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The Hymn #574 Come Ye Thankful People Come
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Sermon Hymn #462 I Love Thy Kingdom Lord
The Sheep Ask the Ultimate Question
The Hymn #376 Rock of Ages
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #511 Jesus Shall Reign
KJV 2 Thessalonians 1:3-10. 3 We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, even as it is meet, for that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the love of each one of you all toward one another aboundeth; 4 so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which ye endure; 5 which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God; to the end that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: 6 if so be that it is a righteous thing with God to recompense affliction to them that afflict you, 7 and to you that are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire, 8 rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus: who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at in all them that believed (because our testimony unto you was believed) in that day.
KJV Matthew 25:31-46.
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Trinity - From the Collects of Veit Dietrich
O almighty, eternal and merciful God, who by Thy beloved Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, hast established the kingdom of grace for us, that we might believe the forgiveness of our sins, in Thy holy Church on earth, since Thou art a God who hath no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live: We beseech Thee, graciously forgive us all our sins, through the same, Thy Son Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Announcements
In treatment - Kermit Way is recovering at home from a fall outdoors; Sarah Buck; the grandson of Dr. and Mrs. Cruz.
Wednesday - Thanksgiving vespers service at 7 PM.
The installation of surveillance equipment should be finished Wednesday morning.
The Sheep Ask the Ultimate Question
KJV Matthew 25:31-46. But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Old Testament students are struck by the vivid examples in the Bible - plants, flowers, birds, and animals. Here we have a metaphor to describe the ultimate question about how we exist at the end of time. Even the skeptics have to admit that this a striking metaphor that we cannot ignore, especially when we read or hear it. Sheep and goats are related somewhat, but there is a difference, especially because the Good Shepherd is so clearly taught throughout the Bible.
The second part of of Isaiah has this special description of the future Messiah -
KJV Isaiah 40 - 11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
KJV John 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.So the question must be - the Scriptures teach faith in Jesus Christ throughout, so why does Jesus teach works? The sheep are placed on the Savior's right hand and the goats on the left. The sheep represent good works while the goats are those who gave nothing except for themselves.
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
This is a very touching portrait, covering the basics of human needs and kindness, which have often been experienced by people. I found out this story only a few years ago. One of my best friends (at age 9) was in dire straits with his family, lack of money, lack of food, lack of clothing. Nobody knew this but a group of women, including my mother, gathered everything they could. My mother took clothing from my bedroom. I said, "Mom! Why are you taking my clothes?" She explained - "None of your business," one of two statements she used frequently. The other one was, "You're not old enough." Many decades later, he described how much that meant to him and his family. And he let people know the facts so they would understand how much generosity can do, to encourage us.
Another friend told us how he never held garage sales. Instead, he had free give-always with no questions asked. I never liked garage sales and I disliked filling the garage with extra stuff. We followed his example and suddenly had a garage with a car in it rather than near it.
Works Always Come from Faith in Jesus Christ
Faith in Christ always goes with forgiveness of sin. The good works which Christ poured upon His followers - and still does - are expressions of His kindness and His faith.
Revelation 14:12 - Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
So we are inclined to think of good works aimed at people, but the teaching of Jesus moves us to see how much that matters to Him, thus a perfect loop, from Him to us and from us to Him. Luther described it well when he was cleaning the diapers and neighbors laughed at him. He responded, saying, "Laugh all you want, because the angels in Heaven are weeping with joy."
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
The righteous are not perfect people but those who are forgiven through the atoning death of the Savior.
