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In These Days

Worship
Luke 2:1-20
The Nativity of our Lord - B
Dallas A. Brauninger
Lectionary Worship Aids
Series V, Cycle B
Call To Worship
Leader: In those days, things were different from these days:
People: No e-mail, no interstate highways, no cars, no hospitals.
Leader: In those days, things were like these days:
People: No vacancy signs, people doing what was required of them, going about making a living, persons noticing when something significant happens.
All: In those days and in these days, the miracle of God comes into our lives.

Collect
Let us be like the shepherds of old and confirm the unexpected despite apprehension. Let our curiosity carry us onward. Let us bring a torch to see the newborn Jesus and light the way for others to come tenderly, gently this silent, holy night. Amen.

Prayer Of Confession
We come today to hear the angels sing. We gather at the stable only as curious onlookers but find the birth of Jesus has something important to do with us. Yes, both within our hymns and beyond the choir's voice, the angels sing. Amen.

Hymns
"Bring A Torch, Jeannette, Isabella" Tune: BRING A TORCH
"Away In A Manger" Tune: AWAY IN A MANGER
"Silent Night" Tune: STILLE NACHT
UPCOMING WEEKS
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Proper 28 | OT 33 | Pentecost 26
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22 – Worship Resources
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Christ the King
31 – Sermons
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34 – Children's Sermons / Resources
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Thanksgiving
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New & Featured This Week

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: A crown and a cross. If you have enough small crosses, you could give one to each child at the end of the message.

* * *

The Immediate Word

Christopher Keating
Katy Stenta
Thomas Willadsen
Mary Austin
Dean Feldmeyer
George Reed
For November 24, 2024:

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
Look, he is coming with the clouds,
    and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
    and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen. (v. 7)

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Frank Ramirez
Bill Thomas
Bonnie Bates
Mark Ellingsen
2 Samuel 23:1-7
This scripture is said to be the last words of David. We are called to hear the words and know that they need to live on in us. “One who rules over people justly, ruling in the fear of God, is like the light of morning, like the sun rising on a cloudless morning, gleaming from the rain on the grassy land.” This call for justice remains. It is a call that lives throughout the scriptures. Justice is vitally important to the faithful followers of God. To rule with justice is to answer the call of God.
Wayne Brouwer
One morning in 1872, David Livingstone wrote this in his diary: “March 19, my birthday. My Jesus, my king, my life, my all, I again dedicate my whole self to thee. Accept me, and grant, O gracious Father, that ere the year is gone I may finish my work. In Jesus’ name I ask it. Amen.”

Just one year later, servants came to check on their master’s delay. They found him on his knees in prayer. He was dead.

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Prayers usually include these concerns and may follow this sequence:



These responses may be used:




Let us pray for the Church and for the world, and let us thank God for his goodness.

Almighty God our heavenly father, you promised through your Son Jesus Christ to hear us when we pray in faith.

SermonStudio

Robert G. Beckstrand
The LORD is king, he is robed in majesty ...
your throne is established from of old,
you are from everlasting ...
More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters,
more majestic than the waves of the sea,
majestic on high is the LORD.
-- Psalm 93:1a, 2, 4

Theme: The majesty of Yahweh

Outline
1-2 -- Yahweh's eternal sovereignty is seen in the laws of the physical world.
3-4 -- The hostile powers of earth (like "floods"), however majestic or loud-sounding, threaten his rule in vain.
John R. Brokhoff
The Ancient of Days takes his seat on the throne of judgment.
Today's lesson is apocalyptic literature written at a time of
persecution by Antiochus Epiphanes IV around 165 B.C. Chapter 7
tells of four beasts representing the Persian, Medean, Greek and
Syrian empires. The most terrible beast is the last which led to
the writing of Daniel and the Maccabbean revolt. Our pericope
interrupts the account of the fourth beast. It consists of a
vision of a heavenly court of judgment upon the reign of
Lee Ann Dunlap
The weeklong pastor's training event was about halfway through its course and the pastor coordinating the event was enjoying her break with a leisurely stroll across the grounds. But what began as a beautiful leisurely spring day soon turned somewhat anxious when she returned to her room and found a message taped to her door, "Call the bishop's assistant as soon as possible." She spent part of the afternoon playing phone tag between class sessions. "Whatever could it be?" she pondered.

Cathy A. Ammlung
I'd rather hear Saint Matthew talk about Christ the King. His story of the Last Judgment is vivid. Concrete acts are laid out. "As you have done to the least of these," Jesus says, "you have done to me." We may disagree or cringe, but we can picture this King claiming kinship with the lowly.

Luke's story is good, too. Jesus hangs between two criminals and promises to one that "today you will be with me in Paradise." We see a dying King offering kingly gifts to the dying who trust in him. We may be puzzled, we may object, but again, we can picture it.
H. Alan Stewart
Maybe you have had the experience of being mentioned in the last will and testament of someone who has died. As you listen during this poignant experience to the reading of a deceased person's last wishes, a legacy is being passed on. Both as we live and as we die, we pass on a legacy to the rest of the world.
Charles And Donna Cammarata
Call To Worship
From Psalm 145.
Leader: I lift you high in praise, my God, my King!
People: I will bless your name for all eternity.
Leader: You are magnificent!
People: You can never be praised enough!
Leader: There are no boundaries to your greatness.
People: All generations stand in awe of you.
Leader: Your beauty and splendor have them all talking.
People: We compose songs on your wonders.
Leader: Books could be written filled with the details of your greatness.

Special Occasion

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