the name of Jesus who 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 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.
 Prayer of Great Thanksgiving
Christ is with us here.
Therefore, let us open our hearts to God and one another,
giving thanks to the Spirit with joy.

It is right to give you thanks and praise, God, creator

of the universe. For when other shepherds failed us,
when our leaders led us astray, you rescued us;
gathering us together as your own. You sought out
the lost, bound up the injured, and fed us all with your
justice.
We praise you for Jesus Christ, who embodied your
compassion and enacted your justice; who is among
us in the poor and the hungry and who is known in
the stranger and hospitality extended.
We remember how the Lord Jesus, on the night
before he died, took bread, and after giving thanks to
you, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take, eat. This is my body, given for you. Do this in
remembrance of me.
Blessed are you, O God, creator of heaven and
earth. You rescued your covenant people, led
them on all their journeys, and taught them by
the prophets. You so loved the world that you
gave your only Son, so that everyone who
believes in him may not perish but may have
eternal life.
In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord
Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and
gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this
is my body, given for you. Do this for the
remembrance of me.

In the same way he took the cup, saying: This cup is

the new covenant sealed in my blood, shed for you
for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do
this in remembrance of me.
We bless you for your Holy Spirit, and ask that your
would pour out your Spirit upon us and upon this
grape and grain, that the bread we break and the cup
we bless may be the communion of the body and
blood of Christ.
As we share this together at your table, enlighten our
hearts that we might know you. Feed us here so that
we might feed your world hungry for bread and thirsty
for justice.
All this we ask through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in
the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor are
yours, almighty God, now and forever. Amen.
Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave
thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: This
cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for
you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.
Do this for the remembrance of me.
As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup,
we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. For
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come
again.
Pour out your Holy Spirit in this meal, and make
us one in our community of faith and with your
people throughout the world. Glory and praise to
you, O God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now
and forever. Amen.

Communion is served.

O God, our life, our strength, our food, we give you thanks for sustaining us with the body and blood of your
Son. By your Holy Spirit, enliven us to be his body in the world, that more and more we will give you praise
and serve you and your people, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
 Hymn- Immortal, invisible, God only Wise
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,

nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
thy justice like mountains high soaring above
thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all, life thou givest, to both great and small;

in all life thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish, but naught changest thee.

Benediction
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord’s face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the
Lord look upon you with kindness + and give you peace. Amen.