20th. November. 2022. Service.
Service of Worship 20th November 2022
Reign of Christ the King
Prelude: – “All over the world”
Bible Introit 448 “Lord, I come to your awesome presence”
Collect
Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Hymn 449 “Rejoice, the Lord is King”
Call to Prayer
Say among the nations, The Lord reigns.
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
The Lord is coming to judge the earth.
God will judge the world with righteousness and truth.
Let us worship God with praise and honour.
We will offer our thanks and praise for all that God has done.
Prayers of Adoration and Confession
We come this day, rejoicing, in the presence of the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. At his birth the angels proclaimed his name to be Emmanuel, God with us. Today in this place, in this time of worship, may we truly feel the power and presence of Jesus Christ in our lives. May our hearts and spirits be warmed and challenged to proclaim with our lives, “Christ is Lord!”. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Today we are called to recognize Jesus Christ as the King of our lives, our sovereign ruler, whose kingdom is based on the laws of love; loving God as God has truly loved us and loving our neighbour as we ourselves want to be loved. That love extends beyond the borders of our lives, into a world in which there is fear and alienation, hunger and disease, hopelessness and darkness. Jesus, our sovereign ruler, our friend, our Master and guide has asked us to reach out to feed the hungry; give drink to the thirsty; clothe the naked, visit the sick and those imprisoned; welcome the stranger. These words are not unfamiliar to us, yet somehow we have treated them as nice words but not an active part of our life of faith. Forgive us, Lord, for the meagreness of our faith and the weakness of our witness. Rule our lives again with your powerful love, that we might truly be worthy disciples of yours. W confess and renounce all these things with which our conscience accuses us. Help us to find the forgiveness which you have given to us and to do your will. Amen.
Words of Assurance
Even though we have often failed to do as our Lord Jesus has asked, yet there is eternal forgiveness and a chance to again follow his ways. Let us be assured that the love of Jesus Christ will never leave us that we may be his witnesses throughout the world.
Almighty God, we thank you for the gift of your holy word. May it be a lantern to our feet, a light to our paths, and strength to our lives. Take us and use us to love and serve all people in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord in whom we pray,
The 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 debts, as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever Amen.
Intimations
The Church Fair will be held on Saturday 26th November from 12 – 2pm in the Church. Admission is £5 which includes soup & mince pies, admission only £1.
There is a list of stalls available in the Church & if you can help in any way, please add you name to the list or speak to Joan More.
This year’s Christmas Lunch in Inverkeithing will be on Wednesday December 14th from 12 noon. Tickets £10.00 each. Please reserve your place soon with Joan More.
Inverkeithing Community Council are holding a Christmas Fayre at which the congregation will have a stall on Friday December 2nd from 3-8pm in the Queen Street carpark.
Coffee mornings this week, Tuesday 22nd Inverkeithing 10:00-noon Wednesday 23rd North Queensferry 10:30-noon.
We have a willing band of volunteers in Inverkeithing who keep our lovely building clean & tidy each week, however we are looking for help since Moira has been in hospital. If anyone can help & be part of our rota, please speak to Joan.
Christmas Choir Practice Inverkeithing Saturday 27th at 10:30 in the Church.
North Queensferry Scottish Social Evening for Ukrainian Refugees will be held on Tuesday 29th November from 6.30-8.30. in the church and host families are welcome too.
Morag Wilkinson will be making ginger wine again this year, both for the sale of work and available in the entryway to the church. If you have any screw-top glass bottles (e.g., wine bottles) that she could use, she would be grateful for any contributions.
The Funeral of our member Mrs Elizabeth McVay, will take place in the Church on Friday 25th November at 12:15 pm thereafter to Dunfermline Crematorium at 1:45pm. Please keep her family in your prayers.
Invitation to the Offering
On the Sunday of Reign of Christ, we declare our love and loyalty to Jesus by the gift of our praise and the offering of our lives. Let your gifts this day proclaim your commitment to him as our Lord and our friend.
Prayer of Dedication
Almighty God, you rule in this world through your love. Receive our gifts as tokens of our love for you. Bless and multiply them through the power of the Spirit, so that they will spread your love in ways we have yet to imagine.
All Age Talk
A long time ago, there lived a King. He was no ordinary king. He was a Backward King. He was different from other kings because He did everything backward from the way other kings did them. (“That’s backward!”)
From the very day He was born, you could tell that this King was different. Most kings are usually born in a palace, but this King was born in a stable surrounded by donkeys, sheep, and cows. (That’s backward!”)
It wasn’t a very fancy beginning for a king. In fact, very few people even knew a king had been born. Only a handful of shepherds and three wise men got the word that the King had been born. (“That’s backward!”)
As the baby King grew into a man, He continued to be different from other kings. While most kings spent all their time building up riches of gold and jewels, this King owned nothing at all. (“That’s backward!”)
And while most kings surrounded themselves with servants, He chose to be a servant. He could often be found helping others. (“That’s backward”)
As time went on, people became very unhappy with their King because He just didn’t act the way they thought a king should act. Instead of riding into town on a big white horse the way other kings usually did, their king rode into town on the back of a donkey. Was that any way for a king to act? (“That’s backward!”)
And the people He chose to be his friends! His closest friends were a bunch of smelly fishermen, and He could often be seen visiting with the poor and eating with sinners. (“That’s backward!)
Finally, the people decided that they had put up with this King long enough. If He couldn’t act the way they thought a king should act, then they didn’t want Him to be their king anymore. They planned to have Him arrested and thrown into prison. (“That’s backward!”)
Their plan worked. When the day came for His trial, the King stood before the people. Instead of shouting, “Hail to the King, Long live the King!” they shouted, “He is not our king! Crucify Him!” (“That’s backward!”)
So, the soldiers did. They nailed Him to a cross; they put a crown made of thorns on His head; they poked Him with sharp sticks and made fun of Him. It was a terrible way for the King to die! After He was crucified, they put His body in a borrowed tomb. (“That’s backward!”)
But that isn’t the end of the story. Remember…this Backward King was different! This King rose from the grave to live forever. (Turn and face the crown.)
Now, instead of being the Backward King, He is the Forever King. He is the King to anyone who chooses Him to be their King. We call Him King Jesus!
Jesus wants to be your King, too, and if you choose Him to be your King, you will live with Him in heaven!
Jesus, today we crown You King and Lord of our life. In Your name, Amen.
Hymn 279 “Make way, make way for Christ the King”
Reading Jeremiah 23:1-6
‘Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!’ declares the Lord. 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: ‘Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,’ declares the Lord. 3 ‘I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,’ declares the Lord.
5 ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord,
‘when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Saviour. Amen.
Hymn 470 “Jesus shall reign where e’er the sun”
Colossians 1:15-20
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Amen, this is the Word of the Lord, to Him be all glory and praise.
Hymn 724 “Christ’s is the world”
Sermon
When it comes to the reign of Christ, we are all immigrants.
On Thursday the people of the United States will be celebrating their annual Thanksgiving Day which as you know is almost as big as Christmas with families gathering to eat turkey and pumpkin pie. It is a relic of the survival of the first English Plymouth Pilgrim settlers after their first year’s harvest was gathered in 1621.
They were English Calvinist Dissenters, (not Puritans) who were seeking freedom from the theological restrictions of the Church of England under the authority of King James vi and i. They saw themselves as citizens of the Kingdom of God first and foremost.
Today we are thinking about our citizenship of the Kingdom of God and how we conceive of the kingship of Jesus Christ.
We cannot equate the kingship of Christ with that of any earthly monarch or indeed of any human head of state, ruler, president or dictator.
We remind ourselves that Jesus claimed nothing of the trappings of power. He eschewed military might, earthly wealth and accumulation, violence, pomp and circumstance, or enforced obedience. He advocated for the weak and the powerless, the poor and the excluded and resisted the proud, those who abused their power, but he did not condemn wealth or political systems when they were justly used and applied. His kingdom is based up relationship with the ultimate authority vested in God the Creator and sustainer of all that is, and that God is love. As someone put it, he turned the concept of kingship inside out and transformed it. We have said before that the modern concept of kingship grew out of the adoption of the Christian faith by the Roman Empire which imposed an imperial crown on Jesus and used that as a model for kingship which is fundamentally at odds with who Jesus is.
In Colossians we have a snapshot of who Jesus is to us. He is the fullness of God — in Christ
“In [Christ],” writes Paul to the Colossians, “all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” The Greek word for fullness — pleroma — is a rich one. It was often used, in ancient times, to refer to merchant ships heavily laden with cargo. It’s the same word Mark uses as Jesus feeds the 5,000. When the miracle was all over, Mark tells us, they had 12 baskets of leftover fragments of bread and fish. Those baskets were full: pleroma. And Jesus, as Lord over all creation, reigns with a pleroma of grace.
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
In sum, Jesus Christ is the fullest expression of God and all power an authority are ultimately his. Paul implies that all human authority is subject to him. He is if you like the over-ruler, in both senses of that expression. He rules over and has the power to over-rule all human activity. Whether or not he is acknowledged or obeyed he in the end allows all that is, but also will call all to account. He also invites everything and everyone in the creation to become one in him. However, as Paul implies when he continues: Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour.” Jesus’ respect for the autonomy of every soul what we call our free will has resulted in alienation from the Creator.
In our condition on earth, we are called to be reconciled to the Creator and it is in Jesus that this is accomplished and our proper response to all this fullness — to this powerful experience of being rescued from darkness and emigrating to the realm of the Beloved Son — is to give thanks.
Most of all, we can be thankful for the gift of Jesus Christ and for his opening to us the kingdom of God, where our ultimate citizenship lies. By faith we are reconciled to God and entitled to the peace accomplished by his blood shed upon the cross.
Jesus then is not a strutting earthly king. Here in Colossians is a crucified man wearing a crown of thorns. Jesus the King is the wounded healer, the bloodied reconciler, the one who lays down his life for others. This is Jesus our king, the one who turns all other ideas of kingship inside out
Paul understood this and in Colossians, as in Ephesians and Philippians, we have an outpouring of love-praise from someone who had suffered hardship, pain and persecution for his unique King, yet did not look back with regret on one moment of it.
To sum this at the heart is the crucified Christ. His body broken; his blood poured out in love for the world. The supra-costly reconciliation of all things. Humanity reconciled with God by God’s incomparable love. Person reconciled with person through the saving grace of Christ Jesus. Truly we can be thankful that we live under the reign of Christ!
But what to we do with this king.
in New York City in 1996. Phones started ringing all over the city, in the wee hours of the morning. They were ringing in the apartments of undocumented aliens: those silent, nearly invisible people who empty the city’s wastebaskets, bus the city’s restaurant tables and sit at droning sewing-machines in the garment-district sweatshops. These were people who had come to New York to follow a dream: the beautiful, alluring dream of citizenship in the United States of America Some of these people had come on tourist visas; they simply never went home. Others had paid — handsomely — for a smuggler to convey them in — perhaps in a small boat, or wading across the Rio Grande, or crouching in the damp darkness of a shipping container.
They’d been working long hours, those undocumented laborers — and for very small salaries, always in cash. But they were thankful. Rarely did it occur to them that this was unfair, that they were being exploited, for they were in America, after all! They were working. They were saving their money. One day, they might even receive the greatest prize of all: a green card, the immigration document that would make them permanent residents — legal immigrants, at last.
Hossain had a business degree from a university in Bangladesh. He’d been working in New York as a bartender, dreaming of the day when he could get financial aid to study computer science in an American college.
Uddin was a 32-year-old chef, also from Bangladesh. His plan was to save his money so he could open his own Indian restaurant.
Julie was a 42-year-old housekeeper from Trinidad. She dreamed of going home and seeing her five children for the first time in six years. Without a green card, though, she would never risk leaving the country, for she couldn’t be sure that she could get back in.
At the other end of those telephone lines were friends. “Come quickly!” each friend was saying. “Come to the immigration office. They’re giving away green cards: 10,000 of them. Only 2,000 are left. If you don’t come quickly, they’ll be all gone.”
Between 2 and 4 o’clock in the morning, great numbers of people turned up on street corners in all five New York City boroughs. A fleet of yellow cabs converged at the U.S. immigration offices in Manhattan. There they found a line of over a thousand people snaking around the block. Undocumented workers from all over the city had heard of the amnesty offer.
However, there was not a single green card to be had. It was all a hoax, a wild rumour that had gotten out of control. There was a grain of truth to it. That morning, the INS had been planning to take sign-ups for its annual lottery. There was plenty of time for aspiring green-card holders to put their names in. No need for haste, and certainly not for lines stretching around the block.
Officials tried to tell the crowd they could go home: that it wasn’t an emergency, that they could apply for the green-card lottery some other time.
“Hope springs eternal in the human breast,” wrote the poet Alexander Pope. These aspiring U.S. citizens hoped to obtain a green card and its promise of citizenship
Most of the immigrants processed through Ellis Island arrived in the US with no papers. Often all they had was a battered suitcase and not much money. Many spoke no English. But still they came; eager to have their citizenship transferred from one country to another.
Paul, in Colossians, chapter one, speaks of another sort of transfer of citizenship:
“[God] has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
By the saving power of Jesus Christ, we have been transferred into God’s kingdom. In so doing, we leave the kingdom of this world behind. Yes, we continue to live here in a bodily sense — and to make our mark on this world for good, the best we know how — but our true citizenship is elsewhere.
Next week Advent begins, when as Christians we are reminded that we are out of sync with the rest of the world this time of year. That’s the sort of thing that can happen when your citizenship is elsewhere! When the rest of society is engaged in a frantic, materialistic rush toward Christmas, we’ll be engaged in Advent observances. When the shopping-mall sound systems are playing “Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” we’ll be singing “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”
Someone has pointed out that, on New Year’s Day, the secular year begins with a hangover and ends twelve months later with overindulgence. The Christian year, on the other hand, begins with the bright hope of Advent, and ends with the all-encompassing reign of Christ. A much more uplifting vision.
Here’s another immigrant story: this one from the heyday of American immigration, around the turn of the twentieth century:
The Jansens from Norway — father and mother and two young children — booked passage on a steamship to America using all their savings for the tickets. Sympathetic neighbours had given them bread and cheese for the journey, which they took with them into their bunks in steerage on the Stavanger.
The parents calculated they had enough cheese and bread to last the ten-day journey, simple food, but they would find much better fare in America.
Six days into the trip, the couple’s young son, Ole, face another cheese sandwich. His father took pity on him and gave him a few coins to go to the ship’s store and buy an apple.
After two hours. Ole did not return. Worried, Mr. Jansen set out to find him. Up successive stairs from steerage to the more luxurious areas. He felt more and more out of place, But after a long time, he found Ole — in the grand dining room. T seated at a table, surrounded by a smorgasbord of food: everything good you could possibly imagine.
“Ole, Ole,” the father chided, “what have you done? I can’t pay for all this food. They’ll arrest me for sure and send us all back home!”
“It’s all right, Father,” Ole replied, as he gave back the coins. “None of this food costs a thing. They told me it’s included in the price of our ticket. We could have been eating like this the whole trip!”
How very much like us is the Jansen family, when it comes to our spirituality! Scripture assures us that, in Christ, we’ve been rescued from the power of darkness and transferred into another country, yet we hardly live as though we believe it! We sit on the edge of our bunks down in steerage, sullenly munching on week-old cheese sandwiches: when all the while a rich banquet awaits, up on the main deck.
It’s so easy to let cheese-sandwich thinking dominate our decisions in life. We look around at our situation and we see so much scarcity — when, we’ve been blessed with more riches than we can possibly imagine. Many of us fear that we’re about to slip into poverty any day — or, at the very least, view ourselves as members of the rapidly-shrinking group of believers, although our Christmas celebrations might belie that.
Similar thinking extends to the less-material aspects of our lives as well. It’s so easy to fall into poor talk when it comes to our work or our families or our relationships. We look at our neighbours and imagine them to be much happier than ourselves. Vaguely we fantasize about life being better somewhere else. We ask ourselves the infamous “What if …?” question much too often.
Our challenge is to remind ourselves that whatever is going on in the world, we are citizens of the Kingdom of heaven, children of God and heirs of the whole creation. Much of Jesus teaching in the gospel invites us to live with a sense of abundance. He says, just trust me and God our Father. Live without fear and anxiety, think plenty and as you are generous and thankful, because you are seeking first the kingdom of God, all things will be given to you in addition.
How can we be poor when we are alive in the Kingdom of the one who is the pleroma the fulness of God? That is why we thank and praise Jesus, the King of Heaven. Amen.
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession
From the first day of Advent, so long ago, we have come full circle to the celebration of the Reign of Christ, also known as Christ the King Sunday. We have witnessed the wonderful birth, the great healing moments, the teachings that have sustained people throughout the centuries. We cried in sorrow at the Crucifixion and rejoiced with absolute joy on the sunrise of Easter when Jesus conquered our greatest fear, death. We celebrated the great good news of the disciples as they risked everything to finally proclaim the good news to all people. Now on this Sunday, we invite Jesus to enter our hearts.
Sovereign Lord Jesus, come into our hearts today and take your reign. Remind us that your kingdom is a kingdom of hope and light, in which there is no darkness, fear, or sadness. You have called us to be the Kingdom people, living our lives in the knowledge that peace, justice, and hope are not only possible, but can actually be the ruling factor of the world, for those who follow you. There are many who do not acknowledge your presence and your name, O Lord. But in your infinite love and mercy, you have acknowledged and claimed them. Help us to be the kind of disciples that welcome everyone with the words of kindness, that offer acts of mercy and peace to all in need, to proclaim Christ risen and glorified. Hear the prayers which we individually offer for ourselves and others whom we love…
As we have brought before you, O Lord, the names of people and situations needing your healing and comforting touch, may we also open our hearts for that same healing and comfort. Remind us that we are never out of your grace and mercy. We know that you will give us the strength and wisdom to be true disciples and we celebrate and honour you, now and forever.
We offer all in in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son, our Saviour,
Hymn 458 “At the Name of Jesus, every knee shall bow”
Sending out and Benediction
Go now in peace. Bring the good news of God’s eternal love, the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit to all you meet. Go in peace. Amen.
“May God’s blessing surround you each day”
Postlude: “Walking in sunlight”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUjT00e0DNs&list=RDLLLaFIHw6IY&index=45