Thanksgiving DayNovember 23, 2017

Approaching God In Worship

Prelude

*Song: # 543 v.1,3 “Now Thank We All Our God”

*Song: # 560 v.1,2 “We Praise Thee, O God, Our Redeemer”

*Opening Prayer with Song of Response: # 538 v.1 Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee; Holy, Holy, Holy! Merciful and mighty, God in three persons blessed Trinity!

*Greeting from the Lord

Thanksgiving to God that Jesus Died for Us

Leader: The rule of Jesus Christ covers the whole world. To follow this Lord is to serve him everywhere, without fitting in, as light in the darkness, as salt in a spoiling world.

Congregation: We serve Christ by thankfully receiving our life, as a gift from his hand. In thanksgiving, we want to proclaim to the whole world, the assurance that in the name of Christ, that for us and all peoples of the earth, there is forgiveness from our sins and a new life if we repent and believe.

Bible Reading: Revelation 1:12-18

Meditation

Song: # 775 “Across the Lands”

Prayer

1

Thanksgiving for Education and Work

Leader: In education we seek to acknowledge the Lord, by promoting schools and teaching in which the light of his Word shines in all learning, where students, of whatever ability, are treated as persons who bear God's image and have a place in his plan.

Congregation: In our work, even in dull routine, we answer the call to serve our Lord. We work for more than wages, and manage for more than profit, so that mutual respect and the just use of goods and skills may shape the work place, and so that, while we earn or profit, useful products and services may result.

Meditation

Song: # 378 v.1,2 “Lord of All Hopefulness”

Prayer

Thanksgiving for Our Freedom

Leader: Knowing that God's people live under many forms of government, we are thankful for the freedoms enjoyed by citizens of many lands; we grieve with those who live under oppression, and we work for their liberty to live without fear.

Congregation: We call on governments to do public justice, and to protect the freedoms and rights of individuals, groups, and institutions, so that each may freely do the tasks God gives. We are thankful that governments are working to ensure the well-being of all citizens by protecting children from abuse and pornography, by guarding the elderly and poor, and by promoting the freedom to speak, to work, to worship, and to associate.

*Song: “God Bless America”

*Prayer

4

*Thanksgiving for Maranatha

*Leader: We long for that day when Jesus will return as triumphant king, when the dead will be raised and all people will stand before his judgment. We face that day without fear for the Judge is our Savior.

*Congregation: For then we will see the Lord face to face. He will heal our hurts, end our wars, and make the crooked straight. Then we will join in the new song to the Lamb without blemish who made us a kingdom and priests. 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, Come Quickly.

*Blessing

*Song: # 489 “By the Sea of Crystal”

Postlude

5

Thanksgiving to God for Our Lives and Food

Leader: God looks after his people like a shepherd, supplying all of their needs.

Congregation: The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Meditation

*Song: # 23 “Children of the Heavenly Father”

Prayer

Thanksgiving for the Opportunity to Help Those in Need

Leader: When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus 19.9-10)

Congregation: What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2:14-16) Meditation

Song: # 874 “We Are an Offering”

Prayer

Offering and Offertory: Anchorage Rescue Mission

2

Thanksgiving for Church

Leader: We grieve that the church which shares one Spirit, one faith, one hope, and spans all time, place, race, and language has become a broken communion in a broken world. When we struggle for the purity of the church and for the righteousness God demands, we pray for saintly courage. When our pride or blindness blocks the unity of God's household, we seek forgiveness.

Congregation: We marvel that the Lord gathers the broken pieces to do his work, and that he blesses us still with joy, new members, and surprising evidences of unity. We commit ourselves to seeking and expressing the oneness of all who follow Jesus.

Bible Reading: Philippians 1:3-11

*Song: # 251 v.1,4 “The Church’s One Foundation”

Prayer

Thanksgiving for Family and Friends

Leader: We serve Christ as children, as singles, or as married couples by devotion to the work of God and so add our love and service to the building of his kingdom. We visit and help each other as families and friends to support each other in lives on this great earth. In marriage and family, we serve God by reflecting his covenant love in life-long loyalty, and by teaching his ways, so that children may know Jesus as their Lord and learn to use their gifts in a life of joyful service to God and to each other.

Congregation: We will love the Lord out God with all our hearts and minds and strength. This is the first and great commandment. We will not forget the second commandment that Jesus said was of equal importance this first one. We are to love those all around us to as we love as ourselves, even if we do not know them.

Song: # 257 v.1-3 “Blest Be the Tie That Binds”

Prayer

3

Thanksgiving to God for Our Lives and Food

Leader: God looks after his people like a shepherd, supplying all of their needs.

Congregation: The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Meditation

*Song: # 23 “Children of the Heavenly Father”

Prayer

Thanksgiving for the Opportunity to Help Those in Need

Leader: When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus 19.9-10)

Congregation: What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2:14-16) Meditation

Song: # 874 “We Are an Offering”

Prayer

Offering and Offertory: Anchorage Rescue Mission

2

Thanksgiving for Church

Leader: We grieve that the church which shares one Spirit, one faith, one hope, and spans all time, place, race, and language has become a broken communion in a broken world. When we struggle for the purity of the church and for the righteousness God demands, we pray for saintly courage. When our pride or blindness blocks the unity of God's household, we seek forgiveness.

Congregation: We marvel that the Lord gathers the broken pieces to do his work, and that he blesses us still with joy, new members, and surprising evidences of unity. We commit ourselves to seeking and expressing the oneness of all who follow Jesus.

Bible Reading: Philippians 1:3-11

*Song: # 251 v.1,4 “The Church’s One Foundation”

Prayer

Thanksgiving for Family and Friends

Leader: We serve Christ as children, as singles, or as married couples by devotion to the work of God and so add our love and service to the building of his kingdom. We visit and help each other as families and friends to support each other in lives on this great earth. In marriage and family, we serve God by reflecting his covenant love in life-long loyalty, and by teaching his ways, so that children may know Jesus as their Lord and learn to use their gifts in a life of joyful service to God and to each other.

Congregation: We will love the Lord out God with all our hearts and minds and strength. This is the first and great commandment. We will not forget the second commandment that Jesus said was of equal importance this first one. We are to love those all around us to as we love as ourselves, even if we do not know them.

Song: # 257 v.1-3 “Blest Be the Tie That Binds”

Prayer

3