Sunday, November 4, 2018: All Saints Sunday Isaiah 25:6-9 Psalm 24 Revelation 21:1-6a A READING FROM ISAIAH 6 On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. 7 And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; 8 he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. 9 It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. (If the Psalm is sung by the choir, you will not be required to lead the Psalm. Check the day s worship bulletin to confirm one way or the other) PLEASE JOIN ME IN READING THE 24 th PSALM IN UNISON 1 The earth is the LORD s and all that is in it, the world and those who dwell therein. 2 For the LORD has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. 3 Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD, and who may stand in God s holy place? 4 Those of innocent hands and purity of heart, who do not swear on God s being, nor do they pledge by what is false. 5 They shall receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of their salvation. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek you, O LORD, of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob. 7 Lift up your heads, O gates; and be lifted up, O everlasting doors,
that the King of glory may come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle! 9 Lift up your heads, O gates; and be lifted up, O everlasting doors, that the King of glory may come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? Truly, the LORD of hosts is the King of glory. A READING FROM REVELATION 1 I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; 4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away. 5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, See, I am making all things new. Also he said, Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true. 6a Then he said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
Sunday, November 11, 2018: 25 th Sunday after Pentecost 1 Kings 17:8-16 Psalm 146 Hebrews 9:24-28 A READING FROM 1 ST KINGS 8 The word of the LORD came to [Elijah,] saying, 9 Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you. 10 So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink. 11 As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand. 12 But she said, As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die. 13 Elijah said to her, Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the LORD the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth. 15 She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah. (If the Psalm is sung by the choir, you will not be required to lead the Psalm. Check the day s worship bulletin to confirm one way or the other) PLEASE JOIN ME IN READING THE 146 th PSALM RESPONSIVELY 1 Hallelujah! Praise the LORD, O my soul! 2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 3 Put not your trust in rulers, in mortals in whom there is no help. 4 When they breathe their last, they return to earth, and in that day their thoughts perish. 5 Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help, whose hope is in the LORD their God; 6 who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them; who keeps promises forever;
7 who gives justice to those who are oppressed, and food to those who hunger. The LORD sets the captive free. 8 The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. 9 The LORD cares for the stranger; the LORD sustains the orphan and widow, but frustrates the way of the wicked. 10 The LORD shall reign forever, your God, O Zion, throughout all generations. Hallelujah! A READING FROM HEBREWS 24 Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; 26 for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
Sunday, November 18, 2018: 26 th Sunday after Pentecost Daniel 12:1-3 Psalm 16 Hebrews 10:11-14 [15-18] 19-25 A READING FROM DANIEL 1 At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. 2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. (If the Psalm is sung by the choir, you will not be required to lead the Psalm. Check the day s worship bulletin to confirm one way or the other) PLEASE JOIN ME IN READING THE 16 th PSALM IN RESPONSIVELY 1 Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you; I have said to the LORD, You are my Lord, my good above all other. 2 All my delight is in the godly that are in the land, upon those who are noble among the people. 3 But those who run after other gods shall have their troubles multiplied. 4 I will not pour out drink offerings to such gods, never take their names upon my lips. 5 O LORD, you are my portion and my cup; it is you who uphold my lot. 6 My boundaries enclose a pleasant land; indeed, I have a rich inheritance. 7 I will bless the LORD who gives me counsel; my heart teaches me night after night. 8 I have set the LORD always before me; because God is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9 My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices; my body also shall rest in hope.
10 For you will not abandon me to the grave, nor let your holy one see the pit. 11 You will show me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy, and in your right hand are pleasures forevermore. A READING FROM HEBREWS 11 Every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 and since then has been waiting until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. [ 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying, 16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds, 17 he also adds, I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more. 18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.] 19 Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Sunday, November 25, 2018: Christ the King Sunday Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 Psalm 93 Revelation 1:4b-8 A READING FROM DANIEL 9 As I watched, thrones were set in place, and an Ancient One took his throne, his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and its wheels were burning fire. 10 A stream of fire issued and flowed out from his presence. A thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending him. The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. 13 As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him. 14 To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.
(If the Psalm is sung by the choir, you will not be required to lead the Psalm. Check the day s worship bulletin to confirm one way or the other) PLEASE JOIN ME IN READING THE 93 rd PSALM IN UNISON 1 The LORD is king, robed in majesty; the LORD is robed in majesty and armed with strength. The LORD has made the world so sure that it cannot be moved. 2 Ever since the world began, your throne has been established; you are from everlasting. 3 The waters have lifted up, O LORD, the waters have lifted up their voice; the waters have lifted up their pounding waves. 4 Mightier than the sound of many waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea, mightier is the LORD who dwells on high. 5 Your testimonies are very sure, and holiness befits your house, O LORD, forever and forevermore. A READING FROM REVELATION 4b 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, 5 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, 6 and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 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. 8 I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.