Worship at Home - By Dave Elliott

Prayer:

Lord we rejoice in you as our King and our Saviour.  Be with us as we worship you 

Amen

Hymn:

Singing the Faith 335;  'Rejoice your Lord is King'

Prayer:

On this day Lord we are aware of our need of you in our lives. Thank you for all you have done for us in the past week. Thank you for the people we have enjoyed being with, those we have cared for and those who have made our lives special. We thank you Lord for health and well being and for your comfort and support when life doesn't always go well. We know we can turn to you and find you there for us.

Lords Prayer:

We ask this in the name of Jesus who taught us to pray saying; Our Father who art in heaven.

Hymn: 323
I will sing the wondrous story of the Christ who died for me.

Reading:
Let us hear now the gospel appointed for today, reading from Luke ch 23 v 33 to 43

Prayer:

Lord God we thank you for your word in Holy Scripture, bless us now as we think upon that word.
Amen

Address:

Today is the feast of Christ the King. It is a timely reminder that we all belong to the Kingdom of God with Jesus as our leader and our guide The gospel story is of the Crucifixion. It shows the pains Jesus endured for all our sakes. As Jesus is on the cross there were those who mocked him as the King of the Jews, asking him why he couldn't save himself. Jesus asks forgiveness for those who have put him on the cross. His death brings love and unity to our troubled world. As we approach the beginning of Advent and onwards to Christmas, we are reminded of the truth of these special times. They exist to remind us of who Jesus is. The Cross also defined Jesus as a King. In his Kingdom there will be real love, the love that showed Jesus was even prepared to give his life for us, so much does he love us.  

In God's Kingdom the values that often rule our world are turned upside down. We are called to be forgiving to those who do us wrong and not to seek revenge. We are called to be united in Christ's Kingdom, not to seek other leaders who are often here for their own benefit and not always to serve others. We are called to be Kingdom makers, working for a better world with those Christian values we all hold dear.

It is the calling of each one of us, as individuals and as the people of God, the Church, to work towards bringing about a better world. A world which is based on the teaching of Jesus, and the need to spread that teaching by the way we lead our lives and by our ministry in words and action.

The Kingdom of Christ is something we all long for, yet some times it seems a very distant goal to achieve..

There have been great people who have worked to bring about this Kingdom. We may not see ourselves as great or famous. We are called in humble ways to add something special to our lives so that we too can be seen as lights shining in a dark world. We offer our prayer in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

Hymn: STF 615' Let love be real.

Prayers:

We pray today for all World Leaders, especially those who work for peace and for the common good. We pray for our own Government, that those given great responsibility for running our country may do so with compassion and care, to enable this to be a good place to live. Bless those who suffer at this time, the homeless, those who feel they are outcasts from society. Bless those living in the midst of war and conflict, help them to cope. We pray for those people we love, our friends and families. We pray for our church families if we have one. Bless and be with those who are ill at this time and in the quiet we remember before God those we know to be suffering, that God's love may heal and save. We ask our prayers in the name of Jesus.

Amen

Hymn: STF 287 'When I survey the wondrous cross.

Prayer:

The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God be with us all and all we love, this day and always

Amen