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November 24, 2024 10:00 AM

Thanksgiving Sunday & Reign of Christ Sunday

GATHERING FOR WORSHIP

We greet our friends and neighbors quietly and allow the music of the prelude to lead us into a worshipful place in our hearts and minds.

Prelude                                We Gather Together

Netherlands Folk Hymn, arr. Victor Labenske and E. Kremser

Welcome and Announcements

Choral Introit

Call to Worship

Leader: In deep gratitude we come to worship God.

People: We recognize God as the source of all goodness.

Leader: All good gifts come from the Spirit of God.

People: Love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, and gentleness  are all of God.

Leader: We come with grateful hearts, not for things,

but for who God is.

People: We gather to show our gratitude in song and prayer.

*Opening Hymn       Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

Unison Prayer of Invocation

Gift-giver, it is the time of year to gather in the produce of the earth. And so we give thanks to You for the gifts of food. It is the time of year when we admire the bright colors of the season. And so we pause to give thanks to You for the beauty of the earth. In our time of worship this morning, as You move within and among us, awaken us to Your presence, moving our hearts to respond to your grace.  Amen.

SHARING GOD’S WORD

Scripture Reading               Colossians 3:12-17

Leader: This is the Word of the Lord.

People:   Thanks be to God.

Musical Interlude

THE COMMUNITY AT PRAYER

Sharing of Joys and Concerns

Call to Prayer Lead Me, Lord

Lead me, Lord, lead me in thy righteousness, make thy way plain before my face. For it is thou, Lord, thou, Lord, only, that makest me dwell in safety.

Pastoral Prayer

Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.  Amen.

*Hymn of Preparation     Now Thank We All Our God

SERMON    Thanks for the Memories    Rev. Gary Ritts

THE SERVICE OF OFFERING

Collection and Offertory

*The Doxology (#46)

Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise Him, all creatures here below; praise Him above, ye heavenly host: Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

* Unison Prayer of Dedication

Lord of bounty and blessing, we come to you this day in gratitude for all that we have been given. We are grateful for the blessings and for the opportunities to be of service to others in your holy Name. Bless these  offerings of time, talent and treasure that we present in thanksgiving that we may become blessings to others. For we ask this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

WE GO FORTH TO SERVE

*Hymn of Parting        For the Fruit of All Creation

*Benediction (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Now to him who, by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.

All: We go in peace to love and serve the Lord, In the name of Christ. Amen.

Congregational Response      Go Now in Peace

Go now in peace. Never be afraid. God will go with you each hour of every day. Go now in faith, steadfast, strong and true. Know He will guide you in all you do. Go now in love, and show you believe. Reach out to others so all the world can see. God will be there, watching from above. Go now in peace, in faith, and in love.

POSTLUDE                     Give Thanks

Henry Smith, arr. Glenda Austin

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THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES

Bob Hope on Armed Forces Radio, 1941;  Singing:
“Thanks from America, to all our men in blue, Our boys in khaki, too; our tough marines, our coast guard; our army nurses, true.  We thank you, so much.
“And thanks to our brave allies, the gallant Russian Bear, the British everywhere,The free French, and the Chinese, and you Latin’s way down there, We thank you, so much
Speaking, Bob says:

“Fellas, this doesn’t rhyme, but one of these days soon we’ll be seeing ya.
In the meantime, this is Bob Hope thanking you for those letters to Command Performance, here in Los Angeles USA;
“Speaking for everybody on Command Performance and saying, “The best of the best from the USA. So Long.”

The holiday season is about to begin.  It seems rather appropriate that we end our Christian year with a day to give thanks for all that God brings into our lives.
Today is also “Reign of Christ” Sunday. From the UCC website:
“For most churches that follow the church calendar, Reign of Christ is the last Sunday of the year before the season of Advent begins a new church year.
In these modern times, the Reign of Christ may stand in tension to a culture of strong individualism where democracy is seen as freedom from sovereignty and church is separated from state. The images of power, triumph, and authority and words like "king" and “reign” raise concerns for those sensitive to triumphalistic and patriarchal language. In recent years, some churches have chosen not to deal with all these issues by simply not observing Reign of Christ Sunday.
“And yet, even in an age of unprecedented personal power, there is a profound and lamentable sense deep within the hearts of many that we are "trapped" by the "trappings" of modern culture. Our freedom and autonomy are elusive at best. The "powers that be" can easily make us forget about the "Power That Is," the only power that really matters in our lives.”
“In economic hardship and urban decay, in the loneliness of the human condition in neighborhood and town, and in the overwhelming reality of illness, uncertainty, and doubt, we long for the power of God to lift us up. We look to God to transform our lives, to give us hope and set us on our way.
It is a time to look at our allegiances and loyalties. And affirm that, ultimately, God is in charge.”

Coincidentally, today is Thanksgiving Sunday, an opportunity to remember and lift up those instances in which we have known God’s favor.  Giving thanks is past-oriented.
Scripture calls us to remember: Psalm 77
“I consider the days of old,
and remember the years of long ago.
I commune with my heart in the night;
I meditate and search my spirit:
I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord;
I will remember your wonders of old.
I will meditate on all your work,
and muse on your mighty deeds.”
Scripture calls us to give thanks for the memories:
“How many are your works, O Lord!   In wisdom you made them all; . . let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.”
Scripture calls us to live to give others cause to give thanks for the memories.
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

And, Counterintuitively, Thankfulness can be made stronger in loss.
The title for the sermon is obvious to most of you. The song, “Thanks for the memory” comes from a 1938 movie by the same title. The movie plot, based on a 1930 stage play, dealt with an out of work writer, played by Bob Hope, who stays home and plays house husband while his wife, played by Shirley Ross goes to work for her former fiancé.
Near the film's end, on the brink of divorce, they poignantly sing one of the many versions of this song, recalling the ups and downs of their relationship.
The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song that same year, and became Hope's signature tune, with many different lyrics adapted to any situation.
In remembering, and being thankful, their relationship is rekindled - a happy ending.

Too true: facing the loss of a person, place or thing, their importance and value is often suddenly realized.
Once we get beyond the grief stages of shock and sadness and regret, we often come to the point of lifting up prayers of heartfelt thanksgiving.  Lots of cliche’s over the years:
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
“Never knew how good I had it until I lost it.”
Sad to say, even Jesus’ untimely death undoubtedly made him even more valued and revered.  Especially given the reason he was executed and the courage and out-pouring love with which he endured it.

Offering Thanks for the memories can also create in us a profound sense of wanting to make some changes.
Sometimes, thankfulness is just that.  Simple and pure, And it is often what’s called for.  Thanks need not always be about payback or even pay-forward.  What we might call gracious receiving.  A simple thank you will do.
But, more often, there arises the need to respond: we may vow to repay the kindness; or, having known the sense of gratitude at the memory, we may vow to pay the kindness forward; do for others that they may know gratitude.
But the bottom line in offering thanks for the memories, must be in the remembrance of the author of creating such memories: God, in the creation of the human capacity to feel gratitude; humble, profound gratitude.
In such instances, words fail; hugs, even tears may be the only way to express the thanks for the memory.
And as we grow older, oftentimes the memories are what keep us going.  Perhaps it’s part of the divine plan, that our memories are often tinted with a bit of the rosy color and that long term memory is the last to go.  Thanks be to God.

An assignment for this Thursday, especially, is to take some time to remember and offer thanks for those memories.  Share some “remember whens” . .  I can still remember the warm feelings I had as a child when my grandmother would begin one of her stories with, “I remember when you were little”.
Nowadays, Judy and I truly enjoy saying to our own grandchildren: “I remember when you were little.” which always brings a smile, sense of pride and joy.

Thanksgiving comes from realizing, in each moment, God’s goodness that surrounds us.
Thanksgiving comes from remembering God’s blessings we have enjoyed.
Thanksgiving can inspire us to be the creator of such feelings in others.

In her book, Daring Greatly, Brene Brown quotes Jesuit Brother David Steindl-Rast, who said: “It's not joy that makes us grateful, it's gratitude that makes us joyful.  Every moment is a gift. Whatever life gives to us, we can respond with gratitude and joy. Joy is the happiness that does not depend on what happens”.