Loving with Your Very

We held virtual worship on Sunday, November 22, 2020 at 10:00am. You may watch a recording on Facebook by clicking here, or you may watch below.

CALL TO WORSHIP

Come to worship Jesus Christ, Alpha and Omega,
the one who is, who was, and is to come (Rev. 1:8).

We come to worship Jesus Christ,
King of kings and Lord of lords! (Rev. 19.16.)

The faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead,
the ruler of the kings of the earth! (Rev. 1:5)

Bread of Heaven, God with us! (John 6:51, Mt. 1:23.)

Good Shepherd, True Vine! (John 10:11, John 15:1.)

Eternal Word, Great I AM (John 1, John 8:58).

Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace! (Isaiah 9:6.)

To him be glory & dominion forever & ever! (Rev. 1:6.)

OPENING TO GOD Steve Garnaas-Holmes

My child,
I see you weary and weighed
in the slow catastrophe,
carrying the wreckage with you.
I know your longing,
the loneliness, the empty place.

Beloved, you are doing a hard thing.
Try to be as kind to yourself as I am.
Forgive yourself. Appreciate your resilience.
Give thanks for what has sustained you.

You are weary, as you ought to be.
Give yourself permission
to savor what renews you.

You are grieving, for a horizon
that always walks ahead of you,
for a touch you can’t have.
Let yourself mourn, let the sky hear.
The earth knows your song.

Be gentle with yourself, Beloved.
You are doing a hard thing.
I am with you. I believe in you.
This is my word to you, on this long road:
we will make it through.
We will make it through.

YOUNG PEOPLE’S MESSAGE Danielle Sturgeon & Family

GOSPEL Matthew 25:31-46
“At the appointed time the Promised One will come in glory,
escorted by all the angels of heaven,
and will sit upon the royal throne,
with all the nations assembled below.

Then the Promised One will separate people one from another
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the kid-goats,
and will put the sheep at the right hand
and the kid-goats at the left.

Then the ruler will say to those on the right,
‘Come, you that are blessed by my Abba God,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the cosmos;

for 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,
I was naked and you gave me clothing,

I was sick and you took care of me,
I was in prison and you visited me.’

Then the righteous will ask,
‘Lord, when was it that we saw you

hungry and gave you food,
or thirsty and gave you something to drink?

And when was it that we saw you

a stranger and welcomed you,
or naked and gave you clothing?

And when was it that we saw you

sick or in prison and visited you?’

And the ruler 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.’

Then the ruler will say to those on the left,
‘Go from me, you execrable ones,
into the fire of the Age prepared for the Slanderer and the fallen angels;

for I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,

I 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.’

Then they also will ask,
‘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?’

Then the ruer 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.’

And these will go to the Chastening of that Age,
but the righteous to the Life of that Age.”

REFLECTION Loving with Your Very Mitchell & Barb

MUSIC For the Beauty of the Earth music & photos
by Kathryn Parker

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK Gary R. Weaver
O Lord, our lives are like a song out of tune, lacking rhythm or harmony.
Our eyes have narrowed in vision from focusing too long on self-concern;
we lack periphery and depth.
Our hands have lost their creative freedom from holding on too tightly to things of insignificance.
May we lose in order to find. May we open our eyes and see the possibilities of your Spirit;
may we lift our voices and sing, even in the face of danger.
Blessed God, roll back the clouds and let the sun shine brightly in our souls.
May your love penetrate the uncertainties of life and remind us of the joy
which comes from reaching higher than the shelf of selfishness
to the one of friendship, kindness, justice.
May your forgiveness challenge our arrogance and teach us to give when it hurts,
to occasionally trust the opinion of others,
to yield to a different way of seeing and understanding.
These are times that test the soul, that call forth the courage of morality,
the integrity of truth, the dignity of decency.
May we have the strength of committed people who have known years of suffering for justice,
of caring for the forgotten, of seeking the lost.
And may we have that faith which finds power in the unity of your everlasting love.