Evening Prayer
The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
(Feast of Christ the King)
Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
November 15, 2020
(adapted from the Book of Alternative Services, pages 61-71 Introductory Response 9 page 99)
Opening Sentence:
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is
coming! John 15.5
Officiant Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
People And blessed be his kingdom, now and for ever. Amen.
Officiant Come, let us worship God our King.
People Come, let us worship Christ, our King and our God Amen
Officiant Come, let us worship Christ among us, our King and our God.
All Holy God, holy and mighty, holy immortal one, have mercy upon us.
Opening Hymn: Ride on King Jesus
Refrain Ride on King Jesus
No one can a-hinder thee
Ride on King Jesus ride on
No one can a-hinder thee
King Jesus rides to Jerusalem
Hosanna to King David’s son
He rides upon a donkey small
The King of peace the Lord of all R
The children sing and they dance and shout
If they won’t praise the rocks cry out
King Jesus done just what He said
He healed the sick and He raised the dead R
The light of God shines on His face
He offers all His pardoning grace
Come join the throng your voices raise
The King of love deserves your praise R
Text: Traditional African-American Spiritual add. Lyrics by Hilda Carper.
Music: trad.
The Proclamation of the Word
A READING FROM THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL (Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 )
For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds
seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will
rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick
darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring
them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in
all the inhabited parts of the land. I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of
Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich
pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie
down, says the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the
injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with
justice. Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the
lean sheep. Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your
horns until you scattered them far and wide, I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged;
and I will judge between sheep and sheep. I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and
he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my
servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
PSALM: PSALM 100 .
1 Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; *
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.
2 Know this: The Lord himself is God; *
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
3 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise; *
give thanks to him and call upon his name.
4 For the Lord is good;
his mercy is everlasting; *
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.
God our Father, you have created us as your people, and you
sustain us with your hand. Help us always to give you thanks,
for you alone are worthy of thanksgiving and praise and
honour, now and for ever.. AMEN
A READING FROM THE FIRST LETTER OF PAUL TO THE EPHESIANS 1.15-23
I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this
reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and
revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may
know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious
inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us
who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ
when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far
above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named,
not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and
has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him
who fills all in all.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!
Magnificat
The Song of Mary
Luke 1.46–55 Music: Russian Chant.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; *
for he has looked with favour on his lowly
servant.
From this day all generations will call me
blessed: *
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their
thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the
Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be
for ever.
Amen.
The congregation may stand or sit for a Gospel reading. The reader may say,
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
according to . . .
People Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Then at the conclusion of the Gospel, the reader says,
The Gospel of Christ.
People Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ
Jesus said, "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on
the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one
from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right
hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are
blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 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 answer him, '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 king 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 he will say to those at
his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his
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 answer, '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 he 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 away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
MATTHEW 25.
Sermon:
Faith in the Kingdom of Heaven, or,
How to Welcome your King.
A sermon or other comment on the readings is appropriate at principal
services on Sundays and at other major gatherings of the Christian
community. A silence for refection may follow.
Affirmation of Faith
The Apostles’ Creed
Celebrant Let us confess our faith, as we say,
All
I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He sufered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucifed, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again
to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Intercessions and Thanksgivings
Intercession or thanksgiving may be offered for
the Church
the Queen and all in authority
the world
the local community
those in need
the departed.
The Collect of the Day:
Almighty and everlasting God,
whose will it is to restore all things
win your well-beloved Son, our Lord and King,
grant that the peoples of the earth,
now divided and enslaved by sin,
may be freed and brought together
under his gentle and loving rule;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.. AMEN
The Lord’s Prayer
Closing Hymn:
#True Evangelical Faith
1 True evangelical faith cannot lie sleeping
for it clothes the naked, it comforts the sorrowful
it gives to the hungry food
and it shelters the destitute.
2 It cares for the blind and lame
the widow and orphan child.
That’s true evangelical faith.
It binds up the wounded
It offers a gentle hand
We must become everything to all men.
3 Abundantly we have received
and gratefully we will respond
with true evangelical.
So overcome evil with good
Return someone’s hatred with love
We must become everything to all men.
4. rue evangelical faith cannot lie sleeping
for it clothes the naked, it comforts the sorrowful
it gives to the hungry food
and it shelters the destitute.
Text: Menno Simons (
Arrangement and Music: Larry Nickel (1952-
Dismissal
Then may be said or sung,
Officiant Let us bless the Lord.
People Thanks be to God.
From Easter Day through the Day of Pentecost, Alleluia is added to the
dismissal and the people’s response
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.