- Opening Sentence: Isaiah 9:2.
- Hymn: “Come, thou Long Expected Jesus” performed at the University Church in Walla Walla, WA, uploaded to YouTube by “Your Church” and used in Accordance with Creative Commons license.
- First Reading: Isaiah 64:1-9, King James Bible.
- Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19, King James Bible.
- Gloria Patri (“Glory be to the Father”) by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594), sung by Salt Lake Children’s Choir, at the First Baptist Church of Salt Lake City, May 2011; Uploaded to YouTube by “lemmondg”; Used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
- Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, World English Bible.
- Organ sequence: “Lo, He Comes with Clouds of Glory”, Uploaded to YouTube by “Ubertuba”; Used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
- Gospel: Mark 13:24-37, World English Bible.
- The Lord’s Prayer: From Matthew.
- Blessing: 2nd Corinthians 13.
- Anthem: “O Come O Come Emmanuel” posted by “Ferox” in the Internet Archive. Public Domain.
- Opening Acclamation: Psalm 92.
- Hymn: “Now Thank we All Our God”, performed by St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Guelph, Ontario Canada; used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
- First Reading: Deuteronomy 8:7-18, King James Bible.
- Psalm 65 , King James Bible.
- Hymn: “We Gather Together” sung by Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California, uploaded to YouTube by Martijn de Groot, and used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
- Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 9:6-15, World English Bible.
- Organ sequence: “Come ye Thankful People Come”, Played by Diane Bish on the organ of the Monastery of the town of Engelberg, Switzerland; Used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
- Gospel: Luke 17:11-19, World English Bible.
- The Lord’s Prayer: From Matthew.
- Blessing: From 2 Corinthians 13
- Organ postlude: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): “Nun danket alle Gott” performed by Gerd Weimar at the Lutherkirche Altena. Used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
Essayist Mary Eberstadt has examined the rise of violence in cities, and noted a correlation with youth being raised with no father in the home. Currently 25 percent of all children, and 65 percent of African American children, are raised in homes where the father is absent.
“So, here’s a new theory: The explosive events of 2020 are but the latest eruption along a fault line running through our already unstable lives. That eruption exposes the threefold crisis of filial attachment that has beset the Western world for more than half a century. Deprived of father, Father, and patria, a critical mass of humanity has become socially dysfunctional on a scale not seen before.”
This disruption can be seen on both the extreme right and the extreme left. Gangs are one of the outcomes of absent parents. Another is the “street families” in Portland, OR, home of some of the worst violence in 2020: “Street families” are an especially toxic variant of the current voguish phrase, “chosen families.” Street families are like gangs: poor and desperate substitutes for the real thing, called into being by the absence of the real thing.”
Read it all: https://www.firstthings.com/article/2020/12/the-fury-of-the-fatherless
- Opening Acclamation: Psalm 90.
- “O God Our Help in Ages Past” performed by Dianne Bish at Domkirche zu Trier, Germany, from the “Joy of Music” program “Hymns and Sacred Songs II”, used in Accordance with Creative Commons license.
- First Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24, King James Bible.
- Psalm 95:1-7a, King James Bible.
- Second Reading: Ephesians 1:15-23, World English Bible.
- Hymn: “O Worship the King”, Uploaded to YouTube by “bhepure isidoro”; Used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
- Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46, World English Bible.
- The Lord’s Prayer: From the Gospel of Luke.
- Blessing: The Aaronic blessing from Numbers 6.
- Anthem: “Peace be with you” by Adrian Snell in a choir arrangement by Jon Fylling performed by Bodø Chamber Choir, Chorus Novus and Korinteran in Rønvik Church, Bodø on the 16th of June 2019; The soloist is Eva Marianne Olsson. Used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
The Bible passages were recorded by Librivox, and are in the public domain. Readings correspond to the Revised Common Lectionary. All audio files are given with attribution where known.
- Opening Acclamation: Psalm 118:1.
- Hymn: “Rejoice The Lord Is King” by unknown soloist. Uploaded to YouTube by Christina Iqupen, and used in accordance with the Creative Commons license.
- First Reading: Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18, King James Bible.
- Psalm 90:1-12, King James Bible.
- Gloria Patri: From a live service at the First Presbyterian Church of Wolcott. Used in accordance with the Creative Commons license.
- Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, World English Bible.
- Organ Sequence: Georg Böhm (1661-1733): “Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend”, performed by Jens Engle, Used in accordance with the Creative Commons license.
- Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30, World English Bible.
- The Lord’s Prayer: From Matthew.
- Blessing:
- Organ postlude: J. S. Bach (1685–1750), “Fantasie c-Dur”, BWV 573, performed by Axel Fischer at Lüchow, uploaded to YouTube by NOMINEeV, used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
The Bible passages were recorded by Librivox, and are in the public domain. Readings correspond to the Revised Common Lectionary. All audio files are given with attribution where known.
- Opening Acclamation: Psalm 51:15.
- Motet: Thomas Tallis (1505-1588) “Hear the Voice and Prayer” sung by The University of Iowa Camerata. Uploaded to YouTube by the University of Iowa School of Music, and used in accordance with the Creative Commons license.
- First Reading: Amos 5:18-24, King James Bible.
- Psalm 70, King James Bible.
- Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, World English Bible.
- Organ Sequence: “Beautiful Savior”, hymn played on organ by Tyler Breneman on the II/24 McManis Pipe Organ at Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lindsborg, Kansas. Used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
- Gospel: Matthew 25:1-13, World English Bible.
- The Lord’s Prayer: From Luke.
- Blessing: The Aaronic Blessing from Numbers 6 (King James Version).
- Organ postlude: Franz Liszt (1811-1886) “Prelude and Fugue on B-A-C-H”, performed by Daniela Timokhine on the organs of Freiburg Cathedral, Germany, uploaded to YouTube by “gavaec1”, used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
The Bible passages were recorded by Librivox, and are in the public domain. Readings correspond to the Revised Common Lectionary. All audio files are given with attribution where known.
- Call to Worship: Hebrews 12:1.
- Hymn: “For all the Saints” by the Fountainview Academy. Uploaded to YouTube by Terceiro Anjo and used in accordance with Creative Commons license
- First Reading: Revelation 7:9-17, World English Bible.
- Psalm 34:1-10, 22, King James Bible.
- Gloria Patri: Excerpted from chanting of Psalm 34, by St. Andrew’s Schola Cantorum at Choral Evensong on 18 September 2011. St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Highland Park, Pittsburgh, PA. Alastair Stout, Organist; Peter J. Luley, Choirmaster. Fair Use.
- Second Reading: 1 John 3:1-3, World English Bible.
- Motet: Tomas Luis da Victoria (1548-1611): “O quam gloriosum”, sung at St. Mary of the Visitation Catholic Church in Ottumwa, Iowa. The choir is the Cantus Angelicus Choral Society. This was in the public domain, at Archive.org. Translation: “O, how glorious is the kingdom, in which all the saints rejoice with Christ! Arrayed in white robes, they follow the Lamb, wherever He goes.”
- Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12, World English Bible.
- The Lord’s Prayer: Chanted by unknown congregation, uploaded to YouTube by “LabourerFaith”, and used in accordance with Creative Commons License.
- Blessing: The Aaronic Blessing from Numbers 6 (King James Version).
- Concluding canticle: Marc Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704): “Te Deum Prelude in D Major”, performed on the 1907 Voit organ at Diakoniekirche Luther in Mannheim Neckarstadt West, uploaded to YouTube by “RomanticChurchOrgan” and used in accordance with Creative Commons License.
The Bible passages were recorded by Librivox, and are in the public domain. Readings correspond to the Revised Common Lectionary. All audio files are given with attribution where known.