The word "liturgy" means "work of the people." Instead of providing a product for you to passively consume, we are inviting you to participate in a weekly experience. By praying and singing and reading out loud, through sitting and standing and listening, we hope to engage you in the active act of worship. We may be physically separated during this time, but by participating in the same acts of worship each week, we are connected to one another through a common experience.
The Gathering Prayer
God – we gather in your presence.
Father – we long for more of you.
Jesus – we place you at the center.
Holy Spirit – come and fill our time together.
Help us to be fully present here,
to your word, to one another,
and to the world you love.
Amen.
I SURRENDER ALL
All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him
In His presence daily live
I surrender all
I surrender all
All to Thee my blessed Savior
I surrender all
I COULD SING OF YOUR LOVE FOREVER
Over the mountains and the sea,
Your river runs with love for me,
And I will open up my heart
And let the healer set me free.
I’m happy to be in the truth,
And I will daily lift my hands:
For I will always sing of when
Your love came down.
I could sing of your love forever,
I could sing of your love forever,
I could sing of your love forever,
I could sing of your love forever.
I could sing of your love forever.
Oh, I feel like dancing
It’s foolishness I know;
But when the world has seen the light,
They will dance with joy,
Like we’re dancing now.
Join Anderson by standing and reciting alongside.
The text of lectionary passage for you to read aloud as you remain standing.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
Matthew 25:31-46 (NIV)
Take some time to listen to the Spirit and respond in prayer, however you feel led.
“I used to think that being a Christian was about preaching the right things, believing the right things, and performing the right ways. I’ve come to see that being a Christian is more about imagining a world more loving, more just, and more equal than the one we’re offered.”
Dante Stewart
God of Truth,
We are grateful that you are a God who invites us into knowing you much more than you demand for us to know the things about you. Let this relational freedom draw us deeper into mystery and truth. Let us remember those who are excluded by a rhetoric that makes demands of our capacity to “comprehend” and ”articulate”, that we would face those ugly hidden beliefs that our own spirituality is somehow superior because we can engage it intellectually or physically in a way others may not have access to. Help us to see the beauty of a faith that includes a pursuit of knowing and doing but that is not in bondage to it. Take us deep into a faith that is marked by the liberation that comes simply by being with you, and by the slow and sacred formation of being in the presence of your character that is of love, justice, repair, and rescue.
As you go,
May the peace of Christ go with you,
Wherever he may send you,
May he guide you through the wilderness,
Protect you through the storms,
May he bring you home rejoicing,
At the wonders he has shown you,
May he bring you home rejoicing,
Once again into our doors.
2024 Theophilus Church
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