My church had been working through the Church Renewal Lab for almost a year. The Church Renewal Lab is all about encouraging missional congregations who “transform lives and communities for Christ.” Its theme song has been “Build Your Kingdom Here” by Rend Collective. So we decided to create a service of song and Scripture focused on the lordship of Christ, his kingdom, and his power to transform our community. We also wanted to recognize our own role in bringing the kingdom of God to our neighbors.
Traditionally Christ the King Sunday is observed on the Sunday before Advent, but this theme is always relevant. We just celebrated Easter, and Christ is King! Creation is waking up from its winter sleep, and Christ is King! Ascension Day is a declaration that Christ is King! Churches face transitions, challenges, and transformation—and Christ is King!
God is King: Let the Earth Be Glad!
Prelude
Opening Prayer
Lord God,
the words “Jesus is King” come easily to our lips,
yet we often fail to grasp the significance of what they mean for us.
In this service, help us worship you in spirit and truth,
and give us a vision for how we may live in the light of your kingdom
every day of our lives, through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
—The Worship Sourcebook, Second Edition © 2013, Faith Alive Christian Resources. Section P.1.1.1. Used with permission.
Choir: “Come, Let Us Worship the King” Karen Crane and Douglas Nolan
Option: “All Creatures of Our God and King” LUYH 551, PH 455, PsH 431, SWM 14, TH 115, WR 23, GtG 15
Welcome: The theme of Christ’s lordship is central to Scripture and to the faithful practice of Christian worship. We hope you will be blessed and inspired by this service focused on Christ as King. The service is titled “Build Your Kingdom Here” because not only do we recognize Christ as Lord, but we also realize our role to work with the Holy Spirit in bringing the kingdom of God to our communities. God has invited us together today, and you are now invited to stand in body or spirit and together proclaim God’s call to worship.
Call to Worship
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
For the Lord is a great God,
the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountains peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
—Psalm 95:1–7
Song: “Let All Creation’s Wonders” LUYH 555, PFAS 148A
God’s Greeting
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
—2 Corinthians 13:14
As God has greeted us, so let us greet each other.
Mutual Greeting
Song: “Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven” LUYH 571 (v. 1–3, 5), PFAS 103F, PH 478, PsH 475, TH 76/77, WR 82
In-Between Words
From the beginning of time, God established himself as Creator and Ruler over all things. God formed the earth with order and beauty; God made humans in his own image and chose a people to whom he would reveal himself. Over many hundreds of years God taught them, through triumphs and hardships, what it takes to live in right relationship with God and with others. Because of sin, God’s people consistently failed to live into the goodness offered to them, but God never abandoned the work of God’s hands. Out of love for the world God created, God continued to preserve God’s creation, renewing the earth, bringing about God’s purposes, and promising a Savior—God’s own son, the true King. God is King; let the earth be glad!
Handbell Choir: “O Worship the King” arr. Sandra Eithun
Option: “O Worship the King” LUYH 2, PFAS 104F, PH 476, PsH 428, TH 2, WR 2, GtG 41
Christ Is Victor: His Rule Has Begun!
Scripture Reading: Colossians 1:15–20
Song: “The First Place” LUYH 15
Confession
As sinful people, we participate daily in the brokenness of the world. So let us take time again to confess our sin and trust God’s power to forgive through Jesus.
Righteous God, you have crowned Jesus Christ as Lord of all. We confess that we have not bowed before him and are slow to acknowledge his rule. We give allegiance to the powers of this world and fail to be governed by justice and love. In your mercy, forgive us. Raise us to acclaim him as ruler of all, that we may be loyal ambassadors, obeying the commands of our Lord Jesus Christ.
—Harold M. Daniels in Book of Common Worship, p. 396 [408], alt., PD.
Assurance
Do not weep!
See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.
With his blood he has purchased people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
He has made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.
Thanks be to God!
—based on Revelation 5:5, 9–10, NIV, The Worship Sourcebook, Section P.2.4.1.
Choir: “He Keeps Me Singing” arr. Mary McDonald
Option: “He Keeps Me Singing” Luther B. Bridgers
Prayers of the People
As we come to God in prayer, after each “Lord, in your mercy,” you are invited to respond with “hear our prayer.” Let us come before our God in prayer.
That each of us will understand that
our ordinary lives are pleasing to Christ, our King,
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
That all leaders in government will realize that
the ordinary people in our country are important,
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For all those people who are very ordinary,
but also are extraordinary because of the way they care for God’s people,
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For people who are sick and unable to do the ordinary things they used to do,
that they will be patient with themselves and with those who care for them,
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For people whose lives are recorded in our newspapers and magazines,
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Father, hear our prayers and the prayers of all your people.
Help us to be faithful in ordinary ways,
loving and caring for your people
whom we meet every day.
We ask this through Jesus, your Son and our King. Amen.
—The Worship Sourcebook, P.4.4.2
More Children’s Liturgies. Edited by Maria Bruck. © 1981, Paulist Press, Inc., New York/Mahwah, NJ. Used by permission.
Offering
Brass Ensemble: “He Is Exalted (with ‘O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing’)” Twila Paris, arr. Stan Pethel
Handbell Choir: “For the Beauty of the Earth” arr. Sandra Eithun
Song: “Sing to the King” LUYH 474
The Spirit Is at Work: Creation Is Renewed!
Scripture Reading
Throughout Scripture, God offers us several pictures of what life in God’s kingdom under God’s reign could look like. Isaiah 32 offers one such picture in which Christ is King of all, and each person is working to live into his kingdom. It says this:
See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice.
Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm,
like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.
Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
— Isaiah 32:1–3
Song: “Build Your Kingdom Here” Rend Collective
Profession of Our Faith
Our hope for a new creation is not tied
to what humans can do,
for we believe that one day
every challenge to God’s rule
will be crushed.
His kingdom will fully come,
and the Lord will rule.
Come, Lord Jesus, come.
On that day
we will see our Savior face to face,
sacrificed Lamb and triumphant King,
just and gracious.
He will set all things right,
judge evil, and condemn the wicked.
We face that day without fear,
for the Judge is our Savior,
whose shed blood declares us righteous.
We live confidently, anticipating his coming,
offering him our daily lives—
our acts of kindness,
our loyalty, and our love—
knowing that he will weave
even our sins and sorrows
into his sovereign purpose.
Come, Lord Jesus, come.
With the whole creation,
we join the song:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth
and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”
He has made us a kingdom of priests
to serve our God,
and we will reign on earth.
God will be all in all,
righteousness and peace will flourish,
everything will be made new,
and every eye will see at last
that our world belongs to God.
Hallelujah! Come, Lord Jesus!
—Our World Belongs to God, st. 55, 57, 58
Choir: “O Worship the King” arr. Robert Sterling
Option: “Cantemos al Señor/O Sing unto the Lord” LUYH 544, SNC 40
Scripture Reading: Revelation 19:1–7
God Gives Us His Blessing: Revelation 1:4–6
Closing Praise: “Hallelujah, Salvation, and Glory” LUYH 491
Postlude